Albert?

‘Who is that?’

The name that Angie murmured in a dazed voice was one I had never heard before.

‘There’s no way Angie would know someone here… right?’

Following the child’s gaze, I saw a boy at its end. He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, dressed rather shabbily—perhaps a stable hand. He had a solid build, unruly brown hair, and neatly defined features beneath it.

Was his name Albert? Oblivious to the attention, the boy simply bowed his head politely.

“…”

Even so, Angie’s eyes didn’t leave the boy.

As the young monarch continued to gaze at the servants, the atmosphere froze. The faces of the lord’s family slowly lost their color, as if worried something was wrong.

“Um, Your Majesty…?”

“…”

“Is there a problem…?”

“No…”

Even when I asked to clarify the situation, Angie didn’t take her eyes off the boy.

Things were just getting more awkward.

I subtly shifted my body to block Angie’s view of the boy and gently asked,

“Is there something you wish to ask? I don’t believe he’s done anything improper.”

Angie moved her head, as if trying to peek past me, then quickly shook it, as if realizing something.

“…It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

With Cedrion’s assistance, Angie and I climbed into the carriage, and only then did the expressions of the lord’s family show a trace of relief.

“Well then, rest well.”

Click. With Angie’s final farewell, the carriage door closed, and the wheels slowly began to roll.

The road from Padmion to the Edelburg villa was a dim forest path.

“The Lord of Padmion seems cooperative about the health center, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“He seems to get along well with the health center director, seems like an honest man too. Though, since he’s a house under Norhart, Cedrion probably knows him well.”

“Mm, that’s true…”

Silence again.

Normally, by the time we were in the carriage, Angie would be chatting nonstop—about the food, people’s impressions, all the small details she had held back from saying as a dignified monarch.

But ever since seeing that boy before boarding the carriage, Angie seemed deep in thought.

The silence inside the carriage, lit only by moonlight and starlight, felt heavier than usual.

“Angie.”

“Yeah?”

“Just now… Albert… Who is that?”

“Huh?”

She looked at me, eyes wide, as if the question had caught her completely off guard. Then she glanced at Cedrion, as if to ask whether he’d heard it too.

“…You had to say it so loudly, Your Majesty.”

“Eep.”

“Did that boy… resemble someone?”

When I asked again, Angie’s eyes went wide once more.

“H-How did you know?”

“Eh?”

“Was it that obvious…?”

What’s with her?

The ever-composed, all-knowing Angie was now flustered—something rare to witness.

Now that I looked closely, a faint blush had bloomed on her cheeks.

“Well, he looked like… my first love.”

The little tyrant sighed as she pulled down her cheeks with both hands, looking bashful.

“W-Was his name Albert?”

“…Yeah.”

As if recalling memories from centuries ago, her gaze drifted to the window and faded into thought.

The emotion lingering there was too deep for me to even imagine. She must have buried it over and over again, trying to forget, only for a small trigger to bring it all back so vividly, despite the years.

At times like this, it truly hit me: Angie had once lived an entire life, completed it, and returned from among the stars—a soul far greater than I could comprehend.

“I mentioned earlier, right? Back when I was Angelica, I entered a political marriage for the sake of bloodlines. It was natural, being a founding contributor—couldn’t bring shame to the royal family.”

Klaus and Charlotte gave her grief to the end, Angie muttered, grumbling under her breath. Her tone, referring to the first king of Arcadia and the first Grand Duchess of Norhart as mere obstacles in her life, was still hard to get used to.

Well, considering she had even returned to the Middle Realm to fix the failure of the Arcadia dynasty, I suppose it wasn’t entirely untrue that her hardships never ended.

“So, your first love—the one you gave up—he’s the one that boy reminded you of?”

“…Yeah.”

“What was this Albert like?”

“He was my personal knight.”

“Oh my…”

A lady and her knight in love…

Countless scenes from romance novels I had read in my past life flashed through my mind, constructing a story far too easy to romanticize.

Angie’s explanation that followed was brief. Understandably so—she must have revisited and processed the story hundreds, maybe thousands of times in her heart, trying to forget.

