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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Aren’t you going to see him off?”
“There’s no need. I’ve already said everything I wanted to say.”
Adele already knew the day Robert was leaving.
If there was something she wanted to say before he left, she had already said everything she wanted to say at night.
Adele, who recalled the way Robert looked at her at the moment the bell rang, let out a faint sigh.
– Will you make a bet?
She still had questions about what that suddenly brought up word “bet” meant.
About whether they could see the bell ringing together next year.
If she called him, he would have to come as he was.
Didn’t he know best that she would bring him even by force if he didn’t come?
It was an obvious losing bet, yet he offered one wish.
It was true that she couldn’t quite understand the overly generous reward.
Perhaps… he had noticed that she was anxious.
The feeling she had was an instinct she had since childhood.
When she was anxious, when she was in danger.
It could be called a sixth sense that informed her of all those situations almost like a premonition.
She had always lived on the edge.
Wasn’t the North a land where it wouldn’t be strange to die at any moment, where people sought each other’s lives?
In such a place, the way for a girl to survive with a single blade was simple.
Detect the threats that would come to her in advance, nip them in the bud, and trample them so they couldn’t crawl up.
This feeling she had since birth was the driving force behind such a life, so Adele usually trusted this feeling.
But what she felt now was different from before.
It couldn’t be called a bad feeling.
Rather, as if whispering that nothing would happen, she only felt a peaceful premonition.
‘Strange.’
It was a sensation she had never felt even once before.
Things would go well if they continued like this?
Adele didn’t believe in such peaceful thoughts.
At every moment, in any situation, didn’t an ominous feeling follow?
What suddenly came to mind was the letter she had received from Robert.
Upon recalling that, the peaceful feeling disappeared and an ominous premonition bloomed.
… There was something.
Adele, who thought so and tore open the letter, blankly stared at something that fell from the letter.
It was a white handkerchief.
The handkerchief with her emblem embroidered on it, which she had lent him when she cut Robert’s throat.
Chuckling, she picked up the handkerchief.
It was a bit ridiculous that it had returned like this when she had forgotten about it, even though it was fine not to return it.
Did he remember that she told him to return it?
As she put away the handkerchief and picked up the letter, a neat handwriting unlike its appearance caught her eye.
Being born a nobleman showed in such places.
Robert, was born in the central region unlike herself, so wouldn’t he write well?
I wonder if you received the handkerchief well.
She wanted to answer that she had received the handkerchief well, but this was just a letter.
After staring intently at the paper for a moment, Adele’s gaze turned downward.
What was written in the letter was first a simple greeting.
He said he had written what he wanted to say to her, but where did he write it?
It was after a little more time had passed that Adele’s eyes, which had been examining the letter, narrowed.
I spent the most time with you, had many conversations, and received a lot of help from you.
“Help.”
Adele smiled bitterly.
In fact, she didn’t particularly remember giving any notable help to Robert.
He adapted well on his own, and just lending him a sword was all, wasn’t it?
There was a sight she wanted to show him, but Robert’s expression upon seeing it looked quite complicated.
She didn’t know what memories he was recalling, but it was certain that it was something she didn’t know.
It was clear that there was a gap between herself and Robert.
Something she didn’t know but Robert knew.
Would it be possible not to feel a sense of incongruity in that gap?
Although she didn’t like that fact, what dispersed her thoughts was the sentence written in the next part of the letter.
Because the reason I came to the North and wanted to meet the Grand Duchess was not to return the handkerchief.
While furrowing her brows at the word “warning,” Adele soon read the next sentence and let out a small laugh.
It was a statement that didn’t fit the context at all.
She was only filled with questions about the name that she hadn’t been thinking about and hadn’t been in her mind until then.
Nevertheless, her gaze turned downward.
Robert’s words to her, the words that clearly had the character of a warning, were words that didn’t make sense no matter how much she thought about it.
Especially since she had been recognized by the imperial family and had risen to the position of Grand Duchess, and had directly received the title from the Crown Prince.
Adele’s mouth closed tightly.
Her eyes, which were always cold, were dizzily wavering with a mixture of questions and confusion.
“… What on earth were you thinking when you wrote this, Robert?”
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Thump-
When I left the North and rode a carriage instead of a sleigh, I finally felt that I had set foot in the central region again.
It was a place I didn’t want to come to.
Aside from seeing Yuria or Kaitel’s faces, fragments of my memories remained in various parts of this region.
Wherever I went, traces of what I had tried would remain.
The only thing that was a relief was that I wouldn’t have to visit the ducal residence.
My eyes narrowed as I read Renold’s letter.
The words that she had started to move meant, in short, that she was trying to finalize the preparations to secure the position of family head.
Although I would have to wait and see how far she would go, she might even be able to threaten my father.
It was better to take measures in advance for such parts.
If I lost the initiative while being distracted, there would be disruptions to my plan.
The first thing to do was to “secure” my father’s person.
My father was the first insurance against the unexpected situations Yuria might cause.
Unless my father allowed it, the position of family head wouldn’t be determined, so I had to have that authority first.
While writing something to send to Renold, a thought suddenly came to mind and I raised my head.
It was about the letter I had written to Adele.
