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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I might have been a little angry.
About her coming all the way here in secret when she would have been safe in the imperial palace.
Miragen was… complicated.
If I were to explain my feelings about Miragen, it would probably take a long time.
In addition to simply spending a long time together,
it might be because I had watched her die by my side when I held the deepest emotions for her.
Well, honestly, I wished Miragen would just stay in the imperial palace.
I had regretted it so much when she was in danger in the North.
Didn’t I think it would have been better if I had died instead, feeling like I had said something unnecessary?
I thought she paid a lot of attention to her position in many ways, and that was why she would act like this.
But when faced with this situation again, my chest felt tight.
I wanted to tell her that I was going to kill Kaitel myself.
That if Kaitel disappeared, Miragen would become the Emperor, so couldn’t she please just stay in the imperial palace?
I wanted to ask her if she couldn’t just be patient for a little while.
But I couldn’t do that.
It was a future that only I should know, so I couldn’t move hastily.
I didn’t know.
I felt like I needed to see her face before I could say anything.
Should I get angry?
Or should I let it be?
I probably wouldn’t know until I met her… but I couldn’t meet her with a smile like last time.
Even though I didn’t think this area was particularly dangerous, it was clear that we needed to be careful.
Even if she had come with magicians, it would still be dangerous if they encountered malicious different races, wouldn’t it?
I wished she would realize that she was a more precious existence.
Miragen sometimes had a tendency to throw herself into things.
Hadn’t she done that a few times before?
Of course, now only I remembered those things, but still, that personality probably hadn’t changed.
“Robert, we need to depart now.”
Adriana approached me as I was staring blankly into space.
I answered her that I understood, and then let out a sigh while briefly looking in the direction where Miragen might be.
I knew well that nothing would change by just standing here like this.
Even if I wanted to make a change, wouldn’t it only happen after meeting her?
I had thought about many things after dying multiple times, but what I wished for in this life wasn’t anything grand.
Adele, Adriana, Miragen.
I just wanted everyone to live happily.
It would be even better if my goal was achieved and I was happy too.
But the probability of that was probably low.
…I just hoped everyone except me could be happy.
Without anyone getting hurt, without anyone being sad, just smiling.
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“Miragen is in the south?”
Adriana was greatly surprised to hear that Miragen was in the south.
If she had moved without telling even Adriana, how secretly had she tried to move?
She might have even left a doppelganger of herself in the imperial palace.
Although she had come without such measures last time when there was no house arrest, if she had come all this way with magicians, she probably would have taken such a risky step.
“I contacted her earlier, and she was in the south. We’ll probably be able to meet her soon.”
If the elves opened the way for us, travel would be easy after that.
Their permission, as lovers of this forest, had the ability to make any rough terrain as smooth as flat ground.
The bumpy road became smooth, and the dense forest that had been blocking the horses’ view straightened its branches towards the sky.
It was magic too great for humans to handle, the reason there were many magicians in the south might be to imitate this magic.
Adele silently looked at Adriana sitting next to me.
It seemed she had sat like this because it would have been awkward to force her to sit elsewhere like before, but her expression was not ordinary.
“So the Princess is in the south. I wonder if there’s any reason for her to come all the way here.”
“It’s just a guess, but she probably needed something from here.”
“There are relics in the deep south. I think that’s probably what she needs.”
Adriana, who knew Miragen well, answered.
As she would be able to understand Miragen’s circumstances to some extent, I nodded slightly at her words that Miragen might need a relic.
I didn’t know the exact reason this time, but that was likely the case.
There would be no reason for her to come all this way otherwise.
As far as I remembered, the relic in the deep south didn’t have a clear purpose.
However, it was said to have been ‘directly’ created by the Moon Goddess, so both the church and the imperial family were strongly attached to it.
I thought the church would have secured it long ago if it weren’t in the deep south.
However, the deep south was a place full of many different races and dangers,
Instead of dispatching their already scarce personnel, the church had given the name ‘holy land’ to the deep south.
The place where the moon slept, the place where the moon shone more brilliantly than any night in the middle of the continent when the empire prospered.
‘Sacrifice.’
It was funny that this name overlapped with a word meaning sacrifice, but it meant that for the moon to shine, the light of those stars must be buried.
Perhaps it was the most fitting word.
“So the Princess is there.”
“We’ll probably be able to meet her soon. If we go this way, we should arrive in a few minutes.”
When I spread my mana, Adele’s brow twitched slightly.
She probably felt my mana, but that mana was advancing towards the depths of that forest.
When it reached the depths of the forest I felt what I thought was Miragen’s faint mana, I frowned and opened my mouth.
“She’s definitely there. I had hoped it was just my imagination.”
“She must have known it was dangerous, I wonder if the situation was that urgent.”
“Who knows, something might have happened while we were unaware.”
Thud.
The carriage stopped, and after helping Adriana down, I immediately tried to head down myself.
A hand stopped me.
When I turned my head, I saw Adele silently looking at me.
“You don’t look happy. Are you displeased that the Princess is here?”
“…Something like that.”
“I wish you’d be honest. Is it about memories I don’t know?”
At that question, I looked around for a moment, and after confirming that no one was there, I smiled bitterly.
