A Precious Person

Tears traced a path down Schlus's cheek.

"I miss you so much it hurts..."

The raw anguish in that cry made Trie's chest tighten. She didn't know who Yulia was. She had no idea what kind of relationship Schlus had shared with her. Yet the depth of his emotion came through as clearly as if it were her own.

I should leave...

She had seen something she wasn't meant to. Perhaps Schlus had wanted to keep it hidden from everyone. With that thought, Trie decided to pretend she had seen nothing and turned to slip away.

Crack—

She had stepped on a branch and snapped it.

"Who's there?"

"...!"

Trie clapped a hand over her mouth and dropped into a crouch. Thankfully the tombstone hid her from Schlus's view. She held her breath, praying he would dismiss his suspicion—

"Come out. If you don't, I'll consider you an enemy and attack."

He showed no sign of backing down. In the end, Trie had no choice but to rise slowly, shoulders hunched.

"...Trie."

"I'm sorry. For spying."

She had expected anger. Instead Schlus simply let out a quiet sigh. He didn't look particularly upset.

"Can you keep it secret?"

"Keep what...?"

"Everything you saw here today."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

Trie nodded vigorously. If silence was all it took to be forgiven, she would gladly oblige. After all, sneaking after someone and eavesdropping was clearly wrong.

"But, um..."

Still, curiosity gnawed at her. Who exactly was Yulia? What had she been to him?

"If it's not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too rude... could I ask what your relationship was with her?"

Trie had never been the type to let a question go unanswered once it took root. Schlus, who had been gazing quietly at the tombstone, smiled faintly and spoke.

"It is rude, Trie."

"Ah... I'm sorry..."

"She was someone precious to me."

"Huh?"

"More precious than anything else in the world."

"..."

That bittersweet smile sealed Trie's lips. Though enough time had passed for him to speak of it with a smile, the weight of those feelings clearly hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"Let's head back."

Trie followed silently as Schlus turned and began walking. She wanted to press for more, but the look on his face made her think better of it.

"By the way, are you experiencing any aftereffects?"

"Aftereffects? What are you talking about?"

"From being stabbed. Any lingering issues?"

"...None at all."

Schlus looked down at her with an expression that said he had no idea where such a random question had come from. Realizing she had worried over nothing, Trie's cheeks flushed faintly.

*

"Yulia von Iceburg..."

Back at the mansion, Trie murmured the name she had seen on the gravestone. He had called her someone precious. Could she have been his lover...?

Just as the thought crossed her mind—

"My lady. Where did you hear that name?"

"Ah, Head Maid."

The head maid approached with a puzzled look. Come to think of it, Trie had heard the woman was originally from the northern region...

"Head Maid, by any chance...?"

"Yes. I am from Iceburg. Ten years ago I worked as a housekeeper for the Iceburg household."

"Oh..."

Jackpot. The information she wanted had been right under her nose all along.

"Then you must know of Yulia von Iceburg?"

"Of course. I served her personally."

"In that case, Head Maid... if it's not too uncomfortable, could you tell me about her?"

"Certainly, my lady."

With a gentle smile, the head maid sat in the chair Trie pulled out for her. It seemed the story would be rather long.

"Lady Yulia was the daughter of Count Iceburg. She was truly lovely. As beautiful as you are, my lady."

"Skip the flattery, please."

"Of course, of course. After the Count declared he would pass his title to her, Lady Yulia became quite the topic of conversation for a time. But once she contracted an incurable illness and could no longer move, the succession was canceled and interest faded."

"..."

"After that, she shut herself away in her room. Her body grew weaker by the day, and she didn't want others to see her like that. Then the war broke out. In the second winter of the conflict, Lady Yulia passed away."

"Was it because of the Kingdom Army's winter offensive?"

The second year of the war. That was the winter the Kingdom Army had launched their unexpected counterattack. She had heard they had even reached Iceburg. Could it have been then...?

"No. Lady Yulia passed before the offensive. The Kingdom forces arrived ten days after her death."

