Boo- boo-
It was still early for anyone to wake,
and at the sorrowful hooting of an owl, Yuria slowly opened her closed eyes.
Her body was hungry from not eating for a day, but her mind lost in thought didn’t recall her hunger.
A day had passed since she faced Robert.
She had locked herself in her room to have some time alone.
Was she really wrong? Yuria silently stared at the blank wall.
To steady her wavering heart, to align her residual thoughts.
She reflected on how briefly her heart had been shaken.
For just a moment, she had shown emotional traits at the words Robert spat out.
There was no need for her to waver even a little.
Hadn’t she always made the right judgments for her family?
Still, the reason she questioned her convictions was…
Well, Yuria pondered as she gazed at the wall.
Her long hair had gradually become shorter.
Now barely brushing her shoulders, a light sigh escaped Yuria’s lips as she shook her head.
“…I’ll admit it, I was wrong.”
She began to understand why Robert said he disliked her.
It was because she had been too weak-hearted.
Bearing in mind the words of her mother, who had passed away long ago, she had made excuses for her actions while being concerned for her younger sibling.
The things she did, claiming to rehabilitate him as a suitable member of the family.
Who would have known it would lead to Robert being damaged like this?
She should have been harsher.
Those eyes should have been treated to reflect not feelings of resentment but only reverence and loyalty towards the family.
Hadn’t she blamed her younger sibling for being weak?
However, it was she who had grown weak-hearted. Cutting her hair was meant as atonement for this sin.
She had thought she changed, that she wouldn’t show such a pathetic appearance lately, yet he disliked her.
To say such things to the Lady of the House was a sin in itself.
Should she punish herself? Yuria shook her head, thinking for a moment.
There was no need to punish herself immediately. No matter how many sins she committed, wouldn’t it be right to give herself time to atone?
“I am the Lady of the House.”
Being lenient towards a family member was also a trait she needed to possess as the Lady of the House.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she then slowly opened them.
The scenery in the room, illuminated gently by the moonlight, appeared cleaner than before.
On the night after the full moon had disappeared, her blue eyes shone in the distorted moonlight.
…That light was pale, as if frozen, cold and chilly.
#
After the full moon ceremony, various events awaited.
There was a gathering of heads of families, led by Duke Taylor, for a family council, and a hunting event to catch animals to offer to the Lady.
I had no authority to refuse participation in those events.
Even if they told her not to, she intended to participate, with the reason being the princess.
“The closest person to the Crown Prince is the Princess.”
It was definitely better than the relationship I had with Yuria, but we still had an awkward dynamic.
Still, if I wanted to get close to the Crown Prince, I needed her.
What I needed was preparation to become a close aide to the Crown Prince, and with a family like Taylor’s, it wasn’t that hard to approach.
However, my goal was to become the Crown Prince’s ‘loyal subject.’
That way, I could observe all of his movements.
Watching him from the closest distance and then striking when the time was right would be the best option.
It might sound like betrayal, but the truth is, the Empire didn’t mean much to me.
Maybe it would be better if the Empire disappeared.
But relying solely on my own power wasn’t enough.
At least, I needed a force that would fully align with my will.
To kill the Crown Prince, I needed that force, so for now, I should start gathering information, beginning with Arwen.
“Then the last place I’ll head to is… here.”
My gaze fell upon the map depicting the Empire’s terrain, landing squarely on the Emperor’s capital.
Capital Eden, a human paradise created by the Moon God long ago.
Having never witnessed an invasion, it could be said that the Imperial Palace had hardly ever been stained with blood.
Perhaps it might symbolize the prosperity of the Empire.
I felt a strange mood.
If my wish were to come true, it would mean the Imperial Palace itself would disappear from the Empire.
The Crown Prince would die, and naturally, the Imperial Family, which would become my enemy, wouldn’t survive either.
With the quill I was holding, I drew a line on the location of the Imperial Palace.
This map could be considered my own plan.
To deal with the Crown Prince, I had to gather forces step by step, so I had no intention of charging into the Imperial Palace anytime soon.
After all, I’d just be like a moth flying into the fire.
I had the experience from the last loop.
Even with such a grand plan of overthrowing the Imperial Family, I wasn’t particularly nervous because of that aspect.
Though it would be tough to completely recover my powers, it would be quite helpful if I could regain a certain level.
Last time, I caught an assassin, but I didn’t stand a chance against several knights.
How many of the Imperial Army had set out to hunt me down back then?
I remembered it was at least 500.
They all died, but the Princess showed up to finish me off. This time, I wasn’t planning to fight alone, so I should be fine.
The real problem was, who would align with me in this act of betrayal?
I couldn’t do anything alone.
It took me several cycles to realize this fact.
However, the more urgent you feel about such things, the bigger the problem tends to grow.
Perhaps, it was okay to think slowly for now.
After all, a few names came to mind immediately.
And the one I thought was the most important among them was Adele Igrit.
My gaze, lingering on the map, shifted to the handkerchief I hadn’t returned last time.
I headed toward the handkerchief I couldn’t retrieve.
