"Sir Noah has been injured."
The words echoed inside my head.
Again.
And again.
And again.
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything else.
Not the wind.
Not the birds.
Not the servants.
Nothing.
My heart sank.
The poisoned arrow.
The scene I had desperately hoped to avoid.
The scene that should have happened.
The scene that eventually led to countless tragedies.
No.
No.
No.
I had warned him.
I had literally run across the courtyard like a crazy person.
I had grabbed his sleeve.
I had embarrassed myself in front of hundreds of people.
And what did I specifically tell him?
Don't get hit by an arrow.
Especially a poisoned one.
Yet somehow...
The universe had ignored me.
Typical.
Absolutely typical.
"...Lady Alice?"
The knight's voice finally pulled me back to reality.
I blinked.
The garden slowly returned into focus.
Ace was still sitting across from me.
The servants looked nervous.
The knight remained kneeling.
Waiting.
Everyone was looking at me.
Which was unfortunate.
Because my brain had stopped functioning.
"What happened?"
My voice came out weaker than expected.
The knight immediately lowered his head.
"Sir Noah was struck during battle."
My hands clenched.
"Where?"
"The shoulder."
I froze.
Shoulder?
Wait.
That wasn't right.
In the novel, Noah had been hit near his ribs.
Not his shoulder.
I remembered clearly.
Very clearly.
I had reread Noah's death arc three times because I hated it.
So why had the injury changed?
My thoughts stopped.
A possibility appeared.
A terrifying possibility.
Had my interference changed the story?
The knight continued speaking.
"The poison spread quickly, but the battlefield physicians managed to stabilize him."
Stabilize.
Not cure.
Stabilize.
That wasn't a good word.
Not at all.
I immediately stood.
"I'm going."
The knight blinked.
"...Where?"
"To Noah."
The servants gasped.
Ace nearly dropped his teacup.
Everyone looked horrified.
Meanwhile, I only realized what I had said after the words had already left my mouth.
Oops.
That might have been too much.
A little too much.
Maybe a lot too much.
The original Alice would never say something like that.
Never.
Not even in a million years.
The silence became painful.
Very painful.
I slowly sat down again.
"...Hypothetically."
Nobody looked convinced.
Especially Ace.
Three hours later.
The mansion was in chaos.
Not because of Noah.
Because of me.
Apparently noble ladies could not simply run toward battlefields.
Who knew?
Actually, everyone knew.
Except me.
The Marquis looked exhausted.
Again.
"Alice."
"Yes, Father?"
"No."
"...What?"
"No."
"To what?"
"Everything."
"..."
Apparently that was his final answer.
Unfortunately for him, I had inherited stubbornness from both my lives.
And unfortunately for me...
So had he.
The argument lasted nearly an hour.
At one point, even the servants started bringing snacks.
For themselves.
Not for us.
Traitors.
Every single one.
Finally, the Marquis rubbed his forehead.
"You are worried."
I froze.
Danger.
Danger.
Danger.
Because he was right.
Very right.
Too right.
The original Alice wasn't supposed to worry.
Not about Noah.
Not like this.
I quickly looked away.
"I'm merely concerned about family honor."
That sounded noble enough.
Probably.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
The Marquis stared.
Then stared longer.
Then somehow looked even more tired.
"You are a terrible liar."
I almost choked.
Excuse me?
What was that supposed to mean?
That night I couldn't sleep.
Again.
At this point, sleep and I were no longer acquaintances.
We had become strangers.
I rolled across the bed.
Then rolled again.
Then rolled back.
The maid sitting nearby sighed.
"Lady Alice."
"Hm?"
"Please stop."
"What?"
"You are making the bed dizzy."
"..."
Beds could get dizzy?
What kind of logic was that?
Unfortunately...
The next morning brought even worse news.
A carriage had arrived.
From the northern border.
Immediately, I ran downstairs.
The servants ran after me.
The butler ran after them.