That seemed to be enough of an answer, as Adele released my arm and spoke.
Her expression looked somewhat complicated.
Maybe it was because there were still memories she didn’t know about.
“Still, there’s no need to get angry.”
“Why would I be angry?”
“Because it looked like you were going to get angry if you went out like that. I know you care about the Princess more than I realize, but still… just.”
Adele briefly touched her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
She looked like she didn’t understand why she was advising me herself.
“From the perspective of someone without memories, it would be completely incomprehensible why you’re acting this way. It becomes more complicated than you think.”
“…Haha.”
If her intention was to improve my mood, I think it worked perfectly.
I had felt like I was going to say something to Miragen as soon as I saw her, but hearing Adele’s words made me smile slightly.
It would be strange to show too much concern for Miragen here.
From Miragen’s perspective, she and I weren’t that close.
If I had gotten angry, it might have made the relationship awkward instead.
When I smiled, Adele lightly pushed my back, telling me to go.
That gesture seemed a bit cute.
Was it jealousy?
Last time, she had admitted it was jealousy herself, so maybe she didn’t like me worrying about someone else.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“Why should I?”
“I thought you might not be too happy about me being alone with the Princess.”
Adele flinched at my joking words, then quietly shook her head and turned her back.
Was she not going to answer?
She just went in the direction Adriana had disappeared, so I started walking towards where Miragen was.
It seemed Adriana and Adele had deliberately gone in the opposite direction.
They had been concerned about Miragen since we were in the carriage, so were they giving us space?
What you saw when you reached the deep south was a tower rising towards the sky, similar to the Moon Tower.
However, unlike the Moon Tower, it didn’t just point upwards.
Rather, I knew that the depth underground was deeper than the height above ground.
Miragen seemed to be inside there.
As I carefully entered the tower, I saw a woman coming up the stairs.
Unlike her usual attire in the imperial palace, she was dressed quite ordinarily, so I only recognized her by her unique eyes.
Golden pupils that only the imperial family possessed.
Her eyes, which met mine, wavered for a moment, then found their place and sparkled slightly.
A small voice escaped from her lips, which had been trembling.
I didn’t know what my expression looked like.
Although Adele had advised me, I was still angry.
“…Oh, you came.”
“Someone came to this dangerous place, so I rushed here.”
“Well, if I were to make an excuse, you know. You know I’m always in a precarious position, right?”
“I know.”
As I stepped closer, Miragen stepped back.
I could see stairs behind her.
If she kept backing up like that, she would fall.
With that thought, I moved closer, and Miragen retreated further.
I couldn’t understand what she was thinking.
Avoiding wasn’t the best strategy.
I thought it would be better to confront it.
“I came to find a relic. Once I find it? I think I probably won’t have to come out like this again.”
“Adriana said so. That you probably came to find a relic.”
Step.
Miragen smiled slightly, seemingly a bit surprised by my answer.
She smiled awkwardly a few times, but kept backing away as I approached.
Then her foot caught on the stairs, and her body wobbled.
I reached out my hand towards her swaying body.
For a moment, I almost asked if she was an idiot, but barely held back.
If she had been thinking, she would have known that what she had just come up was stairs.
Thwack, my outstretched hand grabbed her waist and pulled.
Her tilting body stopped in mid-air, and I pulled Miragen towards me and set her in front of me.
It was a close distance.
A distance where our eyes could almost touch, where our breaths intermingled and our scents mingled.
Miragen’s quivering lips closed tightly.
As I looked at her unusually glossy lips, I heard a small voice in my ear.
“…Are you perhaps angry? That I came here?”
“I’m not sure.”
I was angry.
Despite what Adele had said earlier, when I saw Miragen, I wanted to question why she had come to such a dangerous place.
While I had encouraged her to go to the Terranite mine, there was no reason for her to come here at all.
I thought I would probably get angry when I saw her face.
Strangely, I didn’t feel angry.
“I was angry earlier, but not now.”
“I’m sorry, um. Next time I’ll tell you before I come.”
“I think it’s best if you just don’t come at all.”
A small blush rose on Miragen’s cheeks.
It was natural.
She was almost in my arms, leaning against the wall, facing me at quite a close distance.
The waist I was holding trembled several times.
Miragen took a deep breath as she supported her wobbling legs.
It seemed to be hard for her to endure, and I grinned seeing her ear tips turning bright red.
She had always been vulnerable to these things.
I should let her go now.
It seemed I wouldn’t be able to get angry, and even if I warned her several times, it seemed like this kind of thing would happen again next time.
As I released her waist, I lightly flicked my finger against Miragen’s forehead.
Thwack-
“Ouch.”
“Next time, please contact me first. Stop worrying His Majesty the Emperor.”
I grinned as I watched Miragen glaring at me while holding her forehead.
It probably didn’t hurt that much, I think I controlled my strength so it was just a slight sting.
It was always like this.
From the past that Miragen couldn’t remember, I was always the one who gave in.
There were times when I wanted to get angry, but in the end, I couldn’t.
Unlike other couples who fought a lot, we had never even raised our voices at each other.
It might seem foolish to others, but I chose to give in this time too.
Maybe I would do the same next time.
Because when I saw Miragen, I always had no choice but to do so.
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