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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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If there was a place where spring wasn’t welcome, it was the North, with its muddy ground and melting ice.
Flowers didn’t bloom here.
Even in spring, only a few blades of grass would sprout.
It was still cold, and people preferred winter to spring or summer.
Why would anyone be happy with a season that brought neither flowers nor lush greenery?
But Adele had been waiting for spring, simply to hear the news that would arrive after it came.
She had checked the letters that arrived every day countless times.
Just as she was starting to feel tired of waiting, wondering if it was ever going to end, news finally arrived.
“He’s become the Duke. It seems he’s succeeded.”
Adele sighed softly after hearing Lothos’s words.
She wished he had contacted her directly.
She had worried about whether things were going well and had considered sending troops several times.
It didn’t matter what the central nobles thought about her sending troops.
She knew Yuria Taylor’s personality all too well.
Lothos had tried to reassure her, gathering information from various sources, but she couldn’t shake her anxiety.
She had even considered marching her army into Taylor territory.
The news that finally arrived was enough to put her mind at ease.
She closed her eyes, running a hand over her forehead.
She had been thinking too much lately, and her head was pounding.
While one worry had been lifted, Robert still had a lot to do.
She had warned him about the Crown Prince, so he had to be careful.
But it seemed Robert intended to approach the Crown Prince directly.
What was he planning?
Perhaps she could figure something out if she remembered everything she had forgotten.
“You can finally sleep peacefully now. Weren’t you losing sleep every night?”
“I wasn’t losing sleep.”
“…Have you looked in the mirror?”
She chuckled softly at her own reflection.
She didn’t remember looking this disheveled before.
The dark circles under her eyes were undeniable proof that she hadn’t been sleeping well.
Was this the first time she had shown herself in such a state?
She waved her hand dismissively at Lothos, who was looking at her with concern, and smiled faintly.
“I suppose I was a little worried.”
“It seems like more than a little.”
“It’s none of your concern. He’s the Duke now. He’ll come here on his own eventually. Enough about Robert.”
Lothos nodded slightly at her words.
He had a lot to say, but Adele seemed to be embarrassed about revealing her feelings in front of others.
However, Lothos seemed to think there was something else he needed to mention.
He cleared his throat and spoke.
“But at the succession ceremony…”
“I told you to stop talking about it.”
“I heard he appeared with the Saint. Did you know?”
The atmosphere instantly turned icy, and Lothos flinched.
It was the expected reaction, but Adele’s mood had shifted a little too quickly.
Her gaze turned cold, as if she was about to freeze Lothos solid.
Lothos smiled wryly and looked at Adele.
He had agonized over whether to tell her or not.
He knew exactly how Adele would react, but what if Adele found out on her own?
He might lose his head.
So he decided to face the consequences and tell her, hoping to receive a lighter punishment.
But Adele’s reaction was colder than expected, and Lothos sighed softly.
Adele laughed softly as she sat in her chair.
It wasn’t a laugh of amusement but a bitter chuckle of disapproval.
He had spoken as if becoming Duke was a life-or-death situation, but he had appeared with the Saint right after succeeding.
…Was that why he hadn’t contacted her?
She ran a dry hand over her face, her thoughts even more complicated than before.
She had been the one who worried about him the most, despite being isolated in the North.
She had lost sleep wondering why he hadn’t contacted her, and she had even considered visiting him personally.
But he was apparently taking things very lightly.
“Are you going to the capital yourself?”
“No, I’m not going. People would think I was desperate.”
“That’s good to hear. I thought you might go.”
Adele usually rushed straight to Robert whenever she was dissatisfied with something he had done.
She wanted to go to the capital and see what he was up to, but this time, she decided to try a different approach.
She couldn’t keep running after him.
This time, she wanted him to come to her.
“Send this to the Taylor Dukedom.”
After a moment of consideration, Adele wrote something on a letter and handed it to Lothos, telling him to send it to the Duke of Taylor.
She assumed he would come to the North once he received it.
Well, if he didn’t, she could always go to him.
But she couldn’t keep making the first move forever.
While she wasn’t simply upset that he hadn’t contacted her, she hoped he would feel a bit conflicted, just as she had and she wanted him to visit the North before autumn arrived.
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A sudden chill brushed against my cheek, and I thought of Adele in the North.
I hadn’t been able to contact her because I had been so busy.
I hoped she wasn’t offended.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to contact her, I simply hadn’t had the time.
