Chapter 63

***

“You can change it, though.”

“That’s impossible. So far, no magic has managed to change the past. Not even with power surpassing the Tower Master’s…”

“But ‘now’ can change.”

Melody had once tried to completely detach herself from her past. By ignoring her mother, the object of her fear.

If that had made her heart comfortable, she probably would have continued living that way forever.

However, her unfulfilled needs and Claude’s support forced her to confront her past wounds one more time.

And so, Melody became a slightly different person. At least enough to not feel intimidated when talking about her birthday.

“That’s something even I, who possess no magical power, managed to do.”

Jeremiah averted his gaze, his face contorted.

“…You’re not entirely devoid of magic.”

“Huh?”

“It exists, albeit in a very small vessel.”

“Me… really?”

“Never mind.”

He shook his head. After all, even the Tower wouldn’t accept such a minuscule amount.

She might have an unusually good intuition, a convenience that might happen once or twice in a lifetime, but he didn’t feel like explaining something she would probably never understand.

“Anyway. Even if you fall into the abyss, I won’t do anything.”

“Can I ask you for one favor then?”

“No.”

He refused bluntly, making Melody look a bit crestfallen. Then he added, almost as if he was making an excuse.

“Apprentices can’t make promises on a whim.”

“Then, can I ask a favor not from an apprentice, but from Loretta’s brother?”

Brother. The unfamiliar term felt awkward, and he couldn’t respond right away. Seizing the moment, Melody shared her wish.

“Please have a conversation with her. Miss Loretta.”

“…?”

“She’s not only adorable in appearance, but her way of speaking is even more endearing. After that, everything will go well!”

Melody twisted her body in delight, seemingly pleased with just the thought.

On the other hand, Jeremiah couldn’t understand even half of what she was saying.

How could merely having a conversation lead to happiness and make everything go well? She’s not some novel’s protagonist.

“I would have had a conversation with her anyway. I need to check the results and write a report.”

“Thank you for making the promise.”

He didn’t really consider it a promise, but he didn’t correct her.

“Let’s stop dragging this out. Close your eyes.”

“Me too?”

“Find the center of your heart and hold onto it. So you won’t be swayed by my magic.”

“That…”

Looking at the connection between her and Loretta, Melody confidently replied.

“I’ve already held on tight.”

To not be swayed by anything.

“….”

Melody closed her eyes. Jeremiah gazed at her face for a moment, then placed his palm gently on Loretta’s warm forehead.

***

Humans lacked the ability to change their past, but as a compensation, they were blessed with the gift of oblivion.

The abyss fulfilled that blessing. It always consumed the moments that strayed from memory.

Entering Loretta’s thoughts, Jeremiah first checked his surroundings.

Objects and sceneries existed.

This was a significant indication that Loretta hadn’t fallen into the abyss.

If her main body were consumed by the abyss, every moment belonging to the memory would be claimed by oblivion, leaving the place utterly empty.

“Loretta Baldwin.”

He softly called out her name, searching for her presence.

But there was no response, only the sight of a neatly arranged child’s room.

Even when he stepped into the hallway, silence prevailed.

It looked like a fairly grand mansion, where maids and others should be passing by, but no one was there.

Was this space emptied because of Loretta’s oblivion, or was it originally a house with no one around?

Regardless, he couldn’t find the answer now.

This was Loretta’s world within her memories, and naturally, he would learn much upon meeting her.

“Loretta Baldwin.”

He called out the child’s name again, and soon found himself in the mansion’s garden.

A garden unfamiliar to him.

Wondering where this could be, someone suddenly grabbed his hand.

“….”

Turning his gaze, he saw Loretta looking up at him with large eyes.

It felt a bit strange, as he had only seen her sleeping up until now.

“Who are you?”

Contemplating how to answer the child’s question, Jeremiah decided to keep it vague, as it would be problematic if she remembered this moment.

“A doctor.”

It wasn’t really a lie, considering he could heal with magic.

“What’s your name?”

“…Jeremiah.”

The child clapped her hands joyfully and pulled his arm even harder.

“Loretta waited for Doctor Sir! Let’s go!”

“…?”

