But it should be fine for now.

The number of monsters wasn’t that high yet, and the Magic Tower occasionally sent mages to help repair the walls.

It was the result of the condition Lionel and the Emperor had proposed in exchange for sending Edgar to the Magic Tower.

‘Again. Edgar again.’

Melissa shook her head to shake off her thoughts.

It was maddening how many things were connected to him no matter how hard she tried to forget.

“It’s not really serious. He’ll wake up in about an hour.”

“I see, I understand that much.”

Lloyd nodded quietly and then looked straight at Melissa.

“But what do you mean I will die?”

“That’s……”

“Your Highness!”

Someone’s shout interrupted Melissa’s words.

Tilting her head slightly to look behind Lloyd, she saw his aides running toward them.

“Your Highness! We’ve been looking for you!”

“Why are you here? We need to depart quickly!”

“Well……”

Lloyd, who had been answering his aides, paused briefly and turned to look at Melissa. Following his gaze, the aides only then noticed her presence.

“Ah, we greet Lady Lucid.”

“No, we should call her Lucid now……”

The corridor suddenly became noisy.

Melissa briefly felt the commotion and then turned around slightly. She saw the door still firmly closed.

It seemed necessary to move elsewhere.

“Shall we go inside somewhere to talk?”

* * *

“Impossible……”

Lloyd’s aides gaped after hearing the explanation.

“The Adore River will overflow? That Adore River?”

“Yes.”

Melissa answered concisely, looking at the aide with wide-open eyes. But even so, they seemed reluctant to believe it.

The murmuring grew louder than before.

“But the Artzen Empire has been established for five hundred years already. The Adore River has never overflowed during that time.”

“This is an unprecedented downpour. And to be precise, it’s not just the Adore River that will overflow. The situation is the same for other rivers too.”

Melissa gestured slightly toward the window.

“Can you see how much heavier the rain has become compared to earlier?”

“That’s certainly true, but……”

The aides, blankly staring out the window, exchanged glances.

Then, one of them, perhaps finding courage, adjusted his posture and spoke.

“What if what the lady—no, what Lucid said isn’t true? What will you do then?”

“Hey, you……”

The aide next to him jabbed his side.

But the words continued without stopping.

“If things don’t happen as Lucid says, it means His Highness knew about His Majesty’s condition but didn’t move, using rain as an excuse. You might be young and not realize, but that would be a significant blow to His Highness……”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

Melissa cut off his words, not too harshly.

A lengthy conversation was problematic. There was nothing good about being seen with Lloyd for too long by Lionel.

Either Edgar hadn’t mentioned it, or no one seemed to know she had woken up yet.

“If my words aren’t true, you want me to take responsibility, right? So you can say you were just following Lucid’s words.”

Melissa smiled slightly, raising the corners of her mouth.

She didn’t want them to take it the wrong way.

The aide, momentarily flustered, soon nodded.

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“Alright. I’ll take responsibility.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Would you like me to leave my handwriting? Or……”

Melissa neatly brought her two hands together in front of her chest.

“I can also make a magical contract with you.”

When she focused her mind, a pink light cluster formed around her hands. Though still imperfect, it was Melissa’s magical power.

“A m-magical contract, you say?”

The aide who had spoken asked with wide eyes.

His surprise was understandable.

Magical contracts were rarely made because the consequences of breaking them were certain. People generally avoided them because of the remote possibility of unforeseen circumstances.

‘Well, it’s not my first time, so it’s fine.’

With a contract already made before she was born, what difference would one more make?

Everything would happen according to her words anyway. So whatever conditions were set for the contract now, it didn’t matter to Melissa.

“Shall we start now, if that’s alright?”

“If, if you would do that for us, we would be……”

“Wait.”

It was just as Melissa was about to release more magical power—

“I’m against it, lady.”

Lloyd, who had been quietly thinking all this time, suddenly spoke.

“A magical contract isn’t necessary.”

Lloyd calmly added.

His aides’ faces turned pale.

“But Your Highness, this is truly an urgent situation. Since Lucid is offering to do it first, there’s no need to refuse.”

“No, seeing that she’s prepared to make a magical contract is enough.”

Lloyd shook his head slightly while looking at Melissa.

