Bang!

Michael Rose placed his hand on his chest. There was something warm and wet. Then, looking at his palm, it was all red.

Cough—

As the blood splattered along with a cough, the gunshot wound to the chest throbbed in pain.

He was dying.

“… You should’ve shot me in the heart.”

There weren’t any traces of resentment. It was just emptiness.

Nikita Borev, who he partnered with for ten years, was just looking at Michael with a sad face.

Clack—

Dropping his gun on the ground, Nikita ran up to Michael and pressed both of his hands on the gunshot wound.

“Oh… Oh, God! What have I done?! What the hell have I done?!”

“It hurts, dumbass. Don’t press on it.”

It was too late, anyway.

“That’s why you should’ve shot me in the heart. This is happening because you hesitated for no reason.”

Nikita looked at Michael who was making jokes at a time like this and shook his head.

“…I’m sorry.”

Yeah, you should be sorry. I know you’re sorry, but I know you had to do it. So…

“Don’t be sorry, dummy.”

Cough—

Michael’s heart felt like it was burning the moment he coughed.

“… Damian?”

Hearing Michael’s words, Nikita slowly lifted his head. Nikita didn’t say anything, but his expression and trembling lips told Michael everything.

If not him, then who else could it be?

The boss of the mafia ‘Kalanishiel Family’, the hidden power of the Empire with both the Emperor and the Council wrapped around his finger.

Michael didn’t know what to do, and how much he could do in that city ravaged by the civil war, but one thing was for sure; nothing mattered to Michael anymore.

“I guess I was a bit of a pain in the neck.”

Even if more than 90% of the police force was bribed by the Kalanishiel Family, Michael and Nikita did not stop investigating them.

They took away their badge several times, saying they were ignoring direct orders from their superiors. But they never gave up.

And yet.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, really. They found out where my wife and children are.”

“… Yes, I understand—”

Michael squeezed out his last remaining strength and pushed Nikita’s hand away.

“Come on… Run away.”

This innocent bear. They wouldn’t spare you even if they threatened to harm your family if you didn’t kill me.

Creak!

Michael heard the sound of various cars stopping outside the abandoned factory building.

“Get out of here, you bastard!”

At Michael’s cry, Nikita clenched his teeth and grabbed Michael’s hand with both of his hands.

“I’m sorry, Michael!”

After Nikita left, gunshots were heard from everywhere.

Michael closed his eyes, the sound getting more distant as seconds passed.

Well, it’s been a crappy life.

Soon, pure white darkness enveloped him.

***

And Michael opened his eyes.

“Huh?”

This… I don’t think this is supposed to happen.

Rattle—

It seemed as if his world was shaking, and he realized it only after he banged his head against the wall next to him. He was in a car.

“I’m sorry, Miss! Are you okay?!”

That time, Michael was surprised by the woman’s voice from the front seat.

‘… Miss?’

Michael was staring blankly at the short-haired woman from the driver’s seat and thought that he had seen her somewhere. Then, a name came to mind naturally.

“Vanessa Willer?”

“Yes, Miss. Are you okay? I’m so sorry! I’m not that good at driving. Are you injured?!”

“Oh, no…. I’m fine”

That wasn’t the problem. Why was Michael in the car with Vanessa Willer when he should’ve been dead?

That woman must be from the Kalanishiel Family…

“Hm? Ah, aah. Ah?!”

W-What’s wrong with my voice?!

Michael raised his voice as he noticed something strange, only to be startled by the soft, girly voice coming out of his mouth.

“M-Miss. Are you mad? I’m sorry. I’ll never cross the speed bump like that again! So please, forgive me just once!”

“Ah… I’m not mad.”

“Then may I ask why are you making such an expression?!”

Vanessa’s face reflected in the rearview mirror was in tears, and Michael couldn’t understand the whole situation at all.

“Oh, am I dreaming?”

Michael was so distracted that he spoke his thoughts out loud.

“You seemed to be in a deep sleep. Did you not sleep well last night? Were you stressed out about the family event from today…?”

“… Family event?”

At that moment, Michael realized.

While Vanessa was making eye contact with Michael through the rearview mirror, Michael saw a truck drifting out from an alley ahead.

“Vanessa! Ahead! Look ahead!!”

“What? Huh?!”

The truck rushed at a frightening speed towards their car and the breaks, or perhaps it was planned from the beginning.

