That evening, after sending Arnold home, Leoprick, now alone, opened the locked drawer and took out two identical pocket watches.

They were evidence that had come from Lloyd.

Opening the pocket watches, inside were strange symbols drawn instead of numbers.

There was a second hand and minute hand, but it wasn’t a clock.

Leoprick repeatedly opened and closed the two watches, smirking.

“Nothing’s changed, Lloyd.”

Lloyd was the same then as he is now.

Not to mention being self-centered, he also tended to not look around once he focused on one thing.

And when things went wrong, he would blame others without thinking.

Moreover, he had the arrogance to believe that what he knew was everything.

Leoprick, seated, mocked such a Lloyd.

What did he think was so great about himself?

Did he always think what he knew was everything?

Come to think of it, he had been like that since childhood.

From when they were very young, when their grandfather, the previous emperor, was still alive.

He’s a person who lived thinking there was nothing he couldn’t have, backed by his grandfather’s affection.

So even now, he probably has such an absurd thought that he alone is the master of everything.

He must have replicated this watch for the same reason.

Thinking he knew more about magic than him.

So he thought even the tiny bit of magic passed down only through the imperial bloodline was his.

“Anyway, how foolish.”

This watch was one of the mediums he had given to Lloyd to reverse his past life.

What was needed was the emperor’s signet ring and a small amount of magic.

To meet those two conditions, a person with magic was necessary, and Lloyd, who had no magic at all, needed a tool like this.

He poured his magic into an object from the imperial treasury that still had even a tiny amount of magic left.

That is this pocket watch.

He knew for certain that he had only given one, but.

It seemed that Lloyd, who had failed everything so far, had tried to turn back time by making a fake similar to the real one that had already lost its function after being used once.

Otherwise, there’s no way two of these objects would exist at this point.

He examined the pocket watches a few more times, then picked up the slightly more polished one to look at it.

No matter how meticulously it was imitated, it still looked somewhat crude.

To think he could attempt the most intricate and demanding magic in the world with something like this.

He looked at the watch this way and that, then put both back in the drawer and locked it.

Anyway, this was the end for Lloyd.

That’s what matters, not anything else.

Leoprick firmly locked the drawer and got up from his seat to leave the room.

Thinking that a fitting end for a fool is a miserable demise.

“We should be able to hold the trial soon.”

That evening, Leoprick told me that they would likely be able to catch Lloyd and his entire group soon.

Saying that there was enough evidence, and appropriate rumors had started to spread, so now all that was left was to arrest them all.

Duke Valois had already entered a state of virtual seclusion, and Count Felice was also holed up in his territory, not coming out due to caution.

Arianna willingly offered to testify everything she knew and asked her maid who remained at Duke Valois’ to find evidence.

Moreover, he said he had met with Marquis Gilroyte today and finished discussing the disposition of Adela Gilroyte.

“Lloyd is also not leaving his mansion. Just in case, I’ve had people investigate all the secret passages leading out of the mansion, but there’s been no notable movement so far.”

He listed the things he had handled flawlessly so far and kept looking at me with eyes that seemed to expect something.

Surely he doesn’t want me to praise him?

I quietly looked at him like that, then smiled and patted his head.

“You’ve worked hard, Your Highness.”

“Haven’t I?”

As if that small gesture meant so much, Leoprick smiled brightly.

As if he couldn’t bear how much he liked the touch of the hand stroking his head.

I couldn’t help but smile, finding him cute.

“You must have been quite busy to handle things like this.”

“I wasn’t busy. Most of the preparations were already in place.”

“Everything was already prepared?”

Everything was already prepared, he says.

It might have taken some time to find not just Lloyd, but Adela and other local nobles outside the capital.

If he prepared to summon and punish all of them, he must have started preparing even before hearing about Lloyd applying for the support project, I suppose.

When I showed a slightly surprised face, Leoprick nodded as if it was natural.

He nodded, saying he had known Lloyd was plotting treason since he started showing his face in social circles.

Then when exactly did he start preparing?

“So Your Highness knew everything?”

“Lloyd has been greedy since childhood.”

