I never thought that time would really stop for the servants.
That was amazing, but what was even more amazing was that only Duke Lucien and I did not stop time.
“I didn’t know you were good at magic.”
“Oh, I’m not that good at it. I needed some help from someone like that.”
That kind of person?
“The sandglass only has 30 minutes left, so it’s a shame we’ll have to play a one-shot game.”
Duke Lucien muttered regretfully and took out the chessboard and pieces from his magic pouch.
Do you usually carry something like that around?
If a normal person did that, it would have seemed strange, but since it was the Duke of Lucien, it made sense.
Duke Lucien and I sat across from each other at the chessboard.
I mean black, the Duke of Lucien was white.
“I was supposed to go first, but I’ll give way to Miss Adele.”
“Okay.”
My pride was slightly hurt by the sarcastic remark, but I didn't decline because winning was more important than protecting my pride right now.
The game was played in an ironic situation where one had to be careful because it was a one-shot match, but there was not much time to think.
I moved my chess pieces carefully, remembering the time when Perdes and the Duke of Lucien played chess.
Thanks to that, I had the upper hand in the beginning, but I gradually fell behind.
Rather than attacking, they were only focused on blocking.
"Check."
When I finally got checked, I bit my lip.
It wasn't checkmate, so it could be stopped for now, but the problem came after that.
If I just avoid it, I'll get checked again and eventually lose. What should I do?
“If we don’t hurry, time will run out, and the game will be over. Is that okay?”
As I was struggling to figure out how to do it, the Duke of Lucien taunted me and scratched my insides.
“I know that too, so keep your mouth shut.”
I could hear an unpleasant laugh above my head, but I didn't have time to pay attention.
How can I defeat the Duke of Lucien?
What would Perdes have done?
"Move the king one space forward."
“...!”
The moment I heard Perdes' voice, I was startled and turned around.
But he was nowhere to be seen, only the servants had fallen while time had stopped.
“Why is that?”
“No, nothing.”
Did I hear that wrong?
I shook my head and looked down at the chessboard again.
I don't know if it was a hallucination or if I really heard Perdes' voice, but let's give it a try.
Since there was no other way, I moved the king.
"Check."
Duke Lucien moved his rook as if he had been waiting and attacked again.
Block it with Nitro.
Then, Perdes' voice was heard again.
It wasn't a mistake.
White Rook will eat that and shout check again.
"Check."
You can eat it as a bishop.
I don't know what happened, but I moved the chess pieces as Perdes said.
I was still worried because it seemed like they were moving too defensively without being able to launch a proper attack.
Move the bishop 3 squares up the left diagonal, and checkmate.
“Check... mate.”
How did I get checkmate?
I couldn't believe it, even though I had moved the chess pieces myself, so I stared blankly at the chess board.
The same was true for the Duke of Lucien.
His shaking eyes quickly rolled around and scanned the chess board.
It seemed like he couldn't admit that he was checkmate and was looking for a way out.
But no matter how you looked at it, it was a perfect checkmate. There was no way out.
"Ha."
Duke Lucien finally admitted the fact and laughed in vain, raising both hands to shoulder height.
“I lost.”
I won.
Although it wasn't a victory achieved entirely by my own efforts, I was still elated at the fact that I had defeated the Duke of Lucien.
“I won, so you will keep your promise to help me get revenge on the Emperor.”
“Of course I have to keep it.”
The Duke of Lucien took another hourglass and a red key from his pocket.
“I have seen how to use this hourglass myself, so I don’t need to explain it to you.”
The Duke of Lucien waved a red key before my eyes.
“Use this key to enter the Duke’s basement. Then you will find a way to take revenge on the Emperor.”
I thought I had seen this key somewhere, but it was exactly the same as the one my mother used to hold.
Was that the key to the basement?
But why...
“Is this what you’re holding?”
“I got it.”
“To whom?”
“That’s your father.”
...What?
“The hourglass I am using now was given to me by the former Duke Leopold. I have also received many other things.”