Michael quickly reached out from the back seat and grabbed the steering wheel. Then, instead of Vanessa, he was the one who turned the steering wheel quickly to the right.

Creak!

The car rolled over to the sidewalk at 180 degrees, barely avoiding the truck.

But the truck, which hit the rear bumper of the car, flew into the air and crashed into a streetlamp, a fire hydrant, and another parked car. It tumbled over in the middle of the road.

There was a huge explosion. Their car almost overturned, and not only the windows of the car, but also the windows of the building nearby shattered.

“Ugh…!”

Michael moved from the back seat and tapped Vanessa’s arm, which quickly hugged him tightly.

“I can’t breathe.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! Where are you hurt, Miss?!”

Released from Vanessa’s arms, Michael took a deep breath and looked down at himself.

Slender arms, slender body, slender legs. A black, gothic style dress wrapped around that slender and small body, cotton gloves and long boots.

“…”

Michael hurriedly turned the cracked rearview mirror to look at his face.

A girl with long, straight and silver hair, adorned with a black headdress and mysterious golden eyes, was reflected in the mirror.

“Miss?”

The girl in the mirror, looking back at Vanessa who was calling for Michael, said:

“What’s my name?”

“Oh, Miss! Have you hurt your head?! Can you show me—”

“No, I’m fine! What’s my name!!”

Surprised by Michael’s scream, Vanessa responded reflexively.

“Y-Your Grace’s name is Ashmia Kalanishiel!”

Despite the chaos in the streets, Michael pursed his lips and said:

“… I’m Ashmia Kalanishiel?”

“Yes, Miss, I understand you’re confused, but I think you should get out of the car, now!”

However, as she was about to open the rear door of the car, Michael, or Ashmia, grabbed Vanessa’s hand.

“No! Don’t get out! Get down, quickly!”

A second explosion, larger than the first, occurred.

“…!”

As the aftermath of the explosion subsided, Vanessa hurriedly got up and looked down at Ashmia.

“Miss!! Are you okay?!”

“… I’m okay.”

Ashmia got up with Vanessa’s help and once again looked down at her body, hands and feet that became ‘Ashmia’.

‘What the hell, what happened…’

But in the next moment, a strange sensation that helped Ashmia maintain her composure and coolness suddenly spread like a ripple in her head, as if telling her that was not what she was supposed to be thinking about.

“Are you okay?”

“I can’t stand it!”

Vanessa’s clothes were a mess from trying to protect Ashmia from the two explosions. In particular, her back was completely tattered, but Vanessa did not suffer any injuries thanks to her ability of ‘Body Hardening’.

“But it might explode again, so hurry up and avoid—”

“No, not anymore.”

“… What?”

As Ashmia got out of the car, Vanessa gave her a puzzled look. However, Ashmia looked at what was supposed to be the truck without further explaining anything to Vanessa.

It was engulfed in flames and destroyed to such an extent that it was difficult to recognize its original shape.

[Great damage trom the two explosions…]

[The police believed it was a premeditated crime against the Kalanishiel Family…]

A memory came to Ashmia’s mind in pieces. However, that memory was the ‘present’ and had unfolded right before her eyes.

“…”

That truck was sent by someone to kill Ashmia. They even made a complex device that exploded twice to make sure it finished the job.

“Miss, can you walk?”

“Oh… I’m sorry, but please hold on to me.”

Ashmia’s slender legs were shaking against her will.

Assisted by Vanessa, she sat in an outdoor seating area in a relatively unharmed café, just around the corner from the scene of the accident.

As she sighed, Ashmia’s ears heard the sound of a siren approaching.

“Miss, can I bring you some water?”

“Yeah. No, if you have Jack and Coke.”

“… What?”

At the moment, the number seventeen came to mind.

Oh, I’m a minor.

When Ashmia saw Vanessa’s expression, she changed her words.

“Just give me a bottle of Coke.”

“You mean Coke? Okay. Please wait a moment!”

Vanessa went into the store with a weird look on her face and thought, ‘Is she really okay? I’m so worried…’ when Ashmia ordered a drink she didn’t usually drink.

In the meantime, Ashmia let go of her cumbersome headdress and took a deep breath.

‘How can I have such a vivid dream?’

Michael Rose, the one who was dreaming, was dead. That much was true.

