If there’s a place that doesn’t welcome the season called Spring, it would probably be the North, where one has to see the thawing ice and the muddy ground.
Here, flowers do not bloom. Even in Spring, only a bit of grass might grow,
and honestly, it’s just as cold, so I actually prefer Winter over Spring or Summer.
Why would one like it when flowers don’t bloom, nor is there any greenery?
However, the reason Adele waited for Spring was simply to hear the news that would follow its arrival.
Checking the letters that came to her daily was an occasional chore.
Just when she was starting to wonder if it would ever end, she received some news.
“I heard you’ve become the Head of the Family. You must have done well.”
Upon hearing Lothos’s words, Adele let out a small sigh.
It would have been good if he had contacted her directly in between, as she had worried multiple times about whether something had gone wrong.
She wasn’t sure how central authorities would think of her coming out, but she knew well what kind of temperament that Yuria Taylor possessed.
Though she understood Lothos was trying to ease her anxiety by gathering information here and there, she still felt uneasy.
Just when she was contemplating whether to send troops to Taylor, the news she received was enough to reassure her.
She swept her forehead and gently closed her eyes.
Lately, she had been thinking a lot, and her head was throbbing.
While she had relieved one worry, wasn’t Robert still loaded with things to do ahead?
Remembering her warning about the Crown Prince, she had to move cautiously,
but Robert seemed to be thinking about approaching that Crown Prince directly.
What was he scheming?
It couldn’t be all that she had forgotten, and reflecting on such things might lead to some understanding.
“You can now sleep a little easier. Haven’t you been restless every night?”
“I haven’t lost any sleep.”
“…Have you looked in the mirror?”
Hearing that, when she looked in the mirror, a chuckle escaped her lips at her reflection.
It definitely didn’t seem this messy the last time she checked.
The dark shadows under her eyes suggested that anyone could see she had been quite restless.
Was this the first time she showed such a disheveled appearance?
Waving her hand at Lothos, who was looking at her worriedly, she quietly laughed and spoke.
“I suppose I’ve been a bit worried.”
“Not just a bit, I think.”
“It’s not something you need to worry about. Now that you’ve become the Head of the Family, you’ll come here on your own later. Let’s stop talking about Robert for now.”
At those words, Lothos nodded slightly.
Though he was itching to say a lot, he seemed shy about revealing such things in front of others.
Still, he felt compelled to speak about at least this, and after a moment of swallowing his words, Lothos replied.
“By the way, regarding this transfer of Head of the Family…”
“I told you to stop.”
“I heard you appeared alongside the Saintess. Did you hear about that?”
In an instant, the atmosphere turned cold, causing Lothos’s shoulder to flinch.
It was the expected reaction, but wasn’t it changing too quickly?
When the chilling gaze of his eyes hardened as if it would freeze, Lothos bitterly smiled for a moment and quietly stared at Adele.
He had pondered a lot about whether to inform her or not.
If he did tell her, Adele’s reaction would be all too predictable.
But what if he didn’t tell her, and she found out on her own?
In that case, he might not be able to find where his neck was hanging.
So, he decided to speak up as if he would rather take the punishment first.
Unexpectedly met with an even colder reaction, Lothos quietly sighed.
Adele, sitting in the chair, quietly laughed.
However, that laugh wasn’t one of joy; it was simply a chuckle born from her dissatisfaction with the situation.
She had said becoming the head of the family was something one put their life on the line for, and yet here she was alongside a saint right after attaining the title.
…Was that the reason she hadn’t been in contact?
When her dried hand brushed over her face, Adele’s thoughts became even more tangled than before.
She had been the one most worried in the North, where news seldom reached.
She had stayed up nights thinking about why there had been no contact, and even considered going to see him directly.
But he seemed to be doing just fine.
“Are you seriously thinking of going to the Center yourself?”
“No, I’m not going. If someone sees me, they’ll think I’m a desperate person.”
“That’s a relief, but I did think you would go.”
If Robert didn’t like something, he usually rushed to handle it straight away.
Adele also felt a mountain of curiosity about what was happening at the Center, but she decided to pursue a slightly different approach this time. She couldn’t keep going to find him forever.
At least, this time, Robert should be the one to come first.
“Send this to Taylor.”
Adele, after a moment of deliberation, quickly wrote something down on the letter and handed it to Lothos, telling him to send it to the head of House Taylor.
She thought that if that was delivered, he would likely come to the North soon.
Well, if he didn’t come, she could always go find him herself later.
But how long would she have to keep going to find him first?
It wasn’t just because she was upset over the lack of contact; Adele hoped Robert’s mind would be a bit more complicated just like hers.
And, at the very least, she wanted to make sure he came to the North before autumn.
#
Suddenly, as a cool breeze brushed against her cheek, Adele in the North crossed her mind.
She hadn’t been able to contact him because she had been busy all this time. She hoped he wouldn’t feel hurt because of it.