When the archmage Arcado forged a non-aggression pact with the demons and banished them back to the demon realm, his eldest son Klaus—guided by divine prophecy—established the Arcadia Kingdom on the reclaimed lands. The ones who had made the greatest contributions during that time were his sister Charlotte and his patron, Angelica. Charlotte, with her swordsmanship and magical talent inherited from their father; Angelica, with her insight as a strategist and her immense wealth.

This was the part recorded in history books.

But Angie’s first love was a hidden story not written in any history.

Through every moment, the brilliant noblewoman named Angelica Lure was accompanied by her knight protector, Sir Albert. As they overcame countless hardships together, the bond between them grew beyond a simple relationship of master and servant.

But that was as far as it went.

‘If I’m granted the title of Duchess, the existing local powers will push back. Just do the minimum. I’ll handle the rest and make sure our house thrives in a way that won’t envy the Dukes. I’ll ensure the House of Lure remains a loyal friend to the royal family.’

And the way she chose to “handle it” was by marrying the legitimate heir of a noble family rooted in what is now Belvo.

With the honor of being a founding contributor to the kingdom and the legitimacy of a noble family from the royal capital’s region, the Marquisate of Lure quickly rose to become Arcadia’s foremost noble house.

The only thing Angelica gave up in the process was her own heart.

‘Sir, you’ve worked hard all this time. I’ve come this far thanks to you. Now… go and reunite with your parents and younger sibling whom you haven’t seen in ten years because of me. Meet a lovely lady, start a family, and live happily.’

At the time, she had no idea that she wouldn’t be able to forget him for the rest of her life. Not even after death, when she became a celestial being. Not even after reincarnating into a new body.

“Do you know what happened to him after that?”

Angie slowly shook her head, eyes gently closed.

“I didn’t try to find out back then. And in the Celestial Realm… even though you can cross time and dimensions, I couldn’t revisit the time I spent in the Middle Realm.”

Angie’s golden eyes, now opened, held a weariness far beyond that of a ten-year-old child.

I wanted to ask—was he, like the other founding contributors, now a celestial being too? Had he been reincarnated? Was there any way to find out?

But none of those questions made it past my throat.

It was a longing too deep for me to speak lightly of.

Within the silence that descended—

“Sounds like a silly story, doesn’t it?”

Angie let out a small laugh, as if to break the heavy mood.

Maybe it was because the story was so weighty, but even then, it was hard to shake off the lingering emotion.

Call it a common tale or not, it was still a sorrow she had held for so long.

And Angie was someone emotionally connected to me.

Just when I felt my own heart starting to sink along with hers—

“So, what you’re saying is…”

“Hm?”

“If your first love was a knight with brown hair, and that’s why you were drawn to that boy earlier, then—could it be…?”

I deliberately lilted my voice in a playful tone, rounding my eyes meaningfully.

Cedrion, catching my implication, let out a faint chuckle through his nose.

“Ohhh, no wonder. Back when you were a baby, if I wasn’t around, you’d cry your heart out—but you always let Mathias hold you.”

“W-What…?”

He may no longer be a boy, since he just came of age recently, but the only brown-haired knight around us was Mathias.

“So you mean your type is Mathias? Didn’t know that!”

“N-No, that’s just because I saw him before I met my mother—”

“Back then, I just thought it was because he was the nanny’s son, or because he handled your tantrums well… But now…”

I nudged Angie’s side with my elbow, lifting my cheeks into a knowing, mischievous grin.

“So that’s the reason, huh?”

“I said no!”

“Well, there’s not even much of an age difference anymore. Around ten years? You might even catch up soon…”

“Ugh! He doesn’t look like that man at all!”

Angie’s shrill outburst made the carriage shake.

***

“His name is Fred. Not a servant—he’s the son of the Padmion region’s Guard Captain. Fourteen years old. Currently aspiring to become a knight.”

“How did you find that out?”

“There are plenty of ways.”

Cedrion shrugged.

Well, it made sense. Even now, Norhart’s shadow knights, including Sasha, were likely guarding us from somewhere nearby.

Cedrion brought back the information about the boy the very next day.

After we finished breakfast together with Angie, and changed clothes for the day’s itinerary, he handed me a brief, organized report.

“Then… does that child have any connection to Lady Angelica’s Sir Albert?”