The one who recognized him first wasn’t Chloe alone.

“Huh? Wait, that’s Yuta Orgon.”

“No way. He brought his Divine Beast too.”

“Was he chosen?”

“But seriously, what’s going on? Why would Lord Yuta personally come to a birthday party for the Count’s granddaughters…”

“Exactly. What business would the adopted son of a duke have here? Even the Idra family didn’t show up.”

“Honestly, it’s not the kind of event a duke’s family would attend… And the Duke of Dyfenril—her fiancé—isn’t even here.”

People immediately began whispering among themselves.

That was how much attention the adopted son of the Orgon Duchy attracted.

Yuta ignored the greetings of those approaching him, wildly scanning the area around him.

“Where is Rosie?”

He asked the maids, and the gathered servants looked around, flustered.

“Uh, I’m not sure… I saw some maids looking for her earlier, but I haven’t seen her in a while…”

“You haven’t seen Lady Rosie either? Lady Heidi asked us to look!”

“Isn’t she in the garden? I thought she was there.”

“There was no one there earlier, though?”

“Oh no! I got distracted watching that scammer—Ben, or whatever—and lost track of Lady Rosie!”

As the maids grew increasingly frantic, Yuta’s face grew darker and more tense.

His eyes, already off-kilter, wavered with rising panic.

Chloe quickly rushed forward and stood in front of Yuta.

“Lord Yuta.”

Knowing full well that he might not recognize her in her current appearance, she deliberately touched the butterfly brooch.

“Thank you for coming all this way.”

“Clara… no, Chloe.”

Yuta called her name in urgency, then quickly forced a smile, conscious of the surrounding eyes.

But he couldn’t hide the desperation in his voice as he leaned in and whispered, almost fiercely:

“Where’s Rosie?”

“Oh. She’s already asleep.”

Seeing Yuta, always calm and kind, looking so rattled thrilled Chloe. She smiled brightly with anticipation.

“Turn your attention away for a moment, then meet me behind that fountain. Follow me in secret.”

Then she turned around immediately. There were too many eyes on them.

Yuta let out a long breath and ran a hand roughly through his hair.

Unbeknownst to him, someone had quietly begun to follow him.

It was Caliban—who had just imprisoned Monica and Ben and slipped out—and Zahid, who had just arrived at the estate.

* * *

The last thing I remembered before passing out was Chloe’s smug face.

“So arrogant for an apprentice.”

Of course.

She really was Clara. No one but someone from the Temple would sneer at an apprentice for being “low-born.”

It’s okay.

At the same time, I knew exactly what was about to happen.

I was going to be trapped in endless nightmares.

Still, it’s okay.

Because I had calculated even that.

Chloe would lock me into a nightmare and stash me somewhere—probably a wardrobe.

Even if something felt off, as long as it involved Yuta, she would definitely act that way.

Zahid… Zahid will definitely bring Yuta here. That’s his job. I believe in Zahid.

And once Yuta was here, he’d be brought to this place.

There are too many people around—Chloe and Yuta won’t be able to communicate properly.

So naturally, they’d go somewhere secluded to talk things through.

Their conversation would probably seem to match but also not quite—until they ended up revealing everything. Especially Chloe, who would spill it all in front of Yuta.

That’s when Zahid and Grandpa will hear everything. Then they’ll know Chloe is with the Temple.

So I told Grandpa in advance. That Yuta would definitely appear, and to follow him with Zahid no matter what.

From what I observed at the Academy, Yuta wasn’t particularly gifted physically.

There was no way he’d notice Grandpa or Zahid tailing him.

Grandpa already harbored doubts about Chloe, so he agreed without much resistance.

Of course… I didn’t tell him about Clara’s ability…

I also didn’t say that I’d be having nightmares, or that once I regained consciousness, I’d be trapped in a confined space, triggering my trauma.

But that’s okay. A nightmare won’t kill me. Being locked in the dark won’t kill me.

It was something I had to endure. I couldn’t live my whole life avoiding everything.

When I tried to avoid it all… that’s when I lost Julian before the regression.

