When I woke up, I was still in my bed. I dug into my pillow, trying to feel the softness of the cotton. Then I got up instantly. I was too immersed in my family reunion. I needed to organize things-- before I forget this. Even though I'm sure I wouldn't forget such a thing. I took out a diary under my drawer, along with a pen and ink. Just like that, I started writing. The first thing I knew -- is that, I'm back. Whatever happened to me, I must be back in time. It was crazy, but it was possible. If that man destroyed the world-- My head started ringing again, leaving me breathless. It was hurting so bad that I fell sideways from my chair. Grabbing onto the leg of the chair, I started writing. Or I was trying to. First, I needed to remember who that man was. Who was it? What was his name? How did he look like? I didn't know. I couldn't. I didn't remember a single thing except that it was a 'him'. And he led this world, to the destruction. Using me…!
"I need to… I need to find out who that was…!" I bit my lips as I moved my hand roughly across the thin paper, tearing apart the paper as my pen slided up and down. It was an ugly mess of ink and scratch of metal. But I couldn't remember, still. I calmed myself down by breathing slowly. It was no use in trying to remember, but it made me feel a bit better, even though it was just a bit. I completely tore apart the page with my hand, crumbling it. I tried writing once again.
The man, was a male. He destroyed the world.
I looked at the sentence as I frowned with frustration. What was this Everett level of writing? I couldn't accept it. My head was hurting too much for me to even try to organize my information. It was like water flowing out of the bucket made of thin ice. In the end, I resorted to storing the information in my head. The bad part of this, was I would probably be even remembering all this information until I fall asleep from now on. This was one of the reasons why I was one of the excelling magicians in the capital. That was back then, however. I don't know how weak I was right now. But I know for sure that I was never strong enough in the first place. Not strong enough to protect my family… With a flash of light going through my head, a permanent record of my memory was created. Now I can't forget, or get rid of this memory for my convenience. It was ironic. I've never used this on myself. Magic was what became the convenience of a minority of mankind, and I would always get rid of uncomfortable memories, myself. Then a knock came down on my door. From now on, I will protect my family. Protect this world. To do that, I needed to gather the missing part of my memory. And if the past is altered, by any chance, my memory won't be a use. I'm going to have to come up with a way to prevent this world from falling in a surely way. Very nice timing for the knock to come on my door. I felt that this was bringing me a step closer to the truth. I opened the door as I saw a caramel haired boy who was taller than me, obviously. His face was soft and handsome looking with a bit of extended hair strands. It was the gentleman type of boy, I guess? He must have had some ladies in capital city. He blankly stared at me.
"What, what?" I asked, annoyed. It was rude to stare at someone you've just met, right? Had he fallen for me? Of course not. I looked down at myself, seeing that I was just wearing my lingerie.
"I am very sorry, please excuse me." The boy said as he exited out the door. I tilted my head in confusion. It was just a form of underwear. What was his problem? Does he think that we, women sleep in corsets and dresses in bed? Well, too bad. We definitely didn't. Or else, our waist would have been broken a long ago. Plus, people in the countryside barely wore corsets. I walked out of my room casually, not caring about the random people in armor staring at me on my way to the living room. Who even was that boy anyway? He seemed to be around my age, actually, a bit older? Was it mom's boyfriend? Wait-- but how? I turned around the corner as I spotted two figures sitting in front of each other. One was my mom, and one was--
"Your daughter seems very… energetic, Ma'am." The caramel haired boy said, smiling softly. There was faint light coming from behind him, and it was certainly radiant…!
"Ah… Acacia… wasn't like that, but…" My mom said, her blonde hair in a braid. Where did Everett go? She must be green with envy that mom's with such a boy. Even though I thought he's too young, who cares? I know that life's more than just a prejudice. It wasn't the first time that I've lived.
"Ah, Cia!" My mom called as she saw a hint of my lingerie behind the wall. I wasn't going to disturb their peaceful talk, but I guess I had to barge in. Yes, mother. Here I come.
"Hello." I said flatly. That came out more emotionless than I anticipated. Now that was the way to give a great impression to someone after showing yourself in lingerie, wasn't it?
