Chereads / Unnamed Memory / Chapter 59 - At the End of a Memory

Chapter 59 - At the End of a Memory

Tinasha was not a child for very long. Her position and the tumultuousness

of the era did not permit it.

She couldn't rely on anyone or trust them. All around the young queen

enthroned under extraordinary circumstances were people who either feared

her or wanted her removed.

Her only supporters were the twelve mystical spirits she had inherited.

They were the only ones she could trust, and they became like friends and

family to her.

"I'm exhausted." The girl sighed, lying facedown on her huge bed.

Only a few months had passed since her coronation, and fourteen-yearold Tinasha buried her face in her pillow and sucked in a deep breath. The

spirit Senn, there as her bodyguard, said to her, "You should sleep. You

can't keep going like this."

"I'm fine. I won't stay up much longer. Kill any assassins that come

while I'm sleeping, okay?"

"No matter who it is?"

"No matter who," she replied flatly. When Senn didn't answer, tears

welled in her dark eyes. She mumbled into her pillow, "I mean…if I'm ever

indulgent with anyone… Well, that's exactly the type of person that they'll

try to use to kill me. I have to treat them all the same. That way, only those

willing to fight me will come."

She was undoubtedly thinking of how, just the other day, a lady-inwaiting around the queen's age had attempted regicide. If she showed any

weakness, her political opponents would take advantage of it. Blood did not

determine who inherited the throne of Tuldarr. Eliminating Tinasha meant

someone else could take her place.

Senn opened his mouth, but mostly repeated what he'd said earlier. "You

should sleep. You'll sit on the throne until you're an old woman. That's

probably going to feel like a long time to you."

"Not that long, I bet," she muttered. She would probably die before that.

No matter how idealistic or powerful anyone was, they would not last long

in times like these. People were always tricking and stabbing one another in

the back. All wished for it to end, but none could find a way out. That was

true for the entire mainland.

Thus, even if Tinasha triumphed and survived, she wanted to relinquish

her status before turning gray. Decades of using her extraordinary power to

intimidate everyone into submission might very well drive her insane. Even

if she retained her wits, her subjects would suffer if her ways of thinking

grew old-fashioned and she began to pursue peace and quiet for herself. So,

at most, she had another twenty years of this left.

Ruminating on how that was a very long time indeed, Tinasha glanced

up. "If you want me to fall asleep, talk to me."

"Talk to you? Shall I report on something?"

"No, just talk. Tell me about you. What was it like when you manifested

before? When you made the contract with the first king?"

Her request came out of nowhere, and Senn looked bewildered.

However, when he saw the hopeful curiosity in Tinasha's eyes, he gave a

rueful smile. The spirit leaned against the wall to indulge his master's very

age-appropriate curiosity. "When I manifested back then, I had quite a bit of

freedom."

"You have freedom now, too, Senn."

"Maybe," the man with bluish-white hair said with a dry laugh. His

voice was tinged with the slightest hint of yearning. "Just as you can never

forget the man who saved you…I met a very strange woman once, too, a

long time ago."

The girl rested her elbows on the bed, staring at Senn. It was rare for

him to talk about himself. Out of all the twelve spirits, he was the most

unemotional.

"She was free-spirited, capricious, and affectionate. She would wander

off only to come back, repeating the process each time I appeared in this

realm."

"Was she…a demon?"

It would be impossible for someone with the life span of an ordinary

human to come and see him each time he, a royal spirit, manifested upon

the coronation of a new ruler.

Senn only smiled and did not answer. Pushing himself off the wall, he

came over to the bed and placed a blanket over his master's lithe frame.

Tinasha noticed for the first time that he wore a ring.

Senn's ruby eyes went half-lidded in a very human gesture of sympathy.

"If you ever grow tired of it all, you should visit her. She's a troublemaker,

but…I know she'd make a good friend for you."

He stroked Tinasha's hair and, for the third time, said, "Sleep."

The girl nodded and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, her heart

feeling somewhat lighter.

They were the only family she would trust. But they also belonged to…

the ruler.

A ruler was a symbol of strength and the greatest cog in the machine that

kept the citizens alive and the country running.

Regents did not need emotions or individuality.

Relying on another was a weakness. Trust meant a gap in her defenses.

That was why she didn't mind being alone, as long as she had enough

strength to do so.

For the next five years of Tinasha's rule she maintained that ideology—

treading on thin ice all the while.

She never wavered, and displayed no weakness.

As ruler, she would use her devastating power to secure victory with all

the pride of a queen.

That was, after all, the last promise she made to him.

A flicker of emotion showed in Tinasha's dark eyes as she gazed down at

the miniature garden. Next to her, Legis noticed it and glanced at her.

Without making the slightest movement, Tinasha said to the two spirits on

her other side, "I've gotten sloppy lately."

"Yes, especially since your engagement, but you've been like this ever

since you arrived in this time period, you know. I thought you were just

exhausted," Mila remarked.

"Thank you for that tart answer. It's quite refreshing," said Tinasha,

though a smile didn't bloom on her face like it normally did. Feeling as

though something were slightly off, Legis stared at her.

Karr, the other spirit, piped up. "But you never used to be super vigilant

when you were younger anyway, little girl. You were so obedient and sweet

that I was actually a little worried."

"What? You were? That's the first I've heard of it," the queen replied.

"Well, it's the first time I'm telling you. And I don't think it's a bad

thing, either. You're only human. After becoming queen, you did everything

so perfectly and carefully that it had me a bit concerned."

"A queen can't very well act like she's still a child," Tinasha remarked,

nodding as if the conversation wasn't about her. "In any case, dealing with

this person I'm up against feels like he's able to read my thoughts. As if that

isn't impolite enough, he even seems to know my private personal details. I

don't want him poking his nose in there."

Valt was clearly one step ahead of Tinasha. Since their first meeting, she

had gotten the strangest sense that he could read her like a book. How was

he able to look past the facade of Queen Tinasha of Tuldarr? Valt

understood Tinasha's love for Oscar and what she would do to be useful to

the king, using that information to trap her.

It was how he'd kidnapped her—he'd seized a chance after the battle

with Simila. Likewise, he'd taken advantage of that same understanding of

Tinasha to steal the Eleterria orb. Zefiria's feelings for Oscar kept him from

harm, but things could have easily escalated and resulted in his death.

Tinasha would not let Valt get away with it anymore.

Before she was a private citizen, she was a queen.

She could discard her emotions any way she pleased. She could forget

them.

Only those capable of that could sit on the throne.

A ruler required a mind. Not a heart.

"I'm going to switch to another mentality."

Now she wore another face, one she had never shown in this era. Surely

Valt wouldn't recognize it.

She turned a cold gaze upon the miniature garden. The light faded from

her eyes. This all-powerful mage made soft a declaration of war.

"I hereby accept his challenge and will show him a side of me he does

not know."

There came a change like drawing the curtains on a window. Something

had altered, something small yet fundamentally different.