Wasn’t it a situation where she wanted to reach out but couldn’t?
Had she had an artifact like Miragen, at least she could have heard his voice,
But she had been so buried in work daily that she hadn’t even thought about contacting him.
I’ve been so swamped with this work that I couldn’t even think about contacting you.
When I finally thought about sending at least a short letter when I return, I heard Miragen’s voice.
“Have you noticed that you’ve been a bit dazed lately?”
“…Was I?”
“Perhaps you’re overdoing it with being the head of the family. Taylor is just that kind of place.”
As the warm tea slid down my throat, I momentarily glanced at Miragen. Honestly, if you asked me if I struggled to take the position of head of the family, I couldn’t simply say yes. There was a hint of self-destruction from Yuria’s side, and more than anything, although the process took long, I actually got the position quite easily.
I did seem to be mentally troubled. After all, I had just become the head of the family and had slept an entire day, so I was shocked when Adrian visited me.
It was true that I had a lot on my mind. Being the head of the family had many concerns, and honestly, there were even more things to keep an eye on than when I was aiming for that position.
“That might be the case.”
“Sometimes when you want to rest, come to the imperial palace. Just looking at the garden here eases my heart.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. However, this year my schedule is quite packed, so it might be hard to come back.”
At the mention of my schedule, Miragen stared at me intently. There were tasks I needed to do immediately, and more importantly, I had to head north. I was thinking of staying in the North at least until next year.
There was also Adele’s matter. I was genuinely concerned about what Kaitel would do to Adele.
Furthermore, there were relics that Kaitel might target located in the North. I thought that while securing those, if I asked Arwen for support in the southern expedition, it might alleviate some of Kaitel’s worries regarding me. Of course, the intention behind that support was to gather information about those wearing masks.
“I do plan to stop by the North at least once. There are things I need to do.”
“If it’s the North… you’ll probably meet the Grand Duke.”
“Right. I should pay my respects; after all, I received a lot of help.”
Miragen had a somewhat displeased expression, but she seemed to understand when she thought about what Adele had done. Adele was also the one who worked diligently when we searched for relics in the South.
Adele was the first to support me. Perhaps, she’s the one I have the deepest connection with in this life…
“Well then, shall we get up now? I had something I wanted to show you last time.”
Even though I was in Miragen’s room right now, she started to fiddle with the wall before carefully pulling at it.
With a loud rumble, the wall opened, revealing stairs leading down.
I knew there was a secret passage, but I hadn’t been down here too many times.
Moreover, wasn’t the area divided as well?
Miragen seemed to be a little awkwardly smiling at me as if surprised that I wasn’t more shocked.
“…Not very surprised, are you? What a letdown.”
“I’m quite surprised. But I didn’t expect there to be a secret space in a place like this.”
“Actually, it’s not exactly a secret space. It’s more like a storage room just for me.”
In case of a situation, there’s a passage here to escape to a safe place, but it’s filled with too vast a collection to be just a personal storage room. I couldn’t help but admire the place that was astonishing no matter how many times I looked at it.
The enormous space was made up of magic. The ceiling stretched to places that would usually be out of reach, and there was an even wider area beneath this ground than it appeared.
Countless books lined the shelves, and numerous items filled the storage.
As Miragen wandered through, she suddenly stopped somewhere and began to walk in. If my memory serves me right, this was the place where the Imperial Family’s treasures were kept. Of course, these items were of lesser quality than the Emperor’s, but they were still quite useful on their own.
“The artifact I gave to Robert before was taken from here. It’s one of the five that the Imperial Family has.”
“Is it okay for me to take something like that?”
“It’s fine. It was something I intended to give to someone anyway. You’re using it well now, right?”
If it hadn’t been for the artifact, Miragen wouldn’t have been able to go to the South or stand alone in the Northwest. It was one of the artifacts she cherished a lot.
As I stepped inside with Miragen, she rummaged through the corner of the storage and finally pulled out a small object.
“Maybe Robert could use this.”
It was one of the things I’d seen before. It was an item that, when infused with magic power, a sword would emerge from it, and I remembered it because of its unbreakable quality. I had received it as a gift before, so I remembered it well.
“From now on, every time you use this, think of me. Keep that in mind, alright?”
Suddenly, I chuckled at that memory. I didn’t expect to receive it again this time. It’s a good gift because it can be used well, but it was still something precious, tangled up with memories. Just as I was about to reach out to accept it, Miragen suddenly furrowed her brows tightly and grasped the sword’s handle.
“Why are you doing that?”
She looked quite confused. Her gaze shifted from me to the handle again. The prolonged exchange of glances finally relaxed a bit when her lips moved slightly.
“No, it’s just…”
Miragen, who had hesitated, quietly answered.
“…Did I ever give this to Robert?”
Truly, she seemed puzzled as she asked, and my body stiffened. I understood what that question implied. If she felt déjà vu, it meant there was a chance of her regaining her memory.
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