woke up chapter 8

“You…!” Lady Nwallin sputtered, pointing a trembling finger at Ariel. Ariel simply scoffed. Go ahead, hit me. Then she looked at Victor, who was clinging to his mother’s skirt, glaring back at her. Ariel gave him a crooked smile and pointed at her own eye. Victor, initially puzzled, watched the finger approach. As it drew closer, as if about to poke his eye out, he stumbled backward, landing on his bottom. The gesture was clear: Show your face around me again, and I’ll make kabobs out of your eyeballs.

Victor seemed to understand the message perfectly, as he started whimpering. Ariel turned and walked away, ignoring Lady Nwallin’s shouts behind her.

Leaving Almond Tree Square, Ariel entered the tree-lined avenue leading to Obern Castle. No one was around. No one to stare at her, no one to ask if she was alright. The setting sun painted the sky and the trees in hues of red. Ariel stared blankly at the sky, then squatted down. Looking down, she saw her elongated shadow. Her chaotic memories felt like that long, stretching shadow, pursuing her, threatening to consume her. She’d long overcome her childhood fear of shadows, yet here she was, afraid again. Is this regression? Ariel chuckled dryly, then buried her face in her knees.

If someone asked her how she felt, Ariel would gladly offer it as a test question: Describe how it feels to remember twenty years’ worth of embarrassing moments, especially from a time when you were desperately starved for affection.

Damn it, am I going to be kicking my blankets for the rest of my life? Remembering her past life felt like her present one had just exploded. Squeezing her eyes shut against the onslaught of memories, Ariel despaired.

***

If Ariel had to define her past life as Yumia, she would sum it up as a festival of emotional neglect and cringeworthy moments. Picking up a twig, Ariel started doodling furiously in the dirt. After sketching dozens of pushpins, she unconsciously wrote a single word: Orphan.

In dramas and novels, it might be a romanticized trope, but the reality was a cesspool. Of course, some adoptive parents were loving and kind, but Yumia’s hadn’t been among them. She had been adopted as a baby, loved like a real daughter until their biological child arrived. Then, she’d faced the threat of being sent away. They hadn’t actually abandoned her, likely due to social pressure, but Yumia often thought she would have preferred it. If they had, they wouldn’t have blamed her for her younger sister’s incurable illness.

Remembering the abuse she’d suffered, Ariel jumped to her feet, stamping her foot. “Ugh, go away, you stupid memories!” She stomped on the ground, as if crushing the memory of begging on her knees. Think of something else. Something good… Like winning that gymnastics competition? Tch, what good did that do? My adoptive parents took the prize money and beat me senseless for being a show-off. No, that’s not it!

Ariel racked her brain, then her face brightened. Despite the awfulness of her past life, there were a few good memories. She remembered reading a lot of fantasy novels with her sister when they were getting along. Hmm? Wait a minute, fantasy novels? Her eyes widened, and she slammed her fist into her palm. The fantasy novels she’d read with her sister were mostly about reincarnation, transmigration, and regression. Thinking about it that way, her current situation suddenly made sense.

‘I opened my eyes and found myself back in the past.’ This is regression!

She’d woken up to an unfamiliar ceiling, regained lost memories, and gained incredible abilities… well, not exactly. But still, it’s definitely regression! Okay, so maybe I can save Mom and Grandpa!

But at that moment, a searing pain shot through Ariel’s head. It felt like someone had used her body as a target for a gravity bomb. Or maybe like dozens of cats were clinging to her back, meowing for her to sink into the earth. What is this headache? And my body aches all over… why, all of a sudden…? She’d never had so much as a cold, but as a former herbalist, she knew this wasn’t normal. The only possible causes she could think of were her regression and remembering her past life. Is this some kind of penalty, like in a game? She tried to think further, but another wave of pain forced her to gasp.

It hurts.
Someone, please,
Help me.

Then, someone called her name. “Ariel Fay?”

Ariel’s eyes snapped open. “…Huh?” Without realizing it, she murmured, “My body… it feels lighter.” The crushing pressure that had been threatening to explode her had vanished. In fact, she felt lighter, as if she could float away. What’s going on?

Ariel turned around. Under the sunset-stained sky, she saw a head of dark hair swaying in the breeze. Eyes the color of the setting sun stared at her impassively.

Etheldred Yel Ezekiel Steffen.

Her childhood friend, who had left for the battlefield five years ago.