“I wonder what you were talking about.”

Edgar said with a gentle smile.

But his eyes told a different story.

His blue eyes fixed on Lloyd contained a cold energy despite his slightly upturned lips. What Melissa had recently thought resembled summer colors now looked completely like winter.

Just like when they met in prison in her past life.

“Edgar.”

Melissa called out to him as he leaned against the library door.

She could feel people’s gazes flicking toward them from earlier. She didn’t know what conversation would follow, but having it here wasn’t good.

No matter how she thought about it, they needed to change locations.

But despite clearly hearing her call, Edgar didn’t turn toward Melissa. He didn’t seem particularly bothered by the situation where attention was focused on him.

And the same applied to Lloyd.

“I was finishing the conversation I couldn’t complete with the lady last time. I was also concerned about how unwell she seemed before. I worried whether she had anyone looking after her.”

“Ah, I see.”

Edgar nodded exaggeratedly.

“I appreciate your concern for Melissa, but I don’t think that’s something for Your Highness to worry about.”

His tone clearly indicated displeasure. Lloyd’s face had also completely hardened upon hearing those words.

Both Edgar and Lloyd acted completely different from their usual selves.

She grew increasingly anxious that something might happen. This could escalate into a conflict between the Shortiras ducal family and the Artzen imperial family, not a situation to be taken lightly.

Melissa, who had been watching from the side, became increasingly nervous.

Then, Lloyd, who had been glancing at Melissa, said,

“……What if I have a reason to be concerned?”

Melissa turned her head at those words.

Her eyes met the green eyes that had been looking at her.

Lloyd continued speaking while looking only at Melissa, as if he had never been talking to Edgar. His face was more serious than ever, making it impossible for her to look away.

“I have feelings for Lady Lucid.”

“……What?”

What did he just say?

Unable to immediately understand the words that reached her ears, Melissa remained frozen for a moment, blinking her eyes. Of course, her state remained the same even after she fully comprehended.

She had never once thought about it.

That Lloyd would see her in such a way.

And for good reason, the person in question was Lloyd Helia Artzen.

The sole heir to the Artzen Empire.

A man who always received the respect of the imperial citizens for his kind demeanor.

A person who would have died after coming to her mother’s funeral in her original timeline.

Due to various intertwined conditions, the proposition that “Lloyd Helia Artzen likes Melissa Lucid” had become a possibility she dared not even contemplate.

No, in truth, it would have been the same with anyone else.

Melissa didn’t believe anyone would like her.

It was a natural inference stemming from a very old deficiency.

Because she hadn’t been loved by anyone in her past life.

Not even by the person she spent the most time with.

“What are you doing?”

Edgar asked in a low voice.

The smile that had been superficially hanging on his face had long since disappeared without a trace. But Melissa actually thought this was better.

The Edgar from a moment ago had looked strangely unfamiliar.

Almost like someone she didn’t know.

“Didn’t I clearly tell you before? That Melissa and I are lovers.”

“I heard.”

“Then why are you……”

“But that doesn’t mean I intend to give up right away.”

Lloyd’s gaze remained fixed on Melissa.

Overlapping with his face was the scene from the day she first left the Shortiras ducal residence. The face that caught her falling from the sky and exhaled a deep breath of relief.

In that moment, Melissa finally realized.

You’ve been harboring the same feelings all this time.

“I’ve liked the lady longer than you might think.”

Murmurs could be heard from various places.

The library’s librarian, who had approached at some point, pushed people back, so they probably hadn’t heard the entire conversation, but they had clearly sensed the general atmosphere.

But Melissa no longer cared about such things.

Her head turned toward Edgar.

Meanwhile, Lloyd continued speaking.

“So I was telling the lady. If anything happens, please tell me anytime. If the lady wishes, I can help with anything.”

“……”

“I’m not just saying this; I truly mean it. I can protect you if you’re in danger.”

Lloyd’s attitude showed not the slightest wavering.

Having been watching Edgar, who had remained silent all this time, Melissa couldn’t see Lloyd’s face, but that was her impression.

