Leon remained motionless for a few seconds. The gestures were far too simple to mean anything else. She had pointed at herself and then traced a circle with her finger, as though time had completed a full cycle. The answer came naturally to his mind.
'...She went back in time.'
[Just as you suspected, and so did I... she really made a contract with Magnus.]
"Elara, you..."
The moment those words left his lips, Elara's smile froze. Her entire body trembled, as though something invisible had pierced her soul. A searing pain overtook her head, forcing her to bring a hand to her face by reflex. At the same instant, a thin stream of blood began running from her nose, slowly dripping onto her white dress. The first drop was followed by another, then another, until the blood began flowing continuously, staining her fingers as her breathing grew heavier and heavier.
"Hn..."
The blood began pouring even more heavily from both nostrils at the same time, while her breathing became irregular. Elara instinctively brought a hand to her face, but before she could even wipe away the blood, an even more violent stab of pain shot through her head. She staggered forward.
"Hnn..."
"Elara!"
Leon caught her before she fell from the bench. Her eyes were completely unfocused, as though she were struggling to remain conscious. The blood continued flowing without stopping, staining her fingers and splattering onto Leon's sleeve.
"Damn... I should've kept quiet. Please, breathe slowly."
Elara tried to respond, but the instant she opened her mouth, an even greater pain spread throughout her body. She immediately clenched her teeth, holding back a groan as tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
[I think I understand what happened. Don't let her do anything else.]
The System's voice became surprisingly serious. Leon immediately placed his hand gently over Elara's lips, preventing her from trying to speak again.
[She found a loophole in the contract. She didn't tell you the truth directly. She only showed you something that allowed you to reach the conclusion on your own. The contract accepted that... but not without punishing her.]
Leon looked once more at the blood that wouldn't stop flowing. Seeing her face twisted in pain, despite her being someone who had displayed such overwhelming power, made him bite his lip slightly.
'Is this only because I figured it out?'
[Yes... and no. The contract understands that she didn't directly reveal the truth, so the punishment was reduced. But most likely, if she had spoken those words... written them in a letter... used magic to convey that information... or any other direct method...]
Before the System could even finish speaking, Elara, still supported in Leon's arms, gathered enough strength to shake her head.
Trembling, she raised one finger and mimicked someone writing in the air.
With the little strength she had left, she made the motion of someone writing on an invisible sheet of paper, but soon shook her head again. Then she raised her hand before her eyes as though reading a letter, repeating the negative gesture immediately afterward. Without saying a single word, she pointed to her own throat and shook her head once more. Finally, she made a thin thread of mana appear at the tip of her finger for only an instant before immediately dispersing it.
"Aaahh..."
The moment she completed the sequence of gestures, her entire body trembled once again. A far more intense pain shot through her head, and a fresh surge of blood escaped from her nose, flowing in a much greater amount than before and completely staining her hand.
[...She would die.]
The garden fell into complete silence. It made perfect sense. Once a contract with Magnus was signed, both parties were forced to strictly fulfill their part of the agreement. Unfortunately, Elara had found a loophole to circumvent it, and Magnus had most likely noticed. That also meant he could break an equivalent part of the agreement. Since her revelation hadn't been direct, the part broken by Magnus also had to be proportional, because the contract existed precisely to keep both parties under equal conditions.
"Leon..."
"Don't worry, Elara. Just rest. I'll take care of you."
Elara took several deep breaths until the bleeding slowly began to lessen. Still pale, she gave Leon a weary smile as he gently wiped the blood from her face with his fingers. With his sleeve already completely stained red, she also helped wipe the remaining blood from her own face. Even while suffering that punishment, her eyes conveyed only a single message.
'I don't regret it.'
Because, after such a long time, she was finally seeing that face filled with genuine concern once again... without completely breaking the contract that bound her. If she had tried to reveal the truth in any other way, she would have died and gone back in time once more. But she couldn't go back because this had to be the correct route.
'It was my promise... Mom, Dad... forgive me.'
She slowly closed her eyes to sleep, enjoying the embrace of the man she loved while he took care of her.
That situation reminded her of the time when she had still been weak, but at the same time, protected by the Leon she loved... and not by the Leon she hated. She still remembered the words she had spoken when she went back in time for the first time, while preparing to do something terrible.
'I'll kill Leon first... He likes me, so I just have to use those feelings to my advantage, and I'll be able to kill him... I'll finally get my revenge.'
That night, Elara quietly entered the Solfyr family's mansion. The main reason she had gone back in time was to prevent that world from being destroyed. Back then, she hated that man with all her heart. Holding a sword of light that emitted no glow, she entered his room. If he woke up, she would seduce him and kill him quickly before he could touch her again.
'Today I...'
Raising the sword above her head, she aimed the blade directly at Leon's chest. The instant she brought it down to strike him, her eyes widened. Her throat had been seized with such force that her entire body was lifted into the air.
"Elara? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home, living a peaceful life?"
Leon gripped the sword of light with his free hand, shattering it into countless fragments. Without hesitating, Elara tried to put her plan into action by lightly touching his shoulder to seduce him, but her wrist was caught before she could even succeed. When she looked into those eyes, she realized something was different. The obsession he had once displayed had completely disappeared. In its place, there was only indifference... and a cold gaze.
"Trying to kill me? That's strange... Are you really Elara?"