.｡.:✧ Chapter 18 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The enemy was within.

Sighing while holding her forehead, Elena immediately stormed out of the room. She could feel Lorenzo’s gaze behind her, his face expressing incomprehension, but she paid no heed.

‘A single lizard was pulling off such a cheeky stunt.’

In a moment of anger, the teacup shattered in her grasp. The shards seemed to have pierced her hand, but she had no time to care.

In any case, since everyone had regressed equally, Elena herself had been the first to make a move and secure an advantage. In that situation, she hadn’t expected the bold strategy of infiltrating the very heart of enemy territory, even for the esteemed Princess Elena.

She had thought that the other four would be at a loss as to how to approach the situation, given that she had already made the first move.

In fact, her cousin had taken no significant action other than showing her face once, hadn’t she?

With her heart growing impatient, Elena’s steps naturally quickened as she headed towards the separate palace.

Unlike her usual self, she was unaccompanied by any attendants. The people around her bowed their heads with puzzled looks as they encountered her, but she had no time to acknowledge their greetings one by one.

Finally arriving at the separate palace, she managed to find the room with the nameplate “Sylphia Andres” and took slow, deep breaths in front of the door.

‘…It’s not certain yet. Dragons change their identities with each game, as they said. There’s a possibility that only the name is the same, and it could be a completely different person.’

Just as she was trying to calm herself with such thoughts and placed her hand on the doorknob…

“Come in. I know it’s you.”

“……”

The moment she heard the familiar voice, Elena took another deep breath to avoid losing her composure.

As she silently opened the doorknob and entered the room, she was greeted by the sight of a woman sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, yawning as if bored.

Her fiery red hair cascaded down in long strands. And her demeanor, as she nonchalantly stroked her hair with a disinterested expression, as if facing the princess of a nation…

It was remarkably similar to the image etched in Elena’s memory.

“Sylphia Vernois…”

“It’s Sylphia Andres now. Please don’t go around changing people’s surnames as you please.”

“What’s the point of a surname that’s been appropriated or stolen anyway?”

“Well, humans make a fuss about such trivial matters.”

Elena slumped into a nearby chair without being invited to sit.

She openly displayed her displeasure.

“Have you also regressed?”

“Just like you did.”

A reconfirmation of what was already known.

Sylphia, nodding her head perfunctorily, continued.

“At first, I was quite surprised. To think that I wasn’t the only one who had returned to the past.”

“……”

“And I never expected that you would have already made your move beforehand. Initially, I thought you had simply secured a position in the palace in advance.”

Sylphia responded with a relaxed smile, in contrast to Elena’s furrowed brow and eyes brimming with hostility.

From Elena’s perspective, she had unwittingly set the table for her rival, while from Sylphia’s perspective, a gourd had rolled over to her along with its vine, without her rival’s knowledge.

It was a truth that inevitably led to opposite reactions from the two once they became aware of it.

“What do you plan to do from now on?”

“What do you mean, what do I plan to do? I don’t have any particular plans.”

“You’re lying to me again. Sneaking in under a false identity and pulling off such a cheeky stunt.”

“Oh my.”

Unlike Elena, who retorted with a sullen face, Sylphia chuckled.

“Sneaking in under a false identity, you say? While it’s true that I concealed my identity, I didn’t deliberately approach anyone.”

Their words were laced with subtle hostility towards each other.

And as if in response to Elena’s rising hostility, Sylphia’s red eyes transformed, with her pupils turning into vertical slits.

Dragon eyes.

The eyes of a dragon, the strongest creature that no living being could match one-on-one, and proof of their innate predatory nature.

Even while gazing into those dragon eyes that could cause the faint-hearted to faint upon mere eye contact, Elena calmly continued.

“So, are you going to deny it now?”

“Of course I’m denying it. Because I truly never did such a thing.”

“Your words just now were the most amusing joke I’ve heard all year. A dragon leisurely pretending to be a mage, infiltrating the palace to play house, and it’s all a product of coincidence. What a hilarious joke.”

“It’s not impossible. In fact, that’s exactly what I did before the regression.”

“If you’ve already done it once, shouldn’t you be tired of it by now?”

“Just because I’ve done it once, does that mean I can’t do it twice?”

They were engaged in a sharp verbal battle, neither side yielding an inch.

To put it crudely, Elena was in a state of being pissed off. She had already mapped out a blueprint under the assumption that she alone had regressed, but her plans were constantly being ruined by interference, so it was only natural for her to feel upset.

On the other hand, Sylphia was enjoying herself while throwing a wrench into Elena’s plans.