To be honest, even when Chloe shoved me, my body started trembling.

Ah, I’m going to be trapped in a horrible nightmare… and when I wake up, I’ll be alone in pitch-black darkness.

Just like before the regression.

I’m scared. I’m scared…

Even though I had steeled myself, my body trembled, and my breathing grew ragged. The moment the altered divine power was injected, my consciousness began to fade.

Will I have that dream again? The one where Julian dies…?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

And just as I began to lose consciousness—

“I can’t stay at the Temple anymore due to circumstances. Clara, so I have a favor…”

I started to dream something I hadn’t expected.

A man with blond hair and green eyes, soft in appearance.

Yuta, dressed in his white priest’s robe, was handing the butterfly brooch to Clara.

“There’s a girl named Rosie Trian.”

“Trian? An apprentice, right?”

“Yeah. If anything happens to her, could you let me know?”

What is this? What kind of dream is this?

I had never had this dream before the regression… so why was Yuta in it, not Julian?

“Julian Noart came and took Rosie Trian. Turns out she’s his sister. Should we just let it go?”

“Yeah… That’s fine.”

Clara faithfully reported my status to Yuta.

“Lord Yuta, Rosie Trian has returned.”

“Huh? What? She came back? What do you mean?”

“She just showed up at the Temple again… I guess it’s because Julian Noart lost his memory.”

Wait.

I went back to the Temple?

Then this must be… before the regression?

I knew it instinctively. This was a story I didn’t know—my story before the regression.

More precisely, Yuta’s story before the regression.

Clara, standing in front of Yuta, fiddled with the butterfly brooch and said,

“The Temple plans to experiment on Rosie.”

“What? Experiment?”

“Yes. She has Noart blood, and they find her irritating. Once she arrives in the underground facility, I’ll likely be the one monitoring her.”

“Clara, I have a favor.”

In the dream, Yuta spoke urgently. His face more serious than ever before.

“Could I see her—just once, in secret, without anyone knowing?”

* * *

As the Count’s estate bustled with noise, Julian and Theo arrived together in one piece.

“Thanks to you, we got here just fine. Hey, I appreciate the guidance.”

Of course, Julian was the only ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) one who thought they arrived “together peacefully.”

Theo looked completely fed up, frowning in irritation.

“You’re really insufferable. You do realize that this horse you dragged me on gets deducted from my pay, right? Because of you, I’ve got to cover double now.”

“Aw, come on. Don’t be stingy with me, huh?”

“We’re not close! Seriously, what have you been hearing all this time?”

“Ahem… I wonder if our little one is doing okay…”

Julian jumped off the horse with a wide grin.

“Gramps really outdid himself with this party, though…”

Naturally, Julian—who had just recently regained consciousness—was out of the loop.

Theo, who hadn’t even opened the letter from the estate, was no better.

They knew absolutely nothing about Chloe’s existence.

They were completely relaxed.

“Theo!”

One of Monica’s maids came running up to Theo.

“Why didn’t you send word you were coming… Anyway, Theo, something terrible has happened! Lady Monica—!”

But Theo’s expression as he looked down at the maid was cold and indifferent. Not that Julian noticed.

“Alright, alright. This guy doesn’t have a mom, so I’ll take my leave. See ya.”

“Seriously, this bastard’s pissing me off to the very end—doesn’t even read the room…”

“I am reading the room, that’s why I’m leaving. Catch you later, buddy.”

“I told you—I’m not your buddy!”

“Ah, my bad, my bad. I misspoke. See you later, dear cousin.”

Julian left the icy tension between Theo and Monica behind and dashed into the estate like a bird in flight.

“Hm? Where’s the little one? Where’s the brat? Where’s Grandpa?”

He looked around, but the place was packed with strangers. Zahid, Rosie, and Caliban were nowhere in sight.

Julian looked around and decided to head for Rosie’s room first. He had so much to tell her. Especially about Yuta…

How do I even say this? That guy’s not actually bad—he’s your half-brother and about to die for your sake?

He hadn’t figured out how to phrase it yet—but either way, he had to tell her.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep