The entrance to the elegant temple was crowded with people.
On a long makeshift table, loaves of bread and jugs of milk were stacked.
All the people gathered near her were looking in the same direction, or rather at the same person.
Wavy light brown hair, and slightly darker round eyes.
A petite woman, she had a soft overall impression.
“Take sequentially”
She was wearing an elegant dress, and her hands moved quickly and skillfully to wrap the bread and distribute it to people.
Her skill in stacking, wrapping and distributing was meticulous, according to a strict system based on priority.
She was undoubtedly a seasoned expert.
“Thank you very much, miss!”
“Yes, I wish you blessings.”
“Thank you”
"Be happy.
Next?"
Thanks to that, the queue in front of her was moving quickly, as if he felt a strange pressure.
In the midst of skillful routine work, the woman's eyes gradually began to lose their luster, but she did not become completely devoid of thought.
‘Today is the day the original story begins!’
Her lips were tightened tightly, and wrinkles appeared on her chin like a walnut.
Her true identity, which seemed suspiciously appropriate for this simple act, was that she was a “hitchhiker” into this world.
This place is the world of a dark fantasy romance novel titled “The Life of a Saint in Captivity.”
When she first opened her eyes and saw the elegant ceiling, she didn't know how happy she was.
‘Leave the factory, pay off debts for free, upgrade social status, and on top of that I’m the heroine!’
But as the title suggests, this novel was about captivity.
The problem is that she doesn't remember the details, including the ending.
'Oh, if I had focused more while reading.
I skimmed through it quickly during my break.'
All she remembers clearly is that in her first encounter with the hero, Cédric, she would be kidnapped and imprisoned.
‘But he is, except for the kidnapping, a loyal man.
But he is loyal in a way that leads to a life of captivity.'
So how was the end?
It seems that she tried to escape many times, but was sent back and became even more miserable.
No matter how much she thought and scrolled through her memory, she couldn't remember anything, and since the original story would begin soon, there was no other choice.
Then her striking mind suddenly stopped working, and came up with an amazing and comforting idea.
‘If I don’t escape and choose captivity voluntarily, that means I will enjoy an entire imperial captivity!’
She never had great ambitions in her life, and she doesn't remember ever resting properly.
‘Shift work, irregular rest days, hospital visits on days off, and a salary that always goes to pay off debts… a very harsh life.’
Atha sank into her memories for a moment, then closed her eyes tightly and opened them brightly.
Her eyes were shining exaggeratedly.
'I will enjoy capturing my emperor'
So, now, she was participating in a charity event at Sol Temple to meet Cedric according to the original story.
Out of sheer determination, Atha clenched her hand without realizing it.
“Atha”
“Yes, thanks”
Fortunately, she at least remembered the male hero's appearance.
“Atha...!”
“Eat with pleasure”
It was said that he was blond and handsome, so he would definitely be eye-catching.
“Atha─!”
“Ah, mom”
A sharp, clear voice pulled Atha's ears out of her thoughts.
“What is this vulgar behavior?
Your skin might burn under the sun, come here.”
“Ah, I have to finish the distribution─”
“That's enough.
Don't show inappropriate behavior and come here!”
Her mother, Freydis, who was paying attention to people's glances, whispered softly and pulled her arm forcefully.
‘Mom too, very exaggerated.’
Atha tilted her head and stepped back quietly.
Unlike her previous life, having a family was a good thing, but she had yet to get used to how to deal with them.
Instead of showing embarrassment, I decided to view it as mere interest.
Even though she came to this event to meet Cedric, seeing hungry people unknowingly made her work harder than she should.
‘Ah, is this the mentality of a slave?
I do volunteer work as if I were in a factory.'
Atha retreated into the shadows, secretly giving bread and milk to the hesitant children behind, to pass the time.
After a while, her mother approached her, smiling kindly.
“Atha, you look tired.
Do you remember the lavender garden we saw?
I think it would be best if you rested there for a bit.”
Upon hearing this, Atha automatically swallowed.
'The moment has come.
This is the coordinated meeting.
In the original story, events officially began when the mother arranged a meeting for Atha at the charity event without her knowledge.
The other party was, as I expected, Cédric d'Albert, the Marquis and male hero.
Atha took off her gloves and answered calmly: “Okay, I will.”
Leaving her smiling mother behind, she adjusted her breathing as she headed towards the lavender garden.
As I moved a little further from the square, the bustle of people died down, and a light scent of lavender began to fill the air from afar.
When I reached the entrance of the park with slow steps, I noticed a tall man.
'Is he that person?'
Shining blond hair, broad shoulders, and handsome appearance, all perfectly matched the description of the appearance of Cédric d'Albert, the Marquis.
I approached him cautiously.
'Wow, amazing'
From a distance, he was so stunningly handsome that she was speechless.
Especially his sparkling golden eyes and the teardrops under his right eye, were extremely charming.
It was clear that he deserved to be the male hero.
'A man this beautiful would fall in love with me at first sight?'
Her heart was beating with pleasure.
To the point that she began to think rashly that she might have a good life with this man.
“Miss Atha of the Hermann family?”
'As I expected, I identified him correctly.
He knows my name
The moment she realized that the handsome man's voice was so sweet, Atha decided—
She will bury her bones in this man's captivity.
She controlled her heartbeat and adjusted her voice.
Then she opened her mouth cautiously: “Today, you can take me with you.”
The man's eyebrows twitched.
***
Meanwhile, a few hours ago, in the depths of the Sol Temple.
A tall, elegant man was coming out of there.
The golden-haired man was thinking about the prediction he had just received from the World Tree in the Inner Court.
[The ability of the saint, Atha Herman, is to rewind time.
This ability has already appeared.]
The saint's abilities are transmitted through the mother, and appear in different forms in each generation.
Freydis Herman, a former Saint, only possessed the ability to see one future.
But there was a restriction: she couldn't share it with others.
This was the least useful ability, yet the most common among female saints throughout history.
But the current saint, Atha, possesses the power to rewind time.
'And it has already appeared?'
No one knew, except for the Saint herself, whether the ability had merely appeared or had gone beyond that to activation.
If time has already been rewinded, it means she knows the future.
What is also interesting is that this ability is not subject to any restrictions.
‘There is no set number of uses, and no restrictions on talking about them.’
In other words, she can rewind time at will if she wants.
The man lost himself in thought for a moment.
'If she had actually turned back time, she might have been very careful.
Should I monitor her longer?
Or do I get my hands on it now?'
His thoughts did not last long.
His trusted assistant and younger brother, Gerold, brought information about Atha Hermann immediately.
“This is preliminary information.
I will have the full details by tomorrow morning.”
The man quickly leafed through the papers, then pointed to the last part.
“So, she is now participating in the Sol Temple’s charity event.”
“Yes, I entrusted the matter to Carrion.”
“Where is the saint now?”
“It looks like she's still here.”
Act immediately.
And so, right now, he met the saint in the lavender garden.
“……?”
What did you just hear?
She clearly said to take her...
For a moment, he thought he had misheard, had she not finished speaking.
“I promise I won't run away.
You can imprison me until you trust me.”