chapter 7
The kids were probably just excited because something new had come up.
‘Oh boy.’
It felt like colorful musical notes and flower petals were fluttering around them.
“Hm, if they run like that, they won’t make it.”
I watched Ronowe and Beris racing ahead with loud pounding footsteps.
“The library is farther than you think.”
“It’s fine.”
What was he talking about? I looked at Carlisle, who was walking beside me with a puzzled expression.
‘Ah.’
Then I understood immediately.
“I… can’t walk anymore.”
The Fleur siblings, who I thought had iron stamina, had fallen behind in an instant.
‘So that’s what he meant—they wouldn’t make it all the way running.’
Kids really are kids. I decided to walk slowly instead.
‘Hm?’
But I kept feeling eyes on the back of my head, so I stopped and glanced behind.
‘…’
Two personal maids were standing there, fidgeting nervously.
‘Sigh.’
They looked so pitiful that I beckoned them closer.
“Your Highness, we will carry you. Please, into my arms—”
Seems like they misunderstood and thought I wanted to be held.
“I’m fine. I’ll go on my own.”
I’m tired of being treated like a child.
“Take care of those kids instead.”
I sighed and pointed at Ronowe and Beris, who had collapsed on the ground.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The two maids each picked up one of the siblings.
“We’ll wait here.”
When we soon arrived at the study, they said they would stay near the entrance.
I nodded and accepted Carlisle’s escort.
“It’s bigger than our library!”
“Wow~ there are so many books!”
Ronowe and Beris were already full of energy again, as if they hadn’t been exhausted at all.
“Big sis, hurry!”
“Come with us~”
Their big eyes sparkled as they excitedly explored the study.
‘There’s nothing here that has the answer I want anyway.’
I watched them hopping around.
‘I already checked this place first in my previous life.’
I sighed.
‘I’ll just play along for a bit and then head back.’
After that, since we weren’t the only ones in the study, I warned the kids not to be noisy.
“Devil! A devil!”
“Where? I wanna see too!”
As I quietly followed the Fleur siblings with Carlisle—
“They’re fighting with an angel! Bad devil!”
“Can’t you see the angel hitting the devil?”
Suddenly, Ronowe and Beris stopped in front of a painting of an angel and a devil and started arguing.
“The devil hurts people, so the angel punishes it!”
“No! There are good devils who don’t hurt people!”
“No! Devils always do bad things!”
My mind went blank. I could feel people around us glancing over.
“How do you know? Angels can do bad things too!”
“Then how do you know?”
They pushed at each other, escalating their argument. A headache started creeping in.
‘Oh man… what a headache…’
I smacked my forehead. I had no idea why these random kids suddenly started fighting.
“What you see isn’t always good! There must be bad angels too! It says so in ‘The Boundary of Good and Evil’!”
“No!”
“Idiot! Do you think you’re smarter than the scholar ‘Rof de Janiata’?!”
At that moment, Ronowe suddenly shouted angrily.
‘How does she know that book?’
I was startled.
‘That’s not something kids would read.’
My mind filled with questions.
The way she spoke so clearly—it didn’t feel like a child at all. For a moment, she seemed like a completely different person.
As if someone else were wearing the disguise of a little girl.
“Don’t call me an idiot…”
Before I could calm down, Beris sniffled.
‘Stop fighting… this is such a hassle.’
As I endured the throbbing in my head, I noticed someone watching us.
The moment our eyes met, I made a cold gesture of slicing my throat—a silent warning.
“Ahem.”
Not completely stupid, the onlooker quickly looked away and moved elsewhere.
“Stop fighting. This is a library, so behave. Now make up.”
“Sorry for getting mad.”
“Sorry for calling you dumb.”
When I looked back, Carlisle had already made them reconcile.
‘Phew, saved.’
I walked around the study with the children again.
‘My body really isn’t what it used to be.’
Even climbing onto a chair felt exhausting, which made me feel a bit down.
‘Don’t those two ever get tired?’
Looking over, I saw Ronowe and Beris dragging Carlisle around, peeking here and there.
‘They really don’t stop moving.’
Still, since Carlisle was with them, I figured they’d be fine.
“What does that say?”
Even when I tried to read, I couldn’t focus and kept watching the kids.
“It says ‘101 Ways to Make Someone You Like Confess to You ♥’.”
“Make someone confess?”
“Read it for us!”
No way he’d read something like that out loud. I was sure he’d refuse out of embarrassment.
“…If … happens, then next … try … After that, …”
But Carlisle surprised me.
He carefully read through the contents, then closed the book midway.
“That’s roughly what it says.”
“That’s hard!”
“Yeah!”
“Explain it simply!”
The Fleur siblings didn’t understand a thing.
“The main characters Linda and Logan kissed on a bridge.”
“Big brother, have you kissed before?”
“If you kiss, do you get married?”
The bold little kids bombarded Carlisle with questions.
“Uh…”
His face turned red, clearly embarrassed.
“…To be honest, I don’t really know either.”
“What kind of answer is that!”
“You’re clueless~.”
“I thought you were smart.”
Even if he’s promising, he’s still just a kid.
As the children approached me, I quickly turned my head away.
“Clueless~ clueless~.”
Still, I kind of liked that word they kept repeating.
‘Clueless… has a nice ring to it.’
