Breakfast.
It was the start of a day that wasn’t particularly special, and one of the few times Adelle and I shared together.
Because of that, I intentionally slowed down my eating during breakfast.
I looked across the table at Adelle who was sitting there. Unlike her usual self, she was poking at her food, and it caught my attention.
Despite having eaten more than two servings already this morning, she was taking an unusually long time to chew a single piece of bacon. Anyone could see that she looked exhausted.
The slight tremble of her fork confirmed my suspicions.
“Adelle, is something the matter?”
“I… stayed up all night last night.”
Adelle scratched her cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed.
However, it was clear that she was lying. The slight tremor in the muscles around her eyes and the slightly contracted redness of her irises were evidence enough.
I quickly deduced the cause of her current state.
‘She must have reverted.’
I couldn’t help but wonder where or why she had reverted. There had been no dangerous places that she had visited.
While I was lost in thought, Adelle gently placed her fork back on the table. It seemed as if her food had suddenly lost its taste.
Her behavior was clearly different from her usual self, and even Alan, who was usually composed, opened his eyes wide in surprise.
Had he noticed his expression, Adelle shyly smiled.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t have much of an appetite today.”
“…I see. Understand. Make sure to rest well.”
“Yes.”
With a slight nod, she left her seat. Watching her leave, Alan’s face seemed burdened with concern.
Even though I don’t get to see Adelle often, I could tell her condition worried me. How much more for Alan, who witnesses her daily life?
Moreover, she could potentially become the lady of this estate. There was naturally more reason to worry.
I had gifted her a diffuser out of concern, but it seemed her condition hadn’t improved much.
What had happened to her?
“I only hope it wasn’t something serious…”
Alan muttered these words, laced with worry. I felt the same, though I didn’t show it. It would be better to find out directly what had happened.
“Yihao.”
Black mist swirled in midair, gathering into small granules that quickly formed a small statue shaped like a crow. This was Yihao, head of the crows and unmatched in intelligence gathering. The statue was a communication artifact that would allow me to hear information no matter where he was.
“Where did the young noblewoman go last night?”
– The royal library.
The royal library, huh?
Even with this information, it was difficult to determine the reason for her reversion. Given Adelle’s personality, which is averse to the use of reversion unless due to death or extreme circumstances, she didn’t easily manipulate time. I had tested her reversion abilities many times and knew this to be true.
Then, this meant someone must have died in the library, right?
Killing a viscount’s daughter while she quietly read a book smack in the center of the palace was something even the most brazen would hesitate to attempt.
-The Emperor’s hand was aiming for her.
That revelation froze me for a moment.
“It was a mistake, wasn’t it.”
I had thought sending her there would be safe, given that she’d insisted on going alone. Regret washed over me for not insisting on sending Evan along despite her objections.
Now, I understood why Adelle had reverted. The question was why the Emperor’s hand had targeted her. What could compel the Emperor’s hand, one of the weakest pieces, to attempt to kill her?
-And the Princess saved the young noblewoman.
“The Princess?”
I hadn’t expected her name to come up. Had the Princess even met Adelle directly before? Based on my knowledge, they had never crossed paths. A memory surfaced — Adelle had once left quietly during the night.
Coupling this with the fact that the Princess had saved her from the Emperor’s hand led me to a sudden conclusion.
‘Did she go to meet the Princess that night?’
While this conclusion seemed more like a wild guess, my well-honed intuition told me otherwise. It was correct.
And the simplest course of action now was to go and ask.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Yes, please take care.”
As Alan’s voice faded behind me, I awakened the mana dispersed within me. A peculiar hum resonated in my ears as a brilliant magic circle revealed itself.
Instant teleportation.
A magic that allowed me to move to any location, as long as the coordinates were calculated correctly. Even within the heart of the palace, if the calculations were precise, it would work.
Soon enough, the magic circle stabilized, and its faint vibrations enveloped me, cradling my entire body. The wind rushed past as my vision flipped in an instant.
Thump.
The impact of my head colliding with the floor must have caused a slight pain. Clearly, even with proper calculations, errors were inevitable when teleporting inside the palace.
After all, the palace itself was warded with magic that sealed other enchantments. While not powerful enough to completely nullify my spells, it did disrupt the coordinate calculations.
As I massaged my forehead, an attempt to stifle laughter sounded behind me.
“Pfft… Cough…”
I turned to see the Princess covering her mouth, trying hard to suppress her amusement. Despite my warning glance, her laughter persisted uncontrollably.
“Pfft… Haha…”
“Stop laughing, please.”
“Isn’t that a bit too much to ask of someone laughing?”
The tough Iron Duke, known as the Bloody Duke, had just smashed his head onto the floor and claimed it hurt; it was a scene she found completely absurd.
“Haha… Alright, I’ll stop.”
As I continued to glare, the Princess cleared her throat and composed herself.
“But, what happened to your eye?”
It had been nagging at me since I arrived, but I had been unable to ask properly because she wouldn’t stop laughing.
The Princess touched the eye patch covering her left eye in response to my inquiry.
“Something the Emperor did,” she said nonchalantly.
Then she removed the eye patch. Beneath it, there was neither a scar nor any trace of injury. However, when she opened her left eye, a clouded, golden iris stared back.
Involuntarily, I frowned.
“An unpleasant style.”
“What happened?”
“Faulty spellcasting. Hence, the current state.”
She said this with an apparent lack of distress, much like how she reacted the last time her pinky finger had been severed. Clearly, she regarded the upkeep of her own body as an inconvenient chore.
It was undoubtedly because of the curse placed upon her.
The Princess closed her mouth, as if unwilling to speak further on the matter, and replaced the eye patch. A brief silence followed before she spoke up, seemingly out of discomfort.
“So, why are you here?”
“What do you think?” I replied.
“Adelle von Este.”
Her laughter halted upon hearing the name from me.
Even the Princess seemed to know why I mentioned it. In these moments, pushing a little further always proved effective.
“You know,” I pressed.
“Haha. Didn’t expect you to catch on so quickly.”
She gave a slightly sheepish smile.
“Next time, I’ll be more mindful about deceiving the Duke.”
As she acknowledged, the pieces began falling into place in my mind.
Reasons like why Adelle snuck out at night, why she stayed up in the ducal estate’s library, and why she even went to the royal library, all became clear.
And then, why she was specifically ambushed by the Emperor’s hand while there.
Clearly, Adelle must have learned of my plot from the Princess.
“You told her about us,” I concluded.
Her amusement disappeared as she looked straight at me. The relaxed demeanor she had exhibited moments ago had vanished.
“Guess you really are too perceptive.”
Exhaling a sigh, the Princess muttered with a defeated tone. Her lack of denial confirmed my suspicions.
“Why did you tell her?”
“Isn’t Adelle the key to our plans?”
I nodded, prompting her to continue.
“And wouldn’t it be odd for her not to know about the plan when she’s the core of it?”
Logically, it made sense. Eventually, Adelle would need to learn of my plans as the central figure. But…
“There was no need to tell her so early.”
At my remark, she hesitated momentarily.
The Princess tilted her head as if to question my implication. After contemplating for a while, it seemed she understood what I meant.
“Do you think Adelle might betray you?”
“There’s no law against doubting it.”
“Humans shouldn’t be this suspicious…”
She sighed deeply as if exasperated by my nature. After a moment’s reflection, she resumed speaking.
“During the Hunting Festival, didn’t you rescue Adelle from the disaster-class monster?”
“Yes, but…”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“What exactly are you so worried about?”
