That's what my senior said back then.
If you don't win my heart, you will die.
If you turn this around, it means, 'I die because you don't love me.'
At the time, I was so shocked by my senior's true identity that I couldn't even move on from it.
What was more shocking than my senior's death was the fact that Shish couldn't forget me. If he hadn't appeared in my dreams, there's a good chance I wouldn't have come back here, so I don't blame him.
But did he really mean it when he said he would rather die than not have my love?
Weren't you always prepared to come back here?
“Junior, why are you saying that?”
The senior looked aggrieved.
"I truly love my junior. At first, it was just curiosity. But the feelings that arose after seeing you up close are affection."
"I'm not denying your feelings, senior. What you did for me was a favor, and I know it wasn't easy."
Rather, when I'm angry, I talk more easily.
“But isn’t that affection something that requires a price?”
“What does that mean?”
"I have to respond to my seniors' feelings. Or, I have to be in your palm."
The senior's eyes narrowed.
“I’m the object of your affection, so I should be in your arms.”
Like the First Emperor's concubine, who was imprisoned in the Rose Palace.
“Junior.”
“You know me well, sir. Yes, I was lonely.”
I kept my distance to avoid getting hurt, and little by little, I forgot what my true feelings were.
My senior dug into the loneliness I always felt, always on the outside.
With his appearance resembling the Crown Prince, his consideration and kindness resembling my senior, and his high level of understanding of me, I couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for him.
“But I didn’t come here because I was lonely.”
I came not to solve my loneliness, but because of my natural desire to see someone.
"I am..."
Why did I come here?
I made the excuse that it was to prevent my senior from dying, but I know there was a bigger reason than that.
As always, I pretended not to hear what my true heart was saying, and only when I was in an urgent situation was I able to face it.
“I came here to make the person I love happy.”
After I said what my heart told me to say, I realized it was sincere.
Shish, I thought you would be happy to meet the heroine when I was gone.
But you seemed unhappy, unable to forget me. I came because I felt you were restless, searching for me. So, somehow, I could make you happy.
And now I realize.
I need to be there for your happiness.
As I finished speaking and started to grumble, my senior looked at me intently.
"Yes, junior. Let me ask you one thing."
As soon as my senior gestured, the knights let go of me and stepped back.
“You liked me before you met the Prime Minister, didn’t you?”
Hearing this question, I could understand why my senior had been so aggrieved. He must have been under the mistaken impression that I liked him.
My senior was a public good, but he never once caused me to become the subject of gossip. There wasn't even a rumor that I was flirting with him.
Some people have even been criticized for constantly pushing and pulling.
I had positive feelings toward my senior, but I always kept the line.
“No. I’ve never once had a romantic relationship with you.”
"I don't understand. Junior, you've always been kind to me. You just treat me differently from other people. So—"
My senior shook his head, seemingly confused, as he recounted my actions toward him. After calmly listening to the whole story, I corrected his misconceptions.
“Senior, I-...”
The senior's face distorted as he heard the story that followed.
“Really?”
"Yes."
I smiled bitterly, looking into the confused silver eyes.
“Senior, it seems like neither of us has ever been in a relationship.”
My senior was completely under the illusion that I liked him, and I couldn't even speak in front of the person I really liked.
“Even taking that into account, my senior did many things wrong to me.”
“What kind?”
"You fueled my guilt. You made me think, 'I'm the reason you're in such a difficult situation.'"
He'd already been taken aback, and when I spoke out so bluntly, he lost control of his expression. Sadly, he'd been deliberately poking me in the face.
There were many things I wanted to discuss, but there was no time right now.
“Anyway, don’t stop me anymore.”
"For a moment!"
My senior stopped me as I was trying to push the knight away.
“If you’re going to Magic Tower, do this.”
He took a necklace out of his bosom and put it on me.
“It’s Aegis’ shield.”
Aegis's shield is one of the holy relics, like Dietrich's sword.
The words "I should have given this to Shish a long time ago" rose to the tip of my tongue, but instead of answering, I left the Crown Prince's palace. I clutched the damned dress and headed for Rose Palace.