She had probably read it all by now.
What was written in it was quite a blatant warning, and I had added one more thing to it.
‘Regression.’
It was something I wrote inspired by what Adele had said, but it was nothing more than a hint.
How Adele would interpret this was up to her.
If she believed it, it would be in a slightly better direction, and even if she didn’t believe it, it didn’t matter.
I’ll save her.
Since I had decided that, there wouldn’t be a situation where Adele died in this round.
Perhaps because I had clashed swords quite a lot in the North, my level had advanced a step further than I had thought.
I wouldn’t get tired quickly just by using a little mana like before, and I could consider using other weapons as well.
Although I had wasted 20 lives after losing Miragen, I hadn’t completely wasted them.
Hadn’t I seen the extremes of all the weapons I could use?
Even if I couldn’t fully achieve those extremes, I believed there was nothing I couldn’t do if I proceeded based on the understanding I had already achieved.
“It would be better to contact Adriana.”
So the place I was heading to this time was the church where Adriana would be, even though it felt a bit rushed to go there right after arriving in the central region.
I had to see Adriana, but in this round, I also had to build a relationship with the church, so it was natural.
If there was something I had to finish before striking the Crown Prince, building my own forces came first.
Going to the North, going to the south with Adriana, and building a friendship with Miragen were for that reason, right?
And I had even directly met the Crown Prince.
The progress on this was still going smoothly.
The church could also be considered part of that.
The church the Saint belonged to accounted for 90% of the empire’s religion, so if I could gain even a little support from such a force, wouldn’t it be sufficient preparation for the future?
The only uncomfortable thing was that such forces were being prepared for after the rebellion.
The rebellion had to be carried out secretly.
To the point where even Miragen couldn’t notice, only I, Arwen, and perhaps Adele had to kill the Crown Prince.
There were many justifications to present after killing the Crown Prince.
His strange behavior, and now even the Four Dragons.
The problem was that the process was very, extremely, almost impossibly difficult.
Although I was completely unfolding fate in a new direction this time, I also had an experience which almost reached the point of killing the Crown Prince.
I recalled failing that and my mind being briefly shattered, it would be quite regretful.
With such thoughts, I fiddled with the artifact and sent a message to Miragen.
I needed Miragen to contact Adriana.
If she was a magician belonging to the imperial family, she would probably be able to extend a communication line to the Moon Tower.
As the ringing tone that had been going on for a while was cut off, Miragen’s voice was heard.
– Oh, is this Lord Robert?
“Yes, it is. Have you been well?”
– I’m curious about the reason for your contact. I hope your wounds are okay, are you still in the North?
“I just left and arrived in the central region. Judging from your voice, it seems you have been resting comfortably.”
Miragen’s voice was the same as always.
Wondering if there was any problem, a faint smile bloomed at her voice mixed with her unique playfulness.
I think she just had more difficulty moving around compared to before.
Even if an investigation was conducted regarding the exposure of the northwest location, it would be difficult to reveal the results.
Delighted by my words, Miragen let out a deep sigh along with an absolute no.
As soon as she returned to the imperial palace, a confinement order was issued, and she revealed in a voice full of concern that she wouldn’t be able to go out for a while.
Well, even if I were the emperor, I think such an order would be a natural course of action.
His cherished daughter almost suffered greatly in the North, so there was no way he would let it slide without any measures, right?
When I consoled her a bit, Miragen grumbled and asked about me.
– The Grand Duchess must be disappointed. It’s like you left right after I did.
“I don’t think she would be like that. She must be a busy person.”
– Hmm, is that really so?
Miragen, who uttered such a meaningful reply, then opened her mouth with a slightly brighter voice.
She must have been waiting for a conversation with someone.
If it was a confinement order, it would have been difficult for her to even talk to her own maid.
– Can you come to the imperial palace? I said I wanted to repay you last time. If you come to my side while you’re in the central region, I’ll treat you well. If it’s the price for saving the life of a princess, well… I can grant you one wish.
“You think I would ask you to grant a wish?”
– If you ask me to date you, I can allow that much. You should know how difficult it is to become the lover of a princess.
I shrugged my shoulders at the word difficult.
How many times had she and I become lovers?
I think it was well over ten times.
I know what’s in Miragen’s body better than she does.
It was a ridiculous story, but if I said this, she would be so startled that she would try to avoid me.
“I’m not particularly interested in such things. Rather, I contacted you to ask for a different favor.”
– … Oh, I didn’t expect you to say you’re not interested. But a favor?
“I want to contact the Saint, so can you connect me from your side?”
Then there was a moment of silence.
The sound of the artifact falling and being picked up again was heard, and a chilling voice was heard beyond the insincere laughter.
– Aha, you mean Adriana, right?
“Yes, but… your voice sounds dark.”
– Well, I’ve just been deceived by someone. I hope people won’t make me expect things for no reason. Be a little more careful next time, Lord Taylor.
When I barely answered the stricter voice than before, Miragen snorted and disappeared to the sound of footsteps.
She was probably going to call a magician.
I couldn’t help but laugh a little at that reaction.
You haven’t changed since then until now.
Just that alone made me feel at ease.
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