Weaver Castle was located halfway up a mountain. Behind it stood Laratshua, the highest peak in the continent, overlooking the lands below like a king wearing a crown of ice. The castle was surrounded by gusts of wind sliding down the slopes, which in winter brought flurries of snowflakes that decorated the castle’s walls in frost and concealed it in curtains of snow.

For this reason, the castle had been nicknamed Castle Blizzard. In fact, it was better known by this name than by its official name, Weaver Castle.

As if to honor its nickname, Castle Blizzard was wearing a cape of rough snow that day as usual. I guess we won’t be having any guests today, either, the butler thought as he looked out the window at the snow-covered world.

“Bring me last year’s budget,” Margrave Weaver ordered, skimming through a set of documents.

“Yes, sir, right—” The butler froze mid-bow when he saw a familiar, black carriage cutting through the blizzard. The guards hurriedly opened the gates as soon as they recognized it, and the carriage sped through, into the safety of the castle grounds. Before it had even come to a complete stop, its door flew open and an old man in a dark-blue robe hopped out. Upon seeing the old man, the butler immediately reported, “Master, the archmage has returned.”

“I see he’s returned earlier than scheduled. Strange, since he left doubting me even though I told him I conducted a full investigation,” Margrave Weaver remarked without so much as looking up, his emerald eyes fixed on the documents before him.

The butler looked out the window once again. The archmage reached inside the carriage and lifted a small mass, wrapped tightly in a blanket, into his arms. “It seems the archmage has brought along a guest.”

“A guest? What guest?” the margrave asked and finally looked up from the documents. He followed the butler’s gaze, which led him to the large window behind him. He could see the archmage running into the castle, holding a bundle. “That small thing is the guest? It’s probably new ingredients for his research or something.”

Before the butler could respond to the margrave’s comment, a voice shouted from the lobby, “Son, get down here right now! Your niece is going to die!”

“My niece?” Margrave Weaver asked, dumbfounded. I have a niece? Rebecca doesn’t have any kids, and Gloria… The margrave’s youngest sister had had a young daughter, whom he had thought of only as the only child of Duke Eldier, not as his niece.

“He... He couldn’t have brought Lady Eldier with him, right? The only heiress to the duchy, the one the duke won’t even let out of the castle because he’s so overprotective of her?” the margrave asked in alarm as he shot up from his desk, scattering the documents everywhere. “He couldn’t have, right? I have another niece, right? Please say I do, butler,” he pleaded.

“As far as I am aware, Duke Eldier’s daughter is your only niece, sir,” the butler replied.

“Good heavens... Father, have you finally gone senile!?” the margrave shouted as he ran down to the lobby.

* * *

It felt like she was floating on a cloud. Ariadne couldn’t keep herself from snuggling closer into the arms holding her. They smelled like a warm, sunny breeze.

“Oh, how sweet.” There was a small laugh, and Ariadne felt a kind hand brush her hair away from her forehead.

“Look at all that sweat. She’s running a high fever.”

“Is the bath ready?”

“It’s ready. Bring Lady Eldier.”

“My lady, I’ll help you with your bath.”

With that gentle whisper, the sweat-soaked clothes that clung to her were removed. She didn’t feel cold. Something warm and comfortable surrounded her body. This feels nice, Ariadne thought as she fell into a deeper sleep.

“Heavens...”

“What...?”

The maids whispered in shock when they undressed the sleeping child. Seeing bloodstained bandages wrapped around her right arm, they’d removed them, only to reveal countless wounds that had been reopened and torn into repeatedly.

“These aren’t just from getting hurt, are they? They look as if someone cut her.”

“Someone cut into a child’s arm this many times? For what possible purpose?”

They then looked at one another and swallowed with difficulty. This was no small matter.

Tears welled up in a particularly tenderhearted maid’s eyes. “It must hurt so much... Oh no... This is horrible.”

“Do you think the margrave knows about this?”

“If he had, he would’ve warned us. We almost dipped her wounds into soap water.”

“I don’t think the archmage knows, either.”

“That won’t do. I’ll go report it right now.”

One of the maids stood up and left the bathroom as the rest began to bathe the child more gingerly than before.

