What is this lunatic going on about? Aligned interests? With that two-faced Ancient?

"Is that so?" I murmured, lifting my teacup and taking a long, slow sip instead of replying to his nonsense.

I kept my expression serene—neutral, even—as I mentally summoned every one of the monk's facial relaxation techniques. Loosen the jaw. Soften the brow. Radiate the spirit of a well-fed cat basking in the sun. Nonchalance incarnate.

"Hah! I knew it," Chase laughed, clearly mistaking my stillness for confirmation. "It was within your grand plan. I figured that's why you were so confident sending me in. If your interests hadn't aligned with hers, I'd have been skinned alive by now—or worse, stuck in another one of her multi-loop contracts."

He continued layering butter onto a biscuit as he babbled on, utterly undeterred by the fact that every word he spoke was further off the mark.

"Mmm." I nodded slightly and stuffed my mouth full of a flaky pastry, taking my time to chew it.

I wasn't about to begin correcting his slew of misconceptions. At this point, Chase had gone well off the edge of the cliffs of reality, and correcting him could prove dangerous.

Not that I had any intention of blatantly lying to him, either. Sure, he said he wouldn't use his forcible truth-telling ability on me. But Chase was a warlock, bound to a questionable Celestial being with unknown intentions. Moreover, he was insane. Going back on a promise was within reasonable expectations. It wasn't worth antagonizing him when he was already ocean-deep in misunderstanding regarding my capabilities and foresight.

In reality, I'd been gambling. I hoped I could dig up even a scrap of leverage over Saga Duex—anything that might tilt the scales in my favor. I hadn't expected Chase to uncover something truly valuable, at least as he perceived it to be. And I certainly hadn't expected him to credit it all to my nonexistent grand plan.

Still chewing, I glanced up as he leaned over the table.

"But I think she'll spare me—once she realizes exposing her scheme actually benefited her," he said, not a trace of irony in his voice. "So when you see her again, do put in a good word for me."

"Of course," I said, finally swallowing.

"What exactly did you uncover there?" I inquired, keeping my tone even. Almost disinterested.

Chase leaned back in his seat, clearly pleased with himself. "Ah, well—it's as you probably suspected. But seeing for oneself is always better."

He looked about the Rose Room suddenly, seemingly taking in the space, studying the ancestral portraits, the carved ceiling trim, and the soft glow of the light stone chandelier.

"I suppose this is a decent enough sized room, though far smaller than what I saw," he muttered. "But it'll do for a basic demonstration."

He jumped out of his seat and motioned with his arms. Instantly, glowing golden, silver, and rose dots sparked into the air, connected by lines of swirling gray shadow and glimmering threads of magic. The room dimmed slightly as the curtains pulled themselves closed, making the shimmering images more vivid.

"I'll warn you—I'm not the best at memorizing layouts, so most of this is approximate at best," Chase said, waving a hand at the shimmering diagram. "However, it gives a general idea of what Saga Duex is attempting to create."

I stood up and stepped beside him, moving into the middle of the illusion. Shimmering spheres hovered within vague, misty outlines—maps, no…

"Realms," I murmured.

My eyes were drawn to the one sphere with the most lights, which clustered in patterns awfully similar to a globe in my grandmother's library.

It was an image of my realm, with large clusters of gold lights in regions that were obviously large cities.

Ah. Each one of those lights is a Duex coin.

"Yes, yes—realms." Chase nodded enthusiastically. "The actual room where she had the diagram was massive. Easily the size of the royal ballroom in Adovoria's capital."

He didn't need to explain. I had already realized that the scale was significantly miniaturized for the room that we were in.

My eyes wandered over the many grey orbs, representing what had to be other realms. The spheres further out had fewer dots than the ones closer to my realm's planet.

Just how many of them were there? Fifty? A hundred? More?

And these were just the ones that Saga managed to infiltrate with her tracking coins.

"But this bit," Chase said, grinning, "this I did memorize."

He pointed to a small section near our realm, which instantly expanded into a massive, suspended panel of text—blown up so large it eclipsed the rest of the projection.

