Hamon De Biville—Anne referred to the crown prince who had turned his back on the kingdom a few years ago.
Ara had a sudden realization.
"Anne, what year is it?"
"It's the year 1676, did you forget that too?"
At that moment, Ara was unable to say anything, as if she had been struck by lightning. It was exactly nineteen years in the past, around the time when the crown prince left the kingdom after the battle and never returned. And it was only a year or so before the royal family would be destroyed.
Ara remembered it clearly. In the past, the crown prince was supposed to show up at the grand ball for the very first time, and Ara was accompanied by Anne at that ball. At the end of the day, the crown prince never showed up, and they had gone home without seeing him.
It was only later that they found out about the crown prince's disappearance. Ten months later, the royal family began to decline when it was revealed that the king had been battling a long-term heart disease.
Yes, she remembered now. Anne had also rushed into her room like this when she heard that the crown prince was going to attend the ball.
Was it really that day? What had happened so far passed through Ara's head in a flash.
'Am I really back in time?'
It was impossible to believe. How on earth? Why? How? A lot of unsolved questions arose. There was no one to ask, and no one to give her answers.
She began to realize that this moment, which she had thought was a dream, was in fact reality. She turned pale as if she had forgotten how to breathe.
"Are you alright?"
Anne held her sister's hand worryingly, carefully looking at her. Despite such a small gesture, Ara was close to tears again. It didn't matter how she got back to the past—now there was a real chance to protect her family from dying. She would never let such a future come to pass again.
Ara gripped Anne's hand and said in a devoted whisper, "This time, I promise to protect you, no matter what happens."
Anne slowly nodded at her sister's strong words. Ara was acting strangely today. At first, Anne had thought Ara was under stress from having to manage the household, but now Ara was saying some strange things.
"Are you really okay?"
"Of course, especially when you're in front of me like this. How could I not be okay? This moment... I cannot describe how much I appreciate it. Thank you for being alive, Anne."
Anne's face flushed with embarrassment; she didn't understand why her sister was acting this way, but she smiled shyly anyway because it meant Ara loved her. The fact that Ara was the best sister in the world never changed.
Ara leaned back and looked at Anne tenderly. Ara could hardly bear to look at her; her heart ached for the future that Anne didn't know.
A thought suddenly came to Ara's mind. "Where is Father now?"
"You told me yesterday that Father went back to Zari, and he'll be back in a few days."
"Oh, really?"
Ara gave her an awkward smile, then thought carefully. In order to avoid the same tragedy, she had to do something quickly. There wasn't much time left to change the future.
Should she run to her father and tell him everything she knew about the future that awaited them? Ara thought carefully and immediately shook her head. She wasn't sure if he would even believe her unrealistic story, which she found difficult to believe herself, and even if he believed what she said, the Boxton family was absolutely loyal to the royal family. Her father was a man who would fight to the death rather than run away. Because of this, he had been killed in his previous life by King Cornell.
How could she stop Cornell from becoming king? No one knew it now, but the present king was suffering from a serious heart disease—he would die soon.
'Should I kill Cornell before then?'
Even if she had returned to the past, and she knew her skills with a sword had not disappeared completely, it would be necessary to train her body again to peak physical condition. She had failed in her original goal, but she was still the one who had almost killed the infamous King Cornell in her previous life.
But even if she succeeded in killing Cornell now, the royal family would hunt down the person who killed him, ignorant of his evil deeds.
The Boxton family wouldn't be able to avoid responsibility. And if she failed... She closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to even think of the outcome.
Although she didn't want to admit it, she had worked her whole life to kill Cornell.
Ara knew better than anyone how strong he was. She had already lost to him once—was it possible to win with this second chance? There wasn't a guarantee that she would be able to kill Cornell this time, and she could not risk the lives of her family against such a slim chance.
'I can't afford to fail again this time.'
Even if the worst possible outcome were to happen, she needed to ensure that the Boxton family survived. But a good plan didn't come to mind. She was ashamed of not avenging her family's death in her previous life. She had done everything that could be done alone before, but now she needed an ally to stand by her and give her strength.
'If only there was someone who could help me this time...'
There was only one person who came to mind.
'Prince Hamon?'
To her knowledge, he was supposed to leave the kingdom in a few days after the battle. The battle was still taking place now. But... what if she could stop him from leaving? The crown prince, son of the present king, would be the biggest obstacle for Cornell—even if Hamon only accomplished half of his achievements on the battlefield.
No, it would be very helpful if the rumors about him were true. She didn't care what people said he was; furthermore, if she could make him king, he could stand in the way of Cornell's rise to power.
She had to stop him from leaving somehow—it would be a decision that would further shake the whole continent. The effect of it would be unpredictable.
After a moment of hesitation, Ara laughed at herself coldly.
'I don't care if the whole world drowns or burns. I only want to save my family.'
She would walk with a smile down this bloodstained road. Ara looked down at Anne's bright eyes and made a deep promise again.
