“Ahh...!"
Presepe, having bumped into someone, let out a short scream and staggered. Then she looked up, and upon confirming the identity of the man in front of her, she froze stiffly, involuntarily.
[Shackling your neck, your ankles, your wrists... ]
Attar... Hanan.......
[I’ll lock you up in a cage with mirrors. That would be really cool.]
How on earth did Attar, who was already dead, manage to...
Presepe looked at Attar with astonishment, but Attar's reaction was completely different from what she had expected.
Attar did not approach Presepe with a sinister aura as he had done last time, nor did he commit the crazy act of suddenly pulling out shackles.
He merely moved his lips slightly with a puzzled expression.
"I am Attar Hanan, Prince of the Tain Empire. I have just arrived and was looking around the Imperial Palace when I was caught off guard."
"..."
“Are you okay?”
In Attar's eyes as he looked at her, she could not sense the usual dirty emotions at all. Moreover, he looked like someone who couldn't remember anything.
He had a bewildered look on his face, not knowing why the woman he had bumped into was looking at him with such surprised eyes.
How on earth is that possible? If they came back alive, and if the settings remained, there's no way that could be true...
"... Young Lady?”
Along with Attar's voice, a scene flashed through her mind for a moment.
It was a book of memories that poured out light with holes here and there, as if it were burning up immediately.
'All the settings are gone...?'
So, you're saying everything just came back like that?
"Are you really okay?"
"..."
"Shall I call someone for you?"
" ..."
"Um, Young Lady...!"
Attar's voice could not continue any further. This was because Presepe did not listen to him and ran off recklessly.
Left alone, Attar wore a very puzzled expression and stared intently at the receding figure of Presepe.
"To think you are running around the middle of the imperial palace so undignifiedly..."
Then he muttered to himself.
"You are a young lady with absolutely no connection to manners."
With a very brief snicker.
***
Presepe was running out of breath.
"Gasp, gasp..."
She wondered how far she had run; it felt as if her heart were about to burst. Stumbling to a stop, Presepe gasped for breath, her face turning pale.
"..."
Presepe's gaze, as she suddenly began to scan the imperial palace, was extremely urgent.
Completely unlike the last memory, the Imperial Palace looked perfectly intact. Just as the tower, which had collapsed after being burned, was in the same condition.
On top of that, even Attar Hanan, who had died, has returned. So, in the end, hasn't everything gone back to square one?
'If by any chance even the setting values have disappeared from all the characters...'
As a side effect, wouldn't he be unable to remember anything that has happened up until now, either? Retaining only his original self.
Then what about Grand Duke Fenrir? That damn worldview? And Vidar?
"..."
Presepe struggled to soothe her heart, which felt like it was about to burst, and took another step.
Toward the church visible up ahead.
The only saving grace was that the sentries guarding the church were nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, since Ella also did not know Presepe's whereabouts, she could not follow her.
Presepe quickly took a step. Then, she opened the firmly closed church door with all his might.
The notification window that popped up when she first saw that shattered statue was nowhere to be seen.
Only a massive statue, beyond compare in its grandeur, filled her eyes to an excessive degree.
[Sacred Stone Statue]
Presepe's eyes were vacant as she stared at the name clearly inscribed on the stone statue.
[The Guardian of Ateloia Who Defeats the Demon King]
A man lying on the floor, being trampled by someone. The man's appearance was exactly the face of Vidar that Presepe remembered.
So this is what it originally looked like.
If so, is the worldview of *Presepe in a Cage* still holding its ground, unbroken?
...Then what about Grand Duke Fenrir?
Did he, too, lose all memories of me?
All without exception?
No, perhaps Fenrir doesn't even exist in this world. After all, Fenrir originally couldn't even be listed as an NPC, so he was a character who couldn't even be looked up in the system.
With even the character settings of the main characters gone, there was no guarantee anywhere that someone as insignificant as Fenrir would remain. In fact, it would be different if the opposite were true...
'No, no.'
"That can't be true. You said you would come find me." Presepe held back the tears welling up with all her might.
Let's go now.
To the Grand Duke's mansion.
"I was just about to order you to be brought to the audience chamber."
And at the sudden sound of a voice, Presepe turned around in shock.
