The moment she went back in time, Elara immediately wanted to kill Leon. She headed straight to his house, hoping to eliminate him before everything happened, but her plan failed completely. Now she had been captured, and that cold gaze made her believe she was going to be killed.
"Leon, what's going on?"
Upon hearing a voice behind Leon, Elara watched a woman sit up from beneath the sheets. When she took a closer look at her appearance, her eyes widened as she recognized Rebecca, a rival who had caused countless problems for Valeria in the future.
'Why are the two of them together? What happened? Did something change without me realizing it? But I came back in time today...'
"She's my adoptive sister, Elara."
"Your sister? Oh, that's right, it's been a long time since I last saw her. It's a pleasure to see you again, Elara. I hope everything is well at your home."
Elara knew that woman very well, but she shouldn't have been there. Looking more carefully at Rebecca lying in bed, she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes beneath the sheets. Her eyes then turned to Leon, who calmly released her hands before standing up. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of pants. Then he picked up a white shirt from beside the bed and began putting it on.
"You two..."
"We're husband and wife, Elara. Of course we'd be in the same bed. Don't you remember that we got married earlier?"
Leon's eyes were filled with suspicion, making Elara tremble slightly. Rebecca finally seemed to notice that she was covered only by the sheets and pulled them even tighter around herself, visibly embarrassed.
"Miss Elara, it's not what you're thinking... I mean, it is, but... I mean... ah..."
Leon lightly tapped Rebecca on the head while she was still hiding beneath the sheets, trying to calm her down before turning back to Elara.
"Rebecca is a little embarrassed, so it would be better if we went outside to talk."
"I'm not embarrassed."
Her voice came out muffled because she was still hiding beneath the sheets. Leon merely smiled faintly before walking toward the door, gesturing for Elara to follow him.
"I'm going to talk to Elara. If you want, you can get dressed quickly and come join the conversation... or you can wait until I come back to make you happier and..."
Leon dodged a pillow with a small smile, being interrupted before he could finish his sentence. Quickly, before another pillow could be thrown, he pulled Elara out of the room, leaving his dear Rebecca to rest.
A faint smile remained on his face because he had managed to tease his wife. That scene left Elara's mind even more confused and completely in disarray.
'Could someone else have gone back in time before me?'
Leon let go of her hand and walked toward the hall, with Elara following him while discreetly rubbing her wrist, since he had gripped her hand tightly. That cold gaze Leon had directed at her did not belong to the man who had been obsessed with her. There had to be some explanation for it.
'Maybe... he also went back in time?'
That hypothesis made sense. In the future, Leon and she had practically become mortal enemies. Even knowing that Leon loved her, Elara was certain that if he had died after her, he would also have come to hate her. If he really had gone back in time after dying, then his behavior would actually make sense. Even so, many things were still confusing. Leon had loved her so much that he wanted to keep her entirely to himself. In fact, the reason for her death had undoubtedly been his fault. The location of the city where she and the civilians were hiding had been revealed by Leon, making it easier for that woman to find them and send the creatures of Fate to attack the city. Perhaps it hadn't even been that woman who had ordered her death. Perhaps Leon himself had decided to kill her because he couldn't have her by his side. Elara didn't know exactly what had happened. The only thing she knew for certain was that Leon had known where she was hiding and had informed the woman he served of her location.
"Very well, tell me, how are our parents? They must be fine, right?"
"Uh... yes, they're fine."
Caught off guard by the interruption of her thoughts, Elara answered quickly. That morning, she had seen her parents sleeping peacefully at home, so the day they would die at Leon's hands had not yet arrived.
"That's great. And your marriage? Have you decided to accept marrying Uril?"
"Not yet..."
Caught off guard once again, Elara answered without hesitation. Ever since she had seen the suspicion in Leon's eyes, she realized she needed to answer every question immediately, without showing any sign of doubt. Since Uril had done something similar in her previous life, it never even crossed her mind that the situation could be different in this timeline.
At least, not until she felt the tip of Leon's spear touch her neck, opening a small cut from which a thin line of blood began to trickle.
"You're very innocent... Uril hasn't even gathered the courage to ask Elara to marry him yet. That boy is very indecisive."
Elara wanted to take a step back, but Leon's threatening gaze kept her frozen in place. If she moved even a single centimeter, there was a very real chance that man would kill her within seconds, especially because of the enormous difference in power between the two of them.
"Now tell me... who are you? Because I don't think you're Elara. A spy? A witch?"
Seeing the genuine confusion in Leon's eyes, Elara realized at that very moment that he had not gone back in time. That was not the gaze of someone hiding the truth, but of someone who truly had no idea who she was. If that was the case... then perhaps the one who had gone back in time was actually Rebecca.
'Wait... that's right. Doesn't she have a spell that makes other people fall in love with her?'
At that moment, everything seemed to make sense. If Rebecca had used her spell on Leon, those cold eyes and the distance he kept from Elara finally had an explanation.
'But even if this Leon doesn't love me anymore, Rebecca is still a problem.'
Her eyes became serious. Unable to think of a way to explain her situation and realizing that Leon completely distrusted her, Elara made a decision.
She drew her sword of light and tried to drive it through her own throat. However, before the blade could reach her, Leon's hand grabbed her arm and stopped the movement. Raising one eyebrow slightly, he gave her a sarcastic smile.
"Trying to kill yourself in front of me? I can't let that happen until I find out who you are."