Even when I didn't know he was the Crown Prince, I liked him because he reminded me of the Crown Prince.
I've been wanting to be that kind of person for a very long time.
The affectionate Crown Prince, who never gave in to any hardship, was a person I admired.
Arriving at the Rose Palace, I opened the study door without even taking a breath.
“Freisia!”
“Tri?”
“Please lend me your clothes. And the Second Princess’s shoes too.”
“Are you going to see His Excellency? Wait!”
The Youngest Princess, who had been vehemently opposed to her brother's connection with me, ran out of the Rose Palace excitedly.
In the meantime, I gathered the necessary items, including the magic stone, and Freisia soon appeared.
“The carriage is already waiting in front, so let’s go!”
“Just a moment, I have to stop by somewhere before that.”
All magic circles leading to the Magic Tower are currently disconnected. If I were to wave my hand near the Magic Tower, it would be fortunate if they pretended not to see me.
"Then how do we enter the Magic Tower? There's absolutely no way to enter without Yuno's permission."
I rolled all the knowledge I knew.
“I need a clue...”
“Tri?”
“First, I need to stop by the Ministry of the Interior, that is, the Prime Minister’s office.”
After Yuno told me that Milan had installed a wiretapping device near him, Shish burned everything of importance.
There's no way they would have left anything related to killing Yuno there, where they believed there was a security breach.
Considering Shish's personality, it's unlikely he left anything behind in his office, but I went there to at least find a clue.
“Tri? You said you had to go to the Ministry of the Interior?”
When I suddenly stopped, Freisia grabbed my arm and shook it.
I don't know why Shish volunteered to be the sacrifice, but since he went there himself, he likely left no traces.
Then how about on the magic tower...
"Tri, what's wrong? Don't worry about the knights guarding the Ministry of the Interior. I can take care of them."
"Other than that, I thought of another good idea. Thank you, Freisia."
Leaving the bewildered Princess behind, I returned to the Rose Palace and boarded the carriage waiting in front.
“Let’s go to Atla’s Hill, quickly!”
The outside of the palace was surprisingly quiet. Perhaps the ominous atmosphere was keeping people from venturing outside as much as possible.
The male protagonists called me there, and my senior and I also ended up there.
- There's a crack.
I can almost hear Yuno's annoyed voice, her face crumpled.
A crack leading to another place in the perfectly perfect Magic Tower—I didn't describe it, nor did I imagine it. This world has been twisted for so long, I know it's not something I should be concerned about.
But what bothered me was that it was Tower Master that the strange symptoms started to appear.
If the original story was 'normal', then I'm the one who destroys this story.
The book my senior gave me said that if you weren't a major character in the story, you'd be eliminated. It also said that the "story" itself has a compulsive need to follow its original flow, and that it tries to eliminate anyone who interferes with that flow.
I am the one who must be eliminated because I have caused confusion among the male protagonists.
If that's the case, then the palace should be losing its function, but the problem is the Magic Tower. With Yuno now in Titiana's hands, the problem will likely persist.
As we reached the Atla's hill, something strange appeared as if it had torn the air.
"Ah."
I'm pretty sure that's a crack.
I don't know where the crack ends, so even Yuno was quite nervous, but I have nothing to fear.
“I am the main character.”
I am the central axis.
Shish, you can't die.
I came here to see you.
I took out the magic item that Yuno had given me before and headed into the crack.
Shish followed Titiana's lead and headed to the 57th floor of the Magic Tower. He'd been here before, but he looked around as if he were seeing it for the first time.
“What a strange place.”
"It's the center of the Magic Tower. That thing over there is Yuno's heart, and they say it contains tremendous magical power."
Titiana clung to Shish, boasting that she had something great to tell him.
“Yes, since you brought me here, now do...”
But the sentence was left hanging without being finished.
“I was worried that the medicine might not work, but fortunately it didn’t.”
Shish smiled and hugged Titiana. Thanks to this woman, he was able to easily break through the strict barrier on the 57th floor.
Now there was only one obstacle left: the shield surrounding the heart.
The moment Shish grabbed Titiana's arm and tried to bring her to the barrier, one side of the wall was breached with a loud noise.