The air in the room shifted.

With heads lowered, the two spirits flanking Tinasha spoke together.

"We are yours to command, my queen."

Tinasha gave a haughty nod. Threatening waves emanated from her,

making all in the room frightened to so much as breathe. Legis had gone

rigid all over. Tinasha pointed to a series of settlements in Tuldarr. "These

three villages first, and these two places. Make arrangements."

"Yes…Your Majesty," he replied.

"Also, bring me all the materials you have pertaining to Magdalsia. I'll

read them by tonight."

"I shall," Legis said with a bow. He paid careful attention to her many

orders, never lifting his head. The intimidating air Tinasha emanated made

him hesitant to do so. He merely listened as she gave instructions in a

dispassionate tone of voice.

Tinasha had behaved coolly before, but she always retained a sense of

amiable self-deprecation.

Not this time. None of that was present now. This was likely her true

persona.

History spoke of her as a fierce queen who did not hesitate to execute

anyone, and who never feared dirtying her own hands. A shiver ran through

Legis as he beheld the truth of it.

Lying on her bed, she closed her eyes. Alone in the dark, Tinasha began to

sort through all the knowledge she had accumulated. She also considered

the wards and surveillance spells she had set up all over, drawing new

information from them.

Before entering her magic sleep four hundred years ago, she would end

each day reviewing her plan and what she needed to do. She also wrote

down part of that in a diary. What to prioritize, what to discard. What

verdict to give, what to rescue.

Those on the throne faced these choices constantly. There could be no

personal feelings involved, nor sense of self.

Tinasha expanded her consciousness. Her mind emptied. She tidied up

and categorized all the disparate fragments. While multiple thoughts ran

concurrently, she took a step back and observed the mental jumble with the

benefit of perspective.

I still don't know where Senn is.

Her heart ached to acknowledge it. Each of her twelve spirits was

irreplaceable.

She had confidants and supporters during the Dark Age, but none who

could be counted as close friends. And for every supporter, there had been

an opponent.

In this era with Oscar, Tinasha knew neither allies nor enemies. Perhaps

it was only natural that she'd grown a bit soft. It didn't offend her to be told

that; it was true.

Perhaps the time since waking in the modern day had merely been an

extended vacation—a nice bit of fun for one who had been running her

whole life.

And now it was coming to an end. Tinasha would set aside her own

personal happiness and stride forward.

No one needed a rusted, inoperative cog.

"Ah!"

All of a sudden, Tinasha sensed someone nearby and instinctively cast a

spell, leaping to her feet on the bed. Before she could launch the magic

from her right hand, she caught a glimpse of a very surprised-looking man

just ahead.

"Hey, you scared me," he said.

"Oscar! I was lost in thought and didn't realize it was you. Sorry,"

Tinasha replied, dismissing her spell.

Oscar was mid-lunge to evade the attack; it would have been a good

fight. He sat on the edge of the bed and threw Tinasha a baffled glance once

he got a closer look at her. "Your forehead's all scrunched up. What were

you thinking so hard about?"

"All sorts of things," she answered with a tight smile. Standing, she

went to grab a bottle of liqueur, and a book on the table caught her eye.

"Oscar, do you know the story of the Mirror of Oblivion?"

"The Mirror of Oblivion? Sure. The fairy tale, right? The one in the

book I got for the castle library."

Once upon a time, there lived a princess in a small country. She grew up

happy and beloved by all, but one day the king and queen were attacked by

bandits while outside the castle and perished. The princess fell into despair

and refused to leave her room for a year, no matter how her royal attendants

cajoled her.

But then a traveling mage heard of her plight and sent her an old looking

glass, a mirror said to absorb all sadness. When she peered into it, she

stopped crying and left her room to be among her people again.

Such was the ancient fable recounted since the dawn of the Dark Age.

"The story of the Mirror of Oblivion is told all over our land," said

Tinasha, "but it changes a little in each region. In some versions, it isn't

sadness the mirror takes, but memories. Others have it that the mirror steals

the minds of those who refuse to believe in its power, and sends them into

comas."

"Huh. That's interesting."

"About a hundred years ago, a researcher in Tuldarr looked into it and

published a paper. According to the report, every nation has the odd account

of someone who encountered the mirror. Following that trail leads us to the

last place it was sighted…Magdalsia." Tinasha handed Oscar a glass.

He looked faintly shocked. "Do you think the fairy tale has some

connection to the witch in Magdalsia?"

"It's one possibility of many. However, if the Witch of the Forbidden

Forest wanted to steal a country, why would she appear after the king fell

into a coma? It would be easier for someone with her power to use

psychological manipulation, rather than incapacitate a ruler. The

incapacitated king is why Tuldarr learned of the situation, after all."

"So you believe the witch appeared because the king fell unconscious?"

"That's what I suspect. I'm going through any fishy-sounding stories

with a fine-tooth comb to try and discover what brought on the king's

mystery coma and why it summoned a witch. The Mirror of Oblivion is one

compelling candidate," Tinasha explained, climbing onto the bed, sprawling

out on her back, and throwing an arm over her eyes.

It looked like she wanted the conversation to end there. Sensing

something different about her in that moment, Oscar set down his glass.

"Tinasha?"

Five days had passed since one orb of Eleterria was stolen from Farsas.

Ever since, Oscar had noticed a slight change in Tinasha's behavior. It was

as though her mind were constantly working while her emotions had been

set aside. There was a noticeable sharpness to her as well, like all her edges

were honed.

Called back to herself, Tinasha asked, "Hmm? What is it?"

"Nothing. Are you upset?"

"I'm not upset," she chirped, smiling at Oscar. But her arm remained

thrown across her eyes. She wouldn't look at him—as if she had no need to.

It was certainly different from anger. Oscar could sense how terribly far

away her heart was, and he found himself at a loss for words.

This was the woman he was supposed to marry in three weeks, yet it

was the first time he'd seen this side of her.

They still met every day as usual, but recently, Oscar had noticed that

something felt slightly off, accompanied by a mysterious sense of déjà vu.

Thus, he made sure to ask Tinasha about it to check on her, and sure

enough, something really had changed.

What was to blame for this shift? Oscar reached out and touched

Tinasha's face. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's going on," she replied, dropping her arm

and revealing her dark, cold eyes. Tinasha sat up and looped her arms

around her knees. "I think I'm going to visit Magdalsia to investigate after

all."

"You're what?"

"I'll go undercover, gather what info I can, and then take out the witch,

if necessary," she stated. Her matter-of-fact demeanor stunned Oscar.

He recovered swiftly, however. "Absolutely not. Do you realize that

your abdication and our wedding are just around the corner? Why go

stirring up trouble?"

"I am the only person who can battle the Witch of the Forbidden

Forest," Tinasha answered. To Oscar, that felt more scathing than the words

alone should have been. He remembered Lavinia's letter, which rendered

him incapable of replying, before Tinasha could continue. "If I let her do as

she pleases, things might grow out of control. I will take her down now,

before that can happen."

