Chapter 4

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Three days before Erhen woke up.

The languid light of the afternoon poured in through the large, tall, glass windows.

Michael Düsseldorf, the king who downgraded the empire that was on the verge of catastrophe to a kingdom, to lead the revival of the new Lohadin.

He was sitting diagonally on a soft sofa, holding a poetry book in one hand and reciting poetry.

Michael’s golden hair sparkled as if burning in the light, and his voice rang out sweetly. The maids glanced at the sight as if an angel had descended and sang a heavenly song, admiring the sight of the young King Lohadin as if they were fascinated.

Is it reality or fantasy?

The corners of Michael’s mouth slowly turned up at their appreciation, which was audible even without words.

He liked this time he had after all work was done. A time for a writer who enjoyed literature, not a reigning king.

It was a time when he could realistically experience the peace he had achieved.

But that peace did not last long. Chamberlain Gunther came in after knocking on the door, and there was an expression of urgency on his face.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Count Werner requests to see you urgently.”

Michael raised his hand and looked around.

The Count Werner family was a family that was a vassal of the Duke of Rosenheim. As the feudal concept of land declined and land as property and control became separated, there was no longer a need to be loyal to Rosenheim as the head of the family, but he still claimed to be a vassal and was with Rosenheim.

Therefore, Count Berner’s urgent search for Michael meant that something had happened to Erhen. When all the maids and servants had retreated, and finally Günther had retreated himself, a man with a heavy and stocky physique entered.

Soon the door closed behind the Count.

“Peace to Lohadin. I see you, Your Highness.”

“It’s strange that a count is coming instead of the duke. What’s going on?”

“That is…”

After a brief pause, the Count began to relate in detail the report of Philip who had been dispatched. The Count’s voice occasionally trembled at the fact that Erhen, who was like his son, was attacked.

Michael, who had been listening to the Count’s words in silence, furrowed his brows at the unbelievable words.

“What happened to the Duke of Rosenheim? Attack?”

“…”

“And he can’t wake up?”

Michael was dumbfounded and couldn’t understand it right away, so he just poured out interrogative sentences as if he were chewing them over and over again.

Only after a while did he open his mouth again.

“It’s a warning to me.”

The work he had instructed Duke Rosenheim and Erhen to do so far was only diplomatic work with Illusion, which bordered Lohadin, and was not life-threatening.

It was just a journey he sent Erhen on until he was able to figure out his thoughts. And the only people who knew about this were Michael, who gave the order, and Erhen, who carried out the mission.

This meant that there was a rat in the palace eavesdropping on the king, and it also posed a threat to himself.

Moreover, Erhen was undisputedly the best wizard in Lohadin. The fact that Erhen could not wake up also meant that the group that attacked him were trained elites.

“Besides, he was found in Viscount Linz’s house.”

And it was not anywhere else, but at his ex-wife’s house.

Even in this absurd situation, Michael started laughing again because he thought that it was only when Erhen was about to die that he decided on his course of action.

“Count Werner.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I will send the Kaiserliche. Let’s investigate together.”

“I will accept it, Your Majesty!”

Unlike the army, which could only be moved with the consent of the parliament, the ‘Kaiserliche’ was a personal bodyguard that the king could command as he pleased.

Michael’s sending of the Kaiserliche also meant that he would accept the attack on the Duke of Rosenheim as a challenge to the king.

“And the Duke of Rosenheim.”

Michael added.

“Tell him to stay there until he recovers.”

*   *   *

“Lida, the duke is awake, so call the doctor.”

“Oh, finally! Viscountess, you must have wasted an hour!”

“No, what does it have to do with me…”

“Oh, and about the house maintenance issue I mentioned earlier.”

“Yes, call a contractor to check on that issue.”

After instructing Lida on what to do, Charlotte wrapped herself in a blanket and went out on the terrace and sank down on a chair. Even with magic tools that emitted heat, she couldn’t completely get rid of the chill, but this temperature was just right for her to calmly think.

As her wild emotions subsided to some extent, something important she had to do came to mind.

The organization with the eye-catching isignia. There was no way Charlotte, who was an avid reader of The Brilliant Rebellion, did not know about the organization. Just forgotten in my memory.

Charlotte opened a plain-looking notebook she had taken from a drawer.

She thought she would never have to take out this notebook again.

Contrary to the title, which was faithful to her business desires, the notebook she took out after a year was full of traces of her struggles to survive in this place where Charlotte was reincarnated.

Worrying about what action to take in the already established flow of the original work was easier than agonizing over the results of an all-night experiment in graduate school lab.