If you don't win my heart, you will die.
If you turn this around, it means, 'I die because you don't love me.'
At the time, I was so shocked by my senior's true identity that I couldn't even move on from it.
What was more shocking than my senior's death was the fact that Shish couldn't forget me. If he hadn't appeared in my dreams, there's a good chance I wouldn't have come back here, so I don't blame him.
But did he really mean it when he said he would rather die than not have my love?
Weren't you always prepared to come back here?
“Junior, why are you saying that?”
The senior looked aggrieved.
"I truly love my junior. At first, it was just curiosity. But the feelings that arose after seeing you up close are affection."
"I'm not denying your feelings, senior. What you did for me was a favor, and I know it wasn't easy."
Rather, when I'm angry, I talk more easily.
“But isn’t that affection something that requires a price?”
“What does that mean?”
"I have to respond to my seniors' feelings. Or, I have to be in your palm."
The senior's eyes narrowed.
“I’m the object of your affection, so I should be in your arms.”
Like the First Emperor's concubine, who was imprisoned in the Rose Palace.
“Junior.”
“You know me well, sir. Yes, I was lonely.”
I kept my distance to avoid getting hurt, and little by little, I forgot what my true feelings were.
My senior dug into the loneliness I always felt, always on the outside.
With his appearance resembling the Crown Prince, his consideration and kindness resembling my senior, and his high level of understanding of me, I couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for him.
“But I didn’t come here because I was lonely.”
I came not to solve my loneliness, but because of my natural desire to see someone.
"I am..."
Why did I come here?
I made the excuse that it was to prevent my senior from dying, but I know there was a bigger reason than that.
As always, I pretended not to hear what my true heart was saying, and only when I was in an urgent situation was I able to face it.
“I came here to make the person I love happy.”
After I said what my heart told me to say, I realized it was sincere.
Shish, I thought you would be happy to meet the heroine when I was gone.
But you seemed unhappy, unable to forget me. I came because I felt you were restless, searching for me. So, somehow, I could make you happy.
And now I realize.
I need to be there for your happiness.
As I finished speaking and started to grumble, my senior looked at me intently.
"Yes, junior. Let me ask you one thing."
As soon as my senior gestured, the knights let go of me and stepped back.
“You liked me before you met the Prime Minister, didn’t you?”
Hearing this question, I could understand why my senior had been so aggrieved. He must have been under the mistaken impression that I liked him.
My senior was a public good, but he never once caused me to become the subject of gossip. There wasn't even a rumor that I was flirting with him.
Some people have even been criticized for constantly pushing and pulling.
I had positive feelings toward my senior, but I always kept the line.
“No. I’ve never once had a romantic relationship with you.”
"I don't understand. Junior, you've always been kind to me. You just treat me differently from other people. So—"
My senior shook his head, seemingly confused, as he recounted my actions toward him. After calmly listening to the whole story, I corrected his misconceptions.
“Senior, I-...”
The senior's face distorted as he heard the story that followed.
“Really?”
"Yes."
I smiled bitterly, looking into the confused silver eyes.
“Senior, it seems like neither of us has ever been in a relationship.”
My senior was completely under the illusion that I liked him, and I couldn't even speak in front of the person I really liked.
“Even taking that into account, my senior did many things wrong to me.”
“What kind?”
"You fueled my guilt. You made me think, 'I'm the reason you're in such a difficult situation.'"
He'd already been taken aback, and when I spoke out so bluntly, he lost control of his expression. Sadly, he'd been deliberately poking me in the face.
There were many things I wanted to discuss, but there was no time right now.
“Anyway, don’t stop me anymore.”
"For a moment!"
My senior stopped me as I was trying to push the knight away.
“If you’re going to Magic Tower, do this.”
He took a necklace out of his bosom and put it on me.
“It’s Aegis’ shield.”
Aegis's shield is one of the holy relics, like Dietrich's sword.
The words "I should have given this to Shish a long time ago" rose to the tip of my tongue, but instead of answering, I left the Crown Prince's palace. I clutched the damned dress and headed for Rose Palace.