If I had an artifact like Miragen’s, I could have at least heard her voice, but I had been so caught up in work that I hadn’t even thought about contacting her.
I resolved to send her a short letter when I returned to the North.
As I pondered this, Miragen’s voice brought me back to the present.
“You know you’ve been spacing out a lot lately?”
“…Have I?”
“Perhaps you’ve been pushing yourself too hard since becoming Duke. Taylor is a demanding house, after all.”
I took a sip of warm tea, letting it soothe my throat, and looked at Miragen.
I couldn’t simply agree when she asked if I had been pushing myself since becoming Duke.
It felt like Yuria had self-destructed, and I had acquired the position relatively easily, even though the process was lengthy.
But I had certainly been stressed.
I had slept for an entire day after becoming Duke, surprising Adriana when she visited.
It was true that I had a lot on my mind.
There were many things to consider now that I was Duke, and honestly, there was more to manage than when I was vying for the position.
“Perhaps you’re right.”
“Come to the Imperial Palace when you need a break. Looking at the garden here calms my mind.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. But my schedule is quite full this year, so it will be difficult for me to visit again.”
Miragen stared at me at the mention of my schedule.
I had immediate tasks to attend to, and I had to go to the North.
I planned to stay there until next year if possible.
There was Adele’s situation, and I was quite concerned about what Kaitel might do to her.
Moreover, the artifact Kaitel was likely targeting was also in the North.
If I secured it and instructed Arwen to support the Southern subjugation, Kaitel would likely ease his concerns about me to some extent.
Of course, my intention behind the support was to uncover the truth about the masked figures.
“I’m planning to visit the North soon. I have some things to take care of.”
“The North… You’re going to see the Grand Duchess.”
“That’s right. I have to pay my respects, and she’s helped me a lot.”
Miragen had a displeased expression, but she seemed to understand, considering what Adele had done.
Adele had diligently helped me when I was searching for the artifact in the South.
She was the first to support me, and perhaps she was the person I was most connected to in this life.
“Hmm, then shall we get going? I told you I had something to show you, didn’t I?”
We were already in Miragen’s room, but she touched the wall and carefully pulled it.
With a rumble, the wall opened, revealing a staircase leading down.
I knew there was a secret passage here, but I hadn’t been down there often.
It was a separate area, after all.
Perhaps she was surprised that I wasn’t particularly shocked.
Miragen chuckled awkwardly and looked at me.
“…You’re not surprised? How disappointing.”
“I’m very surprised. I didn’t know there was a secret room here.”
“It’s not really a secret room. It’s more like a personal storage space.”
It was a passage that could be used to escape to a safe place in an emergency, but it was too vast to be considered a personal storage space.
I couldn’t help but be amazed by the sheer scale of it.
The massive space was created with magic.
The ceiling extended beyond what should have been possible, and it was even larger than it appeared from the outside.
A library filled with countless books, a storage room filled with countless objects.
Miragen walked through the space and stopped at a particular spot, proceeding to rummage through it.
If my memory served me right, this was where the Imperial treasures were stored.
They were of lower rank than the Emperor’s possessions, but they were still quite valuable.
“The artifact I gave you before was also from here. It’s one of only five in the entire Imperial Family.”
“Are you sure I can keep it?”
“It doesn’t matter. I wanted to give it to you. And you’re using it well.”
If it weren’t for the artifact, I wouldn’t have been able to go to the South when Miragen was there, nor could I have gone to the Northwest alone.
It was one of the artifacts I treasured.
As we entered the storage room, Miragen rummaged through a corner and eventually pulled out a small object.
“I think this might be useful for you.”
It was something I had seen before.
It was a device that produced a sword when infused with mana.
I remembered it because it was said to be indestructible, and I had already received it as a gift in the past.
-Think of me every time you use this. Remember that, alright?
The memory made me chuckle.
I didn’t expect to receive it again.
It was a good gift since I could use it well, but it was also a precious object because of the memories associated with it.
I reached out to take it, but Miragen suddenly frowned and tightly gripped the sword’s hilt.
“What’s wrong?”
She had a confused expression.
Her gaze shifted between me and the sword’s hilt.
The silent exchange continued for a while before she finally opened her mouth, her lips trembling slightly.
“It’s nothing.”
Miragen hesitated, then answered softly.
“…Did I ever give this to you, Robert?”
My body stiffened at her confused question.
I knew what it meant.
If she was experiencing déjà vu, it meant she might be regaining her memories.
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