It was only a handful of characters, so I wasn't surprised that Chase could memorize this much.

However, the characters themselves were unfamiliar. Jagged strokes, symmetrical loops, overlapping glyphs. Utter gibberish to me.

But that didn't matter.

[[ System, please translate that text. ]]

I focused on the cluster of characters Chase had replicated so clearly, mentally pushing the command toward the System. I wasn't entirely sure it would work—there were languages the System couldn't parse, like the one Sedna and her mother spoke—but…

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I was in luck.

I stiffened at the blue screen that appeared.

"Oh, were you able to translate it?" Chase caught on to my expression.

I nodded.

"What is it? Is it important?" he excitedly asked.

A laugh escaped my mouth.

"It's certainly…. Peculiar," I replied, staring at the blue screen.

[ Beware of Kevin ]

Who in the world was Kevin? And why was Saga wary enough of him to include a note?

***

"Will I see you at the ball?" Chase asked as I walked him out of the Rose Room.

I shook my head.

"It's unlikely," I replied.

I had too much on my plate today—too many threads to pull, lives to save, and futures to shift.

"All the more food for me, then," he said with a grin and a light shrug. "Still, you really ought to pause and smell the roses now and then—or eat the macaroons, as I prefer."

I didn't walk him out any farther. Chase exited Frey Manor alone, and I turned away without watching him go.

The visit had run as expected—longer than I'd hoped, but not so long that it derailed my plans. I was slightly behind schedule, nothing more.

"Ah, Louis." I stopped Micah's attendant in the hallway. "Please bring a couple of mana-replenishing potions to Micah's study. Right now."

On Round 9, I'd wasted precious time having someone fetch potions mid-conversation—right when I ran out of mana, only a quarter of the way through my briefing to Micah.

This Round, I'll be better prepared.

I spun on my heel and made a brisk path toward Micah's study, mentally slotting him into the next phase of the morning.

But as I reached for the door, a hand gently stopped mine mid-motion.

"Young master Micah isn't in," said Gerald, the ever-stationed guard by his study. "He's having breakfast with the rest of your family."

"Oh." I blinked.

Of course he was.

I was so busy following my own busy agenda that I forgot about the schedules of others. In previous Rounds, I'd always pulled Micah away from attending breakfast altogether to inform him of all the dangers that were to come.

But this time… I'd been so deep in my own agenda that I forgot his.

Retracing my steps, I made my way toward the dining hall. Just as I rounded the corner, the doors opened, and a wave of voices spilled out into the corridor.

"Don't worry, I'll ensure the deal goes through tonight," Mother said, her arm looped through Father's as they exited together.

The twins were trailing close behind them, locked in their usual bickering.

"Who else can I ask about it?" Elda demanded, clutching Jarvis's sleeve like a prisoner begging for mercy. "Come on, just this once!"

"No. Absolutely not," Jarvis said flatly. "Do you know how hard it was to get a Dragon's Foot? That herb only grows on the peaks of the Kobar Mountains."

Micah's laugh rang out brightly behind them, clear and light.

They didn't see me standing there, half-hidden in the shadows. They didn't need to. I wasn't part of this moment.

I felt like a statue—carved from stone, standing still as life flowed past me.

A pang tugged at my chest as their voices faded down the hallway.

I'd missed breakfast. Again.

I was moving on automatic under a busy agenda of matters that had to be addressed, ticking off tasks in pursuit of a better future—one where they all lived. But I'd forgotten what I was trying to protect in the process.

I thought back to Round Two. That first return.

When I saw them all alive again, I wept. I had promised myself—sworn to myself—that I would share meals with my family every chance I got and that I wouldn't take even a single moment with them for granted. Especially not over something so petty as a three-month grudge I'd once held against Micah and thus skipped the family breakfasts altogether.

I'd meant it when I had made that promise.

So why did it feel like I was breaking it, bit by bit, loop by loop?

Even if I was living life on repeat, if I didn't actually stop to live it… what was the point of all this?

