Celestia froze mid-step, her crazed momentum abruptly stopping.
“Huh?”
Her golden eyes flickered with confusion as she turned toward the voice.
Rose’s mouth opened in shock, her dazed expression shifting as she followed Celestia’s gaze upward toward Olivia.
Olivia stood there, her face pale, her expression trembling.
Her breathing was uneven, her chest rising and falling rapidly as if the air had been stolen from her lungs.
“You… too?” Celestia narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Olivia with suspicion.
The older woman visibly tensed.
“I… I…” Olivia stammered, her voice failing her as her thoughts spiraled into chaos.
She shut her eyes tightly, her hands clenching at her sides as she fought the overwhelming wave of panic crashing over her.
They know.
They know the truth now.
Olivia was more terrified that they had come from the future than the fact that they could move in stopped time something she had never seen before.
She didn’t even care about that.
The first emotion that hit her wasn’t curiosity not even the slightest desire to question why or how.
It was fear.
A deep, suffocating fear that gripped her chest so tightly that she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
She didn’t want anyone to know.
She didn’t want them to find out about her.
About who she was.
About what kind of mother she had been to Lucian.
She knew she was wrong.
She knew it.
But no.
She admit it.
But other knowing about it
She didn’t want to face it.
She refused.
A shudder ran through Olivia’s body as she realized the worst possible thing had happened.
They know about Lucian’s death in the past life.
Just hearing Rose and Celestia’s conversation earlier about how they had come back in time it was enough for Olivia to understand.
They know about Lucian’s suicide.
Just the thought made Olivia feel sick. She didn’t even dare to look at Rose or Celestia now.
Her body wanted to run. To hide.
When she had first returned to the past, she had avoided everyone’s eyes.
She had been relieved relieved that no one else knew the terrible fate that was supposed to happen.
After all, she thought she was one of the reasons Lucian had died.
—
Celestia observed Olivia’s trembling figure with narrowed eyes.
“What’s with her?” she thought, watching the woman silently suffer, eyes shut tightly as if trying to escape from reality.
Rose, too, was stunned, her body tensing at the realization.
“Mother… you too?” Rose’s voice barely came out as a whisper.
Her eyes widened in shock as the truth finally hit her.
Her mother had also come back in time.
Which meant
Does she know about Lucian’s suicide too?
A sickening realization washed over Rose, and her vision blurred for a second.
If she weren’t sitting on this hospital bed, she would have collapsed.
—
“Whatever,” Celestia growled, pushing aside the revelation.
Her rage was still alive.
Her burning golden eyes snapped back to Rose as she suddenly launched forward, her fist raised in the air, ready to slam into Rose’s face.
“Hey No!”
Rose’s eyes widened in horror as she instinctively raised her arms in weak defense.
But she couldn’t do anything.
She was still injured bandages wrapped tightly around her back from the recent surgery.
Her body wasn’t even fully awake from the anesthesia.
She could barely move, let alone fight Celestia.
And she had just witnessed how effortlessly Celestia took down that red-haired woman earlier.
She stood no chance.
—
“You girls, stop it!”
Olivia’s shaken but commanding voice suddenly rang out, echoing across the room.
She had barely opened her eyes when she caught sight of Celestia’s rushing attack.
Even though she was filled with so many complicated emotions, she couldn’t just sit still.
Her body reacted on its own.
She quickly extended her hands forward, stepping between them to stop Celestia before it was too late.
—
DING!
A loud notification sound rang through Celestia’s ears.
Suddenly
A red screen appeared before her for a brief second.
[Warning: Conflict Detected!]
[Heroine Celestia has initiated aggression toward Heroine Rose. Intervention Protocol Activated…]
Some jumbled words flashed across the screen.
Before she could even process what was happening
FLASH.
A bright light engulfed them.
“What the?!” Celestia cursed as she felt something pull her back.
And when the light vanished
She wasn’t where she should be.
