“…An artifact related to spatial magic?”

Even a glance at Karmen’s status window, which she habitually checked, did not change what she had just heard.

[Karmen Kasselov]
Thoughts: The old man said I could borrow it to study my spatial magic, but what’s the point of studying it?

…I just need to keep it before I get caught.

“Yeah, you said you wanted to see an ancient artifact last time,” Karmen said gruffly, as if it were nothing.

It seemed he had remembered her offhand comment during their magic lessons with the teacher and had raided his study again.

‘An artifact of spatial magic? Not an execution tool?’

Lost in confusion, Siervian could only stare blankly at the pendant without replying.

A silver pendant with a red diamond in the shape of a lozenge.

It was definitely the same as the one she had seen on the day of her execution.

‘But where else have I seen this?’

Although the memory of that day was vivid, the pendant seemed oddly more familiar.

“What? Don’t you like it?”

[Karmen Kasselov]
Thoughts: Is it not that good? Tsk, I had a hard time breaking the alarm magic the old man set. It’s not that great, is it?

As she glanced at the status window that had appeared next to Karmen, she realized it.

Where she had seen this shape.

‘It’s exactly the same as the pattern under my status window.’

Perhaps growing impatient with her continued silence, Karmen suddenly thrust the pendant at her.

“You can touch it.”

Siervian hesitantly stroked the red lozenge of the pendant.

“Wha…?”

Whoosh.

In that instant, the once-solid pendant crumbled into dust.

“Ah…”

Karmen froze at the sudden turn of events.

He stared in dismay at the scattered pendant dust that had disappeared, before urgently looking at Siervian.

“Are you okay? Did the artifact do something?!”

“…No, I don’t think so.”

Hurriedly deploying his mana scan to assess the damage, Karmen soon let out a sigh of relief.

It was after confirming that the artifact had not had any adverse effects on Siervian.

“Oh, what do I do? It’s because of me.”

Siervian felt a pang of worry. Ancient artifacts were extremely valuable as research material.

But she never thought it would disappear without a trace just because she touched it.

“No, you didn’t do anything. The artifact must have been old.”

[Karmen Kasselov]
Thoughts: Damn it, I’ll get in so much trouble if I get caught. No, the old man definitely gave me a fake. He must have made it disappear like this to surprise me.

Doubting his own teacher, Karmen kept reassuring Siervian that it wasn’t her fault.

But Siervian couldn’t help but feel bewildered as she looked at Karmen’s now-empty palm.

* * *

Siervian returned to her bedroom, but sleep evaded her.

“What was that?”

Did they truly give her such an object to torment her?

Before lying down, Siervian slumped in front of the vanity mirror.

As she gazed into the mirror, her status window naturally appeared.

[Siervian Erveldotte (9 years old)]
Body and soul synchronization… 38%
Current actions are aligned with the body
ː◈ː

A significant change had occurred.

“The pattern… it’s changed?”

The shape of the pattern remained the same. However, it had gained texture, protruding from the translucent, flat status window. As if the vanished pendant had been transferred here whole.

“What in the world?”

Like before, Siervian reached out with her hand in a diamond shape, as if in a trance.

To her surprise, something touched her hand, which should have only passed through the empty air.

“Ah…”

And then, a scroll-like parchment unfolded in the air.

[To Siervian]

“…A letter?”

It only contained her name, yet she felt an inexplicable sense of knowing who wrote it.

A strange, melancholic feeling washed over her.

[I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. Don’t forgive this father.]

“Ah…”

Siervian understood.

This… was a letter sent to her by her father from her previous life.

[I always wanted to express my affection for you honestly, but I’m sorry, Siervy.]

The nickname her father from her previous life called her for the first time came to her in this belated letter.

[I hope you can go anywhere you can be happy.]

“….”

As Karmen had said, what he held that day was not an instrument of execution.

[To a place where you can be as childish and spoiled as you want. To a place where you can be compensated for all the time you’ve lost.]

In her previous life, the imperial authority was very different from what it is now.

After learning a little more and looking back, Siervian could easily deduce that her father’s power must have been greatly diminished around the time she was executed in her previous life.

Perhaps her father had sacrificed a great deal to save her even in that situation.

[May the love of this inadequate father reach you.]

He must have tried to hide her, even like this.

“Ugh…”

Siervian couldn’t fully understand what had happened that day.

But one thing was certain.

“Dad…”

Her father had never given up on her.

“Huu…”

Siervian cried like the child she was, overcome with relief after the long-held misunderstanding was finally resolved.

She continued to cry until Ellie, startled by her sobs, rushed in.

[New alarm!]

The status window informed her of a new change, but she had no time to check it right then.

She just burst into tears of joy.

Only after shedding tears that made her nose feel cold could Siervian completely shake off the shadow of the past.

* * *

“The last contact with Hannibel has arrived. He failed in the end.”

In the south, the farthest point from the Northern Empire, where the scorching sun beat down fiercely.

“Hmph, I didn’t expect it. He was an incompetent fool full of inferiority.”

Two people in stiff uniforms, unsuited to the climate, exchanged cynical words.

The one sitting in the higher position was a boy of about ten years old.

The subordinate bowed his head respectfully toward him and spoke again.

He relayed Hannibel’s last message.

“Beware of the princess.”

Hearing Hannibel’s last words, the boy let out a sharp laugh.

—