I Was an Emperor, But I Became a Princess

“For someone who failed, you don’t look particularly upset.”

I shrugged at Lerrhagen’s comment. “Well, I have my methods.”

“Did you assign Ilian some task?”

“As always, you’re quick to catch on.”

“That’s all I needed to know.”

Lerrhagen turned his body completely, silently inviting me to speak if I had anything more to say. I didn’t rush, instead taking a moment to choose my words carefully before speaking.

“I’m going to catch the culprit and return to my adult form.”

“I know.”

“So don’t worry about me. I’ll definitely survive.”

At that moment, I felt Lerrhagen pause. He remained motionless, his back still turned to me, lost in thought.

“I absolutely won’t die. You know my personality.”

I had survived even while being called a tyrant and worse. Guilt was guilt, pain was pain, but living was another matter entirely. I committed those acts to survive, and so I continue to live.

“Life must be stronger than death. It holds more possibilities.”

Lerrhagen stood there for a long time after hearing my words. Then, without saying anything, he left the room. I stared at the doorway where he had disappeared and exhaled deeply.

My heart felt strangely heavy. ‘But still, first I need to deal with the mage.’

It didn’t matter if the conflict grew larger. When the game board expands, you just need to clear it from the corners, bit by bit. So, it would be fine. I reassured myself with these thoughts.

* * *

“If I die, will all this war come to an end?”

“No, it won’t end.”

“But if my single death could save the world, I’d choose to die.”

“Rasenita.”

“I’m sorry, Lord. It seems I must ultimately betray you.”

After leaving Esht’s room, Lerrhagen sighed deeply. He recalled the scene that had flickered before him today.

‘How long has it been, yet still…’

But it couldn’t be helped. In his long life, if there was one thing he regretted, it was that child.

It was somewhat ridiculous that he had fallen victim to his own spell in reverse, but what could he do? That’s just how these things worked. The only thing he hadn’t expected was…

“Lord.”

That calm voice calling him.

“Shall we leave now?”

That voice that had rescued him from the hallucination, speaking to him without any excitement, without any shock, just calmly.

‘I absolutely won’t die.’

Lerrhagen exhaled deeply, hearing that voice in his ears—the voice that seemed to comfort him, to console him, saying don’t worry, I absolutely won’t die.

Yes, she mustn’t die. No death could be more meaningful than life, at least not for humans.

* * *

The next morning, Ilian came to my office. Having finished breakfast early, I greeted him while lounging comfortably in my chair.

“You’re here? Let’s see how well you’ve earned your keep.”

“My lady, do you want to become a back-alley crime boss? Such villainous lines don’t suit you.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get to the point. Did you do well with what I asked?”

At my question, Ilian shrugged. Then he pulled out a bottle containing clear water from his pocket.

“Thanks to this, it was bearable.”

“Right? Holy water might seem useless, but it does have preventive properties. Of course, for me it was already too late—pouring a whole bottle of holy water would have done nothing after I’d already been turned into a child.”

I smiled faintly while staring at the bottle placed before me. It was the holy water I had given to Ilian a few days ago.

Though holy water could no longer banish demon folk who had been extinct for quite some time, it still provided decent protection against external attacks, including black magic which was its natural opposite.

My reason for giving it to Ilian was simple.

“The culprit must know you can trace magical sensations. If I were the culprit, I’d avoid meeting you at all costs.”

“Hmm. Well, that would be true if I weren’t on your side, but since I am…”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

I glanced sideways at Ilian, who was grinning unnecessarily in this situation. While opening a drawer, I continued.

“Anyway, they would naturally try to neutralize you, to prevent you from coming to the hunting grounds. They could have avoided using black magic, but would a culprit’s mind work that way? They wouldn’t want to face a potential witness.”

“That’s right.”

That’s why I had given Ilian holy water in advance, ordering him to prepare for any possible attack. And just as I predicted, Ilian began showing strange symptoms that morning.

But since he had already consumed some holy water, and I had also procured several tools from my storage that neutralized poison and magic, he didn’t suffer too much.

“And when Hasis explained that you couldn’t come because you were sick, the enemy naturally assumed you were affected by black magic and couldn’t attend the hunting competition.”

But after all the nobles had entered the forest, Ilian made his appearance. He examined each noble one by one. Since I had cast a spell to automatically transmit the nobles’ approximate locations through the lake, this wasn’t difficult.

“Although magical senses can only detect magic when it’s being used, the sensation lingers for a while afterward. It might be impossible after the hunting competition ends, but if they use magic during the event, you can certainly identify them.”

“…”

“The culprit would never have known that we anticipated even their tracking reversal spell and had you waiting in reserve.”

From the moment the opponent began using black magic, Ilian had already started moving, so even though we failed, they had already fallen into our trap.

‘Well, drawing out the black magic from my body and casting healing magic on myself was quite painful.’

But still, we achieved our goal, so that was fortunate. I silently reassured myself while unfolding the stack of documents in my hand.

Soon, portraits and brief information about the heads of each family were spread across my desk.

“So tell me now. Who is the black mage you saw?”

I looked at Ilian with eyes full of anticipation. However, in response to my question, Ilian asked me with a curious smile.

“Are you really okay with this?”

The concern in his eyes irritated me.

“Of course. Do you take me for some fool who would collapse from the shock of betrayal?”

“But my lady, once you find the culprit, will you strike immediately?”

“I’m not sure. It depends on the situation. Only the person who made me like this can turn me back into an adult. If I attack them carelessly, I might never be able to return, so I need to approach this carefully.”

Ilian sighed lightly at my words. Eventually, he pointed to one of the documents spread out on my desk.

At that moment, the smile disappeared from my face.

“This…”

“I remember hearing about the nobles’ situations from you before. It seems someone cooperated, don’t you think? Based on the circumstances?”

My stomach churned, and I took a deep breath. But the turmoil inside me wouldn’t calm down.

I closed my eyes slightly. A long silence filled the office. Slowly opening my eyes, I murmured.

“First, let’s catch them.”

“…”

“Then we’ll see.”

My voice trembled uncontrollably. I tried to push down my excitement and emotions, but it was useless.

Perhaps noticing this, Ilian spoke up.

“It’s not your fault, my lady.”