"I was planning to go straight back as well, but I didn't expect to meet you here like this."
The one staring intently at her was Dietrich, wearing an inscrutable expression.
"...What was I doing here?"
I thought all the settings were gone, but was he trying to bind me by asking if I was planning to run away again?
That thought suddenly crossed her mind, but Dietrich, who was looking at her, had a face completely different from the one she had seen so far.
So, somehow tinged with regret...
"I have just returned from meeting the Archbishop. While mentioning the celebration coming up in a few days, he said that he would spare no effort to help me with the revival of Ateloia."
Dietrich's voice, heavy with emotion, filled the church.
"And then I got straight to the point."
"..."
"Regarding your disposition."
At Dietrich's completely unexpected words, Presepe's eyes wavered greatly.
Come to think of it, the Archbishop did not like the existence of Presepe. And understandably so, as Presepe, who shared not a single drop of blood with Dietrich, the Emperor of the Empire, was nothing but a burden.
In the worst case, it could have led to a scandal too embarrassing to even mention.
Of course, until now, all those rumors were true, but...
"I've thought about it a lot."
Dietrich continued speaking.
"Why have you and I become like this? There was a time when we were a source of strength for each other and our only resting place."
Why did I hate him so much, and why did I resent him so much? The current Dietrich could not understand his past self at all.
"It was utterly cowardly, but perhaps hating you was the easiest thing for me back then."
"..."
"No, maybe that was the case. Maybe that is why I wanted to see you. The sight of you withering away beside me."
So, not long ago, as soon as he seized the imperial power, he imprisoned her in the Tower. This time, he intended to keep her captive so she could not escape.
...But it was a strange thing.
He could not feel any anger, resentment, or even ugly possessiveness toward Presepe, who always seemed ready to suffocate him at any moment.
The woman in front of him...
Because she was just a younger sibling who had been a source of comfort to him a long time ago.
Dietrich just looked down at Presepe for a moment without saying a word.
Then, after a considerable amount of time had passed, he slowly moved his lips again.
"Presepe, I will let you go."
The strength in Presepe's hand, which had been gripping the hem of the dress with all its might, suddenly drained away. Having heard words that she felt she would never hear from Dietrich, Presepe wore an expression of disbelief at the very situation.
"You may go wherever you want. It doesn't matter if it isn't the Imperial Palace. Not anymore."
"..."
"I only called you to say that. I had no other intention."
Dietrich gave a wry smile.
...His words were exactly what she had long wanted to hear, but at this very moment, there was only one thing filling Presepe's mind.
Fenrir's whereabouts
"If you want, I can arrange a castle for you in the capital. Think about it and tell Ella. I will be waiting."
Right. I guess I need to become a little more of an adult now, too.
Breaking away from being a child who only threw tantrums and whined.
Dietrich looked at Presepe with a gaze filled with countless emotions, then slowly turned around. He then began to walk away with heavy steps.
"Your Majesty!"
Presepe called out to him in an extremely urgent voice.
"D-Duke..."
Dietrich, who had stopped in his tracks, looked back at Presepe with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Where is Grand Duke Fenrir?"
At that moment, Dietrich's face was filled with bewilderment upon hearing her words.
Pretending not to notice the anxiety clearly rising within him, Presepe asked back in a trembling voice.
"I mean Grand Duke Fenrir. His Majesty's closest confidant. That is why he secretly went to war alongside His Majesty...!"
"I don't understand a single word you're saying."
But the answer that came back was despair itself.
"There is no one like that around me."
No.
"Besides, if he is a Grand Duke, he must be a nobleman, but I have never heard of that name."
That can't be possible.
"It is a name that exists nowhere, and a surname that exists nowhere."
It's nowhere to be found?
Doesn't exist?
Oh my god, never again?
"It looks like you were dreaming. Yeah, that could happen. You used to have strange dreams from time to time even when you were little."
Dietrich smiled briefly and left one last remark: "Send Ella when the destination is decided." Then, he looked at Presepe for a moment, and slowly turned his head away.
And just like that, he walked away from his seat.
"..."
A silence as heavy as lead settled over the church where Presepe was left alone.
No sound was heard.
Until Presepe, whose legs had given way, collapsed onto the ground.
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