"It is nice to meet you, Miss I'llneherd." He said, getting up from the wooden chair. It kind of pained me to see such a boy in radiant presence that seemed to me screaming 'yes, I'm rich' sitting in the small, wooden chair, but I managed to ignore it. His beige trench coat that was slightly falling over his shoulder matched his hair color and eye color. He had a red tie and neat t-shirt underneath. Why was he even getting up again? Am I not the one supposed to bow down to this person as daughter of him? He approached me as he lifted my hand up, and kissed my forehand. I looked at him surprisingly. I had to admit, my lingerie was pretty much a see-through. I smiled in amusement as I saw his eyes searching for a place to linger. He managed to stare at the wooden floor. What a smart choice.
"Acacia…! What is up with your clothing?" My mother asked in horror. It was pretty late of her, but she did. I didn't really understand why she was like that. I mean, it's not like it was going to kill me. I surely wasn't like this before I died, but death surely did change a lot of things for me.
"Sorry. My daughter was having a severe medical condition, it seemed. And Duke Riverand, please forgive her." A duke?
"Acacia… Please go change your clothing…!" My mom said, and I could tell that she was very uncomfortable. I was still confused but I sighed, about to reply yes in the most hesitant manner.
"Ah, it seems that she does not want to. Of course, I thought it'd be better for my Miss to change into different clothing, but I am fine." Duke Riverand had said. It was kind of funny for me to hear him talk like that since he definitely did not seem fine. I haven't lived just a couple decades to notice people's emotions.
"Oh, Miss I'llneherd, please take a seat." Duke Riverand said, and I was about to snap at him. There literally was no seat, because the missing seat-- the chair of Everett was missing. Everett…! I knew she'd do something like this. Or else, she wouldn't be living up to her name.
"Duke Riverand, it is my pleasure, but unfortunately there are no more chairs left." I said as I sighed inside. Duke Riverand's eyes rounded like he hadn't thought about this before. What even was up with him? He definitely didn't seem like the person he looks like to be.
"Unit 1 Knights, please bring in a sofa!" Duke Riverand ordered. But to be honest, it sounded more like asking a favor. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. I don't remember meeting anyone like this in my past life… I tried to go through my records in my head, but there was nothing like him in the records that was existent. Of course, even that man is gone from memories, so it's no surprise. Then I soon felt a cushioned sofa underneath me. It made me wonder why the duke didn't get a sofa for himself. He was a duke, after all. But why was he here, in the first place? I studied him closely. He's got fair skin, and soft caramel hair with long eyelashes. Like I said, he looks like that type of boy who always mess around with the 'ladies'.
"I've already asked Mrs. I'llneherd, but she wanted me to ask you, Miss I'llneherd personally." He said with a soft medium tone of voice. I blinked a few times. Ask me what? This was none of my business. I didn't even know this person.
"Would you like to work for me?" Wait what?
"Pfft." I spitted out my milk tea just as soon as he finished his sentence. Work? Does he want me in as a maid, doing his house chores? Why did he even come down for that, though? There are countless people who would do better jobs in the capital.
"Ah, no. If you misunderstood… I didn't mean that. I meant as if you wanted to work for me… as in a guardian?"
"Well, it's more of a competition, really…" He sighed, his palm on his face. Whatever he was going through seemed tough. What competition, though?
"It seems that you are wondering what I'm talking about," He said, like he read my mind. But he didn't, I know that for sure. My mind was like piled up locks where no keys existed.
"It's about his royal highness, and I am planning to explain it to you if you accept this deal." He offered. His royal highness? Was this world so complicated? I haven't even met any royal members when the world was on fire-- But were there even anyone, there?
"How much?" I asked. This might benefit me in many ways. If he wanted me as a mage, I can do his job. I wasn't called the witch for nothing.
"About the pay, hmm…" Don't tell me that he hadn't even thought about the pay before I asked about it…?
"I am willing to give as much as I could." He said, smiling. I would have asked for tons of money if it weren't for his evil-perishing smile.
"So will you accept it?" The boy asked. If I accept, I am probably going to the capital, where most nobilities reside. The capital, where I have lost my life. It was good, but…
"What about my family?" I asked. I couldn't just abandon Everett and mom here.
