/
I was saddened by the thought that she must have had a hard time traveling the long way, but Agoth looked more energetic, to my surprise. Her skin was a little darker, and her body seemed better. The hair that had grown a little longer when I didn’t see it was tied back in a ponytail.
“Oh, I missed you, my lady!”
It seemed that her affection and obsession for me were still the same— No, did it get worse?
“Good work. Are you not hungry? Would you like to eat first?”
“It’s alright. Oh, by the way, I brought the specialties of Liun too!” Agoth rummaged through her bag, pulled out a wooden doll with dangling limbs, and handed it to me.
Mm, this was the specialty?
“Good luck will come if you hang it by the window!”
No, it looked like bad luck would come.
“Thank you, Agoth.”
Thank you for your sincerity, I smiled for now.
“By the way…” I asked what I had been curious about earlier because she seemed to have somewhat calmed down. “Who’s this person next to you…?”
That’s right.
Agoth did not come alone.
There was a man with her. He was as tall as Caesar, but his body was very thin, and his face was pale. He had glossy brown hair and wore a large robe that made even me, who had no fashion sense, speechless.
“What?This person? … Oh my! That’s right. We came together, didn’t we?” Agoth clapped her hands and shouted.
Gosh. Have you forgotten the very existence of the guest you brought?
Despite Agoth’s words, which could have been considered rude, the man laughed innocently and scratched the back of his head. “Ahaha, no. I was too quiet.”
“This is Mr. Romang, a member of the Mage Guild.”
“My name’s Roman, Miss Agoth. Roman Gritt,” the man smiled awkwardly and corrected his name.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Peresca. I heard a lot about you from Miss Agoth.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you, Mr. Gritt. But what did you hear about me?”
“I heard you’re beautiful, strong, kind, and capable of everything like an angel who came down from heaven.”
Distorted. Severely distorted.
I looked at Agoth, and Agoth nodded with a proud smile.
This is bad. I can’t even blame you.
“Mmm, let’s just slowly learn the truth…  Mr. Gritt.”
“You can call me Roman.”
“Then Mr. Roman. There must be a reason why you came with Agoth, right?”
“Ah, actually, I was interested…”
“Interested?” My head tilted involuntarily.
The next explanation to clear my doubts came from Agoth. She went through her bag again, this time pulling out a large book and placing it on the table. It was very worn and old, and the paper looked like it would crumble if you touched it incorrectly.
“Actually, I searched the guild directory for Noe, but there was no such name.”
“I see.”
“But here, Mr. Romang said that the name sounds familiar. He went through hundreds of years of rosters all day long in the warehouse.”
“My name’s Roman, Miss Agoth.”
“It was tiring, but he found the name,” Agoth said as she opened the book. “It went back 100 years ago.”
The book Agoth pulled out was a list of guild members from 100 years ago. I took a close look at the page she opened. And it wasn’t long before I found the name.
Noe Lable.
“… Lable.” I quietly recited his last name, not his first name.
It was a name I already knew.
My heart felt sore. It stung.
‘How did I forget all this time?’
The mage who unleashed the sealing magic when he sealed Krusech to my heart. In other words.
‘The only person who knows that Krusech is sealed in my heart.’
He wasn’t even a colleague. He was just a partner I hired when I decided to seal Krusech because there was no way to kill it.
Was he a descendant of that person? Was that why he knew Krusech was sealed in my heart?
“My lady, are you okay?” Agoth sitting next to me, asked, and only then did I come to my senses. The back of my neck felt cold.
“Ah… yes. I was thinking of something else,” I smiled faintly at Agoth, but the worried expression on her face did not erase.
I deliberately asked Roman to lighten the mood. “By the way, Mr. Roman, why was this name familiar to you?”
“Even if it’s someone from long ago, you’d have tilted your head at least once when you heard this name. He is famous.”
“Famous? Is it because he is a descendant of the mage who sealed Krusech?”
“What? Oh, is he?”
You didn’t know?
‘That makes sense. Lable had completely gone into hiding after sealing Krusech.’
Lable hadn’t liked being famous, so his existence was easily forgotten.
“Then why is he famous?”
“Because he was a guild member who caused a big accident and was expelled.”
“Expelled? What has he done?”
“This probably happened on the last generation of proper mages. I heard about ten or so wizards, including him, committed something taboo to revive magic.”
“A taboo?” My brows furrowed.
“Yes. Was it to bring a dead person back to life? I think it was to make them reborn?”
Bringing a dead person back to life? To make them reborn…?
No way… Was it me?
Was it not just a mere coincidence that I was reincarnated with the memories of my previous life?
“It was taboo and dangerous magic, so everyone involved died, and only he survived.”
“Is he dead now?”
“He must be dead. It’s been 100 years old.”
“Do you know when?”
“I don’t know. His whereabouts after being expelled are unclear. Some say he died from punishment; others say he ran away.”
‘He’s not dead.’
He wasn’t dead. Noe from 100 years ago was still alive.
He made me reborn.
Stole Dante’s body.
Trying to revive Krusech.
‘Only to revive magic.’
Now everything was clear.
The reason he’d shed tears of emotion when he called me ‘King’ when I was young. He was thrilled that he could safely reincarnate me and bring the king—Krusech—back to life through me.
“Is that right, my lady? The Dracoism cult leader we saw then. It must be this person, right?” Agoth also asked me with a confident look.
