A long time ago, there was a story.
It was a tale known only to me, and now Miragen would also learn it.
It was a story I wished to avoid speaking of for a lifetime. My hesitant emotions were reflected on my lips, which flapped for a while.
I pondered on where to begin, but it seemed best to talk about our first meeting.
How was it when we first met?
When I first met Miragen, it was ordinary, but the journey to becoming lovers was anything but ordinary.
As I attempted to recall that time, a natural smile formed at the corners of my mouth.
#
The young man, looking quite pale from tension, slowly brushed his cheek.
If someone nudged him, his heart might just leap out of his chest.
It should’ve been time to relax, but even after countless reincarnations, his nature remained nervously unchanging in new situations.
The shock of Teresia’s betrayal seemed to have a profound effect.
For a brief moment, he had gained the courage to take his own life.
However, this time, the opponent was a princess. Outwardly calm, Robert’s inner feelings were shaking quite a bit.
He knew well that the princess was coming to this place, despite being almost invisible to others.
Was this the seventh time? Even if he didn’t want to memorize where the princess might appear, he had no choice but to.
A cold, sharp wind brushed against his cheek.
His desire to escape this godforsaken death was immense. However, for that, changing the surrounding people was his goal.
He thought if he could just get Yuria to change her mind, it would all be over. Yet now, even Teresia had turned her back.
“Does the world hate me?”
It might be so.
Whenever he attempted something to see the light, it inevitably ended in failure, so if there really is a God, surely he’s watching all of this unfold.
The Moon Stone he had acquired once was, in essence, an opportunity bestowed by the divine.
To rectify his past mistakes and set everything right.
In the last cycle, he focused more on Teresia’s actions, but it wasn’t entirely without gain.
Now, he was searching for a direction for this twisted emotion. What if he used the princess to explore other methods?
It wasn’t only women who could use beauty to their advantage.
Robert could also pull it off if he wanted to, so he gazed at his reflection in the mirror and smiled faintly.
This smile was also part of the act.
While others knew Robert Taylor to be weak, he wished to show a slightly different side to Princess Miragen.
It was an attempt to create connections with the Imperial Family.
However, Kaitel was too high up the hierarchy, and the Emperor wouldn’t even glance in his direction.
At least the Princess seemed manageable. Robert considered Miragen as a solution to this situation.
There would be many more entanglements with the Princess, and given their similar circumstances, it might even lead to a stage of understanding someday.
Understanding. Now, that’s a funny story.
As Robert coldly smiled and gazed into the void, he felt a presence approaching him quietly from behind.
He initially thought nobody would be here, but upon discovering Robert, the woman’s shoulder jerked in surprise.
Meeting the gaze of the woman who approached from behind, Robert naturally lowered his head.
He didn’t want to appear as if he had known she would be there beforehand, so he feigned a startled expression, but he was quite pleased to see the woman who had come.
“I thought this place was deserted, but it seems I’m not the only one here.”
“Shall I make way for you?”
When Robert, with his head lowered, said this, Miragen, who had been staring at him, shook her head.
Though being alone was nice, it felt like staying like this would only deepen his gloom.
It seemed he was Taylor’s firstborn. Since their situations weren’t that different, a sense of kinship naturally arose.
A headache nobody looked upon kindly.
If Kaitel were to become Emperor, Miragen would likely fade away like dust without any power.
The problem was that she couldn’t share these worries with anyone.
“That’s fine. You came here for a reason too, didn’t you?”
Saying this, Miragen casually settled into a corner of the balcony, gazing at the sky.
The stars, barely visible today, were particularly resentful.
To forget the awkward atmosphere, there was nothing better, but the bright lights from the so-called ball were blinding enough to overshadow even the starry sky.
Naturally, her thoughts drifted to Robert Taylor, who sat next to her in silence.
Why was he here? She had heard he had come with the Lady of the House, but it seemed nobody paid any attention to him, allowing him to reach this place. It was amusing, but Miragen couldn’t bring herself to laugh at that.
Clearly, his situation wasn’t any different from hers.
Whose birthday was it today? It was her own birthday, yet no one considered her the main character.
She was the one who had left the crowd of nobles gathered around Kaitel, who had come later than her.
Miragen couldn’t think of Robert as foolish.
Wasn’t that the same as insulting herself?
When her aimless gaze finally met Robert’s, she was taken aback and instinctively stepped back, startled by the look in his eyes.
