Chapter 37
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Chapter 37
I bowed respectfully at Crown Prince Kiaros's words and answered.
"Yes. Please ask whatever you wish."
Even as I spoke, my mind churned with complexity.
Surely I wasn't about to be dismissed just like this.
'All my accumulated salary has been squeezed dry by the Loapi Marquessate, and I've only received my paycheck once directly into my account?'
But there was no way the organization would consider such personal circumstances.
Especially not now, after they'd eliminated everyone else, including the Minister.
'What are the odds that our department—already dismissed as a sinecure—even survives?'
Honestly, unless the Tower Master came rushing over this instant, I'd rate it at zero.
In the midst of my spiraling thoughts, Crown Prince Kiaros called my name slowly.
"Namia Loapi."
"Yes, please speak."
Just as I was intensely contemplating my employment security, an unexpectedly personal question was lobbed at me.
"I heard you grew up in the Southern Region as a child. Did you perhaps visit the Library often?"
"...Yes?"
The Library?
Why would that suddenly come up here?
I blinked in surprise.
"Well... yes. My father couldn't look after me because of his work, so he would often leave me at the Library."
Then the Empress quickly interjected.
"You turned out well despite everything, with a stubborn old man for a father and a worthless woman for a mother. Actually, my parents' situation was pretty terrible too. I suppose we're fated to be connected."
"Thank you. I'm delighted that you see us as connected."
I offered a polite bow, and the Empress patted my head with satisfaction.
Crown Prince Kiaros cleared his throat once and continued.
"Then, did you perhaps study scrolls there as well? And craft them?"
"Ah, yes. I would read books there and make scrolls."
Then the Empress quickly interjected again.
"Playing with scrolls since childhood! I've been wielding wooden swords since I was little! We're really quite similar! Hahahaha!"
"Thank you. I'm delighted that you see us as similar."
I offered a polite bow, and the Empress laughed heartily once more with satisfaction.
Crown Prince Kiaros cleared his throat twice.
Then he wedged himself between the Empress and me and continued speaking.
"Then, is it possible you once saved a young boy there?"
"...Yes?"
"Using a defensive scroll through a window, deflecting a dagger?"
In that instant, the atmosphere at our table shifted strangely.
I too felt something stir in my memory.
'Of course I haven't forgotten!'
After that incident, I never went back to the Library.
It was even the first day I had ever activated a scroll in front of others.
[This... this actually works?]
I think I might have muttered something like that.
I blinked and stumbled over my words.
"Could it be... could it possibly be...?"
The dagger that had flown into the Library Garden.
The hooded boy who had been with that burly knight.
"The person I saved using a defensive scroll in that library..."
I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand.
"The one who told me to come to Count Kalto's Residence later..."
When I mentioned Count Kalto's Residence precisely, a flash of certain astonishment crossed Crown Prince Kiaros's eyes.
'My goodness, that arrogant brat I saved was the Crown Prince?'
At that time, the Emperor and Crown Prince had definitely been in the Southern Region.
Crown Prince Kiaros would have been around ten years old...
'The original work even mentioned that Crown Prince Kiaros's first dark period occurred at age ten!'
If the dark period had struck right then, it made sense that he couldn't prepare for assassination.
Hiding his identity beneath the hood made sense too.
I trembled as I thought of Huan Loapi Sr.
'My goodness... Father...'
On that dark night, the words Father had spoken while holding me close were vivid.
That earnest and warm voice overflowing with tenderness...
[Besides, receiving a few coins won't change the situation anyway.]
As I recalled that moment, pain seized my heart as if someone were squeezing it.
As if I were experiencing breathlessness.
'How could someone lack intuition to such an extent...'
Regret beyond words came flooding in.
'I should have gone to Count Kalto's Residence no matter what!'
A few coins!
I had saved the Crown Prince!
If I had gone there then, I probably could have paid off all the loan shark debts and had money left over!
So I couldn't even register the marriage and ended up marrying someone like Namia's Mother...
"...Why didn't you come to Count Kalto's Residence?"
Crown Prince Kiaros asked in a hoarse voice.
Countless emotions swirled in his crimson eyes.
Everything felt unreal, as if I were floating.
"Really... really, you're... that..."
That was when it happened.
"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness, goodness, goodness! Is it really you? You're the one who saved us?"
