"Clocks do not forgive lost seconds."— Old Trivian proverb.
***
Lady Seraphina stood perfectly still before the tall antique mirror, her fingertips brushing the carved edges of the wooden frame. Her reflection looked unfamiliar — not because of her appearance, but because of the fire in her eyes.
Gone was the docile noble girl. What stared back was someone calculating.
She had spent the last two weeks learning the rhythm of Everfell Estate — the layout, the maids' patterns, even the way the wind curled through its old stone corridors. The south hallway had a strange draft, and the east garden was always left unattended after noon.
Useless details to some. Tools to her.
"You asked for me, my lady?" came a voice from behind.
Seraphina turned slowly. Elise, her lady-in-waiting, stood in the doorway, holding a small wooden box. The Clockmaker's crest was etched into its lid — a design Seraphina hadn't seen since her saintess days.
"Leave it on the table," she said, voice steady.
As Elise obeyed and exited, Seraphina opened the box carefully. Inside lay a silver pendant in the shape of a clock — identical to the one she had secretly worn in her past life, gifted by a mysterious man who never told her his name.
She picked it up. Cold. Familiar.
Tick.
She blinked. No sound. Just her imagination.
But she knew this piece.
It wasn't just a pendant. It was a key.
And it didn't belong in this timeline.
Seraphina pressed the pendant against her palm. "So… you followed me here too."
The faintest flicker of blue light shimmered across the metal before dying out. It responded. Just like before.
She took a sharp breath.
Someone else had reincarnated.
Not just her.