When her gaze, moving without a thought, completely met Robert’s, Miragen was startled and instinctively pulled back at the sight of his eyes.
Those jewel-like, beautifully sparkling blue eyes were imprinted in an instant.
Though it might have been just for a moment, it was the most impressive scene for her above all.
Wasn’t he said to be a weak Young Master? He didn’t seem all that weak in character, though.
Even with a Princess by his side, he didn’t look weak at all.
As if surprised, their eyes met again, but this time Miragen naturally turned her head without being startled and slowly began to speak.
“Are you pondering something? You’ve been thinking about something since a while ago.”
“Don’t you know? My situation isn’t that great. Plus, there’s been a recent worry, so I’ve been contemplating various things.”
“Recent?”
“Yes, well. You might find it amusing, but I’ve developed an interest in someone.”
Hearing this outrageous story, which she knew about the engagement with Teresa, Miragen momentarily made a blank expression as she stared at Robert.
She never expected he would bring up such a topic in front of a Princess.
Seeing Miragen’s expression, Robert smiled inwardly.
Outwardly, he laughed in disbelief, but he knew his inner feelings were different.
If she was the Miragen he knew, she would be entranced by such a story.
After all, she was around the same age, in the prime of her life.
And considering he had approached her with the intention of seducing her, he planned to take a more active approach if possible.
There was no time to waste. Recently, he realized that the cycles of accusations and death from Kaitel were quite similar.
Probably three years. Remembering the limited time he had, Robert quietly smiled while continuing to speak.
“You might find it strange, but wasn’t it a political marriage from the start? That’s how it is. I don’t know about the rumors, but recently… a lot has happened.”
With a sigh, Robert’s expression was visibly shadowed.
To anyone, he looked like someone who had experienced unfortunate circumstances, and Miragen didn’t think it was a lie.
He probably didn’t sincerely think about marrying between Taylor and Violet, claiming to truly love them.
She considered it merely one of the problems that nobles usually faced.
At this point, the engagement was somewhat in limbo, which was why Robert could approach Miragen without hesitation.
“If it’s a lot of things…”
“They approached me with the aim of seizing the family’s fortune. My father doesn’t know yet, but I plan to handle it on my end.”
“Oh my.”
As Robert sighed, Miragen instinctively covered her mouth and swallowed her gasps.
Tara, Miragen covered her mouth unconsciously and swallowed her breath.
In that case, it was easy to understand why her heart had changed.
Although she only heard rumors because she didn’t go out much, at least what she heard about Robert Taylor’s feelings for a woman named Teresa seemed pretty close to the truth.
Could such deep sorrow be a lie? Of course, from Robert’s perspective, this wasn’t an act.
How could it not be bitter? The woman he had briefly thought of as salvation had actually tried to use him.
He thought of revenge, but he didn’t want to end everything with blood.
It was still possible to turn back.
If he could change himself and use the power of the Imperial Family to prevent the false accusations that would later be cast on him…
Robert thought Teresa or Yuria would come to realize their true intentions.
“…Did I ask something unnecessary? I didn’t think it would be like this.”
“Wasn’t this story brought up by me in the first place? And now, it no longer matters. I’ve found someone to focus my heart on, didn’t I say I became interested just now?”
“Are you planning to tell me?”
She asked out of hope, but against her own expectation of him refusing, Robert only gave a meaningful smile.
The woman Robert had in mind was, of course, the princess right in front of him.
She was more innocent than he had imagined.
It was as if she didn’t even think that the subject of his interest was herself; she chuckled a bit, becoming a tad cautious due to their earlier conversation.
“If you’re curious, I guess I should tell you. But…”
Robert trailed off, glancing around.
Even though the ball was in full swing, there was always a chance their conversation could be interrupted. What should he do?
He thought it would be best to change locations, so he stepped closer to Miragen and slowly bowed his head.
“I think it might be better to move to another place. What do you think?”
The voice that reached her ear was quite ticklish.
Since a man had never come this close before, Miragen was slightly surprised, but she also thought his surprisingly soft voice fit him rather well.
Seeing him up close, his eyes that she had noticed earlier stood out even more.
Such beautiful eyes, perhaps resembling the star she always saw.
As she stared at the hair of the man who was gazing gently at her, shimmering like silver in the moonlight, Miragen finally came to her senses and quietly nodded.
Not knowing where this encounter would lead, she realized that the thread of fate can connect so easily.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
