Epilogue: The Villainess Rises up Against the Saint’s Time Loops with Strawberries!
THE blinding white light, which closed eyelids didn’t offer any protection against, gradually lost its brilliance. As Amelia finally regained her blurry field of vision, the first thing that jumped into her eyes was Prisca and the fourth consort standing in front of her.
She’d witnessed the scene many times—just like she’d suspected, Prisca had reset the timeline for the fifth time.
“—You aren’t worthy of this!”
With those words, the raven-haired girl reached out for Amelia’s neck. Just like the previous time loops, she was going to snatch away Amelia’s keepsake.
Amelia wanted to stop her. But as she’d expected, her body refused to budge like all the previous times, and she couldn’t find her voice either.
However, this timeline was drastically different from the previous ones. Amelia knew that Luke didn’t despise her. She knew that he had affections for her.
This time, I’ll go see him right away, she swore to herself. Whether she was in the most extravagant gown or clad in a rustic dress that made her look no different from a commoner, she knew that Luke wouldn’t pay it any mind. So it’s okay. I’m okay. I’ll put my faith in Luke.
But mere moments before Prisca’s hands could reach Amelia’s neck, a hand extended out from Amelia’s back and slapped it away.
Startled, Amelia widened her eyes. “What…?”
All the previous timelines followed the exact same sequence: Prisca would successfully snatch away Amelia’s necklace without exception. She was blindsided by this turn of events. Her brain couldn’t process what had just happened. Even her astonishment, which had brought on a confused murmur, slipped from her mind, and she froze.
A strikingly familiar voice rang out. “I’m afraid this belongs to Princess Amelia.” Arms stretched out from behind Amelia and wrapped around her frame before giving her a firm, reassuring squeeze.
Nervously, Amelia turned her head in tiny increments until she finally saw an enchanting boy with golden eyes and a radiant smile.
Why is Luke here? That was the first thought that sprang into her mind. Today should be the day Amelia turned sixteen and was scheduled to attend a ball to make her debut in high society. At this point, Luke and Amelia hadn’t successfully exchanged even a single letter—there had been thorough radio silence between the pair for the entire four years after their first encounter. In other words, it made absolutely no sense for Luke to be in the Fifth Palace.
Struck speechless with bewilderment, Amelia remained silent. Luke’s hand unfastened the necklace at the nape of her neck. She could only stare wide-eyed at him, still unable to move—the mind-boggling chain of events wasn’t helping.
“Sorry…” Luke whispered.
Why is he apologizing? Just as that thought crossed her mind, Luke hurled the necklace onto the cobblestone paving beneath his feet. The light-green stone smashed into tiny fragments.
Amelia was stunned. Meanwhile, a horrified shriek tore out from Prisca’s throat.
The younger girl sounded so devastated that the fourth consort lost her composure. “Is something the matter, Prisca?!”
There was no response. All color had drained from Prisca’s face, and she couldn’t find her voice either.
Looking remorseful, Luke leaned forward and peered into Amelia’s face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Your Highness, my hand slipped. Will you forgive me?”
Overwhelmed by his vigor, Amelia nodded reflexively. For a split second, she suspected he might be the Luke she’d grown to know in the previous timeline. Alas, until now, there hadn’t been any signs of anyone other than herself and Prisca carrying memories over to the next time loops. Furthermore, his polite demeanor toward Amelia reinforced that conclusion.
Even so, she couldn’t make heads or tails of why in the world he was present at this scene.
Amelia swallowed nervously. “I-It’s all right, my lord.”
“Do you even know what you have done?!” Prisca screamed, looking like the definition of wrath itself.
Luke tilted his head quizzically. “I’m afraid you will have to enlighten me about the reason for your indignation, Fifth Princess. I believe that necklace was a memento of the fifth consort, Princess Amelia’s mother, was it not?” He paused. “More importantly, Fourth Consort. Princess Amelia and I must get ready for the ball tonight, so I’m afraid we will have to take our leave here.”
With that statement—an announcement that left no room for objections—Luke led Amelia by the hand and strutted away.
Helt was stationed at the Fifth Palace’s gates, and when he caught sight of Amelia, his expression turned perplexed. “My princess, may I ask what is going on here?”
“I have simply come here to fetch my fiancée for her ball preparations,” Luke said. “There’s no need to fret.”