If I couldn't take a moment to smell the roses, as even the lunatic Chase recommended, would I eventually forget why I kept trying to ensure they bloomed?

I sighed.

[ Sanity: -1 ]

[ Sanity: 0 ]

I blinked at the blue notifications.

Ah. Did I pass the bottom threshold accidentally just now?

I wasn't certain exactly what the negative number was that contributed to a memory wipe by Ignorance is Bliss. However, I had evidently just passed it.

Damn it. Just what did I forget?

"Luca?" Micah's voice brought me back out of my thoughts.

He had come out alongside the rest of my family, but now he was turning back, heading toward his study and me.

"Did your meeting with Prince Chase Daylan go well?" he asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "But I need to share a lot of information and insight with you. Then, I need to leave at 9:50 with Henry to go to the Gilded Siren—Ah! I'll need another couple of phoenix eyes for that."

I didn't know what had just been stripped from my mind, but I did know that I had a slew of information I needed to pass on to Micah. The clock was ticking, and if I didn't get through everything today, the consequences would echo throughout the remainder of this Round.

[[ System, please remind me before I head to bed this evening to review the critical information I have recorded. ]]

I'd need at least two uninterrupted hours to go through it all. But if I wanted to keep my family and everyone else I cared about alive, I couldn't afford to overlook a single detail.

"Gambling with future knowledge?" Micah asked with a small smile.

I nodded.

"I'll give you all the phoenix eyes you need, then," he said, and we stepped inside his study.

The moment Micah sat down, pen poised and ready, I launched into everything: security concerns for tonight's ball, the precise timeline for breaking Fin and the other children out, and the infiltration plan for the Alchemist's tower.

It was a storm of intel, carefully arranged to prioritize the most pressing issues and those of cascading consequences. It was only what Micah had to know as soon as possible, with less urgent matters to be relayed at a later date.

Aside from a few of my own words, all of the information was projected out in pre-written text and diagrams, using Illusion Magic. Thus, I had no worries about the memory wipe, having gotten rid of anything important.

Tavonneth Lock would've been ideal for this relay of information. But there wasn't enough time to bring her over today. Thus, at least for today, I had to rely on Micah's speedy penmanship skills instead.

"Is that everything?" Micah asked, looking up from his parchment.

I smiled and flicked a glance toward the nearby clock.

Half past nine. As long as Henry returned soon, I was on schedule—possibly even ahead.

"For now," I said, standing. "But tomorrow, please have Tavonneth Lock join us. I'll finish the rest of the intel handover then, and I'll need her ability to create several additional journals."

A knock sounded from the door.

"It's Henry," came the voice from the other side.

"Come in," Micah and I called out in unison.

Henry entered with a crystal box cradled in his arms. Inside, nestled on a cushion, was a familiar egg.

Good. He'd gotten Leona in time.

"Thank you, Henry," I said, placing the box gently on one of Micah's shelves for safekeeping.

I had a few minutes to spare, but it wasn't enough time to hatch Leona. Besides, taking her without any invisibility artifact into the presence of someone as ancient and dangerous as Saga Duex seemed unwise.

"Please have a carriage ready to leave in fifteen minutes," I instructed. "We're heading to the Gilded Siren."

"Understood, young master Luca," Henry replied. However, his puzzled expression was a bit more honest.

I smirked, watching him exit.

It wasn't unexpected. I just had him spend an unimaginable fortune on some dubious egg. And his bewilderment was only going to increase momentarily.

"Ah, Micah, two more things," I added. "Could someone fetch the strawberries from Jarvis's garden? And the demon shard Kaiden had?"

For a moment, a shadow passed over Micah's expression. But it cleared quickly like a cloud shifting off the sun.

"I'll have a servant retrieve them right away," he said.

"Thank you," I smiled, delighted at having secured at least three methods of dying quickly, should I require a restart.

Until I learned a proper death spell that required minimal mana expenditure or got new needles from Kathy, a pair of daggers and some deadly strawberries would have to do.

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