The head maid ran after the butler.
At this point, the entire mansion was running.
It was surprisingly athletic.
The carriage door opened.
A physician stepped out.
My heart dropped.
Why was a physician here?
Where was Noah?
Why wasn't Noah here?
The physician bowed.
"Lady Alice."
I ignored the greeting.
"Where is Noah?"
The physician looked surprised.
Apparently nobody expected noble ladies to skip formalities.
Too bad.
I needed answers.
Immediately.
The physician coughed.
"Sir Noah insisted on traveling."
My stomach twisted.
Insisted?
That sounded dangerous.
Very dangerous.
"Why?"
The physician hesitated.
Then...
"He wished to return home."
Home.
The word hit me unexpectedly hard.
Home.
He wanted to come home.
For some reason, my chest tightened.
Meanwhile, the physician continued.
"He should arrive before sunset."
Before sunset.
Before sunset.
Before sunset.
My brain repeated those words endlessly.
The entire day felt longer than my previous life.
Every minute became an hour.
Every hour became a year.
I checked the clock.
Five minutes passed.
I checked again.
Three minutes passed.
How?
How was time moving backward?
At one point, even the servants started avoiding me.
Apparently I was stressing everyone out.
Fair.
Very fair.
By evening...
The sky turned orange.
The sun slowly descended.
The mansion became quieter.
And then...
A horn echoed from outside.
My heart stopped.
The guards opened the gates.
Servants rushed forward.
Knights gathered.
And a familiar carriage slowly entered the estate.
Everything inside me froze.
Noah.
Noah was here.
He was alive.
Actually alive.
Not dead.
Not dying.
Alive.
I nearly cried.
Which would have been embarrassing.
Especially because half the estate was watching.
The carriage stopped.
The door opened.
And for a moment...
Nobody moved.
Then...
A black boot appeared.
Followed by another.
And finally,
Noah stepped out.
My breath caught.
He looked exhausted.
Far more exhausted than during the wedding.
His face was paler.
A bandage wrapped around his shoulder beneath his uniform.
And yet,
He was still Noah.
Still standing.
Still alive.
Still here.
Relief hit me so hard it almost hurt.
Unfortunately...
That relief lasted exactly three seconds.
Because Noah looked directly at me.
And then...
He frowned.
Just slightly.
My heart immediately restarted its panic.
Wait.
Why was he frowning?
Did he notice something?
Had he figured it out?
Could people detect transmigration by eye contact?
Was that a thing?
Nobody told me that was a thing.
Noah slowly approached.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
Meanwhile my thoughts became increasingly irrational.
Stay calm.
Act normal.
Be Alice.
Not too much Alice.
Not too little Alice.
Just enough Alice.
What did Alice even do?
I didn't know anymore.
This was a disaster.
A complete disaster.
Noah finally stopped in front of me.
The entire courtyard became silent.
Servants.
Knights.
Maids.
Everyone watched.
Waiting.
Observing.
Judging.
No pressure.
None at all.
Noah stared down at me.
I stared up at him.
Neither of us spoke.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Four,
Then Noah suddenly said:
"...You look tired."
"..."
"..."
"..."
What?
Of all the things he could have said—
That?
I blinked.
Twice.
Three times.
Noah's frown deepened.
"Have you been sleeping properly?"
My brain completely stopped.
Because that wasn't suspicion.
That wasn't accusation.
That wasn't investigation.
The first thing Noah noticed after returning injured from battle...
Was that I looked tired.
And somehow...
That made my eyes sting.
Just a little.
Because even now...
Even injured.
Even exhausted.
Even after nearly dying.
This ridiculous man was still worried about someone else.
And for the first time since entering the novel...
I realized something terrifying.
Saving Noah might be much harder than I thought.
Because Noah Alden wasn't destroyed by villains.
He wasn't destroyed by enemies.
He wasn't even destroyed by fate.
He was destroyed by his own kindness.