Charlotte picked up a pen and began to organize the differences from the original, the changes she had made to the original.

The biggest change from the original was that Erhen and Charlotte were still alive.

Originally, “The Brilliant Rebellion” was Michael’s heroic narrative.

There, although Charlotte was an extra among extras, Erhen was the protagonist’s assistant who led numerous battles to victory. However, it was a role in which he lost his life while protecting Michael in the latter half of the work.

This was also included in the reason why Charlotte, who reincarnated, chose Erhen as her lifeline.

Even putting aside the fact that Erhen was her favorite, it was always heartbreaking to see a character with the charm of being the most handsome wizard in Lohadin with an unhappy family life dying right before the successful revolt.

Was it because it overlapped with her previous life? She hated it. The result of overcoming that harsh process was death.

The organization with the flower pattern was very briefly mentioned organization in the original work.

The Republic of Copenbach.

An organization based on liberalism and republicanism. Before Michael rebelled, he spread ideas among the people of the empire against the emperor’s tyranny, but was purged.

But now, because Charlotte remembered her past life and unintentionally beat them to the rebellion first, they missed the time when they were noticeably active. Since Copenbach and Michael’s goal of bringing down the emperor was the same, she thought there was no need to worry.

It was a complacent thought.

So it was still unknown who was currently leading Copenbach. Therefore, she could not reveal all of this to Erhen. In the original work she changed, she needed clear evidence that it was Copenbach who led the organization of the snowflake pattern.

Tap, tap, tap…

Charlotte tapped her notebook with a pen and was lost in thought.

It had been 23 years since she reincarnated, and it had been 23 years since she experienced death in her past life, but the moment she faced death was still vivid.

Inside a dark room. A night when she cried alone and fell asleep in a studio where no one came to visit her. Death visited next to swallow her up.

Charlotte trembled. She never wanted to experience that fear again. Never again, never again.

If it were her fate, she would reject it. Charlotte thought. This was the happiness she created, but she would not give it up easily.

The pen that had stopped started to move again. Nothing had changed since the time she realized she reincarnated.

The goal was to survive here, just like three years ago.

… However.

“Charlotte.”

Why did the image of Erhen kissing her suddenly come to mind again? Also, why did those lips come to mind!

Was it because she had been thinking too long? Charlotte shook her head vigorously and closed the notebook.

And when he stood up and turned around, Erhen was looking at him.

“Huh?”

“Charlotte.”

This time it wasn’t her imagination, it was real.

Erhen was leaning against the doorway leading to the terrace.

Seeing that he was wearing a thin shirt, unlike herself, who was wrapped tightly in a blanket, Charlotte quickly ran to him without any time to think about anything else.

“Are you crazy? It’s midwinter now! Not somewhere I should find someone who just woke up!”

Charlotte scolded Erhen in a raised voice without realizing it.

“Didn’t you go to the doctor? I definitely sent them with Lida! And how did you know I was here!”

“Calm down, Charlotte.”

“Do I look flustered right now?”

Charlotte, whose eyes were triangular, said this and unwrapped the blanket she had wrapped around herself. And then she started putting it on Erhen’s shoulder, who was taller than her.

Erhen was really fine with the cold, but he followed Charlotte’s actions without a word.

“It’s been a while, you.”

A low but friendly voice.

It was a tone similar to the one Erhen used to say her name as soon as he woke up. Charlotte’s hand tying the blanket paused for a moment, then moved again to complete the knot.

And he answered in a slightly softer voice than before.

“For a reunion after a year, isn’t it a truly unconventional meeting?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Uh… I didn’t mean to hear an apology.”

“Know. Still, I have to say what I have to say.”

Erhen bowed his head politely to Charlotte.

The sight of him tying a blanket and saying hello was comical, but his serious appearance was also very cute.

“Thank you for saving me.”

He raised his head and gently raised the corners of his mouth.

Charlotte, who had been rolling her eyes, soon came to her senses and grumbled.

“I just did what I had to do as a human being.”

He laughed a little more softly at Charlotte’s response.

However, self-mockery soon appeared in Erhen’s eyes. He was attacked by unknown people and barely survived. In a state where he felt like he was going to collapse at any moment, there was only one thing he could think of.

It was like a space for him to breathe.

However, the result of that petty greed was that he put Charlotte in danger.

“Charlotte.”

At the sound of a calm voice calling her, Charlotte raised her head and faced him.

Was it responsibility?

No, this was a problem before that.

“We should get engaged, let’s get engaged.”

Erhen was glad of that fact.

Paradoxically.

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