'I'll save you this time, no matter the cost.'
After Ara made up her mind, she began to feel nervous. She had to find a way to stop the prince from abandoning his kingdom.
The time when Prince Hamon would leave already overlapped with the present. Although she didn't know the exact place where the battle was taking place, she fortunately remembered the location as the battle had been the most talked-about event before.
There was no time to waste. It would be a disaster if she missed this opportunity to stop the prince.
Boxton Mansion was located in the northern part of the kingdom, and it would take several days to get to the battlefield from here.
She had to make haste as soon as possible.
"Brother Henry is in the training hall now, isn't he?"
"Yes, it's always the same. If he doesn't hold a sword for a day... he'll probably kill himself."
Anne stood there, talking lovingly. Ara had missed her sister so much, she was anxious to keep her eyes on her even more, but now she was in a hurry. She stroked Anne's soft cheeks and said to her sadly,
"Anne, I have to go somewhere for a while."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"It's just for a few days."
"That long? I'll come with you then!"
Anne clutched at Ara's nightdress. Perhaps it was because Anne didn't remember their mother, who had died when giving birth to her, but the young girl had always hated being away from her older sister since she was a child. Ara did not resent Anne for treating her like a mother, and they had little memory of being separated until their family had been destroyed in their previous life.
The years of living without Anne had been extremely lonely. Ara wanted to indulge her sister and listen to everything she said, but this wasn't the right time for that.
"I have to go alone, Anne. You can't come with me."
She quickly turned her head away. She had to be away at least a few days to find Prince Hamon, but she couldn't disappear for no reason. This wasn't a life where no one stopped her from going wherever she pleased. She was the daughter of a general who had to tell everyone her every move.
A memory flashed through Ara's head and gave her an idea.
"I have to go see Danielle, and you can't travel that far with me."
"Danielle?"
"Yes, she invited me to her birthday banquet by letter a few days ago."
Danielle lived in a neighboring kingdom and was a distant relative of the Boxtons. She loved both Ara and Anne. Although she wasn't a frequent visitor, she made sure to visit Boxton Mansion whenever she came to the kingdom. Ara remembered that Danielle had been very excited about preparing for her 19th birthday banquet. In Ara's previous life, she had to leave Boxton Mansion under any pretext. Danielle, who had been her good friend since childhood, would make a good excuse.
Ara glanced at Anne's face with apprehension, wondering if her memory might have been wrong. Luckily, Anne spoke with a subdued look as if she knew about Danielle.
"Do you still have to go there by yourself? I mean, you can't travel that far alone... This house is nothing without you."
"You know how important it is to Danielle. I need to attend the banquet. Besides, I'd love to take you with me, but I know how you always get homesick whenever we're far away from home... It's not like I'll be gone forever. I'll be back in a few days."
"But I wi—"
"Anne, Danielle has a lot of hair and worries about it. If I go there, it will help her greatly, don't you think?"
"Tch."
Anne pouted in disapproval, and Ara sighed. If the future didn't depend on her, she would never leave her sister's side for so long.
"You're too nice for your own good."
Ara smiled faintly at this. She didn't care if the world was dying for the sake of her family, so the word "nice" was far from appropriate.
To find the crown prince, she needed to go to the battlefield, join him, and bring him back to Findara. Ara smiled innocently as she stroked Anne's soft hair and said, "I'll bring you a present when I get back."
"Really? I'll be looking forward to that."
"Yes, I'll pick something you like, so be patient."
"Yay!"
As if she had completely forgotten her opposition to Ara leaving, Anne smiled as brightly as a blooming flower.
Yes, Ara wouldn't mind marrying a demon from hell to protect the smile on her sister's face.
"Then you should wait at home quietly. When Father comes back, tell him I've gone to help Danielle prepare for her birthday banquet, okay?"
"Okay, you have to come back as soon as possible, Sister Ara."
"I promise. I just have to say goodbye to Henry, and then I'll leave right away."
"This soon?"
"The sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back."
Anne's expression turned sullen, but then her face soon lit up with an idea.
"Then I'll ask the kitchen cook to make lunch so you can eat it on your way."
"You don't have to—"
"In the meantime, go talk to Brother Henry. See you later!"
Anne left in as much of a hurry as she could, and Ara smiled sadly to see her go. Anne was a lovely girl who deserved the love of a mother. Although Anne was seventeen years old, Ara was still worried about leaving her at home. But she felt moved by Anne's efforts; when she saw this bit of kindness, she couldn't help but realize that she really was back.
After a moment of gratitude, Ara quickly came to her senses and sat on her bed. She planned to leave the house under the pretext of Danielle's birthday banquet, but Ara wasn't sure if she could actually attend the banquet. Then she decided to let Danielle know about this in advance so that she could avoid a difficult situation later on. Ara wrote a letter to Danielle, explaining that she would visit her after the celebration because something urgent had come up.
Once she finished writing the letter, it was sent straight away, bearing the seal of the Boxton family.