He always coveted what was his since they were young, so he thought he would definitely cause trouble someday.

That’s why he always kept an eye on him and was always on guard.

“I’ve been preparing for Lloyd for a very long time. Perhaps even since the time of the previous emperor.”

The previous emperor always favored his daughter Flora more than the current emperor, and Lloyd constantly coveted what belonged to him, the crown prince.

And the previous emperor left Lloyd alone like that.

“I probably wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Father once said he would cause trouble someday.”

“Then does His Majesty know as well?”

“Of course. They already know everything.”

Leoprick nodded.

Of course, both the emperor and empress already know, he said.

“Aunt Flora is probably the only one who doesn’t know about this situation. It seems she still thinks she can live in the palace again.”

“…Well, I suppose that’s how she was raised.”

“It’s not bad to reminisce about the past, but it’s certainly a problem if you can’t get out of it.”

Leoprick sighed softly, saying he wasn’t sure if Flora Alois would be able to live sanely once everything was revealed.

Meanwhile, he subtly leaned his head on my shoulder.

The way he even slightly rubbed his head made it seem like he was using this conversation as an excuse to snuggle up.

I continued speaking, pretending not to notice as he started fiddling with my hand and waist.

“Then are all the preparations for the trial ready now?”

“Yes. It’s all done now. Once we get the evidence that Lady Valois has gathered, we’ll proceed right away.”

Since Arianna currently couldn’t go to the mansion, she had contacted her maid who served her to bring the hidden evidence a while ago.

The trial would also need evidence to more securely gain an advantageous position.

“Then there’s really not much left. That’s really fortunate.”

“With the northern and eastern matters well resolved too, once we handle this, we can really take a big breath of relief.”

Leoprick kept rubbing his face against my shoulder, sounding excited for some reason.

He looked just like a purring cat, which was cute.

But we still needed to finish the conversation, so I held his hands that kept caressing here and there and brought up something I had heard recently.

“How did you already hear about the successful land reclamation in the north? I thought you wouldn’t know since I hadn’t told you yet.”

You said you’d leave it to me.

When I tilted my head asking how he knew, he turned his hand that I was holding to interlock our fingers and smiled with crinkled eyes.

“It’s only natural that I take interest in what you do. I’ve known for a while.”

“Then you must also know that the east has mostly recovered?”

“Of course. I wanted to tell you that you’ve worked hard.”

You’ve worked hard, really.

Leoprick met my eyes and smiled warmly.

You’ve worked hard, you’ve really done well.

You’ve had a hard time emotionally, so let’s take another trip when this matter is settled.

“I regret that we couldn’t spend more time when we went to Waynes before. This time, let’s go just the two of us without anyone knowing.”

Leoprick gently stroked my back while smiling affectionately.

That touch was so tender that I almost fell for his smile without realizing it…, but.

“Your Highness. Are you in there?”

The sound of knocking from outside snapped me back to my senses.

At Betty’s voice, I gently pushed away the one who was drawing closer and closer.

“Yes, Betty. Come in.”

Behind my voice telling her to enter, Leoprick’s disappointed voice was heard.

He even sighed lightly, seeming truly disappointed, but it couldn’t be helped.

Though it was evening, the sun was still up.

“Yes, Your Highness. Oh. Your Majesty is here too.”

Betty entered the room, smiling as if she roughly understood the situation.

“What is it, Betty?”

“Nothing much, just a message from Hayley.”

A message from Hayley.

Understanding what that meant, I immediately stood up.

“Hayley is here?”

“No. A note came.”

I quickly approached Betty while apologizing to Leoprick.

“It’s an urgent message, I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no. It’s fine. Go ahead.”

Leoprick looked somewhat bitter, but still waved his hand to let me go comfortably.

I walked following Betty who had gone out first, then turned back to him for a moment.

Then I approached slightly and gave a small kiss on his cheek.

“Just wait for a bit, for now.”

“…Amelia?”

Though it was a brief kiss, Leoprick looked very surprised as if he had received something amazing.

His face seemed to redden slightly too.

As I watched his bitter smile slowly fade…