“Arranging a place in the imperial palace for someone precious isn’t that difficult. If you don’t like that, then treat her well. Don’t make her anxious. That’s what I’m saying.”

With those words, Lloyd closed his mouth.

At the same time, the library, which had been somewhat noisy, fell silent.

The silence that arrived without warning felt strangely unfamiliar.

A chill and tension permeated the air, making goosebumps rise and creating the illusion that her skin was trembling. Some people even covered their mouths, unable to make even the sound of breathing.

Melissa knew the cause of this entire situation.

It was the man she was observing.

Edgar, who had been quietly staring at the floor with his eyelids lowered.

“You’ll take Melissa to the imperial palace?”

He slowly raised his head.

His face, which she had always thought was pale, looked whiter than usual. No, “ashen” would be a more accurate description. He resembled a dead person.

If not for the two eyes staring intensely at Lloyd, she might have truly mistaken him for one.

Edgar’s eyes were bloodshot.

He clearly showed signs of suppressing something that had welled up inside him.

“No, that’s not what I meant……”

Lloyd looked flustered.

Melissa understood his reaction as well.

What he had given Edgar was simply a warning.

It was closer to a request, saying that these were his feelings, and he was prepared to go this far for her sake, so Edgar should understand and get his act together.

He wasn’t actually saying he would do so right now.

Anyone who properly heard Lloyd’s words would have understood it that way, nine out of ten people. The problem was that Edgar Shortiras, the person who heard those words, was that ‘one.’

“What do you intend to do after taking her?”

Edgar asked with still bloodshot eyes.

It’s strange, strange.

She kept thinking this from earlier.

Edgar was clearly in front of her, existing at a distance where she could reach him in just a few steps. Yet she felt as though he existed in an entirely different world.

She couldn’t tell whether it was because Edgar wasn’t listening to Lloyd’s words and kept saying irrelevant things, or if he truly saw something different through the current situation.

“Are you planning to make Melissa the empress?”

“What? Wait……”

“Is this with His Majesty the Emperor’s permission? Or is it Your Highness’s unilateral decision? Have you resolved to always protect and guard Melissa?”

Sharp words poured down like a sudden shower.

The library’s librarian was now completely ushering people out through the library’s back door. Since he couldn’t stop Edgar or Lloyd, he seemed to have decided to close the library.

That was the best option in the current situation, a wise decision.

Melissa also didn’t dare intervene.

Edgar was that agitated.

“Don’t tell me you intended to take Melissa to the imperial palace without even being prepared for that? Will you leave her alone when it becomes a bit troublesome? Like how you abandoned her for years?”

“Young duke Shortiras, please listen to me……”

“After all the feelings I had when I sent her!”

Edgar shouted in a somewhat raised voice.

Watching Edgar lose his composure, Melissa felt indescribable emotions. Partly because each of Edgar’s words was incomprehensible, but the most fundamental reason was different.

She now somewhat understood why Edgar had been strangely hostile toward Lloyd all this time.

She thought he was wary of her switching to the Artzen imperial side, but that wasn’t it. Melissa could clearly distinguish this much.

Edgar wasn’t wary of the Crown Prince of Artzen.

He was angry at the human being called “Lloyd.”

Once she recognized this, past events also appeared somewhat different.

Six years ago, on the day of her mother’s funeral.

Even then, Edgar had acted sensitively regarding Lloyd, as if something terrible would happen. The usually composed Edgar had even begged and pleaded for her to listen to him just once.

‘But why?’

Edgar’s voice reached Melissa’s ears as she stood in confusion.

“At the very least, Melissa won’t be going to Your Highness.”

His voice trembled at the end.

Again.

That desperation that made even onlookers feel uneasy.

[Promise me, Melissa. That no matter what happens, you will never tell Father.]

That expression and tone when he spoke about the conditions he set in exchange for breaking the magic contract a few days ago.

This situation that made someone born in the highest position with brilliant talent become heated and anxious.

How could she pretend not to know those raw emotions?

‘Ah.’

In that moment, Melissa felt a powerful realization.

That at least in this life, Edgar Shortiras……