"Hmm... I see. Then what about a man named Schlus Heinkel? Is he also from Iceburg?"

"Yes, that's correct. He was the son of a castle guard there. As I recall, he and Lady Yulia were close from a very young age."

"Wait... then why didn't you say anything until now?"

Trie let out an incredulous sigh. Schlus Heinkel had become famous enough that almost everyone in the capital knew his name. She had even mentioned him several times in front of the head maid. So why had the woman stayed silent despite knowing him all along?

"You never asked."

"...Pardon?"

The head maid's smile left Trie speechless.

"Everyone has a past they would rather not remember, my lady."

"I suppose so..."

"Besides, until recently I believed Schlus had died."

"..."

It seemed the events in Iceburg held few pleasant memories for the head maid.

***

"Yulia."

The moment she entered the room, Lady Lichtenburg rushed to her daughter and embraced her. Yulia smiled softly and returned the hug. From within that embrace, she could always feel a constant wave of guilt.

"I have a favor to ask..."

"Yes, Mother. What is it?"

"I'm truly sorry, but... could you have dinner separately tonight?"

"..."

At the brief silence, Lady Lichtenburg hung her head. Even though her daughter suffered from an inexplicable illness, she had always tried to love her no differently than Erika. To isolate her like this during mealtime was something she would never normally do.

"Is a guest coming?"

"..."

Struck right at the heart of it, Lady Lichtenburg could only nod silently. For someone so young, the girl was unusually mature and perceptive. If not for her illness, she would surely be excelling at school with that brilliant mind of hers...

"Is the guest from Iceburg?"

"..."

The lady nodded again.

"And they knew Yulia von Iceburg."

"...Yes. That's right."

Yulia had seen through everything. Even so, she simply smiled as if she already understood. That maturity, so unfitting for her age, bothered the lady so much that she bit her lip.

"You know what happens when someone who knew her meets you... it isn't pleasant."

The Yulia of Iceburg and this child were completely different people. At least, that was what the lady believed. But everyone who had known the original Yulia would say strange things the moment they saw this girl. That she looked exactly like Lady Yulia. That having the same name meant she must be her reincarnation. They kept seeing the dead woman in her daughter. All because they shared a name and a similar appearance. Whenever that happened, Yulia would wear an unbearably awkward expression. It was probably part of the reason she rarely wanted to go outside.

"I understand, Mother. I'll eat with the maids in the staff dining hall tonight."

"...I'm so sorry, my dear. For making you go through this."

"It's not your fault, Mother."

Lady Lichtenburg hugged Yulia once more. As the lady swallowed her tears of guilt—

Actually, it is my fault.

Yulia whispered inwardly.

***

Once again I had shut myself in the training room, living out the same routine as always. Swinging my sword. Attempting to read advanced texts... It was only when I scraped my leg on the floor and drew blood that I remembered something I had forgotten.

"Tsk. That's bleeding quite a bit."

It was just a simple scrape. The skin hadn't been torn off—just a bit of the surface ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠peeled away. It wasn't bleeding heavily, but the wide area of the wound made it annoying to treat.

"Ah. Recovery potions."

Come to think of it, there were recovery potions in the shop. The injury wasn't serious enough to warrant spending coins, but buying one to test its usage and effects seemed reasonable.

So when I opened the shop window—

"Right."

I had completely forgotten about the shop enhancement option. It cost 10 coins to enhance the shop. And with the 10 coins I had just received from completing the quest on the Day of Magic, I had just enough.

"Should I do it? Or not?"

To be honest, the current shop items weren't that impressive. The Forbidden Elixir, now priced at 5 coins, was still worth buying, but its efficiency wasn't as good as before. As for recovery, I could always get help from Iris in an emergency, so recovery potions weren't particularly useful either. Spending 10 coins to see new items seemed like a worthwhile investment. Events that required sudden stat jumps—like exploring the Wist Forest or the civil war—were still far off. It would be better to enhance the shop while I had the leisure to do so.

