Several of his followers were quickly walking behind the man.

“……Landers seems to think this palace is his own house.”

Karl watched Landers’ retreating figure hurrying somewhere with a smirk.

His indifferent gaze followed the end of Landers’ steps as he walked with a slight limp, leaning on his cane.

“He’s been poking around everywhere lately, it’s killing me. Led by Landers, all sorts of nobles are gathering at the palace.”

Fuego grumbled, holding his forehead as if he had a headache.

More visitors meant more watchful eyes to be careful of.

Landers was already keeping a close eye on the king, which was annoying enough, but now they kept bumping into nobles who were enjoying themselves wantonly all over the palace gardens, making the palace even more chaotic.

“The eastern region is in turmoil due to drought, pirates are appearing at the western ports causing havoc, yet the central nobles are shamelessly indulging like that……! Instead of wasting time like that, they should check on their territories once more. They only see them as sources of tax money!”

As Fuego ground his teeth and continued lamenting, Karl smiled and patted his shoulder.

“I think it’s thanks to bureaucrats like you that this country’s administration is still functioning.”

“I wonder what task you’re trying to sweeten me up for this time……”

At Fuego’s suspicious words, Karl simply smiled.

“I don’t need to sweeten you up when you’re already buried in work on your own. Why would I need to do that? It’s rare to find such talent who willingly grinds their blood, sweat, and soul into work.”

“……Why does it feel like you’re mocking me?”

“How could that be? Not at all. You’re my one and only direct administrative officer. Very, very precious.”

“No, ahem! Well, how can you say such cringeworthy things so well…… You’re quite a peculiar person, Your Majesty.”

He seemed unaware that his own behavior—blushing his bearded cheeks at just being called precious—was even more peculiar.

Karl simply smiled brightly and patted Fuego’s shoulder once more as he said,

“You’ve sent support and special envoys to both east and west, right?”

“They left last month, so the negotiations should be somewhat concluded by now.”

“I hope they bring good results this time too.”

Whenever there was a crisis among the provincial nobles, Karl never missed the opportunity.

Each time, he would send his secretaries to secretly help them and say,

‘How long do you think the era will be maintained by the privileges of nobles? We must prepare for an era that will be completely different from the past.’

Some desperate ones were quickly persuaded, while some stubborn ones were still holding out.

But that too wouldn’t last much longer.

Karl scanned the darkness of the corridor where Landers had disappeared.

It felt like playing hide-and-seek.

Like hiding exactly where the seeker could see and watching him wander around.

‘How frustrated must that seeker be. He surely senses something strange somewhere, but can’t see it clearly.’

Karl’s heart was beating fiercely.

The future he had drawn was getting closer and closer.

After sending Fuego away, Karl flopped down on the sofa and leaned back.

His body felt too heavy.

He had been confined in this secluded secret room for more than just a day or two, but this time he felt unusually exhausted.

In fact, he knew the reason.

“……Already a week.”

He hadn’t seen Lumiere.

He barely saw her the week before, so he hadn’t properly seen her for over two weeks now.

‘Karl, Karl……!’

The afterimage of her sobbing in the darkness that dawn clung to his mind like molten iron and wouldn’t let go.

Would she be smiling now?

Was she eating well?

Had she regained her strength?

Fortunately, since she was visiting Elina’s mansion, she didn’t seem to be suffering from lethargy.

Karl swallowed a sigh through his rough throat, swallowing his longing.

‘……Do you think about me too, like I think about you?’

To think Lumiere was actually Philia Buchanan.

He had felt a strange sense of déjà vu since first meeting Lumiere.

But since he never thought she could be alive, he naturally never considered identifying her with Philia Buchanan.

The day he first saw Lumiere, when droplets of water captured sunlight like jewels and sparkled,

The color of flames he had hated so much captured him.

Transparent pale skin with fiery red hair clinging to it, and water droplets flowing down.

Even his own awkward appearance, when he hurriedly approached her while pretending to be relaxed.

‘If I jump in there, can I talk to you?’

Her slowly turning figure remained vivid in his eyes.

She stood out clearly in his vision, like the only person with color in a world that had instantly turned monochrome.

‘Haven’t we met somewhere before?’

That question truly came out without him realizing it.

She was clearly someone he was seeing for the first time, but strangely, she felt familiar.

Only after some time passed could he recall his childhood friend’s younger sister.

He might have briefly thought that the child could look like this when grown up.

But that was all.