However.

‘… Was that not a dream?’

When such thoughts of hopelessness and torture began to clutter Ashmia’s mind, the ‘unusual sense which helped her calm down’ once again quelled Ashmia’s confusion, as if forcing her to accept what was going on.

“Miss, here’s the Coke…”

Ashmia took the can from Vanessa’s hand and drank it in one go.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Burp—

“…”

Vanessa’s eyes widened while watching Ashmia who even burped after drinking an entire can of coke.

On the other hand, as the exhilarating stimulation of carbonic acid rose to the top of her head, Ashmia’s thirst and frustration finally subsided. Then, she was able to recall details of the accident that just happened in ‘Michael’s memories’ more vividly.

‘Seven years. Yes, this happened seven years ago.’

Michael was also dispatched to the scene, and it was such a big accident that he remembered it clearly.

‘I’m back… to the past?’

Whoosh—

Several police cars and an ambulance passed Ashmia with a familiar siren sound.

“Miss, where are you going?”

Ashima stood up suddenly and walked around the corner again, looking at the scene of the accident from afar.

She saw police officers who looked younger than they were in Michael’s memory getting out of the car. Some of them were even accompanied by their partners, who were killed a few years ago.

Little by little, Ashima made out Nikita Borev’s silhouette. But it wasn’t Michael Rose who got out of the same car.

“What is this…”

If she really did go back to seven years in the past, why did she become Ashmia instead of Michael?

“Haa…”

Ashmia exhaled, unsure if it was a laugh or a sigh, and collapsed.

“Miss!”

After hearing Vanessa’s worried voice, Ashmia fainted.

***

Ashmia opened her eyes again.

“My Lady, are you all right?!”

The title of ‘lady’ and Vanessa’s tumultuous voice, which were heard as soon as Ashmia woke up, immediately shattered the hope that everything was just a dream.

“… Where are we?”

“St. Catherine’s Hospital!”

The general hospital in the Kalanishiel family’s territory.

Ashmia resided in a special room on the top floor. But… what was with all those bandages all over her body?

“Was I hurt that much?”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you better…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

In reality, Vanessa said that there were only minor abrasions and bruises. Ashmia fainted because she was too weak to withstand the shock from the accident—was what the doctor told Vanessa.

However, with the bandages wrapped all around her slender body and the intravenous needles, it looked as if she had been laying on a bed in the intensive care unit.

“I don’t want you to get scars, so I’m being extra careful. Don Kalanishiel said…”

tl/n: the word ‘Don’ in Italian means boss.

“Father?”

After spitting out the word thoughtlessly, Ashmia freaked out.

Oh my God, he’s my father!

It was a reflexive action that occurred because of Ashmia’s memory where she called Richard Kalanishiel, the boss of the Kalanishiel Family, her father.

Ashmia felt dizzy as she was about to faint again.

“Yes. He came in a hurry after cancelling the family event, as did the other family members…”

Everyone came and left while I was sleeping?

Ashmia let out a sigh of relief, thinking it was fortunate that she wasn’t awake. She wasn’t ready to work on her facial expressions in front of them.

‘But… what’s going on in my head?’

When she woke up, there was no memory loss and Ashmia’s memories clearly coexisted with Michael’s memories.

Their memories weren’t mixed up, but instead they were well sorted out like books in a library and there was a clear line between them. However, it wasn’t easy to accept that ‘those memories were hers, but also not hers.’

And even more so if those were the memories of a girl who’s been living as a reclusive loner for seven years.

‘What the hell is up with this kid?’

Without realizing it, Ashmia let out a soft sigh and called out Vanessa’s name.

“Vanessa.”

“Yes, Lady.”

“Can you go and grab me some painkillers?”

“Right away!”

Returning as fast as she left, Vanessa handed Ashmia a small and translucent brown bottle of medicine.

“Thank you.”

Let’s borrow some medicine for now. Otherwise, I’m not confident of facing this girl’s memories that just come out of the blue.

“Have you been treated?”

“Yes! I’m fine!”

“Yeah? That’s good. Then, I want to be alone for a while.”

“Okay. I’ll be outside. Call me whenever you need me!”

“No, don’t do that. Go find an empty hospital room and get some rest. You must have had a hard day as well.”

“That’s all right!”

“Do I have to order it? You need to recover your strength so that you can protect me like you did today. Go get some rest.”

