Prince, I Don’t Want To Be Killed by You This Time! -The Poor Lady Who Was Framed by the Saint, Avoids Being Skewered the Second Time! ~ - Chapter 19

It’s been less than three months since I started working as the Crown Prince’s Konoe Mage.

I finally have my free time.

Tonight, the Crown Prince is having a dinner with the royal family.

As expected, there was no need for me to provide security, and this was my first free time in a long time.

(Now, I can finally meet Cynthia and the rest!)

As soon as the King and the Crown Prince’s dinner started, I came to the library attached to the Royal Magic Agency in the Royal Palace. Cynthia is also the librarian of this library.

The Magic Agency is located in the royal palace building, but it occupies an entire wing, and there are many magicians working there, as well as a magic research institute and a library.

Cynthia had also asked Mac to join us, and the three of us were going to have dinner together tonight.

The library was a truly magnificent facility.

Any magician working in the royal palace can use the library where the magic books are stored.

The library was an atrium, and books were lined up all the way to the top of the tall building. There are books with shiny new spines, as well as old books that are so old that they would tear easily if not handled carefully.

(What a luxury! So many magic books I’ve never seen before!)

After borrowing a few rare books on water-based magic, I went in search of Cynthia.

Near the library was an oval-shaped hall with a large desk in the center. Above the desk, a huge crystal dragon was hung from the ceiling, casting grains of light into the hall like a sun-catcher.

The glimmering light in the quiet library seemed quite magical.

With the sound of pattering footsteps, Cynthia came running from the back of the library.

She was holding her purse in one hand.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! It’s been a really long time. I didn’t think I’d miss you so much, even though we’re in the same royal palace!”

“That’s right. This is the first time I’ve ever been to the library.”

Cynthia smiled a little triumphantly.

“Well? How surprised are you by all the books?”

“The librarian here is the guardian of knowledge.”

“Oh, that’s a lovely expression. I’ve read a lot of the rare material here and I’m going to write a paper on it.”

Cynthia’s talk about her work was dazzling.

She must be enjoying the good fortune of being given the job she wanted and being able to do what she loves.

Seeing Cynthia looking so happy made me feel happy too.

As we talked about work, we headed for the cafeteria, where Mac was reserving seats for us.

The royal palace cafeteria was available to the palace workers and served low-priced meals.

The interior of the dining hall was so large that it was easy to imagine that you were in a public restaurant in the city, even though you were in the palace. The place was filled with a chaotic atmosphere as customers crowded in one after another, shouting orders and clattering dishes.

The wooden beam ceiling was so high that it made my neck hurt to look up, and the sound reverberated well.

The desks and chairs were neatly arranged all the way to the back, and Mac had taken a table in one corner.

What we ordered was a thin bread dough that was baked with tomato sauce and topped with bacon and cheese.

The cheese was so enjoyable that Mac was persistently spreading it after each bite.

Mac was a member of the Royal Magic Agency’s Military Department. The military is an army organization made up of magicians.

“No, I never hoped for this, but the personnel guy saw my physical beauty and recruited me into the military. Now if I win the jousting tournament next year, I’ll be popular too.”

 “Yes, of course.”

“No… I wanted to be in the military myself.”

“That’s a pretty easy confession to make.”

“I was assigned to the Royal Capital Guards, one of the subordinate units of the military. The uniform is really cool!”

The Royal Capital Guard’s main camp is located next to the main gate of the Royal Palace, and the red-roofed, stone-built building is so conspicuous that it has become a landmark of the capital, and tourists from the countryside always come to see it.

“Every morning, when I go out of the camp wearing my uniform, people all over the city look at me with envy, and it feels good. Especially the young girls who look at me with adoration.”

“That’s great. You seem to be popular.”

“And, surprisingly, the sly glances of mature women are also very pleasing.”

“–Why did you join the guard?”

Cynthia frowned in dismay. Mac remained unfazed and aloof.