"But…she still has royal authority in Magdalsia. Considering your

position, one wrong move could start a war," Oscar pointed out.

"So I should just wait for her to attack? If we delay, we'll only end up

suffering greater damage, and there's no telling how she'll outsmart us."

"But that's—"

In a sense, Tinasha was correct. Responding now was the right move to

secure peace in Tuldarr. However, it was also a clear act of war. Such a

preemptive strike from a powerful mage had not been seen in hundreds of

years. Should the truth of it come to light, the ramifications would shake the

mainland to its core. It was akin to…

"You're going against the times," Oscar observed. A while back, Druza

had attacked Farsas with a forbidden curse, and Tinasha had aided in

repelling it. In the aftermath, the major powers signed a treaty banning the

use of forbidden curses in war. Should Tinasha go rogue here, that treaty

might turn into mere lip service.

In reply, Tinasha gave a beautiful smile and a confident answer. "That

will get sorted out one way or another."

Implicit in what she said was enough power to make anyone who heard

her tremble.

This woman sat on the throne four centuries ago; that was who she was.

At her center, she was a Dark Age queen.

Oscar hadn't forgotten it, but ultimately, he hadn't known what that truly

meant. During that period, everyone had to fight and backstab one another

—life itself was not guaranteed. To protect her country, Tinasha had

vanquished a witch. And now, she was attempting to do it again.

Yet while she'd survived then, she could easily lose this fight.

Oscar grabbed her arm. "Don't go."

"You don't have the authority to stop me," she replied, echoing

something Oscar had said to her once. But it felt different coming from her.

For a moment, Oscar wavered between warning her as one ruler to

another or stopping the woman as her fiancé. No matter which he chose, the

answer was the same. "I am going to be your husband."

"You are. And I will become Farsas's queen consort. I have that position

to keep in mind," Tinasha said, giving the answer of a sovereign queen. Her

black eyes glanced down at Oscar's grip on her arm. "But we aren't married

yet, and you are a member of a foreign nation."

"Tinasha…"

Having her point it out made all the blood rush to his head, but it was

unquestionably true. Oscar knew very well that they ruled different

countries, although they had come far by supporting each other. So then

why was she rejecting him now?

"Do you not want to live in this era?" he muttered. Hadn't Tinasha

traveled forward four hundred years in time to be with him?

Her black eyes widened a fraction. There was a tranquil glow to them.

"This time period is the reason we're not enemies."

Was that a form of hope in her eyes?

Oscar recalled how Tinasha had abdicated during the Dark Age. After

defeating a witch and triumphing over Tayiri, rumors began circulating in

Tuldarr that someone who could kill a witch might be a witch herself. Amid

that tumult, Tinasha was forced to relinquish her position.

And she was even stronger now than she was then.

Oscar stared at her, this person he once thought he knew extremely well.

Perhaps the best solution would be for her to lose her chastity and a fraction

of her power with it. Tinasha carried too much individual might and too

strong a desire to head into battle. It was dangerous to leave her unattended.

One misstep could spell catastrophe for the mainland.

However, that was not an option the man who loved Tinasha could

suggest.

As Oscar fell silent, still clinging to her arm, Tinasha gave him an

innocent smile. "What's wrong? If you're thinking of reducing my magic,

go ahead. I'll win, even if I lose some of my ability to use spiritual magic.

Or are you thinking of restraining me in a more direct manner?"

Beneath that grin lay a hostility that made it plain she wouldn't balk at

making an enemy of him.

She was so far away, distant enough to be unreachable.

How could she have changed this much?

Oscar was stunned, and he released Tinasha's arm without realizing it. "I

don't…know what you're thinking."

"The same as ever. This is who I've always been," she stated as she

reached up and looped her arms around Oscar's neck, snuggling in and

holding him tight.

Her warmth was no different, but her mind couldn't have been further

away.

Closing his eyes against a significant rush of sentimentality, Oscar

realized where that odd sense of familiarity had come from.

This was the same person he caught a glimpse of in Tinasha's diaries

from four hundred years ago.

Piled haphazardly on the floor of the study were stacks of papers penned by

the past sixty-seven generations of so-called heirs to the family. All of them

had written so much—no, some refused and fled. One such example was

his own father, who hanged himself.

"Valt, did you scribe any of these?" Miralys asked.

"Plenty. Whenever I had something I wanted recorded for the next

time."

Miralys frowned, holding a broom in her hand. As her eyes turned

anxious, Valt immediately gave her a reassuring smile. "There's no need for

you to make that face. The people who wrote these did so because they

wanted to. What they recorded would disappear with a rewinding of time.

But while all of them could remember every life they experienced, they

didn't know anything beyond that. If they wanted to inform future heirs

about what had happened up until that point and what changed when time

restarted, writing it down was the only way."

Some of the past successors had memories from multiple lifetimes,

while others didn't. There had been many types of heirs before Valt. Only a

small portion of their number were recorded here.

"Of course, not everyone documented things each time. Some were too

worn down by multiple rewritings of history to leave records. To fill in

those blanks, others penned what they recalled of records they had read in

earlier lives. It really varied," Valt explained. The sizable archives seemed a

representation of a great many people and all the lifetimes they'd

experienced.

However, the only thing that mattered was what each one had inside.

Valt glanced at the girl next to him. The first time he met her was at the end

of a distant memory, one so remote it was aggravating.

In a part of some forest only a few steps from a main road, he saved an

injured girl. The Miralys of the present didn't remember it, but Valt would

never truly forget. It was a terribly precious…and very regrettable memory.

Miralys walked over to the stack of papers. "There's some material on

the Witch of the Azure Moon in here, isn't there?"

"Yes, although she rarely came down from her tower. I know more of

her than the records do. Because I knew her when she was his queen—"

Just then, the ceiling of the study shook violently. Miralys screamed,

"What's going on?!"

"Oh no, did she abandon Magdalsia to come here?" Valt moaned.

From the way the mansion was creaking and groaning, it was obvious

who had arrived.

"Miralys, over here!" Valt shouted, dashing to a corner of the study and

lifting the trapdoor concealed on the floor there. It led to a passage

underground, and he stuffed Miralys into it. Despite her shock, she obeyed

without a word. Valt had one foot down in the passage when he wove a fire

spell and launched it at the archives.

"Valt?!"

"It's fine. We can't leave them there."

Tearing his gaze away from the burning sheaves, Valt hurried down the

stairs. As he dashed along the underground passageway that led off the

property, he muttered, "Why is she doing this when she should be

incredibly busy? In a sense, she's more trouble than when she was his

queen."

Across countless lifetimes, Tinasha had been a witch and queen consort

at once. Valt knew. Having lived for eons, she held herself apart from the

world. She was a fiercely compassionate, kindhearted loner who liked

people but kept her distance.