"Do not be concerned about them. They can use one of our manors in the capital." He said, and I looked at my mom's eyes. She looked uncertain. I could tell why. Her husband's grave resided here, and she'd never be able to be so far from it. And if mom wouldn't go, Everett wouldn't neither.
"No, I don't think I can accept the deal, Duke Riverand." He looked surprised for a second, then placed his hand under his chin.
"Hmm… Why is that?" He asked.
"Unfortunately, my family has deep ties to this region." I said vaguely as possible.
"Cia…! You don't have to stay with us!" My mother said, as I glanced at her. What if a burglar comes? There's only I, to return the deeds they have done for me in my life. They were my responsibility.
"If protection is what you are worried about, knights from my household can be deployed here." He said, Again. It was like he read my mind. But if knights could be deployed here… It surely got rid of the problems. The more I thought about it, if I couldn't find the man, me staying here wouldn't matter. It would even worsen the problem.
"Duke Riverand, I am under your authority." I vowed, my already-short lingerie going up and horizontally. Riverand smiled innocently, ignoring it. He sure was interesting.
"Everett," I called softly as she hugged me tightly. We were out in front of the home, where the carriage was in front of us. Not just one, but two. It seemed like Duke Riverand had planned all of this from the start. And no, I wasn't still in my lingerie. Everett started ranting at me.
"I thought you had gone mad! I mean, you've always been… But I'm worried that even the people in the capital will call you crazy…!" She said, and it was somehow offending. I gritted my teeth as I smiled.
"Ev...erett… You wish." I said, eventually laughing. Everett looked at me with sad eyes.
"Everett," I said as I dug through my purse, trying to find something. Then I grabbed a cold metal string. Taking it out, I lifted it up so I could see it clearly behind the sun. It was a gold stringed necklace with a black gem in the middle. The necklace had been with me ever since I could remember. I'm guessing it came from my biological parents. I used to wear this a lot in this age, and as a kid in my past life. Everett would always cry in envy whenever I wore this. I enjoyed bothering her a lot, the more I thought about it. But I truly hated them all. It wasn't the natural hate but the opposite. I projected my anger on them. The fact that I was abandoned from my own biological parents resided in myself, and I searched for affection all my life. That was how my life came to be, at least in my past life. It was childish, but it could only make sense so much to the past me. I would have never known.
"Everett, think of me every time you look at this." I said, putting the necklace around the neck delicately. Everett lifted the necklace slightly to look at the gem. She truly was an adorable person. It'd be nice if she could go into the capital with me. There must be some accessories and dresses that noble girls in her age would buy in the capital stores.
"Thank… you… Cia Unni…" She said, as I smiled. I've never been called that, especially by her. I'd never thought I would miss her but I might miss her at least slightly. No, a lot.
"Mmm, nope. I'll buy more for you when I arrive in the capital," Everett's eyes sparkled at my words. I never knew she could make that face at me.
"Oh, but shh. Let's keep it a secret from mom."
"Okay!" Everett replied happily as she pointed at mom, who was coming out of the house to say farewell to me. To be honest, I never really talked much to my mom nor Everett back in the time. Like I mentioned, they were just people to project my hatred on. But now, I understand what they did for me, was unable to be priced in unit of money. I tried to find something else, and I felt something on my hand. Ashes. Can it possibly be from that night? If so, I can use this. I don't know any magic relating to ashes, but I'm sure there is something, right? I thought as I felt a warm touch on my shoulder.
"Cia," She said, as I turned around to see my mother's face. She must have been a true beauty, her beauty hasn't faded even with the slight wrinkles on her face.
"I'd never thought you'd call me a mom." She said, pulling me into an embrace.
"Thank you for everything," I said, smiling. Truly. Without them, I would have given up. Because a world like this, didn't need a savior like me. But I don't care if the world needs a savior like me or not. I am going to protect them, at least. Saving the world was just a process.
"I'll be off, mom." I said, soon free from her grasp. If I can solve the mysterious, that is.
"This way." Riverand guided me into the carriage at the back. He rode the one in the front.