What was that scratching on the floor?

It seemed like something was scratching with fingernails.

As if something was crawling up from below.

Something scratched the dirt floor with fingernails.

It was both familiar and unfamiliar.

“It felt unpleasantly like scratching from below…”

Charlotte tapped the table.

“His Majesty the Emperor seems to be late.”

The head maid whispered as she prepared the bed.

“Would you like to retire first?”

“I’ll wait a little longer. If it gets too late, I’ll sleep alone, so you can go now.”

The head maid lit an incense candle nearby and withdrew. The flame flickered as the candle burned.

“Please call if you need anything.”

Charlotte felt a sense of deja vu.

“What am I missing……”

It feels like something is pulling at my ankles.

Death is abstract.

It was a realm difficult to explain in just a few words.

The death she had experienced directly was darkness.

Charlotte struggled beneath death.

Everything was broken.

Charlotte clung desperately to the frayed edges of a twisted and trampled life.

How meaningless that end was.

What was I holding on for?

What did I survive for? Then, why did I die?

“Are you awake?”

Charlotte opened her eyes.

“Go back to sleep. You looked uncomfortable sleeping face down, so I was thinking of moving you, but I guess I woke you up.”

Charlotte finally focused her blurry vision.

“Did you wait?”

“Yes, a little.”

“I told you not to wait. From now on, don’t wait here. Even if I’m late, go to sleep first.”

Benjamin pulled up the blanket and laid Charlotte on the inside.

Charlotte smiled faintly.

“Did the work wrap up well?”

“Yes. If you catch the poison in time, the demonic beast is quickly dealt with.”

“Did you used to handle such matters personally before?”

“I told you before. Even a country like this is still a country, someone has to hold onto its lifeline and keep it going.”

Because the process of ascending to the throne had been chaotic.

The labels that followed him were mostly negative.

“……It may have been a bit unfair.”

Did he hear Charlotte’s muttering?

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

“Silly. Go back to sleep.”

Consciousness gradually sank.

[This is the timeline separator]

Last night’s events were wrapped up.

“The chaotic scene has all been cleaned up. No one directly saw the demonic beast.”

“That’s fortunate at least.”

Benjamin set down his quill pen. New flesh had grown on his hand that had been damaged by the poison.

“Have you investigated that fellow?”

The intelligence officer reported on what they had investigated so far.

“We pressed him, but he didn’t know anything either.”

“Is there a possibility he forgot after drinking?”

“We considered that as well. However, he lacked the capacity to handle a high-level demonic beast. From the start, he was consumed by the poison after using it. The poison ate away at him. It seems he didn’t anticipate it going that far either.”

As the man writhed in pain, the priests burned away the poison and interrogated him.

‘Damn it! It hurts! It hurts! Aaargh! Aaaaaah……! Do something! Sa-save me. Priest….. I was wrong, so please save me!’

‘What a fool we have here, handling such poisonous energy without protecting his own body.’

‘I-I didn’t know it was this dangerous! No, I was planning to summon a parasitic demonic beast. I, I never heard such an explanation! Th-that old man! Bring that damned old man here! Ugh….. Urk!’

It doesn’t seem like the man is lying either.

“It appears to be his first time handling such poisonous energy. He said he bought it cheaply from some old man….. He doesn’t even know who. We’ve been digging for days, but it’ll be hard to expect anything more.”

“Is that the limit?”

“Yes. The poison consumes the caster. For a regular person to handle that poison, even if it’s low-grade, it would be fatal. With low-grade, giving up an arm would suffice, but to handle that level of poison and expect one’s own safety is greedy.”

It seems he used it without knowing, though.

“You may go now.”

Benjamin waved his arm, saying that was enough. The intelligence officer finished reporting and left.

[This is the timeline separator]

Aaron took off his hood.

“I thought it hadn’t been long, but it’s been quite a while.”

Aaron looked up at the imperial palace gates with clouded eyes.

I’ve set foot here again. The palace I fled from after the previous empress died.

“You there.”

The guard asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Who are you?”

Aaron only then realized how shabby his appearance was.

“Ah, I’m not trying to chase you away.”

The guard examined Aaron with a complex expression.

“I am this kind of person.”

Aaron took out the entry pass he had kept inside.

“Are you from the palace?”

Aaron nodded.

“I’ve returned to the palace at the imperial summons.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Charlotte brushed back her hair.

“What about your maternal relatives?”

“Yes. I escorted them to their carriage before coming here.”

They had come from the House of Windsor.

Her maternal relatives only left after checking two or three times that she was alright, despite her assurances.

“It seems the House of Windsor was very worried.”

“Even though I said I was fine, they had to see for themselves before they could set aside their worries.”

“That’s how people’s hearts are. People’s hearts are as delicate as flower petals. Knowing how delicate those hearts are, isn’t that why we watch over each other again and again?”

Though she explained at length, the point was that they worried about each other.

That’s how it is with family.

