It was hard enough to get here, but what nonsense is that damn bastard spouting?

Lloyd glared at him with gritted teeth, feeling like he was wasting time unnecessarily.

It was good that he barely managed to shake off the knights from the treasury and go to the office, but the problem came after that.

Whether the knights who came out of the treasury had told the others standing guard, knights were spread out all over the corridor.

To make matters worse, the servants also woke up and were noisily searching every corner, so Lloyd couldn’t leave the office for a while even after finding the signet ring.

Fortunately, a gap was created when everyone retreated to search outside, otherwise he would have certainly been caught without even setting foot in the library.

However, he believed he would succeed, and he actually almost did.

Except for the strange fact that the door to the secret room inside the library wouldn’t open.

“Why is this happening?”

He had everything he needed.

The Crown Prince’s signet ring, and the magical item.

Plus himself, with the blood of the imperial family.

But the door wouldn’t open, and the result was the same no matter how many times he tried.

Just as he was perplexed, Leoprick arrived.

He glared at Leoprick, who was busy mocking him the whole time, while fingering the items in his possession.

He had to succeed.

He was confident he would succeed and had all the conditions to succeed.

But why.

“The door probably won’t open.”

As if answering his question, Leoprick shrugged.

As if it were a perfectly natural thing.

“What do you mean? The door won’t open?”

At those words, Lloyd almost threw away the items he was holding.

The door had to open.

The door to go inside had to open so he could use the magic circle, and only then could he restore everything back to normal.

When Lloyd’s face turned pale with shock, Leoprick barely managed to hold back from laughing out loud.

He didn’t know he had such a wicked taste.

With a face that anyone could see was about to die of joy, he slowly continued speaking.

“Didn’t I tell you? This place only opens for the ‘Crown Princes’ from generation to generation. It’s a place that can only be entered when the Emperor brings the next Crown Prince through the proper procedure.”

And unless that Emperor who became the Crown Prince brings the next Crown Prince, it won’t open twice for the same Crown Prince.

As if whispering, but slowly enough for him to hear clearly.

Leoprick slowly revealed the truth to Lloyd.

“That door recognized you as me because of my signet ring, so it would have opened when you became Emperor.”

“…What?”

“And because you activated the magic circle I had drawn, it probably won’t open again unless I bring the Crown Prince who will succeed me.”

“…What are you saying? It will never open again!”

It was the moment Lloyd’s face turned pale beyond white.

Seeing that face, Leoprick truly felt that his revenge had succeeded.

Oh, Lloyd. How arrogant you were.

He couldn’t hold back the giggles coming out now as he continued speaking.

“It means exactly that. Because you’re not of imperial blood, you can’t become the imperial heir. Unless I bring our child born to Amelia, this door will never open again.”

“Don’t, don’t talk nonsense! I clearly activated the magic circle! I’m the one who reversed this life!”

Lloyd shouted, struggling.

He looked like he might throw away the book in his arms at any moment, but he didn’t.

He just hugged the book with all his might as if it were a lifeline.

Leoprick thought that sight was truly pitiful.

Pitiful, yet satisfying.

“Yes. With my magic-infused item, you just brought it there.”

As long as there is appropriate magic power needed to activate magic, anyone can perform magic.

The problem was that people with that magic power were extremely rare.

Leoprick had drawn the magic circle in advance, leaving his magic power in it, and completed the magic by bringing the magic-infused signet ring to that place through Lloyd.

The magic-infused item he was so focused on.

The pocket watch Leoprick had given Lloyd or the book in the treasury were just contingency measures to make up for any lack of magic power.

In all that process, the magic power Lloyd actually contributed was close to zero.

“You should have thought about it when you, who aren’t even of imperial blood, could enter that room. Why could I come in here? Why could I activate the magic circle? Why, just why.”

When you’re just a collateral bloodline.

His whispering voice was dripping with laughter to the point of being chilling.

Leoprick, and now Lloyd, who was trembling beyond being pale, had their positions reversed only after going through one lifetime.

And behind all of that, Lloyd belatedly realized that it was Leoprick who had planned and executed this.