“It really helped a lot,” the Duke of Lucien added jokingly.
“What does that mean?”
But I couldn't laugh.
“When and why did my father give you this?”
“If you ask when, it was the day that the late Duke Leopold won the chess competition. If you ask why, it was when I helped Miss Adele.”
It was a fairly friendly answer, but I still didn't understand it.
As I was reconsidering and interpreting what he had said, the Duke of Lucien picked up the hourglass that had been placed on the floor.
“There’s about 3 minutes left on the effect. I should leave before the effect wears off, in case I get hurt.”
"For a moment...!"
There were still many things I wanted to ask him.
I couldn't let the Duke of Lucien go like this, so I grabbed his arm.
That was amazing, but what was even more amazing was that only Duke Lucien and I did not stop time.
“I didn’t know you were good at magic.”
“Oh, I’m not that good at it. I needed some help from someone like that.”
That kind of person?
“The sandglass only has 30 minutes left, so it’s a shame we’ll have to play a one-shot game.”
Duke Lucien muttered regretfully and took out the chessboard and pieces from his magic pouch.
Do you usually carry something like that around?
If a normal person did that, it would have seemed strange, but since it was the Duke of Lucien, it made sense.
Duke Lucien and I sat across from each other at the chessboard.
I mean black, the Duke of Lucien was white.
“I was supposed to go first, but I’ll give way to Miss Adele.”
“Okay.”
My pride was slightly hurt by the sarcastic remark, but I didn't decline because winning was more important than protecting my pride right now.
***
The game was played in an ironic situation where one had to be careful because it was a one-shot match, but there was not much time to think.
I moved my chess pieces carefully, remembering the time when Perdes and the Duke of Lucien played chess.
Thanks to that, I had the upper hand in the beginning, but I gradually fell behind.
Rather than attacking, they were only focused on blocking.
"Check."
When I finally got checked, I bit my lip.
It wasn't checkmate, so it could be stopped for now, but the problem came after that.
If I just avoid it, I'll get checked again and eventually lose. What should I do?
“If we don’t hurry, time will run out, and the game will be over. Is that okay?”
As I was struggling to figure out how to do it, the Duke of Lucien taunted me and scratched my insides.
“I know that too, so keep your mouth shut.”
I could hear an unpleasant laugh above my head, but I didn't have time to pay attention.
How can I defeat the Duke of Lucien?
What would Perdes have done?
"Move the king one space forward."
“...!”
The moment I heard Perdes' voice, I was startled and turned around.
But he was nowhere to be seen, only the servants had fallen while time had stopped.
“Why is that?”
“No, nothing.”
Did I hear that wrong?
I shook my head and looked down at the chessboard again.
I don't know if it was a hallucination or if I really heard Perdes' voice, but let's give it a try.
Since there was no other way, I moved the king.
"Check."
Duke Lucien moved his rook as if he had been waiting and attacked again.
Block it with Nitro.
Then, Perdes' voice was heard again.
It wasn't a mistake.
White Rook will eat that and shout check again.
"Check."
You can eat it as a bishop.
I don't know what happened, but I moved the chess pieces as Perdes said.
I was still worried because it seemed like they were moving too defensively without being able to launch a proper attack.
Move the bishop 3 squares up the left diagonal, and checkmate.
“Check... mate.”
How did I get checkmate?
I couldn't believe it, even though I had moved the chess pieces myself, so I stared blankly at the chess board.
The same was true for the Duke of Lucien.
His shaking eyes quickly rolled around and scanned the chess board.
It seemed like he couldn't admit that he was checkmate and was looking for a way out.
But no matter how you looked at it, it was a perfect checkmate. There was no way out.
"Ha."
Duke Lucien finally admitted the fact and laughed in vain, raising both hands to shoulder height.
“I lost.”
I won.
Although it wasn't a victory achieved entirely by my own efforts, I was still elated at the fact that I had defeated the Duke of Lucien.