“Well, I’ve had a lot on my mind, too. I was thinking that I’d like to keep a low profile in Royal Capital for now. I know a lot about the future through Liesel.”

Then Cynthia raised her voice.

“So that’s it! You know that Leia will be sending reinforcements to the allies next summer. Even in the military, if you’re in the Royal Capital Guards, they won’t send you to fight.”

“Well, there’s that too.”

“Isn’t the royal capital security also dangerous at times?　Mac, when it’s dangerous, you have to put your own safety first. You shouldn’t die at the age of nineteen like I did.”

When I half-jokingly warned him, Mac laughed and nodded.

Cynthia was stuffing her mouth with a bean salad filled with colorful beans. The way she was eating it made her look like a little bird. It was so cute that I couldn’t help but glance at her.

When Cynthia finished talking about her recent situation, She turned the floodgates on me.

“Liesel, you seem to be very busy.”

“I mean, there’s not much to do as a Kings Guard, but I’m kept busy for long hours.”

I almost never use magic. But I have to be on my toes to some extent.

In a sense, it’s a job with almost no visible results. It’s a job that must not let anything happen to the crown prince. Nothing is an achievement.

“How is the Crown Prince’s security? It seems to be more troublesome than the security of the royal capital in a way.”

“Security itself is not that hard.”

Mac and Cynthia looked at each other. Afterwards, Mac asks me.

“So, what’s the hard part? Do you still remember a lot of things from the past?”

It’s not the past, it’s the future. Choosing my words carefully, I talk about my current state of mind.

“It’s not so surprising. I don’t know how to put it. –The crown prince doesn’t seem like him at all.”

“What does that mean?”

“The personality of Ulysses is very different from the one I knew. It’s like he’s changed.”

“Maybe not everything is the same as it was before, just like how we met.”

“Well, personalities change with environment and upbringing, you know. Maybe it’s not so strange that things have changed.”

I wonder if that’s the case.

But my family, Catherine, Arnold and others did not have any personality changes.

As I was thinking this and looking unsure, Mac slapped me on the shoulder with a bang.

“Well, that should make it easier for you to give up on His Highness, right? That should be all right.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Mac! You can’t say that.”

Cynthia, who was angry, put her spoon on the plate with a clatter, and the beans rolled with the impact. Cynthia bends down in her chair to pick up the beans that have fallen off the table, but she mistakes her measurements and hits her head on the table.

“Ouch!”

Mac bursts out laughing.

“That’s not funny!”

“Sorry, I’ll pick it up. It’s closer from here.”

I was impressed with Mac as he appeased Cynthia, who was angry that he was still laughing.

He’s always optimistic and laughs a lot. His unwavering strength is sometimes very enviable.

Ever since I came to the palace, I am always exhausted at the end of the day.

Even while taking off my robe, I lay down on the bed in my dormitory.

(Oh, I’m so tired. I should at least take off my robe…)

With one hand, I pull up my robe, which I have pinned under my body with my back, and vaguely look at its dark purple color.

I move my head to look at the closet near the entrance of the small room.

The closet is only a short distance away, but it’s a hassle to get to it.

Sighing, I sluggishly get up, head to the closet, and open the door. The hinges squeak.

Inside the closet, there was a white robe.

It was given to me by Gideon.

(I don’t see Gideon at all, even though we work in the same royal palace.)

I wonder how he, the other students and the teachers are doing now.

We used to see each other every day at the academy, but when we don’t see each other anymore, it makes me wonder. When you start a new life, you desperately need to adjust to the new environment and keep looking forward, but when you stop and look back, you realize that the relationships you have had with people are gone, and you still feel sad about it.

I reach for the white robe hanging at the end of the closet.

As I touch it, my fingertips bring back memories of many events.

I see the blue eyes of the boy who came up from the stream, soaking wet, and looked up at me. The way he raised his hand and answered a difficult question the teacher asked, while everyone else couldn’t answer.