But that painting……

That painting he saw in Lumiere’s studio.

The magnificent Buchanan mansion shining brightly in the pitch-black night where stardust seemed to pour down.

Who in the world could paint that mansion’s scenery so vividly and in such detail?

Karl’s heart pounded loudly at the delicate depiction, so realistic it could have been painted from a photograph.

That’s why, even while thinking it couldn’t be, he entrusted Luka’s script to her.

Could it be you?

Or was it just an incredible coincidence?

‘……You saw it too!’

Lumiere’s desperate voice kept ringing in his ears.

It was you.

……You, whom I thought couldn’t be alive, were alive.

The witness of that day.

The only survivor who could tell him that all those tragedies weren’t his fantasy or nightmare.

Karl closed his eyes and rubbed his heated eyelids with his fist, smiling self-mockingly.

No matter how much he slept or did nothing, his fatigue wouldn’t go away.

“I feel like hearing a lullaby……”

Though the pitch and rhythm didn’t match at all, that strangely addictive singing voice.

That sweet voice that hummed softly in a slightly low register for a woman.

When they meet, he must ask her to sing for him to his heart’s content.

“……Ah, I’m going crazy.”

I miss you so much I could go insane.

* * *

“I think I’ll play the role of Duchess Buchanan.”

While Lumiere was struggling to organize the order of Luka’s script, Elina barged in and declared.

Lumiere looked at Elina with round, surprised eyes.

“That role seems right for me.”

Why would she announce such a thing like a declaration of war?

Lumiere smiled, nodded, and said she understood.

Elina looked at Lumiere, then strode over and plopped down next to her, leaning her back against the wall.

“I’m really going to work hard on this.”

“It’s scary when you say that, Elina.”

Already, Elina had been busily practicing singing, going back and forth between the opera theater and her private practice room, making up for the practice time she had missed.

“This will be the most splendid and excellent performance among all my public performances. Of course, it’s the retirement stage of the great Elina Buick.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

It would probably turn out just like Elina said.

According to what she heard through Chris, the first showing would be during the grand holiday, the theater’s peak season.

Theater-level preparations were already progressing sequentially, and only the finalization of the composers’ work remained.

The remaining time wasn’t abundant, but with Karl Winger’s great capital backing them, nothing was impossible.

Lumiere felt her heart racing anew at the opera performance that was gradually becoming reality.

‘……I wonder if Karl is okay?’

She was concerned that she hadn’t seen him once since that day when he visited at dawn.

He looked quite tired and in pain when she saw him in the darkness.

Perhaps it was because she had just recalled his 14-year-old self, a prince in the spring sunshine, making the contrast with his current appearance even more stark.

How had he lived like that for more than ten years?

And what kind of life did he lead as king?

The King of Misfortune.

The Sun on a Rainy Day.

The Poor and Pitiful Shadow Prince.

The titles that followed him.

Not one thing was proper or glorious.

Lumiere had lived quite happily with kind adoptive parents after erasing her childhood memories.

Though she became an adult with debt and sold her title, she had family around her who struggled together and cheered her on.

She had Cindy and Jeffrey, who followed her saying they wanted to stay by her side without receiving a penny.

It was never a lonely or miserable life.

But he, that man……

‘When extreme tension and stress persist, His Majesty develops ear problems. During those times, he can’t sleep properly unless he’s by your side, Lumiere. Could you please let the President rest for a little while?’

How much must one’s heart be wounded to reach the point of not being able to sleep properly?

Lumiere suddenly missed Karl terribly.

Her childhood memories had returned, but her memories as a lover hadn’t fully returned yet.

But even so, she couldn’t suppress her love for him.

Wait.

What did I just say?

“……Love?”

Lumiere stared blankly into space at the word that had escaped her lips without her realizing.

That single word that came out so naturally momentarily made her head go blank.

‘Love? Did I say love? ……Really?’

A thrill ran through her whole body like she had been struck by lightning.

Could one realize it so suddenly?

No, how could she love him despite her memories not being complete?

Was this fierce longing, pity, and tenderness her love for him?

‘……But if this isn’t love, then what is it?’

Sympathy?

Her yearning for him was too deep and intense to be expressed with such a word.

Admiration?

Nonsense. What would she be admiring?

That he was safely alive?

That he had become such an upright and remarkable person despite the pain?

Lumiere raised her eyes with self-mockery.

She wanted to see him.

She wanted to see the man she loved.

The moment she thought that,

A lightning-like shock covered her entire body.