Her heart stopped for a second.
—
Celestia snapped her head up, her eyes darting around.
Rose was still sitting on the bed.
But…
She was far away now.
Celestia widened her eyes in disbelief.
“Wasn’t I just inches away from punching her face?!”
She quickly looked to her side.
She was back in the same position she was standing in before.
Exactly where she had been before she charged.
“What the fuck?”
No.
No way.
She was confused, her mind racing.
Suddenly, a thought crept in…no.
It couldn’t be.
She gritted her teeth, her face contorting in rage.
“No… Definitely not…” she muttered under her breath.
—
On the other side of the room, Rose was equally shocked.
Her hands were still raised in the air, expecting to get hit but nothing happened.
She blinked.
Then exhaled sharply.
“I… I’m saved?”
She slowly lowered her trembling hands, watching Celestia from a distance.
What just happened?
She was sure Celestia was right in front of her but now she wasn’t.
The same shock was written all over Olivia’s face, though she sighed in relief.
—
“Both of you, stay still! Don’t create any more trouble!”
Olivia suddenly yelled, her voice hardened with authority.
She was already overwhelmed with emotions.
First, Rose kissed Lucian.
That alone had Olivia’s mind spinning.
How could they…?
Wait didn’t rose used to hate lucy?
She never knew her own daughter had these kinds of feelings toward Lucian.
How was she supposed to handle this?
And then, Celestia attacked Rose.
That scared her too.
But she could understand why.
Celestia had clearly declared in front of everyone that she loved Lucian.
Who wouldn’t be enraged if the person they loved was suddenly kissed by someone else without his permission?
She could see that Rose had kissed Lucian without his permission.
And then there was Lucian himself who loved Avey.
didn’t he…well Many things happened between them but olivia beleivd that.
Ahhh!
It was all too much!
And now something even worse had happened.
She had discovered that Celestia and Rose also came back in time.
This wasn’t something she could handle!
She felt like her brain was going to explode.
And these two idiots were fighting?!
—
“One more step, and I will teach you both a lesson!” Olivia yelled angrily.
“Stay still! Don’t move! We need to”
But before she could even finish her sentence
Celestia moved again.
And
JUMPED ON ROSE.
“Shit NO!”
Rose cursed, her hands shooting up to protect herself.
But she couldn’t do anything she was literally stuck on a hospital bed.
Celestia’s frown deepened as she tried again.
“Please hit this time,” she prayed.
And
DING!
The same red screen appeared again.
And
FLASH.
Everything shifted.
—
“AHHHHHH! WHY?! NOOO! LET ME KILL THIS BITCH!”
Celestia screamed in rage.
She stood in the same spot again.
Her worst fears came true.
Once? Maybe.
Twice? Suspicious.
Three times?
It was confirmed.
She couldn’t touch Rose.
“Why?!”
“Is it because she can stop time too?!”
“Wait… Is it because she also came back in time?!”
Her rage only grew.
“Is it a world restriction too?! Just like how I can’t tell anyone about my regression?!”
“Damn it! I WANT TO KILL HER!”
Her golden eyes burned with pure hatred.
—
“What…”
Rose and Olivia were surprised again.
Rose blinked, her mind processing something.
Wait… she can’t attack me?
Her eyes widened in realization.
Of course, it didn’t take much to figure it out not when they had so many things in common.
They could guess it.
Rose’s gaze shifted toward Celestia, whose expression burned with pure hatred, her golden eyes practically devouring her alive.
Rose gulped.
Just looking at Celestia sent a shiver down her spine.
What is she…?
She had always suspected that Celestia wasn’t normal especially in the way she acted around her brother.
But this?
She’s… so wild. So terrifying.
Something is wrong with her.
Is she crazy or something? Rose thought, her hands trembling slightly.
Just seeing Celestia’s face twisted in rage was enough to make her feel uneasy.
She isn’t like a princess at all…
Not the kind Rose thought she was.
—-