“Just wait a moment! I’ll be right back!”

Dodging Jerome, who tried to follow her in a panic, Diana hurriedly ran back into the campus.

The place she headed for was none other than the Elten Library.

Among the many libraries within the Royal University, Elten Library was famous for being the largest in the capital.

Named after the beautiful Elten River that runs through the city, this library was open to anyone from outside as long as their identity was confirmed, so it was always bustling with people year-round.

Some people recognized Diana and glanced at her, and a few nobles she knew quietly greeted her as they passed.

Diana, following her old habit, settled into an inconspicuous corner.

She placed several thick history books she had brought onto the table and began reading them one by one in detail.

A little while later, as she closed the last book, she became certain of one thing.

History had not changed.

Why was it only the past related to Ian that had changed?

The long war, her parents’ deaths, the seeds of division—none of those things had changed at all.

…

She paused as she was about to put the books back on the shelf.

Before she realized it, her hand had already picked up a book titled “Edgar Ahiel Erden.”

As she flipped through a few pages, the portrait of her father in the book stared coldly back at her. He looked much younger than the portrait hanging in the dean’s office, so much so that he reminded her of her brother Louis.

“…Father.”

No matter how many times she tried saying the word “father” to herself, it never felt familiar.

Her father lost his life nineteen years ago, when the Erden civil war reached its peak, in a surprise attack on the capital by the Ops rebel forces.

After the incident, the royal government hastily began negotiations, and on the night the peace treaty was finally signed, Diana’s mother exchanged her weakened body and soul, worn out by long illness, for Diana’s birth.

The night she was born was colored by the joy of peace, the sorrow of loss, and the birth of new life, all mixing together to stain the unusually bright moon with confusion.

To her, her parents were beings who stared at her solemnly from inside books, but Louis, who was eight years older than Diana, had many memories with their father.

Louis, who grew up hating the Ops people as much as his longing for their parents grew, had become a fervent segregationist like Lampman.

After the war, Queen Isabella, who had no children of her own, mourned the death of her brother Edgar and took in Diana and her brother as her own children.

Louis spent his childhood relatively free from the burden of succession, while Diana, born after their parents’ deaths, had grown up as a princess from the beginning.

They cherished each other, but in some ways, they understood each other the least.

“…Ha.”

Diana let out a deep sigh and closed the book.

She had no idea where to even begin if she wanted to prevent the predetermined end, and her head throbbed with confusion.

She pressed her temples and lifted her head to put the book back on the shelf.

At that moment, through the gap in the shelves, her eyes met Ian’s.

***

The workload of the kingdom’s officials was relentless, to the point that it was hard to believe the ball had lasted until this morning.

Ian had only managed to get a little sleep in the morning.

He was heading to Elten Library to find some materials that Hopper had requested.

Hopper, Ian’s supervisor, was an aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Whenever Ian brought him a document, Hopper would say it wasn’t the right one and ask him to find another, as if to deliberately give Ian a hard time.

But Ian didn’t really care about Hopper. He had far more important things to worry about than insignificant people like him.

As Ian entered the library lobby, the noble ladies and young women chatting quietly there immediately turned their attention to him.

But he ignored their sparkling eyes and instead called over a passing librarian.

“I’m here from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I need to get a new pass for the archives…”

But when the librarian saw Ian’s face, she dropped the stack of books she was holding with a crash, cutting him off.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes…”

When he picked up the fallen books and smiled kindly, the librarian’s face turned impossibly red.

“Th-the pass is this way…”

Following the librarian, Ian was lost in thought.

He kept remembering what had happened at dawn.

The princess’s face kept coming to mind…

“Here’s your pass. And, um…”

The librarian seemed to want to say something as she handed him the pass, but soon fell silent.

His expression had changed completely from before. Few people had the courage to approach him when he wore that cold face.

But this was Ian’s true self. He was not a gentle or kind man to others.

Noticing the frightened, frozen librarian, he relaxed his expression. Smiling wasn’t hard for him.

Captivating people was always easy for Ian.

He set the trap, enchanted them, and captured them.

People, like now, feared him but eventually wanted him.

…

But then.

The relaxed smile on Ian’s lips quickly disappeared again.

He was thinking of Diana once more.

Her cold eyes as she glared at him, her voice drawing a line and telling him not to come any closer.

Since their encounter yesterday, she kept invading his thoughts, and he didn’t even notice how unguarded his own expressions became.

A little later, he found the materials he’d been looking for, but he kept wandering around the library.

He knew he should be spending this time at the palace if he wanted to see the princess.

But if he wandered around the palace unnecessarily in his current position, he would only arouse suspicion.

