Smiling brightly.
Watching Adrian smile to himself occasionally was quite strange.
He wasn’t looking at me, but it seemed he really liked our earlier conversation.
Thinking about it, we hadn’t exactly decided to become friends; I merely said I would respond if called.
What’s so great about it? It was just surprising that Adrian showed interest in me.
Considering we have spent little time together, I never expected him to react like that.
“Friend” was a pretty valuable word to hear from her.
It’s still uncertain whether she and I will become that close.
In many ways, Adrian’s attitude was clearly unusual.
-…I just wanted to do it for you.
I don’t know what Adrian saw in me.
I just treated him normally; it’s just the first time we’ve formed any personal bond.
If a situation arises where I need to use him, I will; if the time comes to give up, I might just abandon the Saintess.
My objective is solely the act of betrayal—killing the Crown Prince.
Since I have no idea how the Saintess will feel about that, I need to tread carefully for now.
Besides, it’s not like the Saintess wouldn’t be at risk of dying if implicated in acts of betrayal.
Without pure intentions, it felt strange whenever Adrian smiled.
If we were bound by a bad fate, I would have used it mercilessly, yet here I was laughing instead.
“Will Her Highness the Princess be arriving soon?”
“She said she has something to tell Miragen, so she should be here soon. She said it a bit differently, though.”
It was amusing that the reason for the different timing was to talk to me, but since Adrian seemed so cheerful, I didn’t say anything.
Should I think calmly for a bit?
What was my main purpose for being here? Simply to talk to the Princess.
While I inadvertently expanded my plans this winter, the main goal was still to meet the Crown Prince through the Princess.
Form friendships with the Princess, and during that, bring up topics that would pique the Crown Prince’s interest.
That was my target, and probably the flow of conversation that would begin soon.
“By the way, how did you meet Lady Adele?”
Just when I was deep in thought, Adrian’s question scattered my residual thoughts.
What should I say when asked how I met Adele?
I was trying to avoid bringing her up in front of him, yet it was surprising that he kept asking about her.
If it were a strained relationship, he wouldn’t ask, but it seemed there was something I didn’t know.
After a moment of consideration, I shared everything except for the wound on my neck.
Meeting her accidentally while stepping out of the ball should be a harmless enough detail.
Adrian nodded for a moment, then drooped his shoulders as he replied.
“So, it’s not that I met her first. I was honestly relieved to hear that.”
“I heard that Lady Adele has also met the Saintess. Is there some friction between you two?”
“…It’s not that bad. No, it’s not bad at all.”
It was a strange answer, but Adrian didn’t stop there and continued to speak.
“However, there are some people who are hard to get along with, even at first glance. While there are people like Miragen or Lord Taylor whom I click with, Lady Adele’s vibe is hard for me to endure.”
“Did you click with me?”
“Lord Taylor.”
At my teasing question, Adrian’s face flushed, and he pouted his lips.
Seeing him all riled up with his eyes closed made me smile.
She smiled gently as she watched.
For some time now, I had defined this woman solely as a saint, but it seemed I needed to revise that thought a bit.
Her aura was not heavy enough to be called a saint.
Rather, she had a lightness about her, sometimes displaying a frivolous demeanor, yet when it came to her duties, she exhibited a saintly elegance.
As the image of Adrian in my mind started to shift, she adjusted her expression and began to speak again.
“Well, you can think of it that way. Perhaps Lord Adele doesn’t regard me that comfortably either; there are mismatched perceptions between us.”
“I see.”
Adele also looked somewhat uncertain whenever discussing the saint.
Even if the notion of sensing something instantly didn’t resonate much, the fact that they both spoke similarly meant it wasn’t a lie.
Thus, I didn’t ask any further questions.
Soon, the one I was waiting for would arrive, so I spent my time calming my heart.
How much time had passed? When a brief silence lingered.
A handmaiden named Yurika spoke up.
“Her Highness the Princess has come. Shall I open the door?”
“Please do. Don’t forget to tell her I’ve been waiting.”
As the sound of the door opening reached my ears, I could feel the approach of a clear, delicate sound of heels.
Since I already knew who the owner of that sound was, I quietly watched the direction where the woman would appear.
“Adrian, I heard someone wants to meet me?”
“Here is Lord Taylor, who said he had something to discuss.”
It was one of the few voices still remaining in my memory.
Sometimes from a bed, sometimes from the execution ground, and sometimes from atop a horse.
A voice that gently wrapped around the ears, always enchanting, belonged to just one person I knew.
When I lifted my previously bowed head, I saw golden eyes filled with questions.
They were eyes unfamiliar to me, as if seeing someone for the first time today.
This was the reason I disliked reincarnation.
I knew everything about that person, yet the person themselves knew nothing about me.
But this was an unavoidable procedure.
Whenever I met the princess after dying and being resurrected, there was always a greeting I offered.
There was a woman intrigued by the man in the Moon Tower.
Her name was Miragen de Arteyn.
The woman who was once my lover, my executioner, and my rival.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Robert Taylor.”
Thus, I offered my 101st greeting.
#
“I heard you wanted to meet me. I never expected you to know Adrian.”
“I should have visited properly, but unfortunately, it turned out this way. I apologize.”
“I’m not so unpleasant as to require an apology for something like this. Adrian might think a bit better of you, so it’s fine not to apologize.”
As she spoke, the expression on the princess’s face was one of surprise.
Having seen this reaction often enough, I had a clear understanding of how Miragen viewed me.
The reason for such a look was probably due to my reputation.
Reputation… I was quite curious about how long this rumor would last.
Though I was trying to act differently, it would take quite some time for something that had spread to fade away.
Adrian left, telling us to talk, leaving only the princess and me in the room.
In this situation, what kind of attitude should I take?
