A disgraceful criminal’s son. The enemy of countless nobles who were innocently sacrificed.

The flames from 13 years ago consumed not only his parents and friends but also his honor and future.

Afterwards, the prince barely survived, hiding deep within the palace. The fire, which had once been praised as the angel’s devotion, also altered the prince’s once-admired appearance.

However, the public at the time showed no sympathy for the young prince, who had become a monster due to his horrific burns. Their hatred and resentment towards him were immense. They needed a scapegoat to vent their grievances, and the prince was the perfect target.

Even though he was just a child who had lost his parents to the fire, no one cared. Thus, the young prince, turned monster, lay flat on the ground and endured. He survived to the end.

King Lorota III, who was the king at the time, lost his sanity after losing so much in the fire.

His most beloved son.

The wise and lovely daughter-in-law he adored.

Numerous noble supporters of the crown prince.

Eventually, Lorota III abdicated to the second-in-line, Geril Stings, and retired.

The family that had aligned with Geril Stings early on was none other than Tartien. From then on, Tartien became the undisputed top noble family in Karien, sharing much with the newly crowned Geril Stings.

But perhaps as the fate of a lucky king?

Geril Stings died suddenly while clutching the crown, leaving the throne vacant once again. His two-year-old son was too young to ascend the throne.

Thus, after many years, Laedro Karlei Stings finally became king.

‘Is this what it means to be destined to be king?’

Despite the numerous mocking words that followed him, Lumiere thought the current king was remarkable. His misfortune was too severe to be attributed to divine will. He endured and survived through such extreme misfortune. How could one not find that remarkable?

“…No, who am I worrying about right now.”

Her own head was aching and her mind was wandering. Chuckling, Lumiere shook her head to clear her thoughts.

“Anyway, I hope this doesn’t interfere with my daily life…”

Her mind was a bit chaotic, but she felt calmer as time went by.

‘I need to find my diary as soon as I get home.’

To catch up on the lost memories, she needed traces of her past. For an ordinary person like her, a few months of lost memories and slight confusion weren’t long enough to drastically change her life.

“So, I’ll be able to adapt well.”

…Probably?

* * *

As she leisurely spent time smelling the gentle breeze, a familiar carriage stopped in front of Lumiere.

“Miss!”

Jeffrey, sticking his head out from the coachman’s seat, took off his hat and greeted her. Seeing Jeffrey greet her so warmly, Lumiere’s eyes widened.

‘Oh my… When did Jeffrey go bald?!’

The warm sunlight glinted off Jeffrey’s smooth head. It was so dazzling that she instinctively made a shade with her hand. Lumiere’s previously calm mind shattered at the sight of Jeffrey’s bald head.

He had always had thin hair, but how could he have gone completely bald in just a day or two?

The stark passage of time hit her through Jeffrey’s shiny head. Oh, my goodness…

“Miss?”

“…Ah, yes! Sorry, I’m getting in now. My head’s just a bit dizzy.”

“Oh dear, are you badly hurt? Should we call a doctor after all?”

“No, no. Don’t do that. If that doctor decides to open my head, it’ll be a disaster.”

“What?”

Seeing Jeffrey’s wide-eyed confusion, Lumiere shook her head as if it was nothing.

“Nothing. Let’s just go.”

“Ah, yes. Miss! We’re departing now!”

Jeffrey, pressing his hat firmly on his head, smiled brightly and started the carriage. Lumiere tried hard not to glance at Jeffrey’s bald head hidden under the hat and not to dwell on her memory loss.

In fact, she was still okay.

Even when this long day ended and she fell asleep in a bed that felt slightly unfamiliar, she was still okay. Until a few hours later, when a man claiming to be her ‘lover’ appeared in a black carriage piercing through the rainy night.

But that was a story for a few hours later.

* * *

The carriage carrying her passed through the intersection of Sentiego Square, where medical facilities were concentrated, and entered a narrow alley with the statue of a saint made by Alfonso, the sculptor.