“Fian—” Helt broke off there. Cautiously, he asked, “Are you perhaps the young lord of House Klein?”
Luke nodded. Though Helt looked thrown off, he bowed with respect.
The future duke marched right out of the Fifth Palace with Amelia in tow. As she left, she hurriedly said to Helt, “I-It’s okay, I’m fine. I’ll be off then.” Though she was the one reassuring him, she honestly didn’t know what was okay about all this.
She peered at Luke. “U-Um, Lu— Lord Luke…?” She couldn’t exactly forgo the formalities before they’d even gotten to know each other in this timeline, so she corrected herself.
Golden eyes glanced fleetingly in her direction. “Just Luke is fine. There are many prying eyes here. Let us talk after we finish getting ready.”
He led the bewildered Amelia into a room inside another building. Awaiting her were a great number of women who appeared to be servants. The moment they caught sight of her, they cheered with joy.
They began talking all at once.
“Thank goodness, you were able to see her!”
“Please leave the rest in our hands.”
“Now, Young Master, you must prepare as well.”
Before she knew it, Amelia was separated from Luke. She was guided into the baths, and the servants polished every inch of her to the extreme.
When they were done, she changed into a pure white dress. Even her gloves and hair ornaments were white, a color meant for debutantes.
She’d never worn this color even once on this specific day throughout all the time loops she’d experienced. Am I possibly…dreaming? she wondered.
An attendant sighed with admiration. “Goodness, no words can describe how beautiful you are. Your silver strands look magnificent against the snow-white dress, as if someone spun them from moonlight. I almost thought you were a fairy that can only exist in stories.”
Another servant nodded. “Your features are lovely as well, not to mention your mesmerizing eyes that shine like rubies.”
One after another, they showered Amelia with praise, and she was unsure how to respond. The best she could do was plaster a polite smile on her face.
This continued until a young man’s voice rang out. “To think that all of you had the chance to praise her before your lord and received her smile as a reward… I must admit that I’m jealous.”
Hearing Luke’s statement, the servants stepped back and bowed.
“With all due respect, Young Master,” one servant began, “demanding us to refrain from waxing poetic about her beauty is a rather tall order in the presence of such an adorable princess.”
Luke shrugged. “I suppose I have to agree with that. I want to have a short conversation with my fiancée, so give us some privacy for a while.”
After the servants vacated the room, Luke and Amelia had each other all to themselves. The princess looked over her fiancé, dressed in his formal attire. Golden embroidery created a stunning contrast against the black of his jacket, giving him a dignified and mature look. It was as if he were a stranger, and Amelia’s heart thumped nervously.
“You’re truly adorable. This gown matches you wonderfully, Amelia,” he whispered before reaching out. “Here, follow me.”
Guiding her by the hand, he made his way outside into the courtyard. The sun had begun to set before she knew it, and the scarlet hues of the evening glow had painted over the entire canvas of the sky. The flowers dyed crimson by the sunset were also breathtaking, and the playful wind carried a sweet floral scent to her nose.
At the Fifth Palace, Amelia had her hands full simply maintaining the fields. She wasn’t accustomed to gardens meant for admiring. Still, anyone would feel happy at the sight of lovely flowers—she was smiling before she realized. “It’s so pretty.”
“You’re prettier, Amelia.”
Receiving the most outlandish response to her self-muttering, a silly noise tore out of her throat. “Hweh?!”
As he watched the flustered Amelia, Luke smiled before schooling his expression into a serious one and bowing. “Please let me apologize before anything else. I’m so sorry I wrecked your precious memento, Amelia.”
“Huh? Oh, right, you did…” Frankly, she’d been so overwhelmed by everything else that it had slipped her mind. “It’s strange, though. That necklace was supposed to have been a jewel. Why did it smash into pieces like glass?”
Gems could be softer or harder than each other; that much was true. Still, could jewels truly smash spectacularly and effortlessly like that?
Luke inclined his head. “Either it already had cracks before the timeline reset, or it was no longer a jewel because it exhausted all its powers. As long as that necklace exists, the fifth princess will come after you to turn back time. That’s why I wanted to destroy it right before her eyes.”
“I see…” As his words sank in, she did a double-take at him. “Wait… ‘Timeline reset’?”