Their underlying premises were completely different from the start.

Moreover, unfortunately for Elena, her opponent was a dragon.

Unlike her cousin or other competitors, Sylphia was not someone she could intimidate with status or even consider using force against.

And as if to drive the point home…

“And there’s an unspoken rule between us, isn’t there?”

“I’m sorry, but I’d appreciate it if you refrained from using such expressions. You and I have no relationship whatsoever, so it’s a bit creepy when you make it sound like we’re close.”

“Anyway, as I was saying!”

The content of the rule was simple: to patiently await Rudrick’s choice and respect his decision regardless of the outcome.

They were not opponents that dirty tricks or schemes would work against, and if the five of them started fighting over a single man, it would be the day a civil war broke out.

In order to resolve things as peacefully as possible, they had all tacitly agreed upon this rule.

With that at stake, even Elena had nothing more to say.

“If you don’t like it, you’ll have to fight me.”

“……”

“It would be quite entertaining to see a dragon in its true form rampaging in the heart of the palace. You’d need to bring about 20,000 knights to capture me.”

“…Phew, you’re just a thug with strength.”

“It’s a bit funny to hear the princess of a human empire say that.”

Elena shook her head as if there was no other choice, and at some point, Sylphia’s eyes had reverted to their original state.

As if there was nothing more to say, Elena got up to leave, and Sylphia waved her hand at her retreating back.

“Take care.”

“As if.”

With a curt reply, Elena closed the door and headed back to her office.

Her mind was in turmoil.

To the point where she wished she had been the only one to regress.

The fact that she constantly had to revise her plans due to unexpected variables, when she hadn’t even considered them before, was the most irksome.

She remembered Rudrick once telling her about a novel called “Daddy Long Legs.” It was a novel that, while listening to the story, she felt a strange sense of discomfort with the era and the roles of men and women.

She had been puzzled to discover that the novel had never been published anywhere in the empire, but now that things had turned out this way, she had intended to take on the role of Rudrick’s Daddy Long Legs herself.

‘…Things are getting complicated.’

When she returned to her office, the broken teacup had been cleaned up, and Lorenzo was nowhere to be seen, likely having returned to his research lab.

Just as she slumped into her chair, about to organize her upcoming tasks…

Bang!

The door swung open again without a knock.

Elena raised her head with a deeply furrowed brow at the rude visitor, only to see a familiar face standing there.

“…What brings you to me this time, cousin, when you should be in the north?”

“I came because I have something to say. What else would I be here for?”

Just as Elena was about to point out that it was inappropriate to barge in like this without any notice, even if she was her cousin, Eileen spoke in a commanding tone, her imposing presence and cold voice unchanged.

“Leave Rudrick alone.”

“…Huh?”

“There was no need for you to be greedy in the first place. If you had just left him alone to study on his own, he would have done well without your meddling. Why are you bothering him unnecessarily?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, cousin. Wasn’t it an unspoken agreement between us to have him become Lorenzo’s disciple?”

“I’m withdrawing that agreement.”

“……”

Eileen didn’t need to inform Elena about the artifact that allowed direct communication with him, but it was enough to push Elena, who was already stressed about Sylphia’s situation, over the edge.

The corners of Elena’s lips twisted into a crooked smile as she spoke with feigned cheerfulness.

“Cousin, that’s enough nonsense.”

“…Nonsense?”

“I don’t know what kind of scheme you’re plotting this time by coming to me with such words, but it seems like everyone has lost their minds today.”

“Nonsense, schemes.”

Eileen muttered, nodding her head with an expressionless face.

“I understand.”

And with those words, she slammed her clenched fist onto the table.

Bang!

Without any visible mana infusion, Eileen shattered the wooden table with a single blow.

“Elena, it appears that words alone won’t get through to you.”

“You’re one to talk!”

“I had no intention of bickering like we did as children, but… Come out. It’s a duel.”

“If you thought I would come crying to our parents like when we were young, you’re greatly mistaken. I’ll have to correct your misconception, cousin.”

Naturally, their voices rose, and the sound of the shattered table, along with their shouting, leaked outside.

An invisible bomb’s fuse was burning. The atmosphere was so tense that it could explode at any moment.

And in the midst of that hostile atmosphere…

Knock, knock.

A small, incongruous knocking sound was heard.

Both of their gazes simultaneously turned towards the door, and as it opened, Rudrick peeked his head inside, surveying the room. His eyes met theirs.

“Haha…”

An awkward laugh.

“It’s nothing. I just heard a loud noise, so… Ah! Please carry on!”

Bang.

And with those words, the door quickly closed.

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