* * *

Ariadne opened her eyes. The ceiling was unfamiliar. She wasn’t in her bedroom or that hellish study room. Where am I? She racked her foggy brain for the answer. The last thing I remember… She recalled being led by the archmage into the carriage, then bursting into tears. The rest was a blur. Did I fall asleep crying after that?

She tried to get up but fell right back down. Her body seemed to have no energy left, as if she hadn’t used it for a long time. Just how long was I asleep? Ariadne’s heart sank. She’d wasted time sleeping when she should’ve been using it to convince the archmage to let her stay. How could I have slept this opportunity away? What if they send me back…?

Ariadne went pale and struggled to get up. She used her trembling arms to lift her body into a sitting position and swing her legs off the edge of the bed. She must’ve been asleep for a long time if just this was enough to exhaust her. From the edge of the bed, she looked out the giant window in front of her. Everything’s so white.

Due to the blizzard, nothing could be seen outside, as if someone had stuck paper to the window. But despite the weather, the bedroom felt warm, even a bit hot. Surveying her surroundings, Ariadne spotted the fireplace burning brightly against one wall. The room was luxurious, with beautiful decorations everywhere. This is too fancy to be an inn we stopped at along the way.

Although her room at Eldier Castle was fancier than the single room she’d occupied in her past life, it couldn’t be compared to the one she was in now. That couldn’t possibly be real gold, could it? Ariadne was marveling at the fire screen shining with golden light when the door opened.

“Oh! My lady!” the maid exclaimed excitedly and almost spilled water from the washbasin she was carrying. “The lady, the young lady is awake!” she shouted into the corridor.

Ariadne tried to get up and walk, but lost her balance from the softness of the carpet under her. Before she fell, the maid rushed over and steadied her. “Oh my, are you all right? You’re not supposed to move yet!” The maid used the pillows and cushions to create a soft wall on the bed and helped Ariadne rest her back against it. “Are you cold? Should I raise the temperature? It would be terrible if you caught a cold in your current condition.”

“Excuse me,” Ariadne called, tugging at the maid’s sleeve as the latter tried to cover her with the bedsheets.

Although Ariadne’s touch was weak, the maid immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at her. “Yes, my lady, is there something you need?”

The girl was momentarily shocked and forgot what she was going to say. It had been so long since she had seen someone this welcoming. The servants at Eldier didn’t even look at Ariadne, as those who had escaped the duke’s dismissals were all people who would ignore any signs of abuse on her even if they stared them right in the face.

“Are you hungry, or perhaps thirsty? Please don’t hesitate to tell me,” the maid encouraged kindly.

Ariadne looked at her in a daze, then asked quietly, “What’s your name?”

“Pardon? Whose name?”

“Yours,” Ariadne said.

The maid’s eyes widened in shock, then relaxed as she smiled and replied, “My name is Lucy.”

“Lucy,” Ariadne repeated.

“Yes, Lady Ariadne,” Lucy answered with a bright smile. It had also been so long since someone replied with a smile when Ariadne called out to them. When she smiled in return, Lucy was touched. “I am so happy to see you smile, my lady. I’ve only seen you in pain these past three days.”

“Three days?” Ariadne asked in alarm. I’ve been asleep for three days?

She was reeling in shock when she heard urgent footsteps approaching. Soon, the door flew open again. “Is the child awake?” The first to enter was an unbelievably tall middle-aged man with silver hair. With his defined jaw, silvery beard, wide shoulders, and fur coat, he resembled polar bear standing up on its hind legs.

“Margrave, please step aside. I think she needs to see a doctor more than a margrave,” a woman said as she struggled to push the man out of the way.

“Ah yes, that’s right. Go ahead,” he said as he stepped aside to make way.

The woman rushed into the room, her bright green coat embroidered with golden twigs billowing behind her. When Ariadne saw the coat, she reflexively clenched her hands in the blanket and went rigid. That’s just the official uniform for doctors. You know this, she told herself. Her mind understood, but her body wouldn’t oblige, and her fingers went numb with anxiety.

The twenty-eight years’ worth of memories from her previous life was no more than the past. Recalling her past life was like flipping through an old album and reminiscing about old times.

But her memories of her current life was a reality engraved into her body, and in that reality, Ariadne Eldier only ever saw a doctor for one reason.