Navia woke up from death as if she had been reborn.
"I have to live from eight years old again."
How long can she survive this time? After dying at 20 from a carriage accident in her first life, the sudden regressions always brought her back to the first year she entered Agnes.
The reason was unknown.
In fact, the concept of 'regression magic' didn't even exist in this world.
Navia raised her arm to check her right wrist.
"The number is gone."
Was it because all the regressions had ended? The number of remaining regressions that should be on her inner wrist was nowhere to be seen.
It was the last time.
Yes, she had finally reached the real end, embracing her eight failures.
Thud.
Navia dropped her arm weakly, staring blankly at the ceiling with empty eyes.
"Where did it all go wrong?"
Was it her foolish persistence in this place up to the 8th regression, trying to be loved? To be acknowledged? To have a family?
Or was it simply because she was born?
She just wanted to be loved like everyone else.
To blow out the candles on a birthday cake and hear congratulations. To cuddle with a teddy bear given by her parents on thunderous nights. To whine about studies, ask for her favorite food, and get scolded for getting cavities from snacks.
Just like Wood. Like Vivian.
"It was greed."
Yes, now she could admit it.
The desperate truth that she couldn't be loved.
Navia slowly clenched the sheets. Her eyes grew hot, and her vision blurred.
She bit her lips hard to keep them closed, lest a scream or a sob like a wail spill out.
"Huh..."
But cruelly, tears streamed down endlessly, and an uncontrollable sob broke free.
She wanted to pretend everything was okay, but inside she was rotting away.
Old wounds, festering and festering, seemed to burst open all at once, squeezing her heart so tight she couldn't breathe.
Navia clutched at her chest in agony.
She had wasted no less than eight lives.
Navia had been revered as a potential empress and was the most beautiful flower in social circles.
With the knowledge gained from regressions, she removed obstacles in Agnes, strengthening her family's power.
"Do you think you can really become Agnes by doing that?"
Despite dedicating all her life and sincerity for her family, all she ever got in return was scorn.
"Huh... Huh..."
Navia covered her face with both arms and wept bitterly.
"It's not sad, it'll be okay, just a little more, if I do better..."
She endured with those foolish thoughts.
No, she was 'brainwashed' to think so.
Navia could no longer think that way.
It wasn't okay at all.
It hurt.
It was sad.
Desperate and painful.
She wished it all was just a dream.
"I want to die."
Is there any meaning to continue living like this?
She had lived too much and was terribly tired. She was sick of the repeating life and the torturous hope.
"Should I just die?"
Then everything would truly end.
"Huueong-."
Actually, she wished someone would stop her.
Someone to save her.
She wouldn't resent them, even if they suddenly appeared claiming to be her real parents and took her away from here.
Please.
Please...
But such a thing had never happened so far.
"Hic."
How long had she been crying?
Her sobs had gradually subsided.
Her eyes stung as if already swollen from tears.
It was when Navia lay powerless, her energy completely drained.
Thunk!
A strange noise came from outside the door.
The sound of rattling, followed by mocking laughter, continued.
Her dry gaze, emptied of the accumulated emotions, turned towards the door.
She knew exactly who was behind these pranks, having been subjected to them so often.
'Wood.'
Even on days other than this, Wood frequently locked Navia in her room.
"Brother, please open the door! If I'm late again, I'll have to starve for three days. Please……!"
"Only three days? I thought you'd starve for a week if you were late again! Ah, this is annoying."
Navia often had to starve for more than three days a week due to Wood.
Drinking water to stave off hunger had become routine for her.
She might even die like this.
Feeling the crisis, Navia would sometimes wait outside her room until her dedicated maid arrived, trying not to be late for her lessons.
Then she would be punished for behaving in a manner unbecoming of a noble.
'So the next time, I went out onto the balcony.'
To get down from the first floor, she had torn all her blankets to make a rope, tied it around the balcony pillar, and climbed over the railing.
It was a dangerous act.
The bedding she used wasn't made of sturdy fabric, so the cloth tore under her weight, and she fell to her death - that was the fourth time.
Ah, there were times she miraculously survived even after falling.
"Pfft! You really are a fool."
Wood pointed and laughed at Navia, who was rolling on the ground with her clothes torn and bleeding.
Unable to bear it any longer, Navia asked.
"Why do you hate me?"
"Because you're low-class and you've brought shame to our family! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been embarrassed in front of Sara......!"
Wood had been infatuated with Lady Sara Lucia since childhood.
Wood's friends humiliated him in front of Lady Sara, using Navia's lowly origin as the reason.
Already prone to bullying Navia for being below his standards, Wood became even more unbearable after that day.
Navia got up with a cold expression.
Wood seemed to have finished his mischief, as there was no longer any sign of him.
"He's quite diligent."
She found it laughable to think that Wood, who loved to keep sleeping, had come down from the third floor to the second floor at dawn to lock the door with a chain and a padlock.
Including Nikan, his children used the third floor.
Navia should have been using the third floor too, as she was officially registered with the head of the family, but she stayed in a guest room on the second floor, from the first time to now.
Still, it was her precious sanctuary.
They said you're family if you live under the same roof.
She consoled herself with that thought.
Navia laughed.
"Ha ha!"
A hunting dog that could be discarded anytime when no longer needed, a convenient and useful tool, yet she yearned for family.
Navia approached the door and tried the doorknob.
Thunk!
As usual, the door was locked.
Navia reached out and touched the door.
The rough, neglected texture of the wood was distinctly felt.
Why did she obsess over such a family?
It was meaningless.
The one who could protect herself wasn't some savior who would suddenly appear one day.
It was herself.
So.
"If you mess with me, you should rightfully pay the price."
Isn't that right, Wood?
