I and the Witch of Time Who Seeks the Past

Chapter 1 — Return to the Past (4)

The car moved steadily across the snow, its old engine rumbling—a sound that felt like a hallmark of the era. Scenery slid slowly past the windows. In the back seat, the three young ladies excitedly debated magic and mysteries, while Mr. William and I sat quietly in the front, simply listening.

From time to time, I watched the snow drift past the window—each flake catching the cold wind and gliding along with it. No one could say where a single flake might land: here, or somewhere farther off.

They sometimes gathered together by chance, yet inexplicably drifted in the same direction.

Just like Lijedahl and me now.

I'm sure more will happen to us later, as old Mr. Tuer said, our fate is bound to be bumpy.

Still, I know almost nothing about Lijedahl.

The more I learn, the more questions arise.

And Lijedahl knows almost nothing about me.

So how did we end up like this? In my original timeline, the Church had started watching me closely. The only person I could rely on was her, and because of my status as the "fated one," she was bound to me.

Was all this caused by my desire to uncover the truth behind my prophetic dream?

That made sense. To solve the dream, everything—the people I’d met, the things I’d done, the course of my life—had to be connected. There had to be reasons I’d ended up here; I’d told myself that before.

Now it clicked.

Despite that, something felt odd. Lijedahl's personality seemed to be laid bare before me, yet when I tried to grasp her character more deeply, I realized I couldn't.

I didn't even know what kind of existence she truly was.

And now that we've gone back to the past—into a strange world—we must rely on each other.

But we'd only known each other for a short while. How could it be like this?

Is it because of "fate"?

"Will, what are you thinking about again?"

Lijedahl's gentle voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh—uh, nothing."

I answered awkwardly and hurriedly.

"Your expression just now was very... serious. Could it be—"

I knew what she was implying: another enemy was approaching.

Wait — how did I understand what she was thinking?

"No, no, I was just thinking!"

I said, trying to relax and feeling a little embarrassed.

"I see."

Lijedahl looked slightly worried; her irises turned a pale blue. After I explained, her eyes slowly returned to their usual black.

"Mr. Will, your expression just now was very... uh!"

Jona tried to speak, but Anna clapped a hand over her mouth.

"So dignified, yes — that's it."

Anna described it for her.

Anna forced a half-smile at me; you could read her thoughts at once.

She really wasn't suited to lying.

Ah... actually, I know — my face just naturally looks a bit fierce. They probably read me easily.

"Ahem, Anna, cut it out!"

"Don't talk too much."

"Why not? I don't think Mr. Will will be angry."

"Sigh..."

Listening to them bicker back and forth was oddly entertaining.

"Mr. Will was simply thinking seriously; nothing to worry about, ladies. You may continue your discussion about air magic — it sounds interesting."

Thank you, Mr. William, for shifting the subject.

Mr. William smiled faintly at me; I returned the smile.

The ladies resumed their conversation about magic—topics I didn't understand at all—and soon I was left out of the discussion.

Perhaps Lijedahl still cared about what I was thinking; I wasn't sure why I felt that way.

Maybe it was because I caught a glimpse of a faint, inconspicuous pale blue in her eyes when she looked at me.

Time passed slowly like that. I watched the falling snow, listened to the engine hum, and, strangely, drifted off to sleep.

...

When I woke, it was still snowing outside — but the view had changed dramatically.

The car was driving through what looked like a garden, though it was blanketed in deep snow. The flowers hadn't bloomed, but the entire garden lay beneath a sweeping, immaculate white that made the scene breathtaking.

Wait — something felt off. Where was the fence?

In the distance were several small European-style pavilions, and the road under the car was a stone path made of pebbles.

"Mr. Will, you're awake?"

"Oh, yes... how long did I sleep?"

"About two hours."

"Ah... I'm sorry."

"It's all right. Look — the ladies are still sleeping."

I glanced back. They were leaning against one another, sleeping soundly.

"They seem relaxed."

"Yes. They were chatting excitedly and kept asking me questions. To be honest, I know nothing about magic."

He smiled kindly — a gentle, grandfatherly look.

"Same here. I don't understand the magic Miss Lijedahl mentioned either."

"Really? Aren't you her assistant?"

