.｡.:✧ Chapter 10 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Eileen’s footsteps quickened as she traversed the unnecessarily long hallways unique to the Imperial Palace.

The composure that had infused her expression and movements until moments ago had vanished, replaced by a sense of urgency.

‘…Perhaps I had grown complacent.’

Silently admonishing herself, Eileen’s strides toward the separate palace quarters only hastened. Whenever she crossed paths with other nobles who recognized her within the palace walls, they would regard her with startled looks, but Eileen paid them no heed.

More accurately, she had no leeway to take notice of others’ gazes.

Even the mystical power of magic had its limits. Had not even the dragon—whose abilities as a human mage far surpassed hers before the regression—found it impossible to defy the absolute, immutable law of time?

And yet, she had directly experienced the inexplicable phenomenon of returning to the past, something no theory could fully explain.

In other words, nothing should seem strange anymore, and there was no reason why Eileen alone among her rivals had undergone the regression.

‘And perhaps Rudrick too…’

Her stray thoughts compounding one after another, Eileen shook her head in vexation as she hurried toward the separate palace quarters.

Normally so stoic in keeping with the typical northern demeanor, she now felt as though a weight pressed heavily upon her chest.

And then.

“Hmm?”

Rounding the corner, Eileen happened to come face-to-face with the very person she had been seeking.

Elena Esgelant.

The woman who was, for now, still the Second Princess cocked her head quizzically upon seeing Eileen, her crimson eyes—which some might find bewitching—fixed intently on her. It was unmistakably Elena Esgelant, albeit appearing a few years younger than Eileen’s recollection, creating a slight discrepancy.

Her expression exuded the same excessive nonchalance and boredom that Eileen found so infuriating, prompting the urge to strike her.

“…I’ve found you.”

“I must not be seeing things correctly. Why is the one meant to be guarding the walls here instead?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you.”

Eileen responded curtly to Elena’s bemused query.

Though close in age, the Nord family—despite being a branch—had royal blood intermingled. Moreover, as the Grand Duchess of the Nord Duchy, Eileen was among the few who could address Elena so informally within the Empire.

Of course, from Elena’s perspective, it was only natural to be perplexed.

To her eyes, a distant relative who should have been in the northern territories had suddenly appeared, fixing her with a hardened expression and interrogating her.

Elena’s brow furrowed in response.

“Did I somehow wrong you without realizing it? I can’t fathom why you’re reacting this way.”

“…So I wasn’t the only one after all. This time, it was you too.”

“What are you talking about…Ah.”

Though Eileen’s words were fragmented, Elena’s keen intellect quickly grasped their implication.

The retort Elena had been preparing died on her lips as she hesitated, then chuckled while pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I see, so I wasn’t alone in this. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that others might have experienced the same, but I should have expected you to seek me out like this.”

“Don’t try to change the subject.”

Eileen cut her off in a chilly tone.

“If you went on an ‘inspection tour’ to Weiss County at this particular timing, then it’s obvious. What did you do to Rudrick?”

“I didn’t really do anything untoward to him, contrary to what you might be thinking,” Elena replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand, but Eileen’s gaze remained suspicious.

Her reaction was only natural, having personally experienced the series of events surrounding Elena’s ascent to the throne before the regression.

Though Eileen, as the Grand Duchess of the Nord Duchy in the distant north, had not suffered direct harm, public perception painted a different picture. To have eliminated her own mother and sisters in her pursuit of the throne meant Elena was rightly branded a tyrant deserving of condemnation.

In Eileen’s mind, Elena was akin to a bomb with an unpredictable fuse—she could never let her guard down.

All consequences of Elena’s own making.

“No matter how intensely you glare at me, it won’t change facts that didn’t occur. I can assert with certainty that I did nothing like what you’re imagining.”

“…Where is Rudrick, then?”

“I’ve entrusted him to Theo. Or were you planning to leave such exceptional talent to waste away in that rural backwater for another three years?”

This time, Eileen fell silent. It was a fair point.

Despite having exchanged his lifespan for such ability, Rudrick’s magical talents were undoubtedly fitting of a great mage.

