A baby Lure, a girl, an object of desire. The words spoken by the nine-year-old child carried a deep-seated loathing in every syllable.

He said he hated her, but was it not just a matter of teasing and tormenting? No—if that were the case, then what was this…?

As Cedrion tried to make sense of the situation, a sudden memory from a childhood fairy tale flashed through his mind.

Ancient black magic, which the great mage Arcado had eradicated while systematizing magical knowledge, involved the use of chicken blood.

“That magic… could it be…?”

It was just as Cedrion, his eyes contorted with suspicion, was glaring at the child’s innocent face. The boy’s blue eyes, like midday waves, subtly shifted to the side…

Thud!

“…Ugh.”

A sharp pain struck the back of his head, and the boy collapsed to the ground.

The one who had appeared from behind was the son of Baron Alterman. Having bought a live chicken under the assumption that it was for making stew, he had unwittingly gotten himself involved in this mess. Now, his hand, still clutching a stool, trembled violently.

“Y-Your Highness…”

“Thank you, Adolph.”

The nine-year-old boy smiled. On the surface, his expression was bright and cheerful, but given the situation, it was eerily unsettling.

“Now, we’re in the same boat, aren’t we? Let’s get along from now on.”

“Y-Yes… Yes…”

The man felt as if he had just sold his soul to this little devil.

***

“I don’t know exactly what happened to you that day. But considering that the ritual involved chicken blood, I suspect it was some kind of black magic…”

Cedrion rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the nighttime courtyard beyond the balcony railing.

Since the conversation had begun, he hadn’t looked at Odelia even once. As a result, she had no way of knowing what expression he wore as he spoke. But the way his profile, dimly illuminated by moonlight, seemed more rigid than ever, with an air of grief woven into it—this much was certain.

“Black magic, you say…”

“But since Arcadia signed a non-aggression pact with the demon realm at its founding, black magic itself was also banned. So we can’t conclude anything too hastily. Besides, he is Arcadia’s legitimate heir.”

“In any case, that went far beyond mere childish pranks.”

A sigh slipped from Odelia’s lips.

Only then did Cedrion, for the first time since the conversation began, turn to face her. His face, having just confessed something long kept inside, was steeped in exhaustion.

After all, this was a guilt that had weighed on him for more than a decade.

Because he had been a witness that day, Michael had set his sights on him. And perhaps that was why his father…

‘No, from that point on, it became my own burden to bear.’

The boy had regained consciousness in a secluded borderland between Mildorf and Norhart.

Even after his wounds healed, he couldn’t bring himself to seek out Mildorf, burdened by the guilt of having dismissed Ode’s words so lightly. And by the time he belatedly visited Lure’s villa, the mansion was eerily empty, as if abandoned.

Naturally, any traces of the magic circle had been meticulously erased. Only the lingering remnants of the sinister mana that had once engulfed the estate remained, greeting the boy in its stead.

It was then that the boy, determined to uncover what Michael had done, turned to forbidden tomes. That, in turn, gave the royal family the pretext to start clashing with his parents. 

One after another, they succumbed to inexplicable illnesses and mysterious accidents…

But the boy, having suddenly become the ruler of the North at such a young age, had no capacity to investigate those events. All he could do was clutch his childhood friend’s bonnet every night and vow to grow stronger.

If only he had been stronger, he could have protected that childhood friend. He could have protected his parents.

So, when he met Odelia again at the royal court as an adult, he understood why she avoided him.

She might have despised Cedrion for lying about his identity. Or perhaps she found it pathetic that he had spouted empty words about getting along when it was obvious that Michael would treat her cruelly.

Maybe she had simply been too young to remember.

Cedrion had always hoped that was the case.

And it turned out—it really was.

With a bitter expression, he continued,

“In any case, I don’t know exactly what he did.”

He suspected that the familiar chosen by the oracle’s child had been summoned back then, but since there was no confirmation, he couldn’t speak on it carelessly.

“However, given that the Marquis of Lure kept silent about it and maintained his relationship with the royal family, I can only assume that some secret agreement was struck between the two.”

“The engagement to the crown prince, perhaps.”

Cedrion’s silence was as good as confirmation.

But as an adult, Michael had blatantly fallen in love with another woman and gotten engaged to her instead.

And that fiancée, of all people, was the daughter of the Duke of Ernst.

Of all people.