Roman laughed awkwardly at that. “Haha, Miss Agoth is really interesting. There’s no way a person from 100 years ago is still alive.”
“What? Didn’t Romang come with me because you were curious about that?”
“My name’s Roman, Miss Agoth.” Still with a smile, Roman said to me. “I don’t know, but it seems certain something is related to magic. Maybe this is intellectual curiosity.”
“That’s why you’re here with me?”
“And I don’t think Miss Agoth can explain the whole story properly.”
“You’re being too much, Mr. Romang!”
“My name’s Roman, Miss Agoth.”
Tak. Roman closed the book and told me. “And if it’s something related to magic, wouldn’t it be helpful to have at least one Mage Guild member in there?”
That was not wrong.
The information this man brought was more useful and certain than the one I had collected myself.
“Is there any guarantee you’re not on Noe’s side?”
“There’s no guarantee. But you can discuss magic with me if you have any questions about magic,” Roman said with an earnest face.
Perhaps after being stabbed in the back by Marianne, I’d become somewhat cautious about trusting people.
‘But it would be helpful to have someone who knows a lot about magic.’
Eventually, I gave up on suspecting Roman.
“… Alright. I may need a lot of help in the future, Mr. Roman.”
“Same here,” Roman said with a wide smile. Even that smile looked strangely shady, and somehow it looked more suspicious.
***
The engagement ceremony with Caesar was held as a party in the great hall of the Imperial Palace.
Everyone said, ‘This is too simple for an emperor’s engagement ceremony’, but I wondered if it was simple, especially if I thought back to the days when Rowena suffered for this engagement party.
‘Moreover, I couldn’t even concentrate on the engagement ceremony.’
I sighed as I sat in the chair prepared for the high table and rested my chin on my hand.
After hearing about Noe from Roman, nothing but Noe filled my mind.
‘I never thought he would have been a person from 100 years ago. How could he not change at all?’
When I met him when I was young and when I met him recently, he hadn’t changed at all.
‘Don’t tell me he’s living an eternal life.’
What had he said to me when we first met?
[How does time pass so slowly? This collapsing body is just mean.]
I thought I had forgotten everything, but when I thought about that scene even a little bit, it came to my mind quickly enough it was almost funny.
Collapsing body.
He… was dying.
“Isn’t it strange to see the beautiful protagonist sitting with her chin on her hand?” Caesar’s words from my side surprised me. Well, I was sitting in a very rude position without realizing it.
“What else are you thinking about when I’m by your side, Helena?” Caesar grumbled as he looked at me with squinted eyes. “Are you bored already?”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
It was indeed boring, but I couldn’t say that now. However, as if Caesar had already read my thoughts, he lightly burst into laughter. “Fortunately, everyone was distracted by dancing, so they lost interest in this side.”
At those words, I turned my head toward the center of the banquet hall. As he said, people were dancing to the music.
Caesar held out his hand to me and said.
“You look bored. Would you like to get some fresh air for a while?”
I grinned at his kindness and furrowed one brow. “Were you this kind to Yulika Brande by any chance?”
“Are you jealous? If that’s the case, I’m a little happy.”
“Are you happy with my jealousy?”
“Because a jealous person would always be by my side. Now, have you realized a little bit of my anxiety?”
I finally burst out laughing at Caesar’s clever words. I took his outstretched hand and stood up. The two of us left the main hall and exited onto the terrace.
Thick curtains and glass doors separated the inside and outside of the hall.
“It’s refreshing. I think I’ll live a little longer now,” I said, leaning against the railing and looking out into the garden. The night wind made my hair, which had been beautifully decorated, somewhat tousled, but I didn’t care.
Caesar came next to me and gently straightened my bangs.
“Don’t you regret it?”
“What?”
“Choosing to be by my side.” Caesar’s smile was buried in the darkness and was somewhat disturbing.
“Someday… You might end up in danger or get into trouble because of me.”
“Will you dump me if that happens?”
“No way.”
“That’s right. I won’t abandon Your Majesty just because of something like that.” I dropped my gaze over Caesar’s long fingers on the railing. And quietly placed my hand over them. “I will protect you from everything that threatens you.”
“Oh, no. I lost my words. I should have confessed that first.” Caesar smiled bitterly. Maybe he couldn’t wash away all the guilt he harbored against me. Guilt for not protecting me.
Now I knew that sadness and powerlessness.
I gently hugged Caesar and traced his back with my fingers. His temperature melted my body, which the cold night air had cooled.
“Your Majesty’s back must still have the scars he got while protecting me. Because you were the one who protected me from then on.”
Your back would never hurt again. That was my way of loving.
“Okay, then I can feel free to monopolize you,” Caesar hugged me tightly and spoke in a playful tone. “Your chance to escape is over, Helena. Because I will never let you go.”
“Oh, you’re so greedy.”
At my joke, Caesar raised my hand and kissed its back respectfully. The moonlight shined on the red eyes that were looking at me, shining like jewels.
He looked like a prince in a fairy tale, so I laughed a little.
“So Helena Peresca. Will you please marry this greedy man?”
Of course, to become a man of this body, you must have that level of ambition.
I gave the answer I had been preparing for this moment long ago. “With pleasure, Caesar Winter Gray.”
I would bring you everything you wanted. So, having you like that, how big of a world had I come to have in my hands?
Caesar pulled me by the waist and excitedly kissed me at my permission. Listening to the distant music, I closed my eyes and felt everything about the man who was now wholly mine with my whole body.