Lumiere looked at the giant statue of the saint, over three meters tall, which was Alfonso’s masterpiece, through the carriage window. As always, the saint looked down at the people with a benevolent face and gesture.

It was an impressive work every time she saw it. How could he carve such delicate details, down to the folds of the skirt and each strand of hair? Confirming that the saint’s statue was exactly as she remembered, she sighed in relief.

‘Thank goodness. It’s the same.’

At that moment, Lumiere flinched and furrowed her brow.

‘…Why is that a relief?’

Why was it a relief that the statue was the same as she remembered?

With a sense of tension she couldn’t understand, Lumiere tilted her head and looked at the back of the statue, which had now completely faded from view.

Regardless of her confusion, the statue disappeared from sight as the carriage moved on.

“We’re almost at the Niche Bridge, Miss. Once we cross it, we’ll be there soon.”

At Jeffrey’s words, Lumiere turned her gaze forward. The Tempel River, beloved by many Levania citizens, unfolded before her eyes.

The grand and beautiful capital’s lifeline, Tempel.

The river started from the largest mountain range in Levania, Ohenes, passed through dozens of cities and reached Karien before ending at the Gransha Strait. Lumiere looked at the two islands located in the middle of the river from the Niche Bridge, one of the five bridges crossing the Tempel.

There, standing tall with pointed spires and perfectly symmetrical gardens surrounded by walls, was the island housing the royal palace, Torc.

Right next to Torc was Mariang Island, also filled with the lavish mansions of nobles.

People called these two islands the city within the capital. The river encircled the islands like a fortress, and the high and mighty frequently crossed to and fro. Especially the dazzlingly beautiful royal palace, Larché, was the pride of Levania.

Everyone in the capital loved that palace.

Nobles naturally wished to visit the king daily and participate in state affairs, however small.

Yes, that was certainly the case. Until the ill-fated king, Laedro Karlei Stings, ascended the throne.

…Thump.

‘What is this, why do I feel like this all of a sudden?’

Just thinking about the owner of the palace made her heart beat anxiously. Her heart had reacted strangely when she saw Maria Tartien’s photo earlier, and now it was an unexpected reaction again.

“Is this an aftereffect of the accident?”

She wondered if the injury was not to her head but her heart, but she was otherwise in perfect health.

‘Did I perhaps commit some offense against the royal family in the past?’

Feeling inexplicably uneasy, Lumiere held her head in her hands and tried to recall her memory. A sharp pain pierced the top of her head.

“Ugh, headache!”

Lumiere stopped thinking and quickly shook her head. Fortunately, the headache soon subsided.

‘I can’t do this. I need to rest for a while.’

Fortunately, the carriage she had purchased a few months ago was sturdy and comfortable to the point of excess.

At that moment, Lumiere furrowed her brow.

‘…Come to think of it, how did I afford this expensive carriage?’

The leather of the carriage she touched was incredibly soft. Just by the feel, it was clear that this was a luxurious carriage used by high-ranking nobles.

She definitely remembered buying this carriage a few months ago, but she had no memory of how she came to purchase it.

“This is really strange. Is there such a thing as selective amnesia?”

Thinking about it, that wasn’t the only strange thing. Where on earth had she boarded the carriage that got into the accident just a while ago?

Earlier, she had been too flustered to check the condition of the carriage and the coachman. However, the glimpse she had caught of the interior was definitely not that of a hired carriage.

“…What is this?”

Whose carriage was that?

Where on earth was I going?

While Lumiere was confused, the carriage continued to run for quite some time after crossing the bridge before finally coming to a stop. Jeffrey quickly halted the carriage and opened the door wide, extending his hand to her.

“We’ve arrived, Miss! Please step out.”

Lumiere snapped out of her thoughts, took Jeffrey’s hand, and stepped outside. She was startled to see the white stone building standing before her.

“…Uh, Jeffrey?”

Where are we?