He would have thought Edgar could persuade Melissa. After all, Lionel wouldn’t know how the two had parted in the end.

‘What a mess.’

A small sigh escaped between Melissa’s lips.

If that was true, the situation had become complicated.

Though she had firmly resolved never to live like her previous life, Melissa knew her own state very well.

‘……I wavered at just a few words.’

It didn’t matter that it was affection accompanied by hatred. What mattered was that whenever Edgar did something to her, she kept paying attention to it and ruminating over it.

Was that behavior real, or was it false?

Such thoughts kept circling in her head.

This was clearly different from Lionel, about whom she couldn’t care less. Indeed, having Edgar nearby would do her no good.

‘Besides, if it’s Edgar, he’ll interfere with my research on magic.’

He might even find a way to strengthen the magical contract. The thought made her spine shiver.

She couldn’t just sit still and let that happen.

‘I shouldn’t let him know I’m thinking of breaking the magical contract, so it’s better to conduct research secretly for now.’

Anyway, mages sent from the Magic Tower for support usually stay for about a week before returning. Edgar would surely do the same. She just needed to endure until then.

‘In the meantime, I should think about what I heard at the temple.’

[I have placed someone by your side who will save you. That child will make you comfortable.]

[You will know the moment you meet.]

A savior who would rescue her from this hell…

None other than one mentioned by the main deity Hagios. Since it was directly stated by the deity who was said to have loved the clan’s ancestor, Lucid, dearly, the claim of sending a savior for her must be true.

Melissa planned to search for this savior while Edgar stayed in the north.

That way, Edgar wouldn’t notice her intentions, and Melissa wouldn’t waste time idly since she would be doing something else.

“Yes, that will work.”

Melissa murmured softly and lay down on the bed.

Her fluttering eyelashes settled downward.

While suppressing her heart that pounded with an indescribable emotion.

* * *

As soon as day broke, Melissa left the infirmary.

The doctor said it would be better to stay a bit longer, but Melissa firmly shook her head. From her perspective, staying in the infirmary was worse for her health.

She was bothered by the doctor’s nervousness about treating someone from the Lucid clan, and she disliked the north people’s attention focused on her.

And the biggest reason was:

‘Edgar might visit again.’

The possibility that Edgar might casually visit like yesterday if she remained in the infirmary.

Since becoming Lucid, conversations between Edgar and Melissa had been full of lies. Neither spoke the truth. The thought of having such a conversation again already exhausted her.

She wanted to avoid meeting Edgar as much as possible.

‘I’ll just lock the door and refuse any visit requests.’

So Melissa shut herself in her house for a week.

When she said she needed to recover her body for the next precognition, even those who had been coming to see her soon stopped. Edgar, who had seemed likely to visit again, surprisingly seemed to focus only on examining the northern wall.

She was relieved he didn’t break into her house.

Thanks to that, she recovered her body to some extent and successfully completed her plan to find the savior.

‘Well, the plan is simply to meet as many people as possible.’

Since the main deity Hagios said she would know the savior the moment they met, this simple approach seemed most appropriate. Being somewhat famous, meeting people would be easy.

‘I hope it doesn’t take too long to find them.’

Melissa finished her time alone, which felt both long and short, with such thoughts.

Ah, of course, she wasn’t truly alone for the entire week.

There was exactly one person who could visit Melissa even in this situation.

Knock knock.

At the familiar knocking sound, Melissa got up from organizing the books she had borrowed from the library before her seclusion to return them.

Sure enough, a familiar voice was heard.

“Lady, can we talk for a moment?”

“Yes, just a moment.”

When she opened the door, she saw Lloyd standing there.

Lloyd, who had come to celebrate Melissa’s coming-of-age ceremony, was staying in the north a bit longer after finishing his schedule.

Snow seemed to be falling outside, with some accumulated on Lloyd’s shoulders and head. His earlobes visible through his hair were reddened from the cold.

“A letter came from the imperial palace today. Since I need your permission for this matter, I thought it would be good to talk to you.”

“Ah, yes! Please come in.”