“I won, so you will keep your promise to help me get revenge on the Emperor.”
“Of course I have to keep it.”
The Duke of Lucien took another hourglass and a red key from his pocket.
“I have seen how to use this hourglass myself, so I don’t need to explain it to you.”
The Duke of Lucien waved a red key before my eyes.
“Use this key to enter the Duke’s basement. Then you will find a way to take revenge on the Emperor.”
I thought I had seen this key somewhere, but it was exactly the same as the one my mother used to hold.
Was that the key to the basement?
But why...
“Is this what you’re holding?”
“I got it.”
“To whom?”
“That’s your father.”
...What?
“The hourglass I am using now was given to me by the former Duke Leopold. I have also received many other things.”
“It really helped a lot,” the Duke of Lucien added jokingly.
“What does that mean?”
But I couldn't laugh.
“When and why did my father give you this?”
“If you ask when, it was the day that the late Duke Leopold won the chess competition. If you ask why, it was when I helped Miss Adele.”
It was a fairly friendly answer, but I still didn't understand it.
As I was reconsidering and interpreting what he had said, the Duke of Lucien picked up the hourglass that had been placed on the floor.
“There’s about 3 minutes left on the effect. I should leave before the effect wears off, in case I get hurt.”
"For a moment...!"
There were still many things I wanted to ask him.
I couldn't let the Duke of Lucien go like this, so I grabbed his arm.
Pop-
No, I tried to catch him, but I couldn't because the Duke of Lucien disappeared into smoke.
What kind of magic is this?
While I was hesitating in bewilderment, the servants who had awakened from the magic of time came towards me again, groaning.
I hurriedly turned the hourglass I received from the Duke of Lucien.
Once again, the servants who were under the spell of time were frozen in place.
This hourglass has a short shelf life, so the sand runs out quickly.
It'll be annoying when the effect wears off, so let's go to the basement quickly.
I buried my regret at having just let the Duke of Lucien go and hurried to the basement.
As soon as I entered the basement, all the sand in the hourglass fell out.
You timed it just right. That's a relief.
I put the hourglass in my pocket and went into the basement.
The outer door to the basement had no keyhole, but the inner door had one.
Before I put the key in the hole, I opened the door and checked inside.
The room was just as I had seen it before.
The Emperor and Byblos were not seen.
Even if the Emperor was like that, it was a little strange that Byblos, who must have definitely been here, was not seen.
“Where are you?”
I checked all the way to the inner room where the sword was, but Byblos was nowhere to be seen.
Since it's come to this, I guess I'll have to start by using the key I received from Duke Lucien.
I went back outside and put the red key in the keyhole.
There was a click, a clicking sound, and the key turned on its own.
My mouth became dry as the tension built up.
I moistened my dry lips with my tongue and slowly opened the door.
When I opened the door, a bright light came out, unlike before.
The light was so intense that it blinded me for a moment.
I covered my eyes with the back of my hand and waited for a moment, and the light gradually disappeared.
As the view soon expanded, an unbelievable sight appeared.
“This is... Dad’s office.”
To be precise, it was Duke Leopold's office in the Duke Leopold's residence in the capital.
This is what my old office looked like, but now I can't see it because I completely changed the interior.
As I was blankly looking around in disbelief at the situation, what caught my eye was the calendar on the desk.
The date on the calendar was about ten years ago.
The documents placed next to it were also from 10 years ago.
“Have I regressed again?”
No, that can't be.
If I didn't die, there's no way I could have regressed.
So, how should we interpret this situation?
Could it be that the red key that Duke Lucien gave me took me back to the past?
If so, why?
As I continued to look around for some clues, the door to the office opened.
The person who opened the door and came in was.
"Dad...?"
My dad looked younger than when I last saw him.
I thought I would never see my living, breathing father again, but seeing him again like this made me feel so emotional that I could hardly breathe. Tears welled up in my eyes, and my vision became blurry.
If it had stayed like this, I would have cried like an idiot.