“Here is the event schedule. The delegation will visit the palace the day after tomorrow afternoon. Since things were rushed during the coronation, they plan to formally greet you this time.”

“The budget proposal?”

“That part is here. I’ve also noted other necessary items below, so please check.”

Charlotte tapped the table. The head maid carefully observed Charlotte.

“Is a delegation coming from the Southern Continent as well?”

“Yes. Relations with the Southern Continent have been severed for the past few years. The Southern Continent had been in turmoil with internal strife, but as soon as it ended, they sent a delegation.”

“The customs and culture of the Southern and Eastern Continents are completely different. We must not forget that difference. Be careful to avoid any mistakes.”

The head maid noted down the precautions Charlotte dictated.

“Your Majesty. Just a moment……”

A maid sought out Charlotte. She absently set down her teacup.

“What is it?”

“Were you expecting a guest today?”

Charlotte waved her hand for her to continue speaking.

“A guest has arrived outside. He introduced himself as Aaron, saying he used to work as a palace physician in the past.”

“Who did you say?”

“He introduced himself as Aaron. He was a stooped old man.”

Charlotte rose hastily.

“Where is he?”

“Outside……”

Before the head maid could finish speaking, Charlotte went outside.

As she caught her breath in front of the imperial palace, a familiar person stood in a familiar pose.

“I greet Your Majesty the Empress.”

Aaron bowed deeply.

“Aaron……”

Charlotte’s lips only trembled.

“This old man has been out in the night air too long. Would it be alright to speak somewhere warmer?”

Charlotte quickly arranged a place inside the palace. She had the fireplace stoked and ordered warm tea to be brought.

“I’m sorry to appear before you in such shabby attire.”

“You have nothing to apologize to me for.”

“I thought the two of you would reach the palace someday, but it happened sooner than expected. I’m sorry I couldn’t be present for the royal wedding.”

“That’s the second apology. I’m fine, so please warm yourself first.”

Aaron’s hands trembled as he held the teacup.

“Are you unwell somewhere?”

“I’ve just gotten very old. The Southern Continent is a warm land, but the continent is cold. It’s even colder now as we’re at the end of winter.”

Charlotte smiled awkwardly as she looked at Aaron.

“I had no idea you would travel all the way to the Southern Continent. If you had told me beforehand……”

“You would have said there was no need for an old man like me to make such a journey. I’m fine after warming up while traveling in warm places.”

“Still……”

“Please speak casually, Your Majesty. If you sit in that position, you must maintain the hierarchy befitting that position.”

Charlotte smiled bitterly.

“Someone who feels loneliness keenly has ascended to the loneliest position. It’s the highest, but also the most solitary. Each step you take may feel burdensome at times.”

“I……”

“Speak casually, Your Majesty.”

Aaron whispered firmly once more.

“I expected to see you like this, but actually seeing it fills me with emotion.”

“I can’t bring myself to do it, Aaron. Is your business in the Southern Continent finished?”

Charlotte spoke casually. Only then did Aaron smile warmly like before.

“There were some medicinal ingredients I needed to obtain directly from the Southern Continent. Ah, I also investigated Lupatic disease.”

Aaron slowly recounted what he had learned.

“Lupatic disease is characterized by paralysis of the body’s sensory systems. For example, sensation gradually disappears from the hands and feet, and then the muscles stiffen……”

“Is it a common disease?”

“It’s not a common condition.”

Aaron explained the origins of the disease. In the past, there was a trend of mixing luminous ore discovered in Southern Continent mining towns into pottery.

“It was a disease that frequently afflicted miners working in the mines.”

“That can’t be……”

Then why did I die?

Charlotte’s expression gradually contorted.

“It’s true that Lupatic disease is rare. Also, the current treatment has severe side effects, making the treatment process more painful than the disease itself.”

“Is treatment possible?”

“It’s possible, but research is needed to treat it without side effects.”

“Then, if someone from a noble family dies of Lupatic disease……”

“Lupatic disease is still a disease. People can die from it. Without treatment, they fall into a moribund state before dying.”

Aaron muttered uncertainly.

“However, treatment is possible.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Haneli stood still.

Without a word.

He stood like that for a long time.

His eyes were empty, but something alien was mixed in.

“……High Priest.”

The young priests trembled. That divine power spread here and there.

Like a spider web rippling in the air, that divine power spread thinly.

The young priests gnawed on their fingernails.

“Are you alright?”

Haneli somehow exuded an aura that made it difficult to speak to him carelessly.

That divine power was raw.

Primordial divine power is like that.

Raw and untamed, it burns away impurities as it claws at the skin.

The unrefined divine power stung like it was scratching the skin.

Haneli shed tears. He whispered dreamily.

“Why.”

His eyes gradually reddened.

The raw divine power swirled chaotically.

He muttered as if entranced. That whisper was so full of resentment.

“That soul is still wailing. How wronged must it have been, to wither away alone without even crying out?”

“……”

“Stop crying. Child. You don’t even know how to wipe away the tears flowing down your chin.”