From now on, that’ll be your nickname. I decided to call Ronowe and Beris that—excluding Carlisle.
‘Marriage…’
A bad memory surfaced.
‘O Sun of the Empire!’
‘Go back.’
In my past life as emperor, the ministers constantly meddled in my marriage.
People I barely remembered pretended to love me, blinded by power.
There were countless who tried to push their sons forward to build connections.
‘Your Majesty!’
‘Go home!’
Not one of them ever asked for my opinion.
Well, of course. For royalty, marriage…
‘…is a duty, not a choice.’
I snorted at the bitterness rising inside me.
‘But what about my feelings?’
Even when I was a commoner, I had been forced into marriage.
‘Being married to that drunkard was such a nightmare!’
I clearly remembered struggling to fix the habits of a man who constantly demanded alcohol.
‘Now that I’m a princess in this life, I’ll definitely have to fight over marriage again.’
I sighed quietly so the kids wouldn’t hear.
‘I need to find the answer before that happens…’
Suddenly, fatigue hit me.
‘Mmm…’
I couldn’t resist the drowsiness and collapsed onto the table.
“….”
Half-asleep, I felt someone chuckle and gently drape something soft over me.
Normally, I would’ve snapped awake at the slightest sound to see who dared laugh at me.
But the sudden exhaustion was overwhelming.
I fell fast asleep.
And I dreamed.
As if my soul had left my body, I saw the landscape of my empire from my past life.
Flash!
Just as I was about to take it in, my vision twisted, and the scene shifted to an office.
* * *
“What did the Ariel Temple say? Will they show us the records?”
“Well…”
The official reporting back did not bring good news.
“They said there’s no reason to cooperate, since the temple now belongs to Randel, not Lionelle.”
The aide, Elaila, lowered her head slightly.
“They cited their declaration of independence from our kingdom 20 years ago.”
The temple remained uncooperative for various reasons.
“They won’t show them at all? Why are they so stubborn?”
Even a polite request had been rejected—it felt like a rock had dropped on my head.
“Did you make it clear that I requested it?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about their king?”
“We sent a cooperation request, but…”
The aide hesitated.
“They claim the temple is an independent institution, so they cannot comply.”
She continued:
“Also, that nation is a key commercial hub… if we push them, the western sea route could be blocked.”
She stepped back after finishing her report.
“Why is everything so complicated? I thought we were close to solving it.”
I frowned and ate biscuits irritably as a servant refilled my tea.
“Your Highness, is there a specific reason you must obtain those records?”
“Think about the oracle from the Grand Temple.”
The answer lies in what was taken.
“Isn’t it obvious? The only thing taken recently is the Ariel Temple.”
“There was also a raid in the eastern region—”
I ignored the objection.
“The oracle came right after we lost that temple in the war.”
“But—”
Crash!
Frustrated, I smashed the plate with my fork.
“My apologies!”
The official bowed deeply in shock.
“Thinking about it makes me angry… shouldn’t we just take it back?”
I leaned back in my chair.
“What? Absolutely not!”
Elaila strongly opposed me.
She always stopped me whenever I hinted at war.
“I don’t want to go this far either, but there’s no other way.”
I grumbled.
“They came into our waters, caught all our fish, and killed our fishermen—use that as justification.”
“Didn’t you already order a diplomatic envoy for that?”
“Oh… right.”
I shrugged.
“But now that I think about it, that’s not enough.”
“Your Highness…”
“That temple originally belonged to us. We’ll just reclaim it.”
If words don’t work, force will.
“So you’re proposing war?”
“That’s right!”
I snapped my fingers with a grin.
“War it is.”
“That’s not what I advised!”
Elaila panicked.
“Call General Roy!”
I ordered a military meeting.
“Your Highness, please reconsider—!”
Nope. I ignored her again.
Cheers erupted.
Thus, a new war began—and I finally stepped into the temple I had long wanted.
“What am I supposed to find in a place like this? I told you not to touch the archives!”
Though the temple wasn’t intact.
“We’ll have to search during reconstruction.”
As I brushed dust off my hands, I sensed someone and drew my sword.
“You…”
A child.
I sheathed my sword.
“Your Highness!”
The knights called out, and when I looked away briefly, the child disappeared.
‘Fast little thing.’
“Did you find the records?”
“That’s your job.”
“…What?”
“How am I supposed to search this alone?”
We searched through scattered documents late into the night—but found nothing.
“Not here either…”
Back in my tent, I marked another X on the map.
“People go to war to live… and I’m doing it to die.”
None of the countries I invaded had the information I wanted.
“Where is the answer to the god’s question?”
My fists trembled.
“They said the records exist somewhere in the human world… I was sure this oracle meant something.”
It was maddening.
“I need some air.”
I went out for a walk.
“Stop right there!”
“You’ll be punished at dawn! How dare you steal!”
Outside, it was noisy.
“See you at the execution ground, thief!”
It was the boy from earlier, caught by guards.
“He stole potatoes, Your Highness.”
“It’s just a few potatoes. Let him go.”
But—
“It’s not just a few.”
The amount was enormous.
“All that? Alone?”
“Yes. What should we do?”
“…Hmm.”
Not an ordinary child.
“What’s your name?”
“Jeff.”
“Not a commoner… what’s your full name?”
After hesitating, the boy met my eyes.
“Jeff Header Piccadilly.”