‘Among Lure’s territories, there are several strategic locations that Ernst would covet. Not to mention, as a practical-minded family, Ernst must have found Lure’s founding merit an ever-present thorn in their side…’

However, such political calculations were of no importance to Odelia at the moment. The fact that the Duke of Ernst had suddenly found a child, who, of all possibilities, turned out to be a young noblewoman of Michael’s age, was certainly suspicious—but that, too, was something Sasha needed to investigate.

Once when she was young, and once again recently when her father suffered—Odelia had lost all her memories due to the severe psychological shock. Right now, the most important thing to her was the truth about herself.

“Given the circumstances, the Marquis of Lure must have protested to His Majesty. He was terribly devoted to his daughter.”

“……Yes, he was.”

Odelia’s face darkened. Cedrion assumed it was sorrow for her father, who had been accused of treason after raising an unjust appeal to the royal family on her behalf.

“The petition was not accepted, and so the marquis entered the Coffin of Atonement. However, since the evidence presented to prove his rebellion was weak, there is still room for appeal. I will handle all the preparations, but ultimately, your decision is the most important.”

“……”

“But that is something to think about in due time. For now……”

Cedrion swallowed dryly.

Everything he had confessed was still ongoing. The insomnia that had begun with the trauma and guilt of that time still plagued him occasionally. The boy who had lost his parents too soon and taken the position as the lord of Norhart had, before he realized it, become twenty-seven years old.

And now, as if it were his last chance to protect ‘Ode,’ he had met Odelia along with the oracle child.

“……I’m sorry for back then. It’s pathetic to be apologizing so late.”

“No, you were only thirteen at the time.”

Odelia’s response was calm, and that hurt Cedrion even more. If Odelia had not lost her memories, if he had paid a little more attention back then, if he, as an adult, had managed to save Lure properly—

If Odelia had never lost her memories, she wouldn’t have reacted so indifferently, as if all this were someone else’s story.

And in reality, to Odelia, this truly was someone else’s story. That was why it wasn’t her place to react emotionally to the truth.

“But, please give me some time to think. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but……”

“I understand. Given that you’re about to meet Michael so suddenly, you must be feeling confused.”

“What do you think is the reason His Highness Michael insists on coming to Norhart?”

As Odelia fiddled with her wine glass and spoke, Cedrion let out a quiet sigh through his nose.

“Most likely, the official reason is to confirm whether our engagement is real. The underlying reason, however, is probably that he wants to keep an eye on you personally now that you’ve left Meldorf’s barrier.”

“Since he knows that you and I were acquainted as children, he must be wondering what sort of schemes we might be plotting together.”

Odelia nodded slightly and, without realizing it, brought the wine glass to her lips. She had been fidgeting with it the entire time she listened to Cedrion’s story, and by the time the liquid touched her tongue, it had become lukewarm.

***

Back in my room, I sent the nanny who had been looking after Angie away and collapsed onto the bed.

Could Cedrion really communicate with Angie? Was that why she obediently fell asleep on her own, as if she knew I was about to hear something shocking?

……Right, shocking.

Odelia’s past was more shocking than I had expected.

I could fully understand why the real Odelia had lost all her childhood memories and why the marquis and the nanny had chosen not to tell her the truth.

However, I didn’t feel any sense of injustice or resentment. Because all those tragedies hadn’t happened to me… they had happened to the real Odelia.

I turned to the mirror in the corner of my room and looked at my reflection. Though I had grown pale from illness, Odelia’s face was still frighteningly beautiful.

The owner of this body had suffered such terrible things, only to disappear without even knowing why.

‘That’s right. She disappeared.’

It was entirely possible that I had ended up in this body because the real Odelia had already died. After all, right after I entered this body, I had been unconscious for a long time, only to wake up coughing up blood as if I were dying.

Michael had used some kind of magic on Odelia, and as a side effect, her magical and divine energy had started to leak away. The illness that Dame Gwendolyn recognized had begun then, and recently, it had worsened at an alarming rate.

‘How pitiful.’

I never imagined there would be a day when I felt sorry for Odelia Lure from Princess Flora Is Lovely, but here we were.

Even with that beauty and the backing of a powerful noble house… she had been caught up in the schemes of a devilish man, losing her health, her personality, her father, and her future.

And now, that was my reality, too.

‘Which means I’m screwed as well.’

Ah, hold it together. Hold it together.

The vulgar words I had long forgotten in this healing paradise hovered on the tip of my tongue. I felt a rage even greater than when I encountered the insufferable customers from my past life who constantly reminded me of my lowly status.

‘Wow, Michael. In the original story, you were the kindest, most gentlemanly male lead. But in reality? You’re a complete psychopath.’