Even when I didn't know he was the Crown Prince, I liked him because he reminded me of the Crown Prince.
I've been wanting to be that kind of person for a very long time.
The affectionate Crown Prince, who never gave in to any hardship, was a person I admired.
Arriving at the Rose Palace, I opened the study door without even taking a breath.
“Freisia!”
“Tri?”
“Please lend me your clothes. And the Second Princess’s shoes too.”
“Are you going to see His Excellency? Wait!”
The Youngest Princess, who had been vehemently opposed to her brother's connection with me, ran out of the Rose Palace excitedly.
In the meantime, I gathered the necessary items, including the magic stone, and Freisia soon appeared.
“The carriage is already waiting in front, so let’s go!”
“Just a moment, I have to stop by somewhere before that.”
All magic circles leading to the Magic Tower are currently disconnected. If I were to wave my hand near the Magic Tower, it would be fortunate if they pretended not to see me.
"Then how do we enter the Magic Tower? There's absolutely no way to enter without Yuno's permission."
I rolled all the knowledge I knew.
“I need a clue...”
“Tri?”
“First, I need to stop by the Ministry of the Interior, that is, the Prime Minister’s office.”
After Yuno told me that Milan had installed a wiretapping device near him, Shish burned everything of importance.
There's no way they would have left anything related to killing Yuno there, where they believed there was a security breach.
Considering Shish's personality, it's unlikely he left anything behind in his office, but I went there to at least find a clue.
“Tri? You said you had to go to the Ministry of the Interior?”
When I suddenly stopped, Freisia grabbed my arm and shook it.
I don't know why Shish volunteered to be the sacrifice, but since he went there himself, he likely left no traces.
Then how about on the magic tower...
"Tri, what's wrong? Don't worry about the knights guarding the Ministry of the Interior. I can take care of them."
"Other than that, I thought of another good idea. Thank you, Freisia."
Leaving the bewildered Princess behind, I returned to the Rose Palace and boarded the carriage waiting in front.
“Let’s go to Atla’s Hill, quickly!”
The outside of the palace was surprisingly quiet. Perhaps the ominous atmosphere was keeping people from venturing outside as much as possible.
The male protagonists called me there, and my senior and I also ended up there.
- There's a crack.
I can almost hear Yuno's annoyed voice, her face crumpled.
A crack leading to another place in the perfectly perfect Magic Tower—I didn't describe it, nor did I imagine it. This world has been twisted for so long, I know it's not something I should be concerned about.
But what bothered me was that it was Tower Master that the strange symptoms started to appear.
If the original story was 'normal', then I'm the one who destroys this story.
The book my senior gave me said that if you weren't a major character in the story, you'd be eliminated. It also said that the "story" itself has a compulsive need to follow its original flow, and that it tries to eliminate anyone who interferes with that flow.
I am the one who must be eliminated because I have caused confusion among the male protagonists.
If that's the case, then the palace should be losing its function, but the problem is the Magic Tower. With Yuno now in Titiana's hands, the problem will likely persist.
As we reached the Atla's hill, something strange appeared as if it had torn the air.
"Ah."
I'm pretty sure that's a crack.
I don't know where the crack ends, so even Yuno was quite nervous, but I have nothing to fear.
“I am the main character.”
I am the central axis.
Shish, you can't die.
I came here to see you.
I took out the magic item that Yuno had given me before and headed into the crack.
***
Shish followed Titiana's lead and headed to the 57th floor of the Magic Tower. He'd been here before, but he looked around as if he were seeing it for the first time.
“What a strange place.”
"It's the center of the Magic Tower. That thing over there is Yuno's heart, and they say it contains tremendous magical power."
Titiana clung to Shish, boasting that she had something great to tell him.
“Yes, since you brought me here, now do...”
But the sentence was left hanging without being finished.
“I was worried that the medicine might not work, but fortunately it didn’t.”
Shish smiled and hugged Titiana. Thanks to this woman, he was able to easily break through the strict barrier on the 57th floor.
Now there was only one obstacle left: the shield surrounding the heart.
The moment Shish grabbed Titiana's arm and tried to bring her to the barrier, one side of the wall was breached with a loud noise.
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