The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory

Deep underground, within a temple’s prison so secluded that even the guards had abandoned it.
“Woof! Woof woof woof!”
The divine wolf beast imprisoned with me whimpered pitifully.

I couldn’t comfort it. I was sobbing just as desperately.
“Zahid... Zahid, open your eyes... Zahid...”
Outside the iron bars, a man lay collapsed in a pool of blood.

His name was Zahid Dyfenril.
The Duke of Dyfenril and the master of the divine wolf beast imprisoned with me.
And the only precious friend I had left in this world.

“Please, please don’t die... okay?”
I had been locked away in this temple’s underground prison since I was twelve years old, subjected to countless experiments for ten years.
In that time, my brother died, and my family was ruined.

It was all the temple’s doing.
It was truly a time as hellish as any could be. But I had endured, because sometimes Zahid would risk his life to sneak in and see me.
And now, the temple had taken another precious person from me.

“Zahid, please... wake up...”
No matter how much I wept, I could no longer hear his breath.
The iron bars separating us wouldn’t even let me brush away his black hair.

“Rosie...”
Staggering in his final moments, he had dragged himself to my cell. Then, with a weak push, he slipped something through the bars.
“...Take it. It’s a relic.”
“What?”

“The treasure of the temple, the one said to turn back time. I stole it.”
The small relic, no bigger than a pebble, was soaked in Zahid’s blood.
“I don’t have divine power, so I can’t use it. But you... you have a little. At least try.”

I knew nothing about relics—only that they responded to immense divine power.
People said that only a High Priest could activate one.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise... to destroy the temple and set you free.”

Zahid had truly wanted to save me from this place.
Even knowing he was fighting to bring the temple down, I had remained trapped here, powerless.
That alone was unbearable, and now, I was just as powerless before his death.

I hated myself for it. The pain was suffocating.
Through my blurred vision, I saw the relic lying on the prison floor.
The last thing Zahid had left me.

I crawled forward and grabbed it.
 
****

I have had three names in my life.
At the orphanage, I was simply Rosie, without a surname.
At five years old, I showed a faint trace of divine power. The orphanage sent me to the temple, where I lived until I was eleven as Rosie Trian.

‘Trian’ was a surname given to the lowest-ranked apprentices with barely any divine power.
There were countless others like me, and we spent our days doing menial chores for the temple.
And then—

“Hello. My name is Julian Noart. I’m sorry I came so late... I only just found out you existed.”
One spring day, when I was eleven, a brother I never knew came looking for me.
We shared the same mother but had different fathers.

“Rosie, come with me. Our mother was the daughter of Count Noart. From today on, you are Rosie Noart.”
I never imagined taking on the surname of Noart—one of the wealthiest noble families in the empire.
Especially since Noart was openly at odds with the temple.

But none of that mattered to me as a child.
What mattered was that I finally had a family that loved me.
“My precious little sister... I won’t let you suffer as I did. You don’t have to worry about anything here. Just eat well, play well, study well, and grow up happy—just like any other eleven-year-old should.”

In the cold and ruthless Noart estate, Julian cherished me like the most fragile treasure.
Our grandfather, Count Noart, was always busy, so we, who had no parents, were each other’s only family.
We didn’t interact much with our other relatives in the estate, but still, those days were the happiest I had ever known.

Julian was so talented that he surpassed all his relatives to become the heir to the Noart family.
I heard that among ordinary people—not counting priests or mages—he was considered the strongest.
And as his beloved little sister, I received endless protection and privileges.

But that happiness lasted only fourteen months.
Fourteen months later, Julian had an accident. When he woke up, he had lost his memories—
And he no longer recognized me.

“What? This little brat? You’re joking. This kid is my sister? Ha...”
For the first time in my life, I saw Julian looking at me with irritation.
With a face that said I was a nuisance.

I had always felt like I wasn’t worthy of being Julian’s sister. I lacked confidence.
And now, seeing his confusion, I thought—
I must not become a burden to him.

And so, I left the Noart estate and returned to the temple.
I thought I could simply resume my apprentice life there.
But that was my worst mistake.

“What? The apprentice from Noart came back? Oh! We needed a new test subject, didn’t we? Throw her in the lab—now!”
The moment I returned, the temple locked me away and began their experiments.
And so, I had been imprisoned for ten years since the age of twelve.

If Zahid hadn’t found me in this underground prison while sneaking into the temple and become my friend, I wouldn’t have survived.
But now, even Zahid was dead.
Leaving behind a relic that could turn back time…

‘Is returning really possible?’
Would this so-called legendary relic actually respond to the weak divine power of a mere apprentice?
‘But… but I want to turn back time more than anything.’

I clutched the bloodstained relic Zahid had given me.
‘Please… please let me return. Please.’
Tears streamed down my face.

I didn’t even think to wipe them away as I desperately prayed.
‘Standing powerless before the death of someone precious is unbearable.’
I forced every bit of my meager divine power into the relic.

‘I’ve been powerless my whole life.’
I squeezed the relic so tightly that my nails dug into my palm, drawing blood.
‘If I get another chance, I will never live like this again.’

I thought of my brother, the one who had cherished me the most in this world.
I thought of Zahid, who had come all these years to visit me in this deep underground prison.
The people I could do nothing for, the ones who had already left this world… the ones I wanted to protect, if only I could turn back time…

‘If I can change everything… If I can return to the past…’
Grinding my teeth, I clenched the relic even harder.
‘I will protect everyone, and I will destroy the temple.’

…Ah, wait. Hold on.
Saying I’d destroy the temple in front of a sacred relic—wasn’t that a bad idea? Wouldn’t that make it refuse my prayer?
Just as I panicked at the thought—

My vision slowly began to blur.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
The last thing I heard was the divine wolf beast’s cries.

Then, I lost consciousness completely.
 
****

And then…
“Is this real? Is this really real?”
I stared blankly into the mirror.

Silky, neatly trimmed silver hair. Bright green eyes that shimmered.
Soft, chubby cheeks.
And a body so small that I looked no older than nine.

‘I’m back.’
It had been ten minutes since my miraculous regression.
Slowly, I was coming to terms with the reality that I had become a child again.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I scanned my surroundings.
‘I really came back…’
A lavishly decorated ceiling. A large, cozy bed.

Shelves overflowing with toys any young girl would adore.
‘This is really the Noart estate’s annex.’
The 14 months I spent here were the happiest in my life.

Was that why the relic had sent me back to this moment?
I slowly walked toward the table by the window.
In the Noart estate, it was customary to receive a newspaper with breakfast. Sure enough, there was a neatly folded newspaper on the table.

I quickly checked the date.
“…Ah.”
The date on the paper was exactly ten years ago.

Which meant—
I was twelve years old again.