I took a breath and slowly parted my lips.
“H-ha, but... I just broke off the engagement with you. The article about it is going out tomorrow.”
“I don’t care. We can just get engaged again.”
“E-even ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) so, we won’t be able to contact each other for years.”
“I don’t care. As long as you’re alive, that’s enough.”
“Uh, and my biological father is...”
“I don’t care. I don’t give a damn about that kind of thing.”
“Uh... um, I really understand your positive outlook on life.”
I answered reluctantly, then hesitated before adding cautiously.
“But nothing changes. A few years from now, who knows how we’ll feel? We’re still both just kids.”
Whether Zahid liked me or not, the outcome would be the same.
Seriously. Who knew being confessed to by eleven-year-old Zahid would feel this... unexciting.
Zahid slowly stepped closer and looked up at me atop the horse.
Then, as if he hadn’t heard a single word I said, he kept talking.
“When I couldn’t trust anyone and was curled up alone... thank you for staying by my side.”
Rain poured down, soaking him completely.
“After my parents died... maybe I was waiting all along for someone like you.”
I couldn’t say anything.
Was Zahid crying right now?
I couldn’t tell—because of the rain.
“A few years from now, like you said, we won’t know what our situation will be. We’re still young.”
Zahid spoke in a voice that cracked, and then took another step closer to me.
“But I won’t change. No one knows me better than I do.”
Then, with a forced, small smile, he took my hand.
“That’s why... even though it felt like I really liked you, I hesitated to say anything. Because I know I won’t change for the rest of my life.”
“So even if time passes, and passes, and I don’t get to see you for a long, long time...”
Suddenly, my eyes burned with tears.
“And even if something huge and unbelievable happens in this vast, complicated world during that time...”
His low, steady voice continued through the rain.
I watched him, captivated by how firm and grounded he looked.
“I’ll keep liking you—really, I’ll keep liking you—and my feelings will never change...”
The words were raw and unpolished, but that only made them feel more sincere.
“Even if, after all that time, you don’t like me anymore... I’ll keep trying to the very end. I won’t let you go.”
From behind me, Ethan muttered, “Whoa. Chills.” But I chose to ignore that sound effect.
“And when you were reading the ancient language back at the clocktower... there was something I kept wanting to do...”
Zahid pulled the hand he was holding toward himself.
“Now that I know you’re the High Priest’s daughter, I think I finally understand that impulse.”
He forced a smile. His eyes weren’t smiling at all, so it looked a bit unsettling, but that made it hurt even more.
In that state, he spoke in a solemn voice.
“The Fire Duke House of Dyfenril swears before the Primordial God.”
Zahid kissed the back of my hand. Then, with those steady, violet eyes locked onto mine, he whispered:
“I, Zahid Dyfenril, will protect and serve Lady Rosie Noart.”
Was he seriously swearing loyalty to me—just like the Duke of Orgon did?
I suddenly couldn’t breathe. The sensation of his lips on the back of my hand was so vivid that everything else blurred.
“And I will follow her will.”
As our eyes met, it felt like time stopped.
It was the kind of moment I knew I’d never forget for the rest of my life.
My heart pounded madly and my gaze trembled uncontrollably. At the same time, emotions surged through me like a wave.
I don’t want to part.
I don’t want to leave them again.
I don’t want to be separated from the people I barely managed to meet again after rewinding time.
I was trying to leave calmly, but the truth was, my heart hurt so much.
The words I couldn’t say were filling my chest, as if they would explode out of my body at any moment.
“I promise you, Rosie.”
He gripped my hand tightly and said:
“I’ll protect you with my life. While you’re hiding in the Magic Tower, I’ll work hard. I’ll live really, really earnestly. So I can bring down the Temple.”
In the torrential downpour, he kissed the back of my hand once more, then stepped back.
“I’ll wait for you, Rosie.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Amid the sound of pouring rain, his voice carved itself clearly into my ears.
“Just like the day you suddenly appeared in my life—may that kind of fortune come again one day.”
The reason I couldn’t say anything was because I was seeing the Zahid from before the regression—the older Zahid I remembered—overlapping with this young boy.
“The best thing to suddenly appear in my life... was you, Rosie.”
“Even though I’m trapped and can’t do anything for you?”
“Yeah. Even so. Meeting you was my good fortune.”
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my heart.
No matter how painful the farewell was, no matter how lonely it felt to love someone alone, meeting Zahid was still a blessing.
Even if I could turn back time again, I’d make the same decision.
Even knowing how much this parting would hurt, I would still find a way to stay by his side.
So I had no regrets about the feelings I had for him.
When I nodded silently with a dazed expression, Zahid spoke quietly.
“Actually... I already knew.”
“You look at someone else through me.”
My eyes widened at the completely unexpected words.
“Your eyes look at me with affection, but in the end, your heart stays with the person you’re reminded of when you see me.”
I couldn’t say anything. I just stood there, mouth slightly open, staring at him.
“I hated that so much it made me crazy. That’s why I couldn’t be honest with you for a long time.”
As if he had anticipated my silence, Zahid gave a small smile and said:
“But it’s okay now. I like you so much, I can’t even be bothered by that anymore.”
With those low words, Zahid slowly turned his head toward Ethan.
“Then, please take care of Rosie.”
Ethan gripped the reins again. Then, with a dry laugh and a sigh, he said:
“If that’s the case, we better get going. It’s pouring, so the little prince should head home and toast himself by the fire with that wolf mutt.”
Then, with a soft “Hyah,” he kicked the horse’s side.
The Imperial Palace receded into the distance.
And Zahid, too, receded into the distance.
I deliberately didn’t look back.
Because if I saw Zahid standing alone in the pouring rain, watching us leave, my heart would break. And it wasn’t until I had ridden for a long time that I realized—I’d been crying the entire time.
When I sniffled, Ethan spoke from behind me.
“Unfulfilled first love is always painful.”
“...It’s not unfulfilled yet.”
“Well, you kids believe that. You’re still young.”
“But Ethan, you’re only thirteen.”
“But my mental age is remarkable. Got it? I’m a future great archmage.”
“Ethan... you’re not a great archmage yet. Please don’t forget that.”
And so, we rode through the night for a long time.
Then, deep in the darkness of midnight—
A giant tower, lit from top to bottom with layers of lights.
“Welcome! It’s been a while, Lady Rosie! You’ve finally returned to me!”
With the Tower Master’s slightly bizarre greeting, we arrived at the Magic Tower.