The Returnee Wants Peace

“Nullification? Tell me more about it.”

Rosha abruptly stopped walking and turned to face Nardil.

She knew that there was no way to escape a prohibition without touching the caster, so even if it was only partial, how could it be nullified?

It was hard to believe.

However, the prince who met her eyes seemed a bit sulky.

“I don’t know the details either. But I’ve seen the shaman who came to the Empire with me nullify part of a prohibition before. But you… aren’t you being too obvious?”

“What?”

“You’re only reacting to words that are helpful to you now. I’ve been waiting for you to return for a good twenty days, and I feel a bit hurt.”

Nardil turned his head and crossed his arms.

Despite it being winter, his thick, muscular arms stood out under the shirt he wore as his only upper garment.

‘…Is he sulking?’

Well, after meeting Nardil at the hunting competition, there was the Emperor, and then the monster. A lot had happened, so she hadn’t been able to pay proper attention.

Rosha, who had slowly moved to where Nardil’s head was turned, asked:

“Prince, are you sulking?”

“Sulking? Don’t you know it’s an insult to royalty to use such a word carelessly?”

“But you won’t report me for insulting royalty, right?”

He was definitely sulking. Judging by how his lemon-colored eyes were avoiding her and staring at a corner of the mansion.

She continued, trying to suppress the laughter that was threatening to escape.

“I didn’t mean to neglect you… If you felt that way, I’m sorry. As an apology, may I tell you about what happened in the rift this time?”

“Hmm…”

“It’s a story I haven’t even told His Majesty the Emperor yet.”

Adding this seemed to pique his interest.

Although his body was already turned towards her, he still wasn’t looking at her out of pride, which made Rosha burst into clear laughter.

Every time she dealt with Nardil, she felt that he had quite a cute side that didn’t match his physique.

“…I’m only giving in to you this once.”

Nardil, who was now staring blankly at her face, added unnecessarily.

* * *

Since the original corridor was frequently used by servants, they headed to a secluded corner of the garden.

“So… where should I start?”

After confirming that there was no one around, Rosha began carefully.

The scene of an ancient era spread out inside the huge rift, an unknown trial, and even the conversation with the Scriptwriter at the last moment.

However, she didn’t mention meeting Hajin there.

‘Froy said it would be better to hide anything related to the previous world as much as possible.’

Rosha agreed. It was a sensitive topic after all.

Fortunately, Nardil didn’t sense anything particularly strange.

“A traitor… I think it might be a clue about the occurrence of the trials. I’ll look into it too.”

“If you find out anything, you must tell me.”

“Alright. Oh, and I’ll ask about the method to nullify the prohibition and let you know soon. My companions are staying in the Imperial capital anyway.”

“Thank you, Prince.”

The conversation seemed to end well.

If only Berri hadn’t spotted her outside in the middle of it.

“Oh my, Miss! How can you be out in the cold wind in this winter when you’re so frail!”

Berri, leaning her upper body out the window, shouted with a surprised face. It was quite a bold action despite the prince being there.

“No, that’s…”

“Koko, you should have stopped her!”

Koko, who was riding his twenty-sixth slide on a nearby snow pile made by the servants, was unfairly blamed.

She tried to say it was fine because she was wearing a cape that regulated body temperature, but it was no use.

Berri immediately put Rosha in her room, wrapped her in blankets, and served hot tea.

“Oh, Prince, you should have at least taken off your outer garment and put it on her shoulders.”

“…He was wearing just a shirt without an outer garment.”

“Oh my, oh my. Was he? But… isn’t that better?”

Though she was overreacting, it was largely Rosha’s fault that Berri was so sensitive about her physical condition.

After making her healthy by giving her medicine several times, she returned weak again, and she always ran away because it was bothersome.

‘It’s all my karma.’

At least Nardil was understanding about Berri’s actions.

At that moment, Berri began in a subtle voice:

“So, Miss, which one is it?”

“What?”

“The one you’re dating. Between the Prince and Duke Echerzen… Surely you’re not seeing both of them?”

“…Is that all you can think about?”

“Then are you saying it’s neither of them?”

Normally, she would have immediately denied it with ‘Yes, it’s neither.’

However, just as she was about to reply, she remembered what Froy had murmured.

-I don’t know how this will sound, but if there’s such a thing as a past life… I think we might have been a cherished couple.

Well. For some reason…

Those words, his actions, kept lingering in her mind.

Feeling a bit guilty about denying it, Rosha kept her mouth shut and just sipped her tea.

* * *

Since they had returned to the capital mansion late in the afternoon after the hunting competition ended, the sun set quickly.

Winter days are short.

In other words, it meant that the time promised with Froy was almost here.

On a serene night where the thickly piled snow shimmered softly.

The ring on her finger gradually heated up, asserting its presence.

Rosha fiddled with the ring that maintained a temperature between warmth and heat, watching the space in the room open up.

The sight of Froy coming is beautiful.

Through the space created by the displaced magical particles that had been maintaining an appropriate distance, the handsome man elegantly walked out as if passing through a door.

‘He probably came through that empty mansion.’

Froy walking through the corridor there would have had an expressionless face. Unlike now.

“Your gaze is intense. Why, did you miss me?”

The man asked with a curled lip, noticing Rosha staring at him.

As she hurriedly averted her gaze, he continued nonchalantly.

“I missed you.”

At times like this, she didn’t know how to respond.

Moreover, he would casually move on to the next topic, always making her miss the timing to reply.

“Fortunately, there’s no one around. I’ll start with the most important story.”

“…What is it?”

“It’s about the man we met in the recent rift. The man who was your old companion.”

The flutter in her chest was momentary, immediately focusing on the words from his mouth. Was he talking about Hajin now?

“You probably didn’t know because you fainted for a moment, but he said something.”

“What did he say?”

“You probably know this too, but he said they were clearing the ‘unknown trials’ that open beyond the huge rifts.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“But when they clear the trials, they said they sometimes get attacked by unidentified people. They call them ‘interferers’, he said.”

…Interferers?

‘I feel like I’ve heard this word somewhere before.’

Rosha quickly retraced her memories. She soon remembered where she had heard it.

In the Emperor’s secret warehouse, when she falsely agreed to cooperate with the Emperor.

She had definitely heard something like this in passing.

-There is actually a task I would like your assistance with. It may be difficult presently, but if you get the chance later, I’d like you to deal with the interferers who defy my will.

-They’ll probably be people you don’t know, usually inside the rifts.

It was chilling how well this matched up.

But Froy’s words didn’t end there.

“So…”