"But I don't understand magic. I'm more of a guard than an assistant."

"Haha, same here."

The mood was pleasant; the man sounded warm and amiable.

"Oh — by the way, how did you and Miss Lijedahl come to know the young misses?"

The question caught me off guard. I thought quickly and answered:

"You know, these two young ladies came to investigate time magic, and we were the ones who used that time magic. We happened to meet them; Miss Lijedahl talked with them for a while and suggested visiting their teacher."

Mr. William looked puzzled and asked, "Why would you release time magic there? And it's said time magic has been lost — how could you use it?"

"Well, uh, first, we were doing research. It was a forest, so we stayed in a hidden spot. As for why we used time magic... I'm sorry, I can't disclose that. I'm not a mage, and the secrets of mages aren't easily revealed."

"I see..."

He seemed thoughtful, then added casually, "I asked Miss Lijedahl about this earlier, and she told me the same story you just did."

My heart jumped — he was probing us!

I'd relaxed too much in that atmosphere... and he might have been purposely confirming my story. I tensed immediately.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Mr. Will."

His chin didn't rise, his lips didn't purse, his hands didn't move — not a wrinkle in his expression changed.

It seemed he wasn't lying.

I was lucky: if our stories had differed, it would have been very difficult to recover.

I noticed calluses on his knuckles, his left foot habitually forward, right foot back — signs of practiced fighting skills, a habit baked into his posture. If we crossed him, with my fighting and marksmanship, I might escape, but Miss Lijedahl would be in danger.

I forced my expression to remain neutral.

From now on, I raised my guard toward this clever man and toward whatever happened next.

He must have noticed my increased vigilance; any trouble affecting either me or Miss Lijedahl would be hard to control.

But since he had stopped testing us, I shouldn't make any sudden moves either.

For the rest of the ride, Mr. William and I made small talk now and then.

Time passed quickly, and we soon arrived at Jona's home.

No — it was a mansion. I looked at the house; it matched the classic image of a European manor perfectly. Its grandeur, however, wasn't confined to the building itself but revealed in its garden.

Calling it a garden was an understatement — it was a sea of flora stretching beyond what I could see. From the steps in front of the manor's main door, the garden's end could not be seen. What an astonishing sight.

Winding paths marked different areas; a broad avenue ran straight to the main gate, but fog hung in the air and obscured the gate from view.

I couldn't describe the shock — if the paths had been left snow-covered, I might've thought the place was simply a snowfield dotted with a few mysterious European pavilions.

Only then did I realize why I'd felt that odd sensation: I had not expected the garden to be so vast.

I stood speechless at such lavishness.

"Ladies? Ladies?"

Mr. William called softly to the three in the back.

"Mm..."

They woke, sounding drowsy.

I watched them, especially Lijedahl, who looked as sleepy as when I had woken her earlier.

"We're here. Ladies, please get out."

"All right... Uncle William... Anna, help me..."

"Jona, pull yourself together."

Anna sounded tired but more alert than she looked.

"Will?"

Lijedahl kept watching me, eyes narrowed in sleepiness.

"All right, all right."

I opened the rear door and helped Lijedahl out.

"Wah... It's so cold out here."

"It is. The wind's biting. Lijedahl, wake up — we'll go straight inside. You still have to speak with their teacher."

"Oh..."

Lijedahl was about to move, then her gaze caught the scene before us.

"... Wow. This is spectacular — even more beautiful in the snow than the Woodland Manor."

"I agree. I love snowy scenes. Snow just has such a sense of purity."

I voiced what I'd been thinking about the effort it must have taken to create such a garden.

Then Lijedahl suddenly stopped, pulling me back to reality.

"Lijedahl? What's wrong?"

She lowered her head and stood frozen.

When I moved in front of her to see what had happened, her expression shocked me.

Why did she look so sorrowful?

There was a blue in her eyes that felt as if it could swallow me whole.

She looked at me, and a sensation like an abyss washed over me — it made my skin crawl.

"Will, sometimes you're really a lot like him..."

She whispered it almost inaudibly.

The snow pierced me like a thousand needles, and the wind cut my face like a blade.

The winter snow I saw now was not what I had seen moments before. It stared at me, staring into me like a deep, blue abyss.