Thanks to her, the atmosphere in the hall turned cold, but Diana, leaving behind a flustered Ian, fled the ballroom as if running away.

Coming out into the garden, she wrapped her arms around herself against the unexpectedly chilly air. The full moon was still high overhead.

Of all days, she had to be born on the night of a full moon, so there was nowhere to hide. The moonlight, shining into every secluded corner, made her feel as though all her weaknesses would be exposed.

“Princess Diana.”

At that moment, Ian’s voice called to her from behind.

As his footsteps drew closer, Diana hurriedly wiped away the tears that had slipped out.

“The party went on all night, so you must be tired. If you don’t mind, would you like to take a walk with me?”

“I have no intention of walking with you.”

Without even looking back, she answered coldly.

“…It seems I’ve been rude in many ways today.”

He replied regretfully, as if seeking forgiveness, but after that, there was only silence.

Because of this, Diana assumed Ian had returned to the ballroom. Suddenly, however, a blanket was draped over her shoulders.

“….”

She looked up at him reproachfully for covering her with the blanket, then started walking briskly along the well-manicured garden path, as if to escape him.

But before long, she was forced to look back again.

“I said I wasn’t going to walk with you.”

“I’m just taking a walk by myself, too. I don’t really like noisy places.”

“….”

“Don’t mind me, Princess. There are stones on the path ahead, so be careful.”

Ian said, politely gesturing with his palm to indicate the path before her.

Diana frowned, unsure whether he was being courteous or teasing her.

But she knew well that the longer she argued, the more she’d get drawn in, so she decided to ignore him.

“Ahem, watch your step there.”

“….”

“Ahem, to the right. Ahem, take the right path.”

“….”

However, as he kept following her, pretending to clear his throat and talking to her, she couldn’t ignore him to the end and spun around.

“Would you just…!”

But contrary to her expectations, Ian wasn’t looking at her.

He was simply gazing at the full moon, now fading in the distance. They must have walked quite a bit, as dawn was breaking.

In the gradually brightening early morning, his figure became even clearer.

“Your Highness.”

Finally facing her, Ian asked,

“Why is it that… you don’t look happy?”

“What do you mean…?”

A small ripple appeared in her eyes, as deep and blue as the ocean.

“…Diana.”

“Princess!”

Just as Ian unconsciously called her name, Jerome’s voice could be heard in the distance, searching for her.

“…I should go. If I’m any later, I’ll be nagged for a month straight.”

“Your Highness.”

As Diana turned to leave, Ian called her back. A confident smile appeared on his face.

“The next time we meet, I’ll make you smile.”

***

All the way back to her bedroom, Diana couldn’t get Ian’s confident expression out of her mind.

That self-assured attitude, as if he could win her over at any moment.

But Jerome didn’t give Diana a chance to be upset.

He followed her to make sure she didn’t stray off somewhere else, and showed no sign of stopping his nagging.

“Oh, right, Your Highness. About the stables.”

Before Diana, who had her ears tightly covered with both hands, could disappear into her room, Jerome hurriedly called her back.

“They say most of the outdated facilities have been fixed. You can report it to Her Majesty now.”

Hearing this, Diana thought of her dearest friend, Yan.

“Is Yan doing well? I need to go check on him and see if he’s healthy.”

“Who is Yan?”

Jerome looked genuinely puzzled.

“…I mean my horse.”

“Your horse?”

“Yes, my horse. White coat, black mane… Don’t you know?”

“I don’t think there’s a horse like that in the royal stables… I’ll check just in case.”

Jerome still looked confused, tilting his head.

“But when did you even give a horse a name? I thought you disliked horses.”

“…Who said I dislike horses?”

“You did, Your Highness.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Jerome’s voice was firm.

“…Since when?”

“Are you asking me?”

“No… I didn’t know. I never realized I disliked horses until now.”

“….”

With an exasperated look, Jerome pushed Diana into her room.

“Please go in and get some sleep. You look very tired.”

“Ah, alright. Don’t push!”

“I’ll wake you up in time for your afternoon schedule. Rest well. Really rest!”

After Jerome left, the room became very quiet. Diana lay down on the familiar bed she had missed and reflected on everything that had happened today.

She had returned to the past, but some things were different from what she remembered. She needed to figure out what had changed.

Afraid of missing even the slightest detail, she kept going over the day’s events until her heavy eyelids finally closed on their own.

And just as she was falling asleep, the image that surfaced, as always, was Ian’s smiling face.

***

In the afternoon, she had to meet the dean of the Royal University. Facing the busy schedule of the Erden princess again, it finally started to feel real that she had come back.

Suppressing a yawn, Diana knocked on the dean’s office door.

An elderly man opened the door for her. It was Dean Lampman himself.

