"----"
A wave of dizziness swept through her mind.
"Ugh..."
Emilia let out an uncomfortable groan, feeling as though something was about to rise from her stomach. She felt terribly nauseous.
The warmth of the hand that had been holding Emilia's seemed to vanish suddenly.
"Fang Li...!"
Panic immediately seized Emilia's heart, and she could not help crying out.
But it was not Fang Li who answered Emilia.
"What's wrong?"
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"Do you want to go home and rest?"
As those voices reached Emilia's ears one after another, she froze.
An unbelievable sense of closeness and nostalgia surged into Emilia's heart.
At the same time, the dizziness began to fade.
Emilia finally saw the scene before her clearly.
"This is..."
Emilia stood there blankly.
What entered her sight was not a lifeless graveyard, but a vibrant forest brimming with life.
Emilia knew this forest.
"Elior Forest..."
This was where Emilia had lived before she met Roswaal, became a Royal Selection candidate, and was welcomed into Roswaal Mansion.
Memories seemed to suddenly well up from the depths of her mind, making Emilia's head feel heavy and dizzy.
Yet only now did Emilia realize something.
Not only was she in the forest where she had once lived, but she was surrounded by companions skating on the ice.
At that moment, several people had gathered around Emilia, looking at her with concern and worry.
"Are you all right?"
"You don't look too good."
"You should go home and rest."
Her companions spoke to Emilia one after another with such concern.
It was treatment Emilia had not received since leaving Elior Forest.
That treatment finally made Emilia remember every one of the companions around her.
"Everyone..."
As though she had compressed all her emotions into those words, Emilia spoke them with