Was it because this was Loretta’s world? He found himself easily following the lead of the child, who was smaller and weaker than him.

“Where are we going now?”

“It hurts. Melody is really hurting!”

Melody? Was she talking about Melody? Had she already been dragged into this?

Though it was a situation Melody had invited upon herself, Jeremiah hadn’t wished for such a variable to occur.

So, he willingly ran along in the direction Loretta was leading, crossing a garden where still no one else was present.

Loretta stopped in front of a small carriage and enthusiastically opened the door, saying, “This is it.”

Was the carriage window open? The wind swirling inside and the warm light brushed against Jeremiah’s cheek, carrying the scent of a green season.

These sensations and aromas were likely derived from Loretta’s memories.

He considered that the absence of maids or servants in this environment might indeed be ‘the actual truth.’

It seemed unlikely that a child who remembered even the touch of the wind would push the existence of ‘servants,’ who were close to her, into the abyss.

‘She must have lived quietly with her mother, without any servants…’

Soon, Loretta released his hand. The child clumsily climbed into the carriage with her short legs and approached the woman sitting in the seat.

“Is Melody okay?”

Her worried voice reached him as Jeremiah glanced around the mansion. Loretta had taken the hand of the woman sprawled over the seat, calling her Melody several times.

But there was no response from the woman’s body. The child, having dropped her head in resignation, now turned to look back at Jeremiah.

“Doctor Sir! Melody is in pain. She keeps sleeping.”

“….”

“…Can’t you make her better?”

Despite her earnest plea, Jeremiah was unable to move, as if someone had forcibly held him in place.

“Doctor Sir!”

Loretta called out to him again, and only then was he barely able to divert his gaze from the woman.

However, the afterimage that remained in his eyes was so vivid that he bit his lip.

He didn’t want to see that person, whether in reality or borrowed from someone’s memory.

That was why he had hesitated to enter Loretta’s memory.

“…Loretta Baldwin.”

He called out his sister’s name with a trembling voice. Now that things had come to this, he had to resolve the issue quickly and leave this unpleasant place.

“Yes?”

“Does that person really look like ‘Melody’ to you?”

Silence ensued after that.

Loretta blinked her eyes, seemingly not understanding what he meant.

“Melody…?”

After a long pause, her response made him hold his forehead.

“I thought you couldn’t wake up because you were recalling happy memories.”

“…?”

It seemed she hadn’t woken up because she couldn’t untangle the jumbled memories, like a knotted thread.

“What about that woman looks like Melody to you?”

“Loretta likes her.”

The girl added the words ‘a lot, really’ as if she was somewhat anxious.@@novelbin@@

“But she’s not Melody?”

“That’s right.”

The girl stared intently at the woman’s face, her gaze somewhat confused.

“But I like her… Even if she’s not Melody, I love her a lot.”

That must have been the affection Loretta’s true nature had harbored for this woman.

Though she might have lost some of her memories with the person, the emotions remained vividly, resulting in this unfortunate situation.

Now the way to pull Loretta out of this place was clear. He had to reveal the identity of the woman.

Although Jeremiah was not particularly inclined to engage in such a conversation.

“Really, why do you like a woman like her?”

“Yeah. She hugged me every day and always told me how much she loved Loretta.”

The child answered without hesitation. It seemed she hadn’t completely cast her mother into the abyss after all.

“But if she’s not Melody, then this person to Loretta is… a stranger. Someone I don’t know.”

The child now released the hand she had been holding and took a step back with a frightened face.

It was natural for fear to arise when the heart and memory didn’t align.

…It was natural, but.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Jeremiah’s emotions couldn’t accept what Loretta was saying.

“Gene… Mia?”

Perhaps startled by his glare, the child’s voice trembled faintly.

“You can’t remember?! Why?!”

He strode into the carriage. The woman sitting in the chair still had her eyes closed, as if dead.

Jeremiah looked down at Loretta with a piercing gaze, standing right in front of her.

The girl emitted a sweet scent, like a sugar doll.

Probably because she was raised with love, only pretty crystals remained in her heart, giving off this fragrance.

This was a special scent that only a child who hears words of love from their parents every day could possess.

A fragrance that Jeremiah would probably never have…