Lloyd seemed about to start speaking right there, so Melissa stepped aside slightly, indicating he should come in.

He hurriedly waved his hands.

“You shouldn’t just let anyone into your house, lady. I notice you don’t care about these things at all.”

“It bothers me more having you standing at the door. You know the northern winter is colder than in the capital. Even though it’s late winter, it’s still chilly. Stop standing in the wind and come warm yourself.”

Melissa pulled Lloyd’s arm.

Lloyd stepped into the house before he knew it.

Only then did Melissa close the door with a relieved face and walked ahead into the house.

“Besides, Your Highness isn’t just anyone.”

Lloyd paused at those casual words.

He quietly watched Melissa, who had started organizing her books again, and asked softly,

“……Then what am I to you?”

His voice somehow sounded expectant.

“What are you to me?”

Melissa tilted her head while holding a book.

After staying like that for a moment, she burst into a small laugh.

“Your Highness is my friend. My only friend.”

“Only friend……”

Lloyd moved his lips and murmured quietly.

His face showed an unreadable emotion. He seemed both pleased and displeased by Melissa’s words.

Lloyd had occasionally made such expressions for some time.

And since then, the frequency of Lloyd’s visits to the north or his letters had noticeably increased. While Melissa was wondering why, she looked at him again at his sudden continuation.

“Then what is young duke Shortiras?”

“What?”

Melissa flinched at the sudden question.

Lloyd looked at her quietly and asked:

“Isn’t it strange if I’m your only friend? Young duke Shortiras has been your friend since birth.”

“……Ah, that’s right.”

Melissa hesitated before answering.

She hadn’t answered Lloyd that way because she resented Edgar or no longer considered him a friend. From the time she began to think somewhat clearly, he had never been just a ‘friend’ to Melissa.

Edgar Shortiras was the only presence by Melissa’s side, the only person she held in her heart, and after their engagement, he was her future life partner.

One doesn’t usually call such a person a friend.

So Melissa had never once referred to Edgar as a friend to others. Though the situation had changed a lot now.

“Yes, that’s right. Edgar is a friend too.”

Melissa finally opened her mouth and gave an answer.

Her mouth felt dry, like she had chewed sand.

It felt like she had forcibly swallowed something inedible. Afraid she might grimace if her mind wandered even slightly, Melissa closed her mouth after those words.

She didn’t want to continue any conversation related to Edgar.

Melissa finished organizing her books, pretending not to notice Lloyd watching her. She thought he would naturally change the subject.

But today, Lloyd was quite persistent.

Perhaps because she had uttered the name ‘Edgar,’ which she rarely mentioned.

“Come to think of it, why aren’t you meeting young duke Shortiras? Isn’t it after a very long time?”

“Well…… we had a big fight right before parting. I still feel uncomfortable meeting him.”

“Even after six years?”

“Yes.”

“To still avoid seeing each other after so much time has passed, you must have fought seriously. But since you’re friends, wouldn’t it be good to reconcile……”

Lloyd stopped speaking, then asked with a hardened face,

“Did young duke Shortiras do something to you too? Is that why you’re avoiding him?”

At that direct question, she almost answered ‘yes.’

After all, in her previous life, what had caused Melissa, who had barely been holding on, to completely collapse was the fact that Edgar had been deceiving her all along.

But…….

“No, Your Highness. We just fought.”

In this life, Edgar had done nothing wrong.

That fact kept driving Melissa crazy.

If only he had shown the same face as in her previous life, if only he had yelled at her that day six years ago when she rejected his confession, it wouldn’t have been this difficult.

[I missed you, Melissa.]

She recalled his words when he came looking for her.

Those words, without a trace of malice, filled only with affection.

Melissa tried to erase the afterimage in her mind and looked straight at Lloyd.

“Really. Nothing like what you’re thinking happened.”

“You really just fought?”

“Yes.”

Melissa nodded casually.

After all, they had fought, so it wasn’t a lie.

Feeling relieved that her hastily made-up story sounded plausible, she heard Lloyd mutter something quietly.