“You’re ten minutes early.”

“Better than being late.”

“No, it’s actually better to be a little late! If Your Highness is waiting for someone, that person should be worth the time you’re investing. Waiting for someone unworthy only gives them room to become arrogant!”

He added more, as if he still had things left to say.

“Of course, arriving exactly on time is best. It gives people the impression that you’re very strict about appointments!”

As soon as Diana sat at the desk prepared for her, Lampman’s strict nagging began again.

“As a proud historian of Erden, I’ve been in charge of royal education for over twenty years, and never have I seen anything like what happened last night. Do you realize that?”

“….”

Lampman was talking about Diana disappearing during the ball. Or more precisely, about her pushing Ian Leheits away while dancing and fleeing.

“If Her Highness acts so willfully, how will you ever support Crown Prince Louis in the future?”

Diana knew he’d mention Louis eventually. Lampman always compared her to her older brother, Louis.

Since Diana said nothing, Lampman must have thought she was sufficiently remorseful, because he moved right on to preparing for the lesson.

“Do you know what we’ll be studying today?”

“Today… I believe we’ll be learning about the Ops persecution.”

“Yes, but you’re mistaken.”

The lesson was conducted in a discussion format. But Diana had never once bested Lampman in debate. In fact, most days she could barely open her mouth, overwhelmed by his force.

Lampman paced in a circle around the dean’s office, his steps surprisingly quick for an old man.

“It wasn’t persecution.”

He spoke firmly.

“And it certainly wasn’t discrimination! I know there are people who use such terms, but the correct term is ‘differentiation policy.’ It was meant to classify the peoples of Erden and implement appropriate policies for each group.”

He quickly added another remark.

“It was a great policy, full of the late king’s deep intentions.”

Diana wrote the name of the policy on her paper, but that was all.

She couldn’t write things like it was her grandfather’s great achievement, or that it wasn’t discrimination, as Lampman insisted.

“You don’t seem to agree with me.”

Diana looked Lampman straight in the eye.

The Diana from before her return might not have been able to argue with him. But now, she knew what future lay ahead for them.

If there was something she could set right, she had to do it before it was too late.

“Erden has already gone through two wars. The war with Kargen started thirty-eight years ago and lasted ten years, during which the late king passed away and my aunt, Queen Isabella, ascended the throne.”

Lampman raised his eyebrows, noticing Diana’s changed attitude.

“The ‘differentiation policy’ the late king clung to should have been abolished right after the peace with the Empire. No, it still needs to be corrected even now. Because of that policy, another civil war broke out soon after.”

Diana pleaded earnestly.

“The two consecutive wars might seem like distant history now, but they’re not. Even now, the cracks that formed back then are being exploited by malicious actors inside and outside the country. Our enemies are waiting for us to divide and destroy ourselves.”

“Are you blaming Her Majesty’s past decisions? As I’ve always said, this policy has nothing to do with the civil war.”

Lampman responded stiffly, hands behind his back.

“Why won’t you admit that the policy eventually led to civil war? Do you really think the Ops people deserved to be discriminated against? Or are you just afraid of their power, their magic?”

“They are dangerous elements who must be controlled!”

“Maybe you can control them by force, but Erden needs unity, not control. Discrimination only breeds hatred! If citizens are turning their swords and guns on each other, what else can that be but the result of oppression?”

“They—!”

“….”

“They! That’s just how they are!”

Lampman, his voice rising, finally slammed the desk and shouted.

Startled, Diana inhaled sharply and glared at him.

“They’ve always been cunning, using that power as a weapon, waiting for an opportunity. Always looking for a chance to rebel against the royal family! Why, why are you defending them, Your Highness? They’re the ones who took Prince Edgar—your father—from us!”

Lampman, unable to calm his anger, trembled all over.

Beyond his thin, shaking shoulders, Diana met the eyes of her father Edgar’s portrait.

Ever since she’d started taking history lessons here as a little girl, the portrait had always watched her from that high place.

No, it was really watching Lampman, the master of this room. There was nowhere in this office where he could hide from that gaze.

“…That’s all for today’s lesson. Goodbye, Princess.”

Leaving the tormented Lampman behind, Diana had no choice but to leave the dean’s office.

Through the closing door, she could see his sunken eyes gazing endlessly up at Edgar’s portrait.

***

Leaving the dean’s office, Diana headed straight for the main gate. Jerome would be waiting there with her car.

As expected, Jerome was visible beyond the massive iron gate. When he saw Diana, he quickly opened the car door.

“Let’s go straight to the palace, Your Highness.”

“….”

“…Your Highness? Your Highness! Where are you going?”

But as Diana’s pace gradually slowed, she suddenly turned and walked in a different direction.