Chapter 2-Wake Up To The Past

"Kugh... Arhhh..."

I woke up gasping for air. I thought I was dead after using the dangerous technique earlier. Master had told me not to use that technique as it would take my life. Not only that, the pain I was in was so terrible. I didn't want to feel it again.

"But what happened after that?"

I don't remember anything after using that technique. When I looked around me, it was just a forest with lush meadows. I frowned, feeling the bitter taste in my mouth, and spat it out. When I saw what it was, I opened my eyes in surprise.

"Grass?? It reminds me of old memories, and also, what's with my voice? Why does it sound like a child? "

Looking down, looking at my current body, I feel like I've just been struck by lightning. My body looks like a child's and also my clothes are very dull, like a tramp. I groped my body to make sure, but it was all real. This is my body and also, this shirt is the one I always wore when I was a kid.

My mother and I were vagrants, living in Burniete village before being brought to the Alfons Mansion. Burniete village was in the territory of the duke-ranked Gretchen noble family. We were so poor that when I was hungry, I even ate grass to quench my hunger. Eating can be said to be a luxury for me and my mother. Before my mother became depressed and died, we were a pretty happy family even though we were poor like this.

My mother was actually a noblewoman who married my father, who was the head of the Alfons family with the rank of Duke. My mother's own family is a noble with the rank of Baron. The reason my mother took me away is that the Alfons family is a terrible family. Everyone knew how cruel the family was, but no one dared to do anything because the Alfons family was one of the main powers in the kingdom. Not only that, the Alfons family worked in the shadows by carrying out unofficial duties.

Such as murder, the mass murder of a village that carried out a rebellion, killing noble families. There was even a case where the royal family was killed by the Alfons family. Even though all of this is based on solid evidence, mass killings are still inhumane.

When my mother and I were found and brought back to the Alfons family, the Duke was very angry with my mother. He persecuted my mother every day and then killed my maternal grandparents as punishment for taking me away. Since that time, my mother has become very depressed, even when she sees me. She was so scared as if she had seen a monster.

My heart was broken because my mother, who had always loved me, looked at me with a frightened and hateful expression. At that time, my world was so blurry that everything seemed to disappear into the darkness. The Duke took advantage of this by taking me along with him in the eradication of a rebel group. He told his son to kill the group at that time.

"That bastard has no mercy at all. He is the worst father. But because of that, I also became very strong."

Those were the darkest times in my life. I became a cold-blooded killer like a human without emotions. My abilities have also increased because of the very special bloodline of the Alfons family. This bloodline makes us stronger if our killing intent is too great. So basically, if you kill a living being and make your killing intent stronger, your power will also get stronger. Not only that, with that killing intent, you can tell if your enemy is lying or not, and it also has an extraordinary sensitivity to any danger.

This is also what causes other noble families to fear the Alfons family, including the royal family. It was a monster family that always produced terrible monsters in every generation. Plus, with the training from the inhuman Alfons family, the children will be brought on an assassination mission. Just imagine a child when they play together with friends their age, having to be forced to kill other people. That is a bad family.

I clenched my fists tightly and gritted my teeth until I heard a crackling sound. I had made a wound on my hand without realizing it.

"What happened after that? Did my body shrink after using that dangerous ability? No, no, my current location. I remember this is a forest near Burniete village, but wasn't this area burnt down after that incident? Can I go back to the past? Forget it, how could that possibly happen,"

*Step, Step, Trass*

'Someone's coming!'

I heard footsteps and prepared for a sudden attack, but my body wasn't balanced because my body was that of a child and I wasn't used to it. I slipped into the bushes and bumped into someone who had made the sound of footsteps earlier.

'Shit, am I going to be killed now?'

"Kyaa!!"

But the voice that came out was the voice of a little girl. When I saw the girl, my whole body froze. I'm on top of it and our faces are facing each other, but I can't believe what I'm seeing right now. The little girl's face looked cute and sweet with her innocence her hair was pink, which was tied in twin tails all the way to her back, but what caught the most attention were her blood-red eyes and pointed ears. The little girl blushed, looking at my face, which was close to hers.

"Get away from me! What are you doing suddenly bumping into me? I've been struggling to come here to bring food for you, and you repay me with this! Hmph, shameless, "

The little girl pushed me until I fell and looked away with red cheeks.

'Phew, that surprised me," the girl thought with a sigh.

It's just that I can't take my eyes off of her. The memories I've kept together with my feelings all along. From the sweet and sad memories I've shared with her, there's no way I'd mistake her for someone else.

[Teo, I love you. I'm sorry I can't be with you... Sob, I don't want to die like this... I want... I want to always be by your side... ]

"Rachel?" My voice is shaking, I can't hold back the dam in my eyes. I can see her again.

"Yes? Wait, why are you crying? Wow!! look at your hands. Your hands are bleeding. It must be treated,"

Rachel looks worried seeing my bloody hands, she put her lunch box on the ground and looked around frantically

"I'll go find something to treat you. Wait here,"

"Do not go!!"

"Ah!"

How could I let her go? Without thinking, I hugged her who was trying to leave. Rachel gasped at the hug. She tried to escape from my hug, but I didn't let her, and she finally gave in.

'W-w-what is he doing?! What if the maids saw this? They definitely wouldn't let Teo escape so easily after hugging me 'Rachel's mind whirled in shame.

"Rachel, don't leave me, please..."

Rachel's body twitched. She turned to me in disbelief. I couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face either. Rachel just didn't know what to say. This was the first time she had seen Teo cry. The thing she always remembered was Teo was always smiling, even though he was starving and eating grass.

To be honest, she was very embarrassed right now and wanted to run away immediately. It's just that when she saw that expression of pain, she couldn't say let go of his embrace. I don't know how much time passed. Rachel's face turned red. She couldn't stand the hug anymore and pushed me hard.

"Hey!! Why did you suddenly do that, and also, how much longer are you going to hug me? Stop crying like a child, you make me fed up, "Rachel looks annoyed while pointing her finger at me.

"You're right, I shouldn't be crying, but…" I wiped my tears, feeling disappointed after losing my hug, then I looked her up and down.

I can't believe I'm going to cry in front of her again, I couldn't help it after seeing her still alive. It's just that the hypothesis I thought was impossible is currently happening in front of me. Rachel, whom I knew before her death was 19 years old, while Rachel in front of me now looked like she was 11. My body is also like that of a child's, and the forest near the village wasn't scorched, which means that an incident hasn't happened yet.

'I went back in time, but is that even possible? Even if the mention of time-returning spells never existed, if there were, it would only be limited to returning objects to their original form, and that wouldn't be a time-returning spell either,'

"But what? Why are you silent? You wanted to say something, didn't you? " Rachel seemed curious because I suddenly stopped talking.

"Nothing. By the way, aren't you here to bring food for me? I'm really hungry right now," I smiled.