The current Tinasha was similar to all of that, yet atypical. The king of

Farsas drew out her girlish side remarkably, though in the past several days,

she'd been acting more merciless than when she was a witch. Perhaps

because her mind was still young, she was highly aggressive and decisive.

That was how she had conducted herself as a sovereign during the Dark

Age—a side of her Valt was ignorant of.

"This was in the records from four hundred years ago, but I certainly

never expected the change to be this drastic," Valt said quietly. Cold sweat

formed on his nape as he hurried down the passageway that stretched into

the dark.

That was when he heard the roar of a cave-in behind him.

Focusing on what needs to be done could avert sadness.

Tinasha had learned that form of mental control when she was queen

many years ago.

Therefore, she was not sad. She'd never had anything to be sad about.

"If they thought I'd focus all my attention on Magdalsia and take no

action, they're sorely mistaken," the queen stated coldly, her face an

emotionless mask.

Next to her, Mila asked, "Are you sure about this, Lady Tinasha?"

"Sure about what?"

"You're fighting with the Akashia swordsman," the spirit remarked

while floating next to Tinasha in the sky.

For a moment, Tinasha gaped at Mila. Then she burst out laughing.

"We're not fighting. We just had a disagreement."

"But you're about to get married. What if he's tired of you now?"

"Hmm. Well, I can't do anything about that if it happens," Tinasha

replied indifferently.

Mila's eyes grew wide. "You're really okay with it?"

"I can't change how he feels, and I have something I need to do. Even if

I don't become his queen, I can still be by his side in other ways. Farsas

would approve of something like that more readily anyhow."

"Something like what?"

Tinasha only grimaced. Then an intricate spell configuration formed

between her hands. From the air, the queen peered down at the mansion

below. Located on the outskirts of a rural town in Tayiri, the holiday villa

had belonged to some noble or other for five years. That was the cover

story, anyway. However, several days of monitoring a magical surveillance

network that spanned the mainland had revealed the truth.

Tinasha snapped her fingers. "I finally got a bite on one of my lines, but

it took up a good chunk of time. Still, now I have some hope of winning."

She signaled Mila with a look, and the spirit nodded. "Let's go. After this, I

have to appear at the Gandona ball."

The queen snapped again. With that cue, her spell became a gigantic

cage and sank onto the mansion below. It would prevent teleportation and

crush anything within.

Unfortunately, it was repelled, if only just, by defensive wards laid upon

the estate. Mila whistled. "Wow! That's a pretty ironclad barrier."

"Looks like we'll have to force our way in," Tinasha said dismissively,

lifting her right hand. Then she swung it straight down. A huge hammer

made of magic smashed a hole in the villa's roof with a loud bang. With the

core of the wards destroyed, the barrier dispersed.

Tinasha and Mila descended into the hole. Immediately, Mila frowned.

"It's all smoky. Did something catch on fire?"

"Or someone set one, perhaps as a smoke screen," Tinasha replied,

erecting a defensive barrier around herself and the spirit as she landed

inside the mansion. They appeared to be in the living room, although it was

difficult to be certain, given all the floating white ash.

As she redirected the airflow in the room, Tinasha glanced around.

Smoke was pouring from a spot just beyond a toppled wooden chair. Mila

went in first, followed by Tinasha. There she found the source of the blaze.

"Documents?"

Stacks of papers were alight. There were enough sheets for close to one

hundred bound volumes. Tinasha picked up a sheaf that was farthest from

the conflagration, which had so far been spared the flames. She strained to

make out what it said.

"What in the—?"

"I'm sorry, Lady Tinasha. They got away," Mila reported, popping her

head out from a hole in one corner of the room. The underground passage

must have taken them outside the ban on teleportation. Tinasha's attack was

meant to catch them off guard, but they'd still proved to be quicker.

However, Tinasha was more concerned with the papers in her hands. As

she read, her face screwed up in a dark scowl.

Once a year, the Great Nation of Gandona held a ceremony to

commemorate its founding, an event the most influential and powerful

individuals of every country attended.

Naturally, Oscar was in attendance at the castle in Gandona. He

suppressed a sigh as he donned formal attire in his guest room. He never

liked going to state functions, but that was the least of his worries.

His first concern was that Aurelia's guardian, a revolting demon man,

would also be there. The other was that he would see his fiancée.

While Tinasha refused to let him stop her, she ultimately didn't go to

Magdalsia. When he asked if she was holding herself back, she smiled but

said nothing. Oscar was puzzled by the distance that had somehow opened

up between them, even though they saw each other daily.

He'd even inquired whether she'd had a change of heart about their

relationship. With a strained grin, she'd denied it, claiming she didn't

suddenly hate him. However, she did request a hold on wedding planning

for the moment, because the near future was too uncertain. From Oscar's

perspective, it was clear that things had shifted around in her list of

priorities.

"Why is she so impossible to get a read on?" he muttered, staring at

himself in the mirror as he fastened his jacket cuffs. His foul mood was

written all over his face, but aside from that, he looked fine. Upon leaving

his guest chamber and joining Als, who had been waiting outside, they

entered the hall.

First, Oscar greeted the king of Gandona, the man of the hour. After that,

he looked around but did not see Tinasha. However, he caught sight of

Aurelia and her chaperone on the other side of the hall. The man noticed

Oscar's gaze and gave him a nasty smirk, one entirely unlike the pleasant

smiles he'd shown all the young ladies in attendance.

Oscar's eye twitched. Under his breath, he muttered, "I hate that guy."

Als evidently caught the remark, for he winced. "It does not appear that

Queen Tinasha has arrived."

"Yeah, she's been running around like crazy lately," Oscar replied curtly.

That was when the woman in question made her appearance.

Although her hair was only in a loose updo, and she was dressed in a

black gown sporting little ornamentation, she was still beautiful enough to

turn heads. Oscar watched from a distance as she greeted the king of

Gandona with a diplomatic smile. Behind her trailed a red-haired girl clad

in formal attire, marking perhaps the first time a mystical spirit had

accompanied Tinasha to an official function. Oscar was surprised.

After Tinasha completed her formal greetings, she let her gaze wander

the hall. After marking out where Oscar and Travis were, she wove her way

through the crowd and approached the former. He glanced down, partially

dismayed. "You're dressed so plainly. And you're late, too."

"I made it just on time. I haven't eaten anything yet… It hasn't been my

lucky day," she replied, sighing dispiritedly.

Now she looked like the Tinasha he knew. Oscar laughed and grabbed a

plate from a nearby table. "Here, get some sugar."

"You want me to start with sweets?!" Tinasha cried, but she received the

tray obediently enough and partook of the cream-covered pastries. As she

devoured them with impeccable manners, she took a step closer to Oscar

and whispered, "I found out something kind of dicey. I want to ask Travis

about it."

After a sullen pause, Oscar bit out, "Fine."

While he certainly wanted to object, he knew that would do no good. It

risked worsening his relationship with Tinasha, throwing the situation into

chaos. Of course, that might happen after she spoke with Travis anyway, but

they could worry about that when it happened.