Since I promised to go to the North, I planned to visit before the year was over.
If I don’t show up again, considering her character, it’s only natural that she would get angry.
But what I was really struggling with was whether to warn her about what she might experience.
The essential things wouldn’t change, but if I wasn’t careful, she might start to doubt me.
My thoughts and attitude had changed significantly compared to a few days ago.
I had discarded the thoughts that were filled with bystanding and interference.
Even though I was living my 101st life, after shedding my regrets, I had made up my mind to treat this life as my first.
So much had changed that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there were no significant commonalities with my past lives.
Being trapped in the past would only complicate my thoughts.
Thus, I slightly revised my plan. Instead of a method close to assassination, I decided to break everything to create change.
So, I resolved to save Adele.
The accusation of treason against her was a certain future; whether she would follow my will in that situation remained uncertain.
I thought it would be better to consider that when the time actually came.
So, what should be my first step?
By then, I had already somewhat organized my thoughts.
“The ones I need to use are the Princess and Taylor.”
I had no particular ill-fate with the Princess, but it was true that I had been harboring a bit of doubt lately.
Did the Princess really know “nothing” about the Crown Prince trying to kill me?
If she did know, then she hid that fact from me; if she didn’t, that was disturbing in itself.
Thus, I felt no guilt.
On the contrary, approaching her in this way could reveal her true colors, which would be a much greater benefit to me.
It’s better to bite my tongue than to be used by someone else.
It would be wiser to discover what I needed to first and use her on my terms.
And as for Taylor… I had given it a good amount of thought.
I had never once touched the Taylor household.
I had wiped Taylor’s name off the map by killing everyone, but I had never actually taken the position of Head of the Family myself.
For quite some time, I had decided that my place was just here, having no thought of aiming higher.
However, there was no need for that in this life.
Yuria no longer held even the slightest significance to me.
So, there was no need to consider it; additionally, my current position felt too low to effectively use the name Taylor.
Given that our Lady of the House had been reclaiming her authority, my status in the Ducal Residence was also ambiguous.
The idea of a future where I would become the Head of the Family was suddenly amusing to me.
I was thinking of toppling the Imperial Family, yet the loyal Head of the Family was supposed to lead that charge.
It might not be a confirmed future, but if I set my mind to it, nothing was impossible.
Having no hesitation left in me, if I wanted to do it, then I would.
Yes, just like Adele once said.
“I decided it that way.”
“It’s because I decided so.”
I covered the map, filled with various markings, with a board and surveyed my surroundings.
If someone saw it, it would indeed be quite a troublesome map.
Drawing a line right through the Imperial Family; isn’t it clearly a plot for betrayal?
I couldn’t help but smile. The thump of my heart, which I hadn’t felt in quite some time, was definitely beating faster than before.
After completely hiding the map and confirming that there was nothing in the surroundings, I flopped down onto my chair.
It seemed I was getting tired from all the thinking I had been doing.
I had set a rough plan, so moving forward shouldn’t be a problem, but what lay ahead was a future I knew nothing about.
There were at least a couple of variables that immediately popped into my mind.
At the very least, it was clear that it was markedly different from the future I originally knew.
The nearest event was the Head of the Family meeting taking place in the capital.
According to my memory, there wasn’t supposed to be an incident there, but I would definitely get to meet the Princess.
I could build a rapport and become close to the Crown Prince.
That seemed to be the current goal, I thought.
I planned to meet the Crown Prince before autumn was completely over.
“…That’s how the plan would probably get rolling.”
Of course, since I was already being accused of betrayal, there might be some ill feelings toward me at this point, but it wouldn’t be easy to dismiss me, who only appeared to be a loyal subject on the surface.
It was best to maintain my appearance as a spotless and virtuous servant without a single speck.
As I was lost in thought, a sudden gust of wind blew through the window that had opened.
Thinking about it, autumn had arrived.
After the Full Moon Festival ended, the weather always changed quite abruptly, and what seemed like an always hot breeze would suddenly become chilly.
I closed my eyes, letting the wind cool the sweat that had gathered on my forehead.
Leaning my head against the backrest, I enjoyed the moment of peace that had come my way, if only for a moment.
That was when I recalled a variable I had forgotten.
I had briefly forgotten, but the Saint Adriana had told me last time.
Miragen and Adriana were said to be friends.
I knew that, but this time, I didn’t realize how applicable it could be.
Didn’t she say we would meet again the last time we met?
If we were to meet again, wouldn’t this trip to the capital be that chance?
“…When we meet again, it might be fate this time.”
Adriana was always someone I missed meeting, as if something was a bit off.
It felt as if that meeting in that instance had been forbidden.
Whenever I needed to seek her out, she was always away.
But this time was different. Even without trying to meet, even without the intention to meet.
It seemed we would naturally come across each other, as if it was meant to be.
Adele came for the Full Moon Festival, and I ran into the Saint again on the street.
I didn’t know what these events were trying to tell me, but if it was an opportunity, I had no intention of letting it slip away.
If it was a chance.
Really…if this is fate.
This time, I would definitely see it through to the end.
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