Chapter 14: Change

“I wonder… what is it really?”

Did I truly die?

I have absolutely no sense of having done so.

The me in that dream seemed to have lived a very unhappy life.

But I cannot say for certain whether that was truly me.

Now that I am awake, it still feels like nothing more than a dream.

Not something entirely unrelated to me, but…

I cannot truly feel it as reality.

Even so, I accepted it strongly as a warning.

There is no doubt that leaving the house was the right choice.

If I truly returned through time…

Then there are things that suddenly make sense.

Namely, how I acted up until now.

There is no way I possess such brilliant deductive skills that I could foresee a “fake baroness” appearing in the territory.

And yet, I managed to prevent all of it.

That is because I had experienced it before.

Yes, that explanation fits perfectly.

It makes sense to me.

It is far more convincing than suddenly claiming my reasoning ability skyrocketed overnight.

The same goes for everything else.

Judging that there was no point in talking with my former husband and his mistress.

Thoroughly planning how to escape and hide.

Managing to protect the servants and the people’s livelihoods for two full years.

Even remaining calm when reports arrived from the battlefield.

Normally, I should have been overwhelmed by grief, confusion, and despair.

Cornered by malice.

If not…

“—What can a wife who is suddenly served divorce papers even do?”

I would have been struggling just to survive.

And the church I sought refuge in might have been the worst possible choice.

Perhaps it, too, was under the influence of ‘someone.’

“Haa…”

“Ellen? Are you alright?”

“Angela… sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, I was already awake. You were having a nightmare.”

Angela is a fellow sister.

And my roommate.

As sisters working under the church’s protection, we do not have private rooms, but instead share rooms with two or more people.

“I had a bit of an unpleasant dream.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“…No, I’m fine.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. You seem like the type who overdoes it.”

“That’s not—”

“It is. Just the other day—”

It is trivial conversation.

But there is no malice here.

Consideration, kindness, trust.

Warmth between people.

The same things I built with the servants and the people.

…Yes.

The world, and even the church.

Not everyone is awful.

Realizing that made me feel lighter.

Now then.

What should I do from here?

Life at the church suits me surprisingly well.

Living here is not a burden.

And I discovered I have talent for healing magic.

If I am to use that talent, the church is the obvious place.

If that prophetic dream was not prophecy, but memories from before a return…

Then it would be difficult to foresee any further future and elegantly avoid destruction.

What I can do is imagine.

First, the future of the Carlson Barony.

In the dream, their territory management was failing, which was why they searched for me.

They likely intended to use me for labor.

In reality, I prepared letters of introduction for the servants so they would not suffer even if unfairly dismissed.

Just as I protected the food stores, I took measures to prevent real harm to the people.

So unless something extreme happens, they should not fall into immediate ruin.

But the friction between the servants and my former husband may have worsened.

I made it clear that his actions were nothing more than infidelity.

And I chose to prioritize the servants over him.

“…Sooner or later.”

My former husband will likely fail.

I do not wish for that.

He is no longer related to me, so he can live however he likes.

The problem is if, when the house begins to collapse, he has the audacity to try to make his divorced wife clean up the mess.

In the dream, they had that kind of incomprehensible mindset.

If reality mirrors that…

Is the church I am in now safe?

Having them show up after I let my guard down would be frightening in its own way.

I have taken measures to make my whereabouts difficult to trace.

I even had my family make it appear as though I stayed with them for a while.

Not only that, but they helped fabricate the appearance that I regularly came and went, exchanging letters.

…My brother and his wife unexpectedly enjoyed that sort of thing and agreed immediately.

Anyone searching for me would be flooded with false information and assume I was being sheltered by my family.

Of course, I am not actually there, so I made sure to tell them to prioritize their own safety.

“…Yes. I think it would be difficult to track me from the house.”

It is just an amateur plan.

A professional tracker might still find me.

But nearly half a year has already passed since I left that house.

Comparing this to what I saw in the dream…

Rather than acting rashly, it is probably best to remain quietly here as ‘Ellen,’ gather information without arousing suspicion, and understand the situation.

“I’ll stay hidden for a while longer.”

Is that really fine for my life?

That thought does cross my mind.

But living as a sister is not unpleasant.

Using my healing magic to help people makes my days fulfilling.

…The marriage was a failure.

But aside from that, it’s passable.

Yes.

Well, I am a divorced woman, after all.

I will find a fulfilling life on my own.

That is what I was thinking.

But then, a turning point arrived.

I was summoned by the priest of the church where I was staying.

When I entered his room, there was a guest inside.

“Ellen, I have a proposal for you.”

“Yes, Father.”

I was invited to sit, and I took a seat.

The guest was a man, who politely bowed when our eyes met.

Short silver hair and blue eyes.

A sharp, dignified-looking man.

Not to the point of being breathtaking, but he was certainly well-featured.

At the very least, I found him quite likable.

“This gentleman is Sir Richard Claudius. A knight. Ellen, would you be willing to go with him to a newly established church in the borderlands?”

“A church in the borderlands?”

When I hear ‘borderlands,’ I think of the place where my former husband fought for two years.

“Yes. You may have heard. Until recently, it was an area embroiled in a large-scale battle against magical beasts.”

Ah, so it is that place.

“Previously, forces dispatched from other territories supported the front lines. But with the construction of the defensive wall, there is now leeway, and those forces have withdrawn.”

“Yes.”

“…However, having no personnel left at all is also a problem. So that region is now seeking people willing to ‘relocate.’”

“Relocate…?”

In other words, they want me to move from this church to one in the borderlands.