Once Oscar nodded, Mila brought Travis and Aurelia over. Travis bowed

and gave a courteous greeting, which morphed into his usual rough manner

of speaking immediately after Tinasha put up a barrier to prevent anyone

from hearing their conversation.

"What did you call us over for? What do you need?" he questioned

brusquely.

Tinasha finished her second pastry and set her plate down. "I'll get right

to it. Do you have any memories of time repeating?"

Oscar frowned. He knew what she was trying to ask. Tinasha wanted to

know if this demon king recalled the world before Eleterria rewrote it.

Aurelia looked confused. Patting her head, Travis scoffed. "Oh, so that's

what this is about. I don't have any memories, because those orbs are

outsiders' artifacts."

Tinasha cocked an eyebrow. "Outsiders' artifacts? What does that

mean?"

"What? You mean you don't know?" Travis said. He glanced at Oscar,

who shook his head. Reluctantly, Travis went on. "To put it simply, it's a

general term for items with powers that shouldn't be possible under the

laws of magic. That means they affect me as much as anyone else. There

are no exceptions."

"Really? Sometimes you truly make me wonder. Occasionally, you act

like you know the future or you're aware of what it was before things

changed."

"I don't know anything. Get off my back," Travis huffed, waving

Tinasha off crossly.

That made Oscar recall something. "Wait. The first time we met, you

called me her husband."

At the time, Oscar and Tinasha hadn't been engaged—they hadn't even

been romantically involved. Surely that meant Travis knew their prior

history, the one where they were married.

The demon king could not mask his annoyance at Oscar's comment.

"You didn't need to remember that…"

"It was kind of hard to forget."

"Shall I erase that memory for you?"

Before the two men could engage in pointless bickering, Tinasha

intervened. "Travis, answer me honestly. I saw records of a history that

doesn't exist."

Tinasha's face had gone pale, and Travis replied irritably, "You saw

that? Which part?"

"The part about Cezar. Before history changed, there was no Simila in

Cezar. It was a prosperous Great Nation that never attacked Farsas."

No one said a word.

After thinking it over for a few seconds, Travis patted Aurelia on the

shoulder. "You go over there for a while."

"Oh, but—"

"Go on. And don't follow any strangers," he insisted in a tone brooking

no refusal. The girl nodded and left the hall, looking over her shoulder

repeatedly as she walked away.

Once Aurelia was gone, Travis turned back to Oscar and Tinasha. "First

off, I really don't recall anything. High-ranking demons are not exactly

compatible with outsiders' artifacts, because they operate on all planes of

existence. That said, I've seen the same records you did—many times.

There's this family of Time-Readers, and they do retain their memories.

They have mass archives of various repeated histories that they pass down

through generations. The current heir is… You know him, don't you? A guy

named Valt."

Oscar and Tinasha both inhaled sharply.

The plot against them, the meticulousness of it. Everything traced back

to the frightening records and memories their enemy had access to. It was

difficult to believe right away, but it was also a truth they had both

somehow suspected. They were left stunned.

"Did you only see the records about Cezar?" Travis drawled, sounding

bored.

"Yes. All the others were destroyed in a fire," Tinasha answered.

"Well, I'd call that lucky. It's best for humans not to see too much of that

stuff," the demon king said.

In a sense, he was probably right. The records spoke of something

Tinasha had no memory of—a self that was not herself. Accounts of a

vanished world could only be for sentimental purposes. It didn't seem to

Oscar that any good could come from reading them.

Oscar glanced at Tinasha. "Were the papers that escaped the fire Valt's?"

"Yes. I've been tracking his magic for a while and traced him to a

mansion in a corner of Tayiri. I attacked it just before coming here. The

coward got away by escaping through an underground passage."

"Bet that shaved a dozen years off his life span."

While Oscar did believe Tinasha hadn't gone to Magdalsia, he hadn't

expected her to go after Valt instead. The man did have one half of

Eleterria, though, which put him at the top of Tinasha's priority list.

"Tell me more about these outsiders' artifacts. What does 'powers that

shouldn't be possible under the laws of magic' mean?" Tinasha pressed.

"Why do I have to tell you? Figure it out on your own," Travis

grumbled.

"Valt wants Eleterria!" she cried, and Travis scowled for the first time

during their conversation.

He stared searchingly at Oscar, then at Tinasha. With an annoyed click

of his tongue, he responded, "Outsiders' artifacts enable what is impossible

according to the laws of magic. That doesn't mean they operate using

undiscovered principles—they defy them. And there's a few of them

around. Most of them are objects with legendary characteristics, like

Eleterria."

"They defy the laws of magic, huh?" Oscar repeated quietly. Tinasha

had told him multiple times that it was beyond magic to rewind time. He

also knew of something else she had spoken of in the same way. "Does that

mean those old ruins full of cocoons were an outsiders' artifact, too?"

"Huh? Oh, that place that abducts humans and makes copies of them.

That's an interesting one. A long time ago, I saw it swallow up entire

villages all at once," Travis commented.

"If you saw it happen, you should have done something about it!"

Tinasha exclaimed, naturally.

"As if I'd care," Travis sniffed, naturally.

She let out a long, resigned sigh. "Why are they called outsiders'

artifacts, anyway? This is the first time I've heard that name."

"Well, because the existence of such things is a problem in and of itself.

Any humans who know about them would have a hard time going public

with that knowledge. They were all brought in from beyond our world,"

Travis said blandly.

His explanation didn't surprise Oscar, because he'd suspected the same

thing himself and had asked Tinasha about it once. Undoubtedly, she

remembered that conversation, too, because she only seemed a little rattled

as she asked, "So there really is something outside of our world?"

"Why did you think there wouldn't be? You mortals can barely even

recognize that there are different planes of existence, but you acknowledge

that they're real because we demons and other negative manifestations

exist. So why didn't an outsiders' artifact lead you to consider the existence

of something foreign to this world?"

"It seemed like a leap too far. We have far more evidence of the different

realms and planes of existence," Tinasha pointed out.

"So rigid in your thinking. Well, you're free to believe what you like. Go

ahead and think that what you know is all that exists, without even

considering that there may be those who enjoy watching you from the

outside." Travis smirked, looking as if none of this had anything to do with

him.

Perhaps he truly believed himself uninvolved. After all, he had also

spent centuries delighted with spectating humans.

Tinasha huffed out a laugh. "So it's like how characters in a book remain

unaware that a person is observing from outside the story? But if all they

want to do is watch us, then isn't rewriting the past overly intrusive?"

"It's you mortals who make the choice to alter history. Regardless, it's

futile to understand what the outsiders are thinking. I met one of them a

long time ago—a completely incomprehensible woman."

Tinasha hopped forward. "You've met one?! That's not fair! It's like you

know the correct answer already!"

"Oh, hush. It's you mortals' own fault for being so out of the loop.

