Chapter 6 - Dead Person

Chapter 6 – Dead Person

Despite the confusion, Goyo raised her head at the sound of familiar footsteps. And her eyes widened slightly as the face of a dead man appeared before her eyes.

“You had already woken up.”

“… Father.”

“I heard you had the flu for three days. Are you feeling better?”

Goyo was familiar with this formal way of showing concern coming from him, so she didn’t feel uneasy about that. What she was shocked about was the sight of the man before her alive and talking.

The middle-aged man, who dressed in perfect order, was obviously Coloros Rubiet, Goyo’s father.

She heard that her father was dead. No, she didn’t just hear it, but she saw it herself. She saw the dead body of her father with her very own eyes.

And the reason why she was able to see his dead body at all was thanks to the ‘consideration’ the new emperor showed her as the last living flesh and blood of her father. In fact, it could be considered as a cruelty for him to make Goyo see the sight of her decapitated father with her own eyes, but what could she do? He was the emperor.

Anyway, even before that sight, all Goyo remembered of her father was her pale and wrinkled face. It was certainly not as young-looking as he looked right now.

That was not the only thing that was strange to her. The whole place in Rubiet Household, including the room that she had woken up in and the bed where she sat now, was familiar to her.

It was Goyo Rubiet’s room from before her marriage to Terio Alte. She woke up not in Goyo Alte’s room, but Goyo Rubiet’s room of her maidenhood.

The room which she used before her marriage and the room that had burned after the extermination.

Didn’t I fail in my attempt to suicide? Or did Goyo Alte really die?

And if I really died, is it possible to see a dead person and talk to him?

With a surge of unfamiliarity, she grasped the bed with her hand. The texture of the sheet was so vivid in her hand that it gave her goosebumps.

She believed that death would be the end of her life.

So, how? And why?

“Goyo?”

She had learned how to hide her emotions since she was young, therefore, it was not difficult for Goyo to hide her flustered feelings. Nevertheless, despite her training, the current situation she was in was a little too much this time. So, for a while, she was unable to conceal her feelings, and it was shown in her eyes and expression.

And perhaps because Goyo looked strange and didn’t answer his question before, the Duke of Rubiet called her name with a slight concern in his tone.

Jolted back to reality by his call, Goyo tried to look as calm as possible and raised her head.

“My throats hurt a little. Other than that, I’m fine.”

“…Okay, thank God.”

“What about Walter?”

She didn’t know if it’s because she had exerted herself, but her voice sounded very cracked and dry. Though at the very least, she could make herself be heard.

The Duke, whose expression seemed to be puzzled before, returned to his usual expressionless face.

“I know that you’re sad that he’s not here, but he’s taking a nap now. The kid is still seven years old.”

“I know. I’m just… I’m just worried that he was infected with my flu.”

“He was perfectly healthy, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“All right father…”

Goyo swallowed her saliva. In fact, she wasn’t truly curious about Walter’s safety. However, considering the strange situation she was in, she had to use him as an excuse. Thus, she used a clumsy reason about how she worried that he might have gotten a cold from her, so it would not be awkward to ask about other people’s condition.

Then, her mind turned to her. Honestly, it was the most difficult name in the world for her to utter, still… with a heart that was beating so hard, Goyo asked.

“Is Mellisa okay?”

****

Goyo felt her head was heavy and numb because of the slight fever she had. Even so, she couldn’t rest as she wanted to investigate her current situation as rationally as possible.

And she was not ready yet to meet with everyone else. So, she chose to avoid them, using her fever as an excuse while secretly digging up information from Annie and Jeffrey. Fortunately, those two were not suspicious of her in the slightest and offered information freely. Thus, she stayed cooped in her room for a long time.

Three days later, not knowing whether she was merely dreaming or was in hell, Goyo could figure out some things about this illogical situation.

The first was the date. The day of Goyo’s death was September 151, while the date now was October 144 in the calendar. So, there was around seven years difference between when she closed her eyes and reopening it.

The second was the people. All those who should have died were all alive and well. Starting with Annie, her maid, the Duke of Rubiet, Mrs. Kasel, the little lord Walter, and even Melissa.

And the third was…

“Huh.”

There was nothing more to think about. With these two alone, it has become clear that the time when Goyo opens her eyes and breathes is not the present but the past.

Goyo could not fully accept the nonsensical fact that she had returned to the past.

But if it was true that she really came back in time, then she could guess one reason why this happened to her. However, she still thought it was more plausible that she was merely dreaming that she had returned to the past. Or perhaps she was wandering through hell right at this moment. In either cases, she had something she had to do irrespective of which scenario she was in.

Goyo opened the door of the living room.

“Hello, Terio. Long time no see, huh?”

Whether it was a dream, hell, or reality, there was one thing that she had to do as Goyo Rubiet