The Empress shot to her feet.
"How can I possibly meet my savior like this! What kind of fate is this!"
She blocked Crown Prince Kiaros's view and lifted me high into the air with a sudden hug.
My vision spun dizzily again.
"XX! We really must be soulmates destined by heaven!"
The Empress spoke excitedly, her words tumbling out in a rush.
"I don't usually believe in such things, but you've saved me twice! This can't possibly be just an ordinary connection, right? Right? Right?"
As she excitedly tossed and caught me repeatedly, my mind became completely dizzy.
Even as the world spun around me, I asked urgently.
"Your Majesty the Empress? What do you mean by that...."
"It's me, me! Fifteen years ago, that knight who was there—that was me!"
She squeezed me so tightly I thought I might break, stamping her feet enthusiastically.
Tears glistened in her eyes as she cried out.
"The one left alone beside the Crown Prince! The guard who nearly died from that dagger strike!"
"...Then... that, that, large-framed, muscular knight couldn't possibly be...."
I opened my eyes wide in shock.
The knight who had remained there was the Empress?!
"That's right! I nearly died there!"
The Empress patted my back enthusiastically as she spoke.
"If you hadn't used that scroll, the poison would have spread to my heart and I wouldn't have survived!"
"Cough, cough...."
"Unbelievable, incredible, amazing!"
She marveled at this revelation with unbridled excitement.
"Twice, twice! There's definitely something between us! Wow, wow, wow, wooow!"
"Cough, cough, cough.... Cough."
"I'm so happy to meet you like this! I've been curious about you all this time! I've been living the life you saved so well! Even becoming an Empress I never dreamed of!"
The Empress bounced around excitedly and now hoisted me onto her back.
"Ahem, ahem!"
Crown Prince Kiaros looked bewildered as he watched me and the Empress, then cleared his throat.
"Actually, the person who saved Miss Namia Loapi twice is me...."
"Ah, I see. Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Only then did the Empress regain her composure and set me down.
And she spoke with perfect propriety.
"Thank you so much for helping me find my benefactor, Your Highness. Did The Ravens succeed in their investigation?"
From this, I could tell that the Empress simply chose not to use proper etiquette rather than being unable to.
Perhaps because they had once been in a master-servant relationship, the Empress and Crown Prince Kiaros maintained formal distance, using respectful language with each other.
Crown Prince Kiaros sighed deeply before answering.
"She is my benefactor. And this fact wasn't discovered only by The Ravens...."
He then pulled my arm, which hung awkwardly as I descended from the Empress's back, and guided me to sit in the empty space again.
"I deduced it while investigating Miss Namia Loapi."
"Hmm? You've already investigated her background? That of the virtuous, unfortunate, and ordinary Miss Namia Loapi?"
Crown Prince Kiaros hesitated briefly at the Empress's words before responding.
"I-it's s-suspicious," I stammered.
"Pardon?"
"I-it is suspicious, is it not? E-everything has been resolved, but...."
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
Crown Prince Kiaros's intuition was remarkable.
I had moved with genuine caution, yet after recovering my memories of my past life, I had indeed behaved differently from my usual self.
'After all, it's true that I possess secrets no one else knows!'
As a dragon, Crown Prince Kiaros's instincts would naturally be formidable.
I wondered if that was why he sensed an incongruity I myself couldn't perceive.
"Ah, yes. That's certainly possible."
I answered respectfully.
"If Your Highness deems it suspicious and wishes to investigate, I shall cooperate fully. I believe such action serves the peace of the Empire."
Then the Empress waved her hand and spoke.
"Still, I shall take Namia's side until concrete evidence emerges. She is a talent who has saved the Imperial Family multiple times...."
"Ahem!"
Crown Prince Kiaros coughed urgently again.
"I have found my benefactor, Your Majesty. I raised this matter to express my gratitude. My own feelings are no less than Your Majesty's, and I fear being underestimated."
"Ah, yes. Forgive my rudeness, Your Highness."
The Empress bowed respectfully at Crown Prince Kiaros's words.
She even extended her hand toward me, gesturing as though presenting me.
"Now, do offer your thanks."
And as if troubled by his remark about fearing underestimation, she quickly added politely:
"Um... well... more earnestly than I did. Naturally, Your Highness is capable of that, yes?"
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