Besides, while she was an outsider, she also wasn't. She chose to be an ally

to humans and lived and died among them. This happened long before you

were born. That was just one person, and she has nothing to do with the

artifacts."

Oscar frowned. Over the course of simply listening to Travis and

Tinasha talk, something had gotten stuck in his mind. Earlier, when Travis

had said, "You mean you don't know?" he'd looked at Oscar, not at

Tinasha.

"Wait, was she—?"

Before Oscar could finish his thought, however, a man approached,

having slipped briskly through the crowd. He bowed silently before

Tinasha, though anxiety was clear on his face. Oscar recognized him as a

magistrate of Tuldarr.

"Your Majesty, I have an urgent message," he said, then glanced at the

other two men, unsure if he should go on with them present.

"They are of no concern. Speak," ordered the queen.

"Yes, Your Majesty. A short while ago, Magdalsia breached the national

border and began an invasion. They have about thirty thousand troops and

will reach southern Tuldarr in a half hour."

"What?" Oscar blurted out in his surprise.

But Tinasha only let out a small sigh. Her dark eyes shone with a cold

gleam. Rapidly, her entire aura sharpened to a point. "They've come a bit

earlier than I anticipated. Understood. Give the order to mobilize our

troops. I will be there immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty," answered the magistrate, who hurried off into the

throng the way he'd come.

Tinasha watched him depart and then turned to Oscar. For a second, he

saw loneliness in her eyes. Yet all too soon, it was painted over by the

falling of a cold night.

The corners of her lips turned up as she smiled. "I will take my leave

now. Thank you, Travis."

"Sure. See you," he replied.

The black-clad queen made to leave, and, before Oscar could stop her,

she disappeared.

Oscar brought a hand to his mouth. Tuldarr was under attack by another

country. While Magdalsia was no Great Nation, it had a witch at its helm

who was very likely to utilize a forbidden curse in the war or introduce

some manner of weapon that was even worse. Given Tinasha's reaction, she

had been aware that Magdalsia was readying itself for battle. Tuldarr's own

army was prepared to march as well. Tinasha hadn't gone to Magdalsia

personally, because she had chosen war with them over conquering the

witch.

"Finally, she's back to her old self. I didn't know how long she was

going to keep acting like some spineless wimp." Travis sounded deeply

amused. Oscar eyed this inhuman creature.

Noticing the gaze, the demon king stared back at Oscar. "What's with

that face? She's always been like that. She just got soft after coming to this

time period. Oh, here's a fun story. I'll tell you about the war with Tayiri."

Travis grinned mockingly. "At the time, the Tayiri army had about…

fifty thousand troops, I think. And Tuldarr had less than seven hundred."

"What? They couldn't have possibly stood a chance, then."

"That's what you'd think, right? But it's true. Tuldarr was an isolated

country, ignorant of the ways of the world. They didn't have a proper

military back then, although once she became queen, things changed. She

started training up soldiers little by little and organized the mages for

combat, too. Still, she had no end of enemies within the castle. So when

Tayiri attacked, she was stuck inside."

"She couldn't act?"

"Yep. The Traditionalists opposed war with Tayiri and wanted her to

surrender without a fight. They believed Tuldarr couldn't win."

"So she couldn't get to the battlefield…"

In the Dark Age, having many enemies in the castle was a given.

Tinasha had also been an extremely young queen. If she left to battle Tayiri,

the Traditionalists might have seized their chance to take over the country

and declare a surrender. Thus, she stayed put to prevent that, choosing not

to yield for the future of mages and Tuldarr.

She was fierce by nature, but that did not mean she preferred eccentric

strategies. If at all possible, she would have surely raised an army the size

of Tayiri's and engaged the enemy.

Instead, she cooked up an outlandish plan. Of the two thousand troops in

Tuldarr, one thousand were sent to the border to warn Druza and Farsas,

while three hundred remained in the castle. She took the remaining seven

hundred to confront Tayiri.

It was on a stormy day that Tayiri discovered Tuldarr's army numbered

only a few hundred and set out to slaughter them. However, Tuldarr's

military fled without a fight once they spotted the Tayiri soldiers. Following

in pursuit, the Tayiri army's formation got disrupted, and they landed smack

in the middle of a fog that had crept up around them while they were

unaware. Such a thick mist was highly unusual for a grassland. Heedless,

they wandered into the dense fog like children lost in a nightmare, unable to

see the people and horses ahead of them. Amid the vapor, they began killing

one another by mistake with unprecedented ferocity.

It all went as the Tuldarr army had cleverly orchestrated. As the Tayiri

soldiers realized they were fighting one another, they found themselves

blocked by a huge wall of flames. From the other side of the burning walls,

relentless volleys of magic buffeted them. The surviving Tayiri soldiers

later said, "That was a sight no one should ever have to see."

Unable to fight back, the army was routed by fire and spells. After a

narrow escape, the Tayiri army discovered it had suffered thirty thousand

casualties on the first day.

Most horrifying of all was that the one who had instructed Tuldarr's

forces was the queen in the castle.

She observed through the eyes of the mystical spirits she dispatched for

surveillance while also communicating magically with her closest advisers.

That was how she gave direction to the mages in the army and, even from

so far away in the palace, reversed the overwhelming disadvantage.

The next day, a witch appeared before her.

Oscar held back a sigh of grief for young Tinasha.

He trusted that she was an excellent ruler. From what little he'd seen of

her diary, he knew she'd stood firm in a maelstrom of war both within the

country and without.

However, he'd never imagined her orchestrating such a cutthroat

strategy. The way she smiled at him so innocently made it difficult to

believe.

This meant that Tinasha was now back to her true self, the queen who

fought to the bitter end despite her own loneliness.

So that's her other side… It's truly a world apart.

All royals had two faces—a public one and a private one. While Oscar

largely operated with his public demeanor while keeping his private

feelings in check, Tinasha's two sides formed a clear duality. Both portions

were opposed.

That was only becoming evident now that Tuldarr was at war, despite

remaining hidden during her coronation and her fight with the demoness.

The appearance of a witch meant that Tinasha was about to become the

Witch Killer Queen once more.

"I told you it was a fun story, didn't I? Anyway, she was fighting a battle

while working on eliminating her enemies in Tuldarr at the same time. She

didn't have any spirits to spare—they were all filling in as castle guards for

the soldiers who'd gone off to fight. The Traditionalists who meant to

capitalize on a chance to assassinate her wound up arrested instead. She left

herself open on purpose, and they fell for it. One after another, they were all

executed or banished."

"All of them? But wasn't it the Traditionalists who pressured her to step

down after the war?"

"So the records claim, but it's not actually true. There wasn't a single

Traditionalist left by then. She made the decision herself to appear like

she'd been forced to abdicate to satisfy Tayiri."

"But…"

If Tinasha had stepped down from the throne by choice, then that

changed the story drastically. It made clear that she believed her

extraordinary might put her at the same level as a witch. She'd expelled

herself for having too much strength.

"There is no need for a ruler to possess mighty power."