“M-My Lady. I’m so honoured!”

… I feel like I’m some kind of Emperor.

Vanessa left the room with tears full of emotion.

“I’ll still be nearby, so if anything happens, call me first!”

“…”

Once Ashmia was alone, she got up from the bed, dragging the IV stand to the window.

Outside the window was a beautiful night view of the city. However, Ashmia’s focus wasn’t on the beautiful sight, but on her reflection in the window.

She raised her hand and touched her face.

Forehead, eyebrows, nose, and lips.

Every part Ashmia touched, she felt the touch. It was definitely her face.

Moving into the bathroom, she stared in the mirror. The more she looked at herself, the more mysterious the hair and eyes were.

‘Even her eyelashes are silver.’

When Ashmia brought her face near the mirror for a closer look, there was a pinkish energy swirling around her black pupil surrounded by golden irises.

She was the only one out of the Kalanishiel siblings to inherit this unusual genetic trait from her mother, Maverett Kalanishiel, called the ‘Gold Rose’.

‘This is the real Ashmia Kalanishiel…’

Now there was no room for further suspicions. Michael had accepted the fact that he returned to the past seven years ago and became the youngest daughter of a mafia family.

‘But why?’

As she was thinking about the reason and every possibility, a hypothesis suddenly popped in her mind.

‘No way… was this my ability?’

However, even if there was a special ability that manifested in death, mana would be required to activate it.

Michael Rose was an ordinary person with no mana. He was normal.

‘… That’s not the point.’

Ashmia shook her head before she sunk deeper into questioning, something she could not think of an answer to.

‘More than that…’

The question was more of a ‘what to do in the future?’ than a ‘why did this happen?’.

Ashmia’s death was the starting point of a series of disasters and tragedies that would take place in the next few years.

‘Since Ashmia is not dead, will the future be different from the one I know?’

The answer to that question was both yes and no.

It was an assassination attempt disguised as an accident, targeting the youngest daughter of the Kalanishiel family. However, it was too big to be viewed as a simple assassination. Other than that, such a devastating event took place within the Kalanishiel territory and nowhere else.

Although this time the assassination was unsuccessful, it wasn’t something the family could just ignore.

‘War will begin. Just like seven years ago.’

Even so, the Empire, which was stagnant due to the corruption of the aristocracy, suffered the worst situation of a coup d’etat after the war between the mafia and the aristocracy completely destroyed order and caused the Imperial family and the Council to lose control of the Capital.

‘And the one who laughed last…’

The second son of the Kalanishiel family, Damian Kalanishiel.

In those seven years, countless innocent lives suffered and were sacrificed. It was the ‘past’ that Michael remembered and the ‘future’ that might take place.

‘But…’

Based on the results alone, it was impossible to conclude that Damian had attempted the assassination.

It was clear that Damian was an impulsive and dangerous person, with the power to turn half of the Empire into a sea of fire on his own. But he wasn’t sociopathic enough to blow up his own sibling, who was two years younger than him, with a bomb truck.

‘Then…’

Who was behind the assassination that Michael Rose couldn’t figure it out until the end?

The man, or organization, must have been the cause of the fall of the Empire. The destruction that Michael had to go through.

“…”

After turning on the faucet, Ashmia exhaled lightly and splashed cold water over her face.

If this is another chance, I will survive at all costs.

Until the end.

“This time…”

I will stop the fall of the Empire!

Determined, Ashmia looked at the girl, or herself, in the mirror.

***

When she walked out the bathroom after wiping her face with a towel, her thoughts and mind were clear enough to feel hungry.

It was good that she was hungry. It was a physical reflection of her will to live.

Ashmia was about to give up because it was close to midnight. Then, suddenly, she remembered that she was the youngest daughter of Don Kalanishiel.

‘If I don’t take advantage of it now, then when will I?’

When Vanessa left just a moment ago, Ashmia saw armed mafia members in the hallway, so she approached the hospital door and gripped the handle.

‘Yes, let’s ask the kids out there.’

Then…

Bump—

The door opened suddenly without a knock.

Elois said he understood and then left. He seemed hurt, but Kalmia didn’t know what else to say. She just wished she hadn’t known how Elois was going to die. At least it would’ve been bearable if she returned to the past after Elois’ death. If someone sent her there, they must’ve had terrible taste.