“You, you’re a devil.”

“How things change, to hear such words. In the last life, you were the devil to me.”

Leoprick let out a snicker at Lloyd’s trembling voice.

Not thinking about how wicked he was in the last life, but calling him a devil because he thoroughly planned everything in this life.

People really don’t change, do they.

Leoprick muttered that as he turned to leave.

He was going to tell the knights outside that he had found the intruder in the treasury.

If it hadn’t been for Lloyd’s screaming words, that’s surely what would have happened.

“Do you think Amelia will forgive you if she knows about this?”

It was a desperate cry. At the same time, it must have been a final struggle.

Leoprick turned his head again to look at him at those words.

“Amelia shouldn’t know about this, Lloyd.”

You still don’t understand? Even after coming back through one lifetime.

“She’s happy enough now. If only you disappear, she’ll probably be perfectly happy.”

What Amelia was looking forward to most now was Lloyd’s trial.

The day he would be tried and sentenced.

The day when all her anxieties would be completely resolved.

To fully savor that day, Amelia shouldn’t know.

The fact that she was actually living a new life once more.

And the fact that he was behind all of it.

“So shut up. Just quietly disappear.”

It was when he turned to leave after leaving those final words.

“This, this is…”

In front of him just as he was about to take a step, someone who absolutely shouldn’t be here appeared.

“What, what are you saying? What on earth does this mean…”

“…Amelia.”

The person who absolutely shouldn’t be here.

The person who should just receive pure affection and rest peacefully in a safe place.

Amelia was standing there.

I woke up when I felt the outside was too noisy.

When I started to feel bothered by the busy movements and quiet murmuring.

Wondering what was going on, I rubbed my eyes and got up, and the first thing I noticed was the empty space beside me.

“…Leoprick?”

When I habitually reached for the spot next to me, I felt a cool chill.

It seems he had been up for a while.

As I looked around trying to find him, Betty, who was standing by the door, saw me and approached.

“Are you awake, Your Highness?”

“Mm. Where’s His Highness?”

“He stepped out for a moment. He said there was some unfinished business in the palace and he’d be back shortly.”

“Unfinished business?”

At this hour?

I asked, but Betty just nodded, saying that was so.

What could possibly be unfinished that everyone’s in an uproar at this hour?

“Please sleep a bit more. His Highness also said to tell you to go back to sleep if you woke up, saying he’ll be back soon.”

“Is that so? His Highness…”

Where could he have gone without saying anything?

I was curious and worried, but since he’s a man who keeps his word, I decided to believe his words that he’d be back soon.

So I lay back down to try to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come.

It was particularly noisy outside, and somehow the empty space beside me felt even cooler.

I finally got up again after lying down.

“Can’t you sleep, Your Highness? Shall I bring you some tea?”

Betty approached again as I got up, but I shook my head.

I felt like doing something else rather than having tea right now.

“No. I think I’ll read a book.”

“A book? What shall I bring you?”

Betty asked, but strangely none of the books I had been reading recently came to mind.

The thought of going to the library occurred to me for that reason.

To take a walk, and also to find out what’s going on outside.

Maybe Leoprick might be in the library too.

I shook my head and got up.

“No. Betty, you stay here. I’ll go get it quickly myself.”

“What? You’re going out?”

“Yes. Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”

Did something dangerous happen perhaps?

When I asked jokingly, Betty shook her hands seriously.

“No! It’s not that, but it’s nighttime…”

“Well, the library isn’t far. It’s just upstairs.”

There seem to be a lot of people outside too, I’ll be right back.

So I comforted Betty and hurriedly left the room, saying I’d quickly go to the library and come back.

The corridor was unexpectedly quiet.

It was so noisy until just now, what happened?

I headed upstairs quickly, thinking of Betty who was worried.

I have to hurry back, I thought as I arrived at the library and opened the door with quick steps…

“The door probably won’t open.”

From inside, I heard Leoprick’s voice.

A voice that sounded very pleased, yet as if having a serious conversation.

So I closed the door and stepped inside the library.

Not realizing that there was no place more dangerous for me than that place.