She'd said that many times since coming to this time period. From the

beginning, she'd seen herself as an anachronism. Yet she had chosen the

path of abomination once again.

And once the dust settled, what would she relinquish this time?

Wait a minute… Is she not planning to become my queen?

If a person dangerous enough to kill witches single-handedly became the

queen consort of the Great Nation of Farsas, other countries would

undoubtedly grow exceedingly worried. That meant Tinasha had already

abandoned a future where she became Oscar's queen. It explained her

request for the wedding plans to be postponed.

Even if she still came to him after everything was over, it would only be

as someone under the watchful eye of Akashia's wielder. At best, Tinasha

would be his mistress; at worst, a prisoner. Either way, she would never

show herself in public. She was going to force him to accept that.

"She's crazy," Oscar muttered.

He knew that if such a future came to be, Tinasha would only smile and

insist, "I'm perfectly happy this way."

Whether that was true or not, Oscar would find it unbearable.

Oscar turned to Als, who stood behind him. "Change of plans. I'm going

back to Farsas."

If he acted now, there was still a chance that the situation could be

resolved privately, without other countries finding out. Legis, the next king

of Tuldarr, wouldn't want the image of the queen who preceded him to be

tainted with needless prejudice. Oscar could work with Legis and appeal to

the other nations. While Tinasha confronted the witch, they would handle

the diplomatic side of things and control the narrative.

Fortunately, Magdalsia was the aggressor, and it was headed by a witch,

a creature fearsome to all. Oscar felt confident that if he got the major

nations' understanding, he could do something from within Farsas. All that

remained was coordinating with Tinasha.

As Oscar bid a hasty good-bye, Travis suddenly went from smirking to

grave. "About what we discussed tonight… Do not hand over Eleterria. I

don't want any do-overs of history, even if I remain unaware of them. I

don't want to forget Aurelia, and there's no guarantee that things will

happen the same way. Don't use it, and don't allow it to get stolen. I refuse

to let this timeline go." Without waiting for a reply, the demon king walked

away, melting into the crowd.

Now that this inhuman being had gone back to his girl, where should

Oscar go next? What should he do? He still didn't have a clear idea, but

inaction was not an option. Thus, Oscar left the ornate, gorgeously

decorated hall behind, his heart heavy.

Although his aim was to get out of Gandona swiftly, Oscar had to make a

detour to his guest room first. And it was there that he detected something

was off.

Nothing had been amiss when he left the room, but now there was very

clearly something wrong. Oscar scanned the room, gripped by a vague

sensation that he wasn't alone. Drawing Akashia, he demanded, "Who is

it?"

He hadn't expected an answer, but a young man replied, "I have a few

things to discuss with you, so I let myself in."

No person emerged—there was only a voice. Oscar recognized it,

however. "Valt? Show yourself."

"You can't be serious. I'm quite afraid of you, you know. Anyway,

would you like to hear something nice? It's about the Witch of the

Forbidden Forest."

Oscar's intuition told him that what he could sense of Valt was too faint

for the man to be hidden in the room. While Oscar had deliberated over

how to respond to the mysterious voice at first, that made him fire back,

"Tell me."

"Always so quick to decide. The woman who controls Magdalsia now…

is not the Witch of the Forbidden Forest," Valt revealed, and Oscar had to

bite his tongue to stop from making a noise of surprise.

Tinasha had all but decided that the one stirring up trouble was a witch.

If she was wrong, the consequences could be astronomical.

Valt went on calmly. "However, physically, she is the same as the Witch

of the Forbidden Forest. It is only the soul inside that differs. The soul

inside her now is that of King Hubert of Magdalsia."

Oscar frowned. Things were escalating beyond expectation to a scale

that felt absurd. "Is that even possible?"

"Not with magic. But unfortunately, there is an artifact that enables it. I

believe you call it the Mirror of Oblivion?"

"Is that an outsiders' artifact?"

"Oh, did you hear that from that demon king? That does save me the

trouble of explaining. Yes, it is an outsiders' artifact. The witch's soul is

sealed within the looking glass, along with your queen's missing spirit."

"Within the mirror? According to the fairy tale, it's only supposed to

absorb sadness."

"Yes, in the most widely circulated version. But absorbing sadness is

merely one side effect. What the Mirror of Oblivion actually does is capture

human souls and memories, recording them. It's triggered when you lock

eyes with your reflection."

Valt was revealing incredibly detailed information about an item from

beyond the known world. Perhaps Valt knew so much about it because of

his intimacy with another outsiders' artifact, Eleterria.

"The Mirror of Oblivion has been sealed away along with the Witch of

the Forbidden Forest in a cave deep in Magdalsia for a very long time. But

it would appear the seal has been broken, and the mirror was taken and sold

to the king as an antique. King Hubert gazed into his new looking glass, but

the seal within the artifact must still be intact. His extracted soul couldn't

enter it. From there, I imagine it wandered around until it found the body of

the witch and possessed it."

Oscar picked up on a vague sense of bitterness from Valt, though it

vanished in an instant, so perhaps it was only his imagination.

"If the mirror is broken, the witch's true spirit will return, and the king's

will be driven from her body. But outsiders' artifacts are sturdily crafted, so

your queen is the only one who can manage it."

"What a ridiculous story," Oscar scoffed. He was having a hard time

believing all of this coming from out of nowhere. According to mages,

separating a person's soul from their body was impossible. But outsiders'

artifacts enabled what was magically impossible.

In a voice kept even so as not to give away his doubt over which was the

truth, Oscar replied, "If that's true, why are you telling me this? It sounds

like a trap."

"It is true. I've offended Tinasha quite terribly in the past, so I wanted to

do something to try and mend her impression of me a little."

"That's not going to happen. Aren't you the one who gave the Mirror of

Oblivion to the king of Magdalsia in the first place?"

"Why…would you think that?" Valt questioned stiffly.

Oscar retorted matter-of-factly, "You're much too knowledgeable about

all of this to be merely a messenger. What's your angle? If you're trying to

lure her out, you're on a suicide mission."

"I'm not that reckless. She is quite formidable at present."

Several hours earlier, Tinasha had attacked Valt's estate. He shouldn't

want to see her at all, so then how did he stand to benefit? Why had he

given the king of Magdalsia the Mirror of Oblivion only to turn around and

feed Oscar information and urge him to undo everything?

Belatedly, Valt responded to Oscar's question. His voice sounded

strained. "It's simple. It was a mistake to use the witch's body to declare

war on Tuldarr. In truth, I only intended for the Mirror of Oblivion to put

King Hubert into a coma for a diversion."

"Yeah, you've really botched this one. And now you want her to clean

up your mess?"

"I don't care if Tuldarr and the witch end up clashing. But…I don't wish

for her to remain in that state. You understand what I mean, don't you?"

"...…"

Ever since the Eleterria orb had been stolen, Tinasha had been changing

by the day.