"Alright. Decision made."

I immediately muttered the command to enhance the shop in my mind.

"Tsk."

I had hoped for some kind of bonus like when the shop first opened, but there was none. Let's see what was added.

The new additions were the Elixir and Durandal. What caught my eye immediately was, of course—

"Whoa. An Elixir?"

The Elixir. It was the highest-grade potion in the story, made from the extract of an extremely rare mushroom. Its effects were so potent it could practically be called a panacea. It nullified any status ailment and healed any injury completely. While it couldn't regenerate lost body parts, if the cut was clean, pouring Elixir on it could reattach the missing section. As long as death wasn't from natural causes due to old age, it could save someone from almost any fatal situation. A truly overpowered potion.

Its rarity matched its power. Even the Emperor of the Freyja Empire, which ruled the continent, would need over a year to obtain one even if he put out a request for it.

Just to note, the Elixir has no effect on Yulia's illness. Because it isn't a disease to begin with. It is her fate itself, so it cannot be cured. Just as she cannot escape the endless cycle of reincarnation, that incurable illness cannot be removed.

"Let's see the price..."

Back to the Elixir—the price was what mattered. I hadn't expected something this broken to be cheap, but—

"Guh."

It was an unimaginably high price. Quests that gave coins didn't appear that often, yet it wanted fifty of them. It truly showed the dignity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a panacea. From now on, I would need to collect shop coins much more aggressively. Having an Elixir could prove useful at any time or place. Even just thinking about the upcoming civil war, it could be incredibly helpful. But gathering fifty coins by then seemed unlikely.

"Durandal, huh..."

The other item added alongside the Elixir was Durandal. A sword modeled after the holy sword of legend. In the original story, it had been used by the Ma-in named Tilpitz. At this point in time, she probably hasn't obtained it yet. But what would happen if I bought it first...? It probably wouldn't create two of them. Would that mean Tilpitz could never obtain it?

"Ugh."

All those worries were pointless. The price was far beyond what I could afford anyway. Still, first the Day of Judgment and now Durandal. Why did the weapons of major named characters keep showing up in the item list? Was it telling me to become a sword merchant or something?

"Sigh. That's enough for today."

It was about time. I closed the shop window and stood up. When I opened the door to the training room, the sun had already sunk quite low.

"Emilia. I'll be eating dinner out tonight."

"Yes. You mentioned receiving an invitation. From the Lichtenburg family..."

"That's correct."

"Please be careful."

I left the mansion, leaving behind Emilia as she bowed. Though it didn't show on my face, I could tell—as the author—that she was extremely wary. She was probably afraid my stance would change as I interacted more with the nobility. After all, I had already told the intelligence bureau that I sought peace with the Kingdom. She must be worried I would assimilate with the imperial elite and come to believe the Kingdom should be erased from the continent.

If I could, I would have told her there was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no need to worry. I was only going to sound out Lady Lichtenburg. Of course I knew her setting inside and out, but I needed to check whether any changes had occurred while I had been altering the story through possession.

She had said she would send a carriage at six. But since I had finished earlier than expected and it was only four, waiting until six felt tedious, so I decided to walk. Arriving earlier than the invited time might be rude, but I decided not to worry about it. Leaving a strong impression—even if it was slightly discourteous—might not be a bad thing. Whether that impression was good or bad.

"This must be the place."

It was five o'clock. I had arrived earlier than anticipated. After walking a short distance from the bustling new district of the capital, I found myself before an enormous mansion. Compared to a single dormitory room, it was on an entirely different scale. As expected of a prestigious family's residence.

Just as I approached the main gate to call for a servant—

"My lady! Over here! The flower that has yet to wither!"

For a moment, it felt as if my breath had stopped. I prayed I had seen wrong. That wheelchair. That pure white dress. I prayed what I was seeing was an illusion.

The moment she turned her head and our eyes met, my body froze as if struck by lightning.

For a long time, we simply stared at each other, entranced. Without a single word.