“Flash.”
A lightning bolt struck. Momentarily jolted by the bright light that seeped through the window, I opened my eyes wide. What on earth was I doing? The belated realization was perplexing.
When I opened my eyes, it was, of course, Karl’s face that I saw. I pushed him away with all my strength. Still wrapped in the haze of our kiss, Karl leaned back more easily than I had expected.
“Um, excuse me…?”
With his heavy eyelids half-open, my face was reflected in his dazed eyes. Only after meeting his blurry gaze did I remember that Karl wasn’t in his right mind, and I was able to push him completely away. He weakly yielded.
I felt confused. I didn’t know how to handle this man. Could he even remember this situation? Whether he remembered it or not was a problem since I would.
“Why?”
He sighed softly and asked. It was likely a question about why I pushed him away and distanced myself. Why? Isn’t it obvious?
But it was impossible to have a rational conversation with someone drunk. I began to stand slowly, freeing myself from Karl. Yet, his gaze remained fixed on me, making it uncomfortable. Why was he staring so intently?
I awkwardly adjusted my dress, disheveled from our frantic kissing. My clothes around my neck had gotten all messed up. As I moved my lips, it was because Karl’s hand had slipped lower without his realizing it. The warmth of that hand still lingered on my neck.
I was crazy. Really crazy. What had I done with Karl…?
Suddenly, memories of the sex education I’d received from the Count flashed in my mind, along with the hideous illustrations from that educational booklet. Why was I thinking of that now? My heart, which I had just managed to calm, began to race again. I nearly became the main character of that booklet. It was hard to settle my pounding heart.
“I’ll go fetch some people.”
I blinked a few times. Karl didn’t respond. His cheeks were bright red, and the way he blinked was quite cute.
Who would have imagined this man could become so defenseless? This was a sight that couldn’t be witnessed at any other time. If there were a camera, I would have wanted to take a picture…
Wait, this isn’t the time to think about cameras. I brushed my fingers over his still warm lips and quickly moved towards the door.
“…D-don’t go.”
“What?”
“Don’t go.”
Karl, sitting on the floor, whined not to leave. Seeing this large man act like a child was very strange. I barely held back a laugh, forcing my lips together. Can a single drink really change a person this much?
“Celeste.”
It’s a clear and distinct pronunciation. It’s completely different from the slurred speech that had been mumbling for me not to go just a moment ago. I wondered if the alcohol had worn off in just a few seconds, but looking at those still unfocused eyes, it seemed like the alcohol was making them say anything.
‘Celly.’
They even shortened my name, calling me by a nickname as if it were their own choice. They might not be fully in their right mind, but it seems they know who I am. At least, I should be relieved that they’re not trying to kiss someone they don’t even recognize.
‘Ssh. Just be quiet. I’ll go get some people.’
But cute is still cute. There are things that need to be resolved. I couldn’t stay alone with Karl, who wasn’t in his right mind; I had no idea what trouble he might cause. Leaving Karl, who was repeatedly calling me not to go, I pulled the door open.
“Flash”, and then another lightning struck.
***
As soon as I opened the door, someone jumped out. I thought it might be the guard standing in front of the door, but when I looked up, I gasped in shock at the man in front of me.
“Celeste!”
“Uh…?”
The person who had suddenly appeared was none other than Karl. What? He was just behind me a moment ago!
Startled, I turned to look behind me, and to my disbelief, the person who had been sitting on the floor calling for me was nowhere to be seen. The warm meal that had been set on the table, the lamp that had lit the room, the chairs—none of it was there. All that was visible behind me was a dusty, completely empty room.
“Oh my. What on earth were you doing here?”
“No, why are you here…?”
I was confused. I turned my head back and forth, trying to make sense of the situation, but it was hard to grasp. Perhaps it wasn’t Karl who was drunk; maybe it was me.
Just as I was trying to clear my muddled thoughts, Karl grabbed my arms.
“Everyone in the castle is looking for you because you suddenly disappeared.”
What does that even mean? I could only look up at him, unable to comprehend the situation. Just moments ago, those lips had touched mine. Standing before me now was a completely different man than the one whose warm heat had barely faded after our kiss.
“By any chance… what year and what date is it?”
That was the one question that could possibly clarify everything. Could it be that when I opened the door, time had returned to its original state? If that were the case, the suddenly missing drunk Karl and the suddenly appearing sober Karl would both make sense.
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
Karl looked at my face, seeming puzzled.
“Just tell me what year it is right now.”
***
At the end of the dim hallway, a door suddenly swung open, and Karl instinctively tensed as he noticed someone emerging. When he recognized who it was, he was taken by surprise.
“Celeste!”
After searching the corners of the hallway for Celeste, her sudden appearance felt like a miracle. She looked just as shocked. Karl, relieved, asked her where she had been.
“What on earth were you doing here?”
“No, what about you? Why are you here…?”
But Celeste could only repeat confusing replies, asking him why he was there and what year it was.
Just as Karl began to suspect that she had possibly injured her head during her absence, Celeste explained where she had been and why she sounded so confused.
“So you’re saying you were here two years ago until just now?”
“It seems so.”
It was difficult to believe. Time slip, magical stones, a misremembered spell—Karl simply stared blankly at Celeste as she explained earnestly.
“I’m sure. I met you here two years ago.”
Celeste’s tone was unusually firm. It felt too confident to be someone suffering from a head injury. With a sigh, Karl ran his hand through his hair.
“Two years ago, here. We were together, right?”
When Celeste pointed somewhere, Karl finally looked inward and recalled the past memory that had resurfaced.
“You asked me how I got here, and you locked me up for not being able to answer properly. You let me go only after several hours. Right?”
“That’s…”
“There was a reason I didn’t remember that time. It’s because I hadn’t experienced it yet. But now I have, and that’s why I know about that moment!”
“Wait, wait, Celeste. Calm down and try to explain a little more clearly.”
“You said I had to ask you about that night two years ago, right? But I didn’t remember. It wasn’t just a simple case of memory loss from a carriage accident. You experienced it, but I didn’t. So… we have the same moment in the same memory, but there’s a time difference in what we experienced!”
Feeling frustrated even after speaking, Celeste pounded her chest.
As Karl quietly mulled over her disjointed ramblings, he began to vaguely grasp her implication when she added, “I spilled the magic stone, and I accidentally mispronounced the spell that meant to reverse everything.”
“So, you’re saying you miscast a spell and somehow traveled back two years?”
“Yes, exactly!”
“And you met the two-years-ago version of me here?”
“That’s right! You caught on quickly.”
“Hmm.”
It was a bewildering claim. However, if she was telling the truth, it explained the entire series of bizarre events. Everything, from the Celeste of two years ago appearing alone in this hidden fortress without any escort or companions, to the sudden appearance of the current Celeste, made sense.
Karl recalled the moment Celeste had vanished two years ago. He thought he had lost her due to drunkenness, and while memories of that day began to surface, they were still hazy. He could remember their kiss amidst his foggy mind, but what followed was unclear…
“So how did you come back?”
The next day, the only memory he held was of waking up alone in the room where the knights had moved him, clutching his head as if it would shatter, listening to their reports.
He was commanded to not be interrupted during this critical discussion, and an hour had passed without anyone knocking. Feeling something was off, he finally broke the order and opened the door, only to find Count Louisette missing and His Highness the Grand Duke lying there alone.
