***
Promian Imperial Palace.
A massive magic circle unfolded.
At the same time, a brilliant light burst forth like fireworks, blindingly bright, as a human figure emerged atop the magic circle.
“We’ve arrived.”
Finally, I had returned to the Promian Imperial Palace.
The false peace with Ilnord was over.
Moreover, the Emperor of Ilnord had discovered my true identity.
‘Not that he would dare reveal to the world that I am the Archmage Sherina.’
If that fact were to be exposed, it would only work against Ilnord.
The existence of two Archmages in Promian was not something he would want publicly known.
But now that he knew the truth…
‘He will stop at nothing to eliminate me.’
I had to prepare for that.
But before anything else, everyone needed rest.
All of them were still collapsed atop the magic circle—exhausted, injured, with not a single one unharmed.
“W-what is going on?”
A large crowd of palace attendants had gathered, drawn in by the sudden appearance of the enormous magic circle.
The court mages and knights were on high alert, prepared for any emergency.
However, when they saw us appear from within the magic circle, shock and confusion spread among them.
“What are you all doing?!”
“Chamberlain!”
“Y-yes, Your Highness…?”
He stammered, startled by my changed appearance and demeanor.
“Disperse everyone gathered here. Make sure no unnecessary rumors spread.”
“Understood.”
Fortunately, the chamberlain quickly grasped the situation.
Following my orders, he swiftly organized the attendants and maids, sending them away.
“Strengthen the palace’s security with the mages and knights.”
“And call the royal physician immediately. Everyone here is gravely injured.”
The staff moved swiftly in accordance with my instructions.
“Hiel, take care of Luciel separately.”
“Understood. But… what about you, Master?”
“I’m fine. More importantly, we need to treat Delight.”
As I turned away, my gaze met Blueny’s.
“…Ollia?”
“You’ve already figured out who I am, haven’t you?”
She had witnessed everything—from my conversation with the Emperor of Ilnord to the creation of the magic circle.
There was no point in hiding it anymore.
“Y-yes… I know.”
A sudden awkwardness settled between us.
A distance formed in that moment.
“Can I explain everything later?”
Blueny slowly nodded, her eyes still filled with confusion.
But I could see she was trying her best to stay composed.
Just as I turned to leave—
“O-Ollia… I mean, wait…!”
She grabbed my hand.
“Even if you are Archmage Sherina… to me, you are still Ollia. Not for a single moment have you ever not been my daughter.”
Her voice was careful, yet sincere.
She was confessing her true feelings.
“Thank you. To me, you have always been a wonderful mother as well.”
I spoke from my heart.
“For now, get some rest. You need treatment too.”
“I will.”
Blueny responded with a smile when I asked her to take care of herself.
Then, I personally moved Delight. He needed treatment immediately.
This time, I infused my mana even more forcefully. If the damage to his mana was too severe, it could cause problems with his recovery after his rampage.
Delight’s mana had suffered significant damage due to the recent incident.
I gazed down at him, still unconscious, unable to wake up.
“Get a grip, you troublesome disciple.”
Seeing him lying there so helplessly was frustrating.
I wondered if this was how he had felt when he thought I was dead.
“You said we’d live together for the rest of our lives. What’s the point if you go and die first?”
I let out a few words of scolding, knowing full well he couldn’t hear me, and turned away.
That was when I saw Zaire waiting for me a few steps away.
He silently watched me.
His expression showed that he had many questions but didn’t know where to start.
“Your Highness… No, how should I address you?”
“Call me whatever you feel comfortable with, Zaire.”
“Are you really Archmage Sherina?”
“I am.”
I admitted it plainly.
“T-then…”
He had already suspected the truth, but hearing it from my own mouth left him flustered.
“Zaire, does it matter who I am right now?”
“No… No, it does not.”
Zaire finally seemed to snap out of his daze.
“That is for His Majesty to decide later. Right now, what matters most is treating His Majesty.”
“Good. You understand well.”
I gave him a sly smile.
It was my way of telling him to stop getting lost in unnecessary thoughts and focus on what needed to be done.
“Make sure he survives. He may be stubborn, but staying alive is one of his talents, so he should be fine.”
With that, I walked past Zaire.
“Ugh…”
Using so much power at once after a long time had taken a toll on my body.
I needed to rest too.
“Until Delight wakes up, don’t bother looking for me.”
In other words, I didn’t want to be disturbed.
***
But instead of resting, I went to find Luciel.
He, too, was recovering from his injuries.
“Luciel, are you alright?”
