Though his wording was polite, Luke wasn’t pulling his punches.
A moment of silence.
With a sigh, Prisca relented. “You have made your case clear. If you are going to go that far, I shall show you this stone, Lord Luke.” She fished out the necklace from the base of her neck, unclasped it, placed it in her hand, and held it out to him. “I am certain that you will understand it is my stone after examining it up close.”
Luke wasn’t a priest. He probably couldn’t properly determine whether it was even an orison stone, much less one crafted by Prisca. He hadn’t been able to make a final call about Amelia’s jewel. What in the world could he glean from just looking at it?
Amelia frowned. Prisca had been reluctant to show it in front of the king—why the change of heart?
Luke took a step toward the younger girl. Seeing that, Prisca sneered.
Then a scene Amelia had witnessed many times over revived vividly in her mind—a young man reluctantly approached Prisca. The girl leaned her face toward him. The next moment, he asked for her hand in marriage.
Right! All the men who approached Prisca during the ball to celebrate the king’s birthday proposed to her. Amelia’s eyes widened. It wasn’t the ball in question, but the events had already heavily derailed from Luke’s route, and anything could happen. Not to mention that Prisca herself had declared that she’d steer things back onto the rightful path.
“Luke!” Amelia shouted his name without thinking.
The enchanