As I repeatedly faced death, I suddenly had a foreboding thought.
What if this is the last time I return? What if this death is my true end? Such vague thoughts crept in.
It was merely a useless worry, but every time I rewound time, it was inevitable to feel anxious.
The ability to infinitely rewind time comes with no cost to me. I can turn back time as much as I want and return to any moment before my death at any time.
Thus, I began to think that this ability could vanish at any moment. It felt like a candle flame that a mischievous someone could extinguish at any time.
Perhaps I was simply afraid of death itself.
Because each time I faced death, it felt like something inside me was chipped away.
“Huh…”
I took a deep breath and quickly sat up. I shut my eyes tightly again, gasping for breath.
I repeated deep breaths, slowly calming my breath.
When I raised my head, I noticed the princess staring at me.
The rough bloodstains splattered on her cheek and her half-red, stained white dress. As she wiped the blood off her hands, she flashed a slight smile that was, strangely enough, bizarre.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
With those words, the princess extended her hand. I took her blood-stained hand and slowly rose to my feet.
My legs trembled, but leaning against her, I managed to take a step.
“Here.”
The princess handed me a crude-looking sword. Its blade had a unique shape resembling thorns and fangs, and a magical inscription was carved into the hilt.
It was the sword that the assassin who killed me had.
“Why this?”
“Um? You earned it back, didn’t you, Miss Adele?”
The princess spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. For some reason, her demeanor sent chills down my spine, and I instinctively turned my head away. Unbothered by my reaction, she firmly held my hand.
The sight of the princess smiling while handing me a sword felt quite out of place. As her cold hand touched mine, I instinctively flinched.
“How does it feel? Like you’ve taken a step closer to the truth.”
“…Is this the truth?”
“Yes. It’s only a tiny part of it, though.”
The Emperor’s Hand.
According to her, those guys were merely puppets of the Imperial Family. A servant of the royal family, mass-produced murder weapons, hands to eliminate those conspiring to rebel.
It felt unreal. That such beings actually existed in this world and were acting for the imperial family.
Yet, I couldn’t deny it. After all, I had seen their faces right in front of me.
Perhaps my emotions were written all over my face, for the princess spoke up.
“I understand. I’ve been through that too.”
“You… how did you find out?”
“Umm…”
She fell into thought at my question. Watching her ponder, she sighed and finally spoke.
“I have one ability.”
The power to read people’s hearts.
The princess’s eyes shimmered slightly. This was no metaphor; a genuine golden light flowed from her eyes.
“My heart too…?”
“Aha. Unfortunately, I can’t read Miss Adele’s heart.”
The sincere way she said that sent a bit of a chill down my spine. A power to read hearts? Does she really have such an ability?
Come to think of it, my friend mentioned that the princess doesn’t play a significant role in the original story. Could it be that’s because of her heart-reading ability?
Whether she truly couldn’t read my mind or not, she showed no particular reaction.
“Oh, were you just testing me?”
I felt a shiver at her words. Was it a lie that she could read my mind? But the princess shook her head.
“I told you, I can’t read Miss Adele’s heart.”
“Then how?”
“Your face right now is so honest.”
At that, I lowered my head slightly.
Although I felt better than before, my hands were still trembling. Now that I think about it, my friend also said that when I’m flustered, my emotions are evident on my face.
To calm myself down a bit, I bit my lip tightly.
The dizzying sensation in my head began to cool down.
“Um, I feel a bit better now.”
“…What exactly is the Emperor’s Hand?”
Instead of answering my question, the princess rose from her chair. Then she stood before the corpse propped against the bookshelf, covered in blood.
With one hand, she grabbed the neck of the corpse and lifted it effortlessly. I was shocked by her strength, which rivaled that of a grown man, but I tried hard not to show it.
“These are the weakest of the puppets of the Imperial Family.”
Weak?
Those that mindlessly attempt to kill and can simply crush shields?
As if to defy my thoughts, the princess began to strangle the corpse’s neck.
With a crunch, the corpse dropped to the floor, and simultaneously, it began to dissipate into golden particles from the top of its head.
“Think of them like pawns in chess, or perhaps even less than that.”
“What on earth is the Imperial Family…?”
“Curious?”
The princess asked while shaking off the blood from her hands.
I shook my head, denying it. Even if I nodded, she wouldn’t willingly share anything.
“The princess is… not on my side.”
As my rationality began to return, I could grasp the situation properly.
The princess had no intention of collaborating with me. If she did, she would have already helped me before I nearly died at the hands of the Emperor’s Hand.
Only when I completely incapacitated the Emperor’s Hand did she finally choose to assist me.
This was likely a kind of test, right? A test to see if I could genuinely oppose the Imperial Family or not.
I had no intention of asking for help from someone who was testing me. Especially not from someone who let me nearly die during the test.
“How interesting. Usually, people nod.”
“…Can I take my leave now?”
“Of course. You did well today.”
The princess nodded readily. As I tried to rise from my exhausted state by leaning on the desk, my legs gave way and I sank back down.
It seemed I relaxed too much, and my strength seeped away.
“Irina.”
“Yes.”
The maid I had seen before emerged from behind the bookshelf.
Unlike the ordinary appearance I remembered, her dress was now adorned with various weapons. The atmosphere around her felt much colder.
“Please escort Miss Adele.”
“Understood.”
Red Eyes.
Her eyes were similar to those I had seen in the Emperor’s Hand. That must mean she, too, was likely a puppet of the Imperial Family.
“I don’t know.”
My head felt muddled.
First things first, I needed to follow her guidance.
Leaning on the maid, I walked slowly. Just before stepping out the door, I heard the princess’s quiet voice.
“I look forward to your next performance.”
It was a statement I didn’t want to hear.
§
I threw myself onto the bed. My body ached, and I was exhausted.
Perhaps because I had faced death for the first time in a while, that heightened sense of tension refused to subside. Particularly, the pain of the sword piercing my head still haunted me.
Knock, knock.
“Come in, Lily.”
At my words, Lily cautiously opened the door and entered. Noticing my tired appearance, she approached me with a worried expression.
“Miss Adele…”
“…Lily.”
I tried to get up to greet her, but even raising a finger felt like a challenge. Lily shook her head, as if to say I didn’t need to.
“I’m worried that you’re overexerting yourself lately.”
“I’m not overdoing it.”
“No.”
I was left speechless by her firm response. Normally, she could be clumsy and a little naive, but at times like this, she showed a clear-headedness.
That’s probably why she’s the only one who became my ally in that mansion.
“Miss Adele, you’re clearly overdoing it right now.”
I had no words. It was true that I had been pushing myself too hard lately.
I had spent all night scouring through every book in the Duke’s library. That yielded no clues, so I even traveled to the Royal Library.
And there, I had died three times. Luckily, I had the princess’s help; if it hadn’t been for her, I couldn’t even imagine how many more times I would have died.
In fact, there were at least ten corpses around her.
Looking back now, Lily was indeed right.
“…I see.”
I had been too preoccupied with the fact that Abel was planning to rebel against the royal family. The fear of potentially becoming enemies with those who wielded the power of a colossal empire had made me anxious. That’s why I had pushed myself harder.
“Miss Adele.”
Lily, sitting next to me, slowly brushed my forehead. Her hands were as cold as ice. Or perhaps, my forehead was simply too hot.
“Just because you walk faster doesn’t mean you can get everything done quickly.”
For some reason, I felt a sense of calm from her coldness.
“It was because you approached me slowly that I began to trust you, Miss Adele.”
That was indeed the case.
In the early days after my possession, I had been overly eager to make at least one person in the mansion my ally. I’ve ended up with no one on my side.
But conversely, taking my time to approach Lily resulted in her becoming my ally. The other initially hostile servants now accepted that I, Adele, had changed.
“Don’t rush things too much.”
Otherwise, things that should work out won’t.
As Lily added that, I nodded slightly. She was right. Rushing wouldn’t help me uncover the secrets of the imperial family any sooner.
“…Thank you, Lily.”
“Hehe, it’s nothing.”
As I ruffled her hair, Lily’s bright smile made me smile unintentionally.
“Oh, the Duke gave you a gift.”
“Really?”
Lily pointed to something on the dressing table. Getting up slowly to check, I saw a glass bottle that looked like a diffuser along with a note.
[You’ve been looking tired lately, so I prepared a diffuser to help you sleep. It’s best to take care of yourself before worrying about others.]
The hurriedly scrawled handwriting felt somewhat caring. Could this be an answer to the note I had written while draping my coat over him? It brought a slight smile to my face.
The diffuser looked like it had some kind of magical treatment.
It must be pretty difficult to acquire such a diffuser.
‘..I should thank him later.’
He certainly has a delicate side to him, despite how he looks.
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