Is it a good idea?
The easiest way was to bring up a topic we could both talk about.
I set down my teacup and turned to Miragen, who was staring at me intently.
“Do you think the Saintess sees me favorably?”
“Well, yes. If Adrian didn’t think much of you, he wouldn’t have called you to the Moon Tower. Now that I think about it, it’s the first time I’m bringing a man in… it’s not a strange situation, right?”
“Not at all. She only said she would observe a bit longer.”
At that, Miragen blinked and stared at me for a moment before muttering, “Looks like Adrian really thinks well of you,” and then her lips began to twitch.
The emotion in her eyes became even more pronounced, as if she were trying to gauge whether Robert Taylor and I were truly the same person.
…Nothing has really changed at all.
The best way to confirm that time had reversed after my reincarnation was to meet the princess.
Knowing her behavior better than anyone, I could tell she recognized me through the thoughts revealed in her expressions.
Her round eyes and the way her mouth seemed ready to ask who I was.
Even the expression that was suppressing that question. Nothing had changed at all, which oddly left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I thought it best to act like I was meeting the princess for the first time.
Miragen looked at me, a bit confused, but soon cleared her throat and spoke up.
“Then, can I ask what you wanted to say to me?”
“I wanted to talk about the recent head of the family meeting.”
At the mention of the head of the family meeting, her brows furrowed. This was only natural.
The topic discussed was the ‘subjugation’ of the South.
Since it was a decision made by my father, I could understand why she’d feel uneasy about me bringing it up again.
At least she didn’t lack political insight.
Her eyes, which had seemed indifferent just moments ago, sparkled and then pierced through me coldly.
It seemed she was trying to ascertain my true intentions, but there was no need to reveal my inner thoughts on purpose.
I did, however, need to make a concerted effort to introduce the topic seriously.
Straightening my posture, I pulled out the map of the South that I had tucked away and spread it on the table.
“I’m not sure what this means right now.”
My voice was stiff and flat, but there was a hint of curiosity beneath it.
I could imagine her wondering about the ‘South’ that Robert Taylor, who lived swayed by his father’s words, was bringing up.
It might look like I would agree with the subjugation like my father, but that was completely wrong.
It was said to create an opportunity to get closer to the Crown Prince.
Isn’t the reason the Imperial Family had been rejecting the subjugation of the South simple?
Because the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and Miragen thought negatively about it.
However, due to strong opposition from the nobles, they had no choice but to order the subjugation.
What the Crown Prince and Miragen were thinking was the exact opposite.
“Do you really think the subjugation of the South is right?”
“…Prince Robert Taylor. You’re asking what this means.”
I gazed silently at Miragen, who was glaring at me as if she was feigning anger.
Given her personality, she had likely already figured out what this map represented.
The map marked only with the South, and the symbols scattered throughout it.
If you realized that there’s a distribution map of the ‘Non-Human Race’ in the South, wouldn’t there be just one thing for me to say about this map?
I glanced at Miragen for a moment before slowly replying.
“The grounds for opposing the Southern suppression, wouldn’t that be correct?”
As for where I got this from, it was the information Arwen had gathered in the previous round.
Using Miragen’s connections to approach the Crown Prince was an idea I had thought of before.
I failed to execute it because of the charges of Betrayal, but maybe I can make good use of it in this life.
Miragen’s gaze was still fierce, but the sharp light was slowly dissipating.
Her wariness towards me vanished, leaving only a soft gaze calculating the benefits.
As the corners of her mouth formed a smile, she quietly opened her mouth.
“Adrian, you’ve made a good friend.”
“Then, would you like to hear about it?”
“Let’s hear it. And one more thing, I’ll tell you in advance before we start talking.”
“What is it?”
When I asked that, Miragen brushed her face and sighed before answering.
She looked as though she had just had one of her common sense shatter.
“…Robert Taylor is completely different from what the rumors say.”
As I pondered how to respond to that, I shrugged my shoulders and replied.
The rumors weren’t entirely wrong.
They were pretty much what referred to the days before my Reincarnation.
But what Miragen faced was Robert Taylor after going through Reincarnation. It’s not like the rumors were definitely wrong.
“Well, maybe the rumors aren’t entirely false.”
“That can’t be true.”
Miragen just looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
Did I seem like I was lying? Of course, I didn’t care.
From the moment she showed interest in this story, I could say that I had definitely achieved the goal I brought.
The more I explained about the map, the more Miragen seemed to be getting absorbed into the conversation.
I wondered what kind of relationship we would develop in this life.
Sometimes entangled as foes, sometimes as lovers.
But I couldn’t predict at all what kind of relationship it would be this time.
I just hope that she remains in the future I wish to draw.
Otherwise, this Empire’s Imperial Family would break apart.
Once the Crown Prince dies, Miragen must become the Emperor of this Empire.
#
The Moon Tower is the closest place to the Moon.
When Adrian felt the wind touching him, he often found himself lost in the illusion that he was seeing the Moon with his own eyes.
Of course, it was merely an illusion, just a feeling of simple contemplation.
The sensation of the cool light sweeping over his body always felt new to Adrian.
Since he could only perceive the brightness and darkness of the light.
Adrian thought tonight felt particularly dark.
Yet, why was he here? Wasn’t there a peculiar pull that had led him to the top of this Moon Tower?
Adrian called this sensation the voice of God.
A feeling that guided him towards his Destiny, yet tonight, he couldn’t tell what that voice was leading him to.
Could it be that Lord Taylor was coming here?
Adrian chuckled quietly at the thought, but then he heard a clear sound of footsteps by his ear.
…It was a rather familiar sound he had heard today.
When he realized the owner was Robert Taylor, suddenly, the wind blew.
It was a cool yet surprisingly gentle breeze soaked in moonlight.
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