“I suppose.”
Hiel was by his side, watching over him.
“Looks like I’ve ended up with a limited time to live.”
“There has to be a way to fix the contract issue. No matter what, you are still a dragon.”
“Which means I’ve already lived long enough that I wouldn’t regret dying anytime soon.”
For a moment, I thought he was ready to give up.
But then, Luciel let out a smirk and spoke again.
“But just because I’ve lived long doesn’t mean I have no attachment to life.”
He continued speaking with his eyes lightly closed, still smiling.
“If you close your eyes and still feel curious about tomorrow, it means you’re not ready to die yet.”
“…….”
“You never really wanted to open your eyes again whenever you closed them.”
Luciel suddenly brought up something about me.
The lifeless version of myself from long ago—when I had secluded myself in the mountains.
“That’s why, when you chose death, I couldn’t stop you.”
Even if he couldn’t harm Ilnord, Luciel could have forcibly taken me away if he had wanted to.
But he knew that saving me like that would have been meaningless.
“Recently, for the first time in a long while, I’ve been curious about tomorrow. And that’s why I want to live.”
His eyes curved into an expression of genuine joy.
“Ollia, you’ll help me, won’t you?”
“If you want to live, then I’ll make sure you live for a very, very long time.”
Gladly, as much as it takes.
I clasped Luciel’s hand as I made that promise.
That was when he asked—
“Ollia, do you still have no regrets?”
A long time ago, in what now felt like a distant past, he had asked me the same question.
Back then, my answer was—
“No, not at all.”
I had answered without hesitation—firmly and decisively.
And now, once again, I answered his question with the same unwavering certainty, without a moment’s thought.
“Yes. I have so many regrets now.”
It wasn’t until my second life that, for the first time, I felt excitement every time I closed my eyes.
My heart overflowed with both worry and anticipation.
And now, I had people I needed to protect.
“I will live this life to the fullest.”
“…….”
“I will do everything I can.”
Luciel, who had initially looked surprised by my answer, suddenly broke into a bright smile.
“Then I guess I should live a little longer too.”
“To do that, we’ll have to deal with Ilnord first.”
In my past life, I had run away from Ilnord.
But they had never left me alone, even in hiding.
The unfinished business from back then was still unresolved to this day.
“It’s time for me to break free from my tiresome contract with Ilnord.”
“Perfect. Let’s settle everything in one go.”
***
After checking in on Luciel, I finally returned to my room, and exhaustion hit me all at once.
Using powers I hadn’t exercised in a long time had definitely taken its toll.
No matter how much mana I had, I still needed proper training.
Neglecting that would always come back to bite me.
If I kept pushing myself like this, my recovery would take even longer.
I needed to get some rest.
…But despite my body feeling like it would collapse the moment I lay down, my mind refused to let me sleep.
Because as soon as I closed my eyes, I realized the harsh reality awaiting me.
“Damn it.”
A string of curses ran through my head.
Delight had found out that I was Sherina.
“No, wait. Maybe he didn’t.”
He had been struggling with his rampage and losing consciousness—his mind must have been all over the place.
Maybe I could just insist he misheard something.
I could intimidate Zaire and the others into keeping their mouths shut…
“Ugh. Who am I kidding?”
That wouldn’t work.
And honestly, I didn’t want to deceive Delight like that.
“Well… maybe this is for the best.”
In a way, I felt a strange sense of relief.
Especially since, every time Delight had mentioned or thought about his teacher, it had made me uneasy.
‘But still!’
I never expected my secret to come out like this!
What was I supposed to do now?
I dreaded the moment Delight would wake up.
Just imagining it was terrifying.
Maybe I should just act shameless about it?
After all, it wasn’t like I had done anything wrong!
I was just born into this life and somehow ended up as Delight’s daughter!
It wasn’t my choice!
Ughhh.
I groaned again.
But the worst part—the thing I truly couldn’t bear—
Was remembering all the things I had said and done while calling Delight father.
“If I had known this would happen, I would have acted more dignified!”
I should have prepared excuses for my childhood behavior in advance.
I should have shown more of my masterly presence!
Now, every single moment from the past stabbed me like a dagger.
No matter how many times I replayed it in my head—
No matter how much I tried to justify it—
I was completely doomed.
‘I’m going to be teased about this for the rest of my life.’
Thinking about what was coming, I already felt like dying from embarrassment.
How was I supposed to face Delight now?!
Even as I punched my blanket, threw my pillow, and buried my head under the covers…
I still couldn’t find a solution.