“Who are you?”
Fortunately, that was prevented by what my father said next.
“Who are you to be in an office where no one has an owner?”
“Who do you think I am?”
I asked back, because it was hard to believe that it was really 10 years ago now that I was your daughter.
Then my father looked at me carefully, stroking his chin as if he was a little embarrassed.
“Hmm, now that I think about it, you kind of resemble my daughter.”
“It’s not that we look alike, we’re the same person. Because I'm your daughter.”
His fresh green eyes, just like mine, grew wide.
I walked quickly to my father and showed him the sword I had on my waist as I continued speaking.
“Ten years later, after my father died, I am Adele Leopold, my father’s daughter who inherited the throne of Duke Leopold.”
No, I tried to catch him, but I couldn't because the Duke of Lucien disappeared into smoke.
What kind of magic is this?
While I was hesitating in bewilderment, the servants who had awakened from the magic of time came towards me again, groaning.
I hurriedly turned the hourglass I received from the Duke of Lucien.
Once again, the servants who were under the spell of time were frozen in place.
This hourglass has a short shelf life, so the sand runs out quickly.
It'll be annoying when the effect wears off, so let's go to the basement quickly.
I buried my regret at having just let the Duke of Lucien go and hurried to the basement.
***
As soon as I entered the basement, all the sand in the hourglass fell out.
You timed it just right. That's a relief.
I put the hourglass in my pocket and went into the basement.
The outer door to the basement had no keyhole, but the inner door had one.
Before I put the key in the hole, I opened the door and checked inside.
The room was just as I had seen it before.
The Emperor and Byblos were not seen.
Even if the Emperor was like that, it was a little strange that Byblos, who must have definitely been here, was not seen.
“Where are you?”
I checked all the way to the inner room where the sword was, but Byblos was nowhere to be seen.
Since it's come to this, I guess I'll have to start by using the key I received from Duke Lucien.
I went back outside and put the red key in the keyhole.
There was a click, a clicking sound, and the key turned on its own.
My mouth became dry as the tension built up.
I moistened my dry lips with my tongue and slowly opened the door.
When I opened the door, a bright light came out, unlike before.
The light was so intense that it blinded me for a moment.
I covered my eyes with the back of my hand and waited for a moment, and the light gradually disappeared.
As the view soon expanded, an unbelievable sight appeared.
“This is... Dad’s office.”
To be precise, it was Duke Leopold's office in the Duke Leopold's residence in the capital.
This is what my old office looked like, but now I can't see it because I completely changed the interior.
As I was blankly looking around in disbelief at the situation, what caught my eye was the calendar on the desk.
The date on the calendar was about ten years ago.
The documents placed next to it were also from 10 years ago.
“Have I regressed again?”
No, that can't be.
If I didn't die, there's no way I could have regressed.
So, how should we interpret this situation?
Could it be that the red key that Duke Lucien gave me took me back to the past?
If so, why?
As I continued to look around for some clues, the door to the office opened.
The person who opened the door and came in was.
"Dad...?"
My dad looked younger than when I last saw him.
I thought I would never see my living, breathing father again, but seeing him again like this made me feel so emotional that I could hardly breathe. Tears welled up in my eyes, and my vision became blurry.
If it had stayed like this, I would have cried like an idiot.
“Who are you?”
Fortunately, that was prevented by what my father said next.
“Who are you to be in an office where no one has an owner?”
“Who do you think I am?”
I asked back, because it was hard to believe that it was really 10 years ago now that I was your daughter.
Then my father looked at me carefully, stroking his chin as if he was a little embarrassed.
“Hmm, now that I think about it, you kind of resemble my daughter.”
“It’s not that we look alike, we’re the same person. Because I'm your daughter.”
His fresh green eyes, just like mine, grew wide.
I walked quickly to my father and showed him the sword I had on my waist as I continued speaking.
“Ten years later, after my father died, I am Adele Leopold, my father’s daughter who inherited the throne of Duke Leopold.”
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