She decided everything on her own and implemented her decisions

immediately. That had to be difficult for Valt to contend with. Tinasha had

to be somewhat aware of this herself, since she fretted that Valt could

predict her thoughts.

"Left to her own devices, she'll take unpredictable actions like

destroying my mansion. I'd like to ask you to take the reins, so to speak.

And, admittedly, I don't wish for her to die. You can tell that I bear her no

ill will, can't you?"

"You would have killed us long ago if you wanted to."

"I'm glad you understand. So consider this a mere confluence of mutual

interest. All you have to do is tell her that she needs to break the mirror. No

one has to fight a witch. I would hate for Tuldarr Castle and its half of

Eleterria to be destroyed in a battle."

"By witch, you mean Hubert, right?"

"Yes, but magic is in the soul, while half of knowledge resides within

the body, and the two are linked. A different soul can still use quite a bit of

the body's magical power. At most, the spells will be clumsy and crude.

Now that he has the strength of a witch, he will not hesitate to wield it even

more brazenly than she would have. That's obvious from how Magdalsia

mobilized for battle."

Under normal circumstances, a country as small as Magdalsia would

never have attacked Tuldarr. It wouldn't stand a chance at winning.

However, King Hubert must have decided that victory was assured with the

witch's power.

Too much strength could easily lead a person astray, a fact that history

had borne out. Generals had brandished devastating military might to carry

out massacres, while kings had ordered execution after execution for no

reason at all. Forbidden curses were proof enough that a not insignificant

number of mages had also fallen prey to such temptations.

And then there were the witches.

Far too mighty, their deeds—feats that should not be humanly possible

—became the stuff of legends.

With the capabilities of a witch, the king of Magdalsia wished to trample

over the Magic Empire that had been his neighbor for so many years.

"He's got ambition; I'll give him that. He's certainly creating trouble for

us," remarked Oscar.

"Having power makes you want to use it. However, we know its limit.

The Mirror of Oblivion is in the castle of Magdalsia. Destroy it, and this

will be over," Valt said, repeating his instructions as if to indicate that the

conversation was over.

Oscar still had questions, though. "I heard you have memories of before

the timeline changed."

"That demon king told you that, too? He's really ruining things for me

with how much he meddles."

"Why do you want Eleterria?" Oscar pressed.

"To change the past, of course."

"Then wouldn't just one orb be enough?"

"It will be meaningless without both. Shouldn't you be hastening to your

lady's side?"

"She…doesn't want my help," Oscar admitted, unable to hide his

bitterness.

Tinasha's first war in four centuries and the desire to prevent Valt from

predicting her actions had changed her.

But in all likelihood, she hadn't told Oscar a thing because she didn't

want to drag him and Farsas into the conflict. Oscar had done the same to

her once. On that occasion, Tinasha had provided aid secretly to help him

break a forbidden curse, even though Tuldarr would have wanted to receive

public credit for intervening.

Oscar wondered if his private wish to attempt something similar would

be a violation of Tinasha's choice. He thought of the distance that had

formed between them. It was the proper space two rulers ought to maintain.

Up until recently, Tinasha was the one bridging it, moving closer to him

with an innocent smile and unguarded affection. Those qualities had made

Oscar choose her to stand beside him.

And now, she would no longer lean on him, becoming again the

sovereign queen who acted for her homeland. It was clear from their

previous conversations that she did not require his help.

Valt sounded dismayed. "Isn't it a little late for this? Don't slack off just

because you earned her heart so easily this time. In every other instance,

you only managed to win her over after considerable effort. That she loved

you from the start is unique. You need to act prudently."

"What the hell are you talking about…?"

Valt had to be referring to previous timelines. Oscar had no recollection

of doing anything worth such censure, but it also felt like the blame really

did lie with him somehow. He pursed his lips.

Valt went on, his voice brimming with conviction. "This is who she

really is. But she's also her true self when she's with you. She is not your

one and only partner, but you are hers. You will always be the one who

saves her. And you're going to let her go?"

"You…certainly sound confident. It's like you've witnessed it all

personally."

"Because I have. Why do you think I can predict both of your actions? I

worked for you both once, in the past."

"What?" Oscar blurted out.

Valt had infiltrated Farsas as a court mage from Yarda, a neighboring

country. It wasn't beyond conception to learn he'd worked directly for

Farsas in another timeline. Tinasha was right when she'd said Valt was

familiar with them. Apparently, he'd even been close with the two.

"So you're a spy. I can't believe I have no memory of you ever

existing."

"Think that if you like, but it isn't as if I manipulate time at will. Back

then, a farmer who lived far away from Farsas had Eleterria. The orbs

changed hands many times, and I wasn't able to follow their trail."

"But you still remember all the previous timelines?" Oscar demanded.

Valt fell silent. After a few moments, that aura of bitterness seeped out

again. "For me, the events happened a very long time ago. To you two, they

never existed. However, I am well aware of how often you rescued her in

many of those erased histories, and of how deeply she loves you."

A purehearted, lonely, earnest, and ruthless woman.

What kind of person was Tinasha in another timeline? And was Oscar

really her salvation?

Had she loved him regardless?

It was all ludicrous. Without meaning to, Oscar let out a heavy sigh. He

hadn't the slightest notion what parts were true. He was genuinely

bewildered. Was this how a person with knowledge of lost histories spoke?

Valt continued placidly. "If you understand, then you need to get going.

Now Tuldarr is… She is fulfilling the role, but ordinarily, you would be the

one facing a witch, yes?"

"Because…of Akashia," Oscar muttered. Possessing the royal sword

made Oscar the prime candidate for vanquishing a witch.

"Go carry out your mission. Save her," Valt instructed candidly. Too

candidly.

But for some strange reason, it didn't feel wrong. In fact, the truth of it

sank through Oscar like a stone. He clenched one hand into a fist, then

released it. Tinasha's sad smile when they had bid good-bye to each other

surfaced in his memory.

Oscar made up his mind, selecting the path that had always been right

there for him—the road to a life with her. That decision had long since been

made.

He had to be brutally honest with her to bridge the distance between

them. It was no longer the Dark Age when she was a lonely queen. She had

crossed four hundred years to find him.

"How dare you say she isn't my one and only. You've got some nerve,"

Oscar spat.

"It's true."

"I don't care about something I don't recall existing. She's the only one

for me, and I'll prove it," Oscar proclaimed, sheathing Akashia and heading

for the door. Before exiting, he turned back to the empty room. "And

someday, I'm going to pay you back in full for what you did."

Valt offered no reply. He only chuckled, sounding both amused and

perturbed. Then his faint aura faded from the room entirely.

After watching Oscar leave the room from a distant vantage point, Valt let

out a long sigh. Undoing his spell, he sank into a chair.

The fifth witch was not the king of Farsas's only partner. In many

timelines, he never met her and married other women instead.

Still, Valt knew better than anyone that Oscar was the most attached to

Tinasha out of all of them. Because of that, he had been given the

opportunity to go after her once more.