The slightly anxious look on his face as he held my hand and invited me to the graduation party.

“– Even though you said you wanted to be my friend. You haven’t come to see me at all.”

I pushed the white robe I had pulled on back into the closet.

I look up and see myself in the small mirror mounted on the inside of the door. I make a disgruntled face and realize I’m still wearing makeup.

(No. I should at least take off my makeup.)

I only wear a light amount of makeup, which is not against etiquette, but if I don’t take it off, it will make my skin tickle.

Biting back a yawn, I closed the closet and headed for the shared bathroom.

There was a knock on the door from the hallway.

(Who is it at this hour?)

I opened the door gently with suspicion and found Cynthia there.

Why was Cynthia, who was supposed to be in a dormitory in another building, here? She was also still wearing the robes of a royal palace magician.

“Cynthia? What’s going on?”

“Shh! Follow me quickly! We don’t have time.”

As soon as she said that, she grabbed my right wrist and dragged me out of the room and sprinted down the hallway.

Cynthia didn’t have any lights with her. We walked straight out of the dorm through the dark hallway and found Mac outside.

The building I was in was a women’s dormitory, so he had to wait outside.

“What’s up, you two? What’s so urgent?”

Then Cynthia squeezed my wrist even more tightly in her grip.

“I may have found it at last. The key to the mystery! Ever since I realized it in the afternoon, I’ve been so excited. I haven’t been able to work all afternoon!”

“The key? What are you talking about?”

“Actually, I’ve been researching at the library ever since I started working there. The strange things that happened to you last time.”

“Oh, right. Thank you. –Did you find out anything about it, by any chance?”

“I found something, I’m curious. –Anyway, we don’t have much time. Let’s talk over here.”

There is a small courtyard around the dormitory building, lined with warehouses. There is a thick gate next to the stone warehouse and it’s not popular. As I moved to the shade of the warehouse, the area became even darker.

Sandwiched between the high walls of the warehouse and the gate, the area was somewhat gloomy as the sun did not shine even in the daytime, and the walls were covered with green moss.

Cynthia whispered to me.

“I have access to the library’s private holdings as part of my duties.”

After saying that much, Mac, who was leaning with his hands on the outer wall of the warehouse, interrupted. 

“Cynthia thought about the situation. Somebody must have deliberately rewound time with magic.”

“Rewind time with magic? Is that even possible?”

Cynthia nodded her head with a mysterious expression. In the moonlight, it was difficult to see the color of her face, but her eyes were filled with passion.

Cynthia began to talk about what she had researched.

Cynthia, who was studying magic, had never even heard of a magic that could turn back time.

And of course there was no description of it in any of the many magic books in the royal palace collection.

“That’s why I changed my approach. I was wondering if it was one of the old magic. There’s an old book called the Book of Ancient Magic, which is a collection of ancient, lost techniques.”

We huddled together and talked. Cynthia explained in a quiet voice that was inaudible even to the nearby stone wall.

The magic in the ancient documents was invented a long time ago, but many of them were left only in fragments and their development and research were abandoned in the middle of the process due to flaws or lack of formulas, so they did not survive to the present day. They were ancient documents that were only occasionally looked over by researchers because they were not worth actually trying.

In this vast and endless list of ancient magic, Cynthia finally found the magic of time.

It was sorcery to turn back time, called “The Three Sages’ Begging for Time”.

“It’s on the list, so I can lightly check the contents, but I need to read the actual ancient magic book itself to get the details. It’s kept in the archives storage building at the far end of the Magical Office.”

After a pause, Cynthia reached into the inside pocket of her robe and quickly thrust something in front of me.

It was a bunch of keys, bound together with a metal ring.

I gasped, and Mack chuckled.

“So now the three of us are going to go look for it. The three of us can find it together!”

“What?

I was surprised by the sudden turn of events, but Mac and Cynthia took my hands and began to run towards the wing of the royal palace where the magic office was located.