In fact, meeting Arsene here was not a pleasant situation.

Arsene was there where Abella had arrived aimlessly. Isn’t this the fateful situation people are talking about? The fact that it was Abella and Arsene who were in such a situation was gnawing at Cade’s nerves.

It’s amazing that he can still have these feelings even now.

How many years has it already been?

It is foolish to himself that he has never put Abella down in his heart during all that long time. Cade did it himself.

“What do you mean?”

Besides, Arsene knows but Cade doesn’t. It also wasn’t something very pleasant.

“Literally. All the secret keys were held by Abella.”

Arsene shrugged his shoulders lightly. Time in the Snow Country made Arsene mature. He learned to let go of his greed and learn to let the world flow in detachment. Arsene was not welcomed here from the beginning.

In fact, even now, Arsene was a stranger in the Snow Country. He was one of those passersby, and he had not been escorted by Skellus, but he had been called upon by him. The passersby were people in Snow Country who received their names directly from Skellus.

They were not restricted by worldly customs or laws and were free.

Arsene met Skellus only once here. He gave Arsene the secret answer. That it was none other than Abella, who turned back time. However, this time he still hasn’t found any answers.

“Are you saying that Abella turned back time?”

“Yes.”

Not everyone was happy and they were just barely living a stagnant life.

“She wished for a better life and she wished that everyone would be happy. But Abella did nothing. And this time Abella has another key.”

Cade frowned at Arsene’s explanation. Another key was the same as saying that Abella could turn back time.

“Whether to use the key or not is Abella’s choice.”

“.... What were you doing here?”

“I was waiting to die.”

Cade stared at Arsene with curious eyes. It was because he could not find any regrets in Arsene, who gave a blunt sentence.

“I’ve been thinking a lot.”

In a snowy country where it snows all year round, there was little that could be done. He wasn’t accepted as a member of the village, so he couldn’t fit in with them, and all he could do was pass the time meaninglessly.

“I thought about what choices I would make if I went back to the past now.”

“Did you regret it?”

Arsene smiled softly.

“Regret. Of course I regret it. I regretted being part of Abella’s misfortune and not having another choice. In the end, there is nothing left in my hands, so what is it that makes me so inferior?”

Cade noticed a previously peeled veil of poison and obsession from Arsene’s eyes. As if the thick snow of Snow Country stole Arsene’s shell.

“What about you? Do you regret it?”

Cade raised his lips to the candid question. Regret.

“I regret it. I regret not making a better choice. I didn’t care about anything else because I struggled to win Abella’s heart. I could have made a better choice for Abella. I could have pulled the Duke’s carriage and prevented Carlo’s death.”

Cade mumbled bitterly. Despite returning with all his memories, he did nothing except what he had done for Abella. There was no great reason, such as being unable to defy fate. It wasn’t Abella’s business, so he didn’t want to intervene.

If only he had thought with a wider view. If only Cade could use the opportunity given to him in a better way. Could the present result have been avoided?

“It’s my first time coming back.....”

Cade smiled softly. That smile was just sad without a trace.

“While I was wandering, Abella was getting unhappy. It was a rescue signal from Abella that we got back.”

She was about to die, so she would have wished for life, and Skellus granted her wish.

There was no manual for what happened suddenly. Cade’s earnestness was immature, and no one could change fate. It’s not that he was desperate or lacked effort. It’s the first time he came back, so he was not experienced and he was not sure what to do to change my destiny. This time, only regret remains.

“In the end, I failed again.”

“We all failed.”

Arsene corrected it.

“I couldn’t do what I really should have done because I was blaming others. I blamed the curse, blamed Abella’s heart, and was greedy for what I didn’t have.”

“.....”

“I failed from the moment I started blaming others instead of myself.”

Cade didn’t say anything to Arsene’s words.