As one hailed as the foremost swordswoman of the North, Eileen agreed that allowing such talent to languish was unforgivable, even if the person enabling its cultivation was Elena—someone she deeply resented.

“If you have no objections, does that mean you can allow him to meet with me as well?”

“If my memory serves, that was the first time I ever saw you crying, I believe.”

“…Don’t add unnecessary remarks.”

“Just an unfamiliar sight, that’s all.”

Elena shrugged and let out an amused chuckle, the picture of nonchalance in contrast to Eileen’s tense demeanor.

“I have no grounds to stop the esteemed Grand Duchess Eileen Nord. Meet with him, do whatever you like—I won’t concern myself with it.”

“…”

“Ah, but of course, you won’t force your nobility upon him…”

“Shut your mouth.”

“…It was just a joke.”

…Gulp.

Though Elena visibly swallowed her words, her cousin had already turned on her heel, her angered form retreating into the distance.

Watching Eileen’s back as she departed, Elena murmured while twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

“Still needlessly solemn as ever, I see.”

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On the way back from discussing future plans with Master in his research lab.

The Imperial Palace was, of course, not simply a massive palace building erected alone in an open field. There were separate quarters, as well as other buildings to house those residing within the palace grounds apart from the imperial family themselves.

To put it simply, all the male attendants working here as servants were nobles themselves.

They were still the servants of royalty, after all—could they really employ commoners for such roles?

Just as it had been historically common in my previous life for royal consorts and maids to hail from distinguished noble families, those of so-called “blue blood.”

It was no different here. While some came and went for work, a considerable number lived and worked within the palace grounds, with dedicated residences prepared for them.

And upon arriving at those very residences, I found myself overwhelmed by their grandeur.

“Wow…”

I could state it definitively:

Though I had imagined the nobles’ quarters would be decent enough, my chamber in my estate for the past twenty years paled in comparison to the point it could hardly be called more than a pigsty.

“If you find anything inconvenient during your stay, simply ring the call bell. Someone will come promptly.”

“There’s no need to rush over for every little thing…but I’ll call if any issues arise.”

“Understood.”

The young manservant bowed after bringing my luggage—if the two bags I carried could even be called such—into my room, then promptly departed.

To clarify any misunderstanding, that boy was not a noble, but rather an ordinary servant as one would typically envision.

However, being no arrogant noble myself, I could hardly bring myself to bark orders and make demands simply due to our difference in status. Hence, I dismissively waved him off.

Since Master had suggested I rest today before formally beginning my studies and magical training tomorrow, I had the full day free.

I had given the mattress an experimental press earlier, and it exuded that signature new feel perfectly. Infinitely more plush than the bed I had used previously, I had braced myself for a few rough nights of tossing and turning—being somewhat finicky about bedding—but those concerns had been wholly alleviated.

Knock, knock.

As I began cheerfully unpacking my modest belongings, already envisioning rolling about on that sumptuous mattress, a light rapping came from the door.

“Who is it?”

“Um…there seems to be someone here to see you, sir. You may wish to step out for a moment.”

It was the voice of a servant outside.

I had just arrived and was in the midst of settling in, yet someone was already seeking me out? I knew no one else in the Imperial Palace.

It didn’t seem like it could be Master or the Princess, and I couldn’t fathom who else might call on me. Still, I could hardly leave a visitor standing outside indefinitely.

Curious as to who it was, I opened the door slightly and poked my head out.

There I saw a servant wearing a somewhat troubled expression and, accompanying him, an unfamiliar woman.

Waist-length black hair framed a slender face, her long lashes fluttering as her gaze fixed upon me.

Clad in an immaculate white uniform that blatantly broadcasted “I’m a noble” to any onlooker, the woman slowly parted her lips.

“…So we finally meet again.”

Then, abruptly, she murmured to herself like the tragic heroine of a melodrama.

At that moment, I could confirm one thing with certainty:

The woman before me was undoubtedly a regressor as well.

…Ah, and here I had planned to spend the day resting.

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