Even a little suspicion could cost him his access to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or even his graduation. At the very least, he needed to graduate from the Royal University and solidify his connection to the royal family.

‘I need to seize my chance.’

As he was pondering how to approach the princess, two young women passed by him.

“I heard there’s a place in front of the Elten River that sells dresses identical to the one the princess wore. Want to go?”

“Sure. But we’ll have to sneak out. You know how old-fashioned my parents are.”

The two seemed to be talking about the latest fashion trend in the kingdom.

Ian perked up at the mention of the princess and listened more closely.

“My mom too. If she finds out I came here, she’ll be furious. She’ll definitely ask why I went somewhere open to commoners.”

“If you tell her you saw the princess here today, she’ll really lose it.”

They giggled as they continued chatting.

“But I like seeing the princess outside the palace. The royal family feels more approachable somehow.”

“True. The princess hardly ever comes out of the palace. The crown prince isn’t here now either. There’s no way we’d ever see Her Majesty.”

Ian listened quietly as the two walked away, then turned and retraced their steps.

He kept climbing the stairs. As befitted the largest royal library in the capital, the stairs seemed modeled after the grand spiral staircase of the palace ballroom.

After climbing several more floors, he finally spotted Diana. She was sitting in a corner by a window flooded with sunlight.

“…How strange.”

Coincidentally, she was sitting in the spot he used to frequent as a student. It was a place where he could focus, away from people’s eyes.

He deliberately made his footsteps audible as he approached, close enough for her to notice. But Diana was deeply engrossed in her book, her expression serious.

When she didn’t react at all, Ian turned and slipped behind the bookshelf.

“…Why am I hiding?”

There was no real reason to be behind the shelf. He frowned at his own uncharacteristic behavior.

Looking around her, he noticed that Jerome, her ever-present attendant, was nowhere to be seen. This was his chance to approach her.

But contrary to his plan, his body didn’t move. Ian’s gaze remained fixed on Diana.

He watched as her hair shimmered in the warm afternoon sunlight.

Her blue eyes were as calm as a deep sea.

Watching her, he felt as if the beautiful melody from the ball was still ringing in his ears.

Riding the golden spiral staircase, that melody washed over him like a wave, and once again, only the two of them danced…

…

It was strange. He kept feeling this odd sense of déjà vu.

What was this feeling? As if he’d shared a secret meeting with her in an empty library before.

Ian watched Diana’s various expressions as she read, and before he knew it, he was smiling.

Just then, she looked up and finally noticed him.

Their eyes met unexpectedly, and he flinched in surprise—like someone caught spying.

When Diana narrowed her eyes suspiciously, he put on an aggrieved expression.

“No, I mean, I’ve been here since earlier…”

But before Ian could finish, Diana circled around the bookshelf and came over to his side.

“What are you doing? Why are you watching me?”

“Haha, watching you… That’s not… Please, just listen to me.”

As Diana strode towards him, Ian backed away until his back was pressed tightly against the wall.

‘Who ordered you to watch me?’

Diana barely suppressed the question rising in her throat.

She reminded herself not to get impatient. Ian was a spy taking orders. She needed to go for the head, not just the tail.

“Tell me why you’re here.”

“I had a strange dream… That’s all.”

She took another step closer, not dropping her suspicious gaze at his odd answer.

“A dream?”

At a distance close enough to touch, she asked again, and Ian’s pupils trembled slightly. But soon, he regained his calm composure.

His expression was still unreadable.

Was he flustered at being found out, or was he just tense because of their proximity? The latter didn’t really fit his character.

Ian had always been an inscrutable man, both before and now.

“You saw this place in your dream…”

Seeing him laugh it off as if he knew nothing, Diana suddenly felt a surge of anger.

‘Of course. There’s no way he could know. What we were to each other.’

Diana let out a weak, bitter laugh.

‘A dream, huh. Fine.’

He was just an old memory she should forget, like a dream. She couldn’t let herself be swayed anymore.

“Don’t tell me… was I in your dream?”

Diana leaned in so close their breaths nearly mingled and whispered. Only then did his calm mask slip a little, and she felt satisfied.

“Y-yes… No. No, you weren’t.”

He swallowed dryly and changed his answer.

“Really? Then…”

He was seriously mistaken about something. Seduction…

‘I’ll show you, Ian, that you’re not the only one who can seduce.’

If seduction is a game where the one who falls loses—then this time, gladly.

…!

‘I’ll be the one to seduce him first.’

“Was it a dream like this?”

As she slid her hand over his broad chest, Ian gasped in surprise.

Through her palm, she could feel his heart pounding, as hot as the gaze they exchanged.