Kalmia, who had been fiddling with the embroidery frame, eventually left the room because she couldn’t stand the stiffness.

Originally, Kalmia and Elois would go horseback riding together, but Kalmia didn’t want to see Elois die. If that kid’s destiny was to die, he would die today, regardless of what Kalmia was doing. She just hoped it wouldn’t be as bad when they were playing. If he didn’t die… It would be just as frustrating as it would be if he did.

“Your father isn’t here today. So why are you here, Storoni?”

Kalmia, who was walking casually down the hall of the mansion, suddenly raised her head. Before she knew it, she had walked out into the lobby.

Elois was standing at the front door with an irritated look on his face. In front of Elois stood a man named ‘Storoni’.

He looked a little young to be called a man, with platinum blonde hair and golden eyes. Perhaps the word ‘boy’ would suit him more. Storoni shook his head in embarrassment, but once he noticed Kalmia, he stopped. He looked at her with his eyes wide open and called her name with a bright smile.

“Kalmia.”

Kalmia stared at him with a strangely rigid expression on her face.

The boy walked past Elois and approached her, but stopped in his tracks when Elois grumbled and blocked his path.

“I asked, why are you here?”

“Master entrusted you two to me.”

Seeing Storoni answer with a smile, Elois scoffed and continued to question him.

“F-Father left us in your care?”

“Yes, Elois. While Master is away, he asked me to check if there was another fire in the barn.”

“That! That must be a mistake! Who said we wanted to set it on fire?”

“I know. Mistakes always happen in unexpected situations. This is why Master sent me here, isn’t it?”

Storoni, who skillfully responded to Elois’ sharp words, looked back at Kalmia. His soft, golden eyes remained the same. Kalmia remembered that Storoni was her father’s pupil, who had been learning from him since childhood. Storoni was a man who watched and soothed her for a long time.

Count Phlox, unable to endure Elois’ death, kept his distance from Kalmia for a very long time. Maybe he resented her. Kalmia, who had just lost her twin brother and was neglected by her father, found Storoni’s touch so warm that she couldn’t refuse it.

He made the most significant contribution to Kalmia’s establishment as Count Phlox. A man who was willing to betray his teacher for Kalmia’s sake. A man who did not waver even when the rumours spread that Elois’ death was Kalmia’s fault. He didn’t hesitate to sink in the mud with her. He was her lover.

“Kalmia. You look pale today, does it hurt anywhere?”

Storoni passed Elois and strode towards Kalmia. He bent down slightly and anxiously checked her complexion, caressing her forehead and cheeks gently. Then, he frowned.

“You have a slight fever.”

Kalmia’s relationship with Storoni was not pure. It was a kind of swampy relationship that dragged both of them down. Kalmia thought that only Storoni, who saw her at her worst, would be able to stay by her side and Storoni seemed to think so as well.

The relationship between the two was more of a sticky obsession than sweet romance. Thanks to that, Kalmia, who was standing in front of Storoni, felt hotter than excited. It was a heat imprinted on her soul.

“Why don’t you take a break in your room?”

“Get away from Kalmia!”

Elois rushed towards the two and grabbed Kalmia’s hand, pulling her away from Storoni. Come to think of it, it seemed that Elois had hated Storoni for quite a long time. Kalmia couldn’t understand why, though.

“Elois, Kalmia is sick now. She needs to rest.”

“You’re only fourteen, and you’re already showing off!”

“I’ve lived four years longer than you. Elois, I will take Kalmia to her room now.”

Storoni removed Elois’ hand skillfully. Elois had an angry expression on his face, but when he looked at Kalmia he couldn’t say anything.

Kalmia had a flushed face over her pale complexion. She looked like she was feverish. Kalmia expressed her disapproval out of embarrassment, but Storoni held her hand firmly instead.

“I-I’m fine.”

“What? Why are you stuttering all of a sudden?”

‘B-Because we used to have a relationship.’

She rolled her eyes awkwardly. It felt hot where his hand touched her skin.

Storoni was her lover, but her lover was an adult over thirty, not a fourteen-year-old child. It felt absurd to replace her lover with a boy.

“I don’t know if it’s because you’re sick, but you’ve become very calm.”

Above her head, Storoni’s smirking voice could be heard.

Kalmia bowed her head and Storoni burst out into a delightful laughter.