Melissa thought for a moment and then withdrew her magical power.

Only then did he smile with satisfaction.

“Then I’ll consider it settled. I won’t leave now as the lady said and will stay at the duke’s residence a bit longer.”

“Y-Your Highness. Then at the very least, couldn’t the lady provide a written oath……”

“This is enough, isn’t it? It’s not that big of a deal.”

Lloyd, who had suddenly reduced the collapse of the Emperor of the Artzen Empire to a trivial matter, stood up.

The aides who were about to speak again closed their mouths when they met his eyes. His green eyes had taken on a rather solemn light.

“Sirs, do not be any more disrespectful to the lady. Don’t forget that it hasn’t been long since she lost her family.”

At Lloyd’s words, all the aides turned their heads to look at Melissa.

Only after seeing her all-black attire did they seem to remember why they were here today.

“We’re, we’re sorry. We caused too much commotion.”

“It’s okay. You might feel that way.”

It wasn’t entirely a polite lie to say it was okay.

While today was indeed her mother’s funeral, it wasn’t the day she had left Melissa’s side.

Melissa had already let go of her mother years ago.

Since Lionel had prevented her from meeting her mother from the beginning, she hadn’t formed a deep emotional connection with her to grieve again for something she’d already experienced. Edgar had always been the only one by her side, as usual.

Though now even he was gone.

‘So is this roughly wrapped up?’

Lloyd had directly stated he wouldn’t leave, and the existence of “Melissa Lucid” was firmly planted in his mind. After a little time passed, Melissa would be remembered in their minds as the savior of the Crown Prince’s life.

This much had established the foundation of her plan.

‘Now I should go back. Lionel will probably notice soon.’

Melissa slowly rose from her seat.

Of course, she had no choice but to sit back down immediately.

“I’m not finished speaking yet, lady.”

“Pardon?”

When Melissa awkwardly sat back down, Lloyd quietly looked at her.

Under that gaze, she felt she might be pierced through.

‘Is he angry?’

But there was no reason for that.

When she tilted her head slightly, Lloyd sighed.

“You should be careful too, lady.”

“About what?”

“About what a contract means.”

……What is he suddenly talking about?

Unable to understand, Melissa unconsciously stared at Lloyd with wide eyes.

He frowned deeply in response.

He looked frustrated with Melissa.

“Lady, a contract is something you make when there are things both parties must keep, and things to be exchanged.”

“Yes. I know that.”

“No, you don’t.”

Lloyd, who spoke firmly, quickly added before Melissa could object.

“If you knew, you wouldn’t just be offering something without getting anything in return. What exactly do you gain from this contract?”

Lloyd seemed quite dissatisfied with the current situation.

His furrowed brow refused to smooth out.

Melissa faced him directly and opened and closed her mouth. It wasn’t that she had nothing to say to him.

‘I never expected him to be thinking about this.’

In short, Lloyd Helia Artzen’s words meant he was angry with her. For appearing like a fool who couldn’t properly look after her own interests.

‘You don’t know, but I’ve gained plenty already.’

Moreover, she planned to make good use of Lloyd from now on.

It was frustrating, but she couldn’t tell him everything.

‘Still, I don’t feel bad about it.’

She felt this way despite what could be seen as being disrespected by someone younger than herself. It had been truly a long time since someone worried about her like this.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“I didn’t say that to hear your thanks.”

“I know.”

“If your words prove true, make sure to demand appropriate compensation.”

“I understand. I’ll definitely do that.”

Sensing he would frown again if she refused, Melissa nodded with a small smile.

It seemed she had found a better person than expected.

“Shall we go back now?”

* * *

Several dozen minutes later.

Very naturally, the Adore River overflowed.

The road that Lloyd’s carriage would have been traveling on by now was being swallowed by rough waters, visible even from the funeral hall where Melissa stood.

‘That’s a relief. I was worried just in case.’

Still, she would need to be careful going forward.

While it was fine that she couldn’t easily change the future of river waters overflowing due to heavy rain, expecting the same for other things would be too greedy.

Just as Melissa was trying to change her unhappy future, something else could change the future too. She shouldn’t rely too much on the power of precognition.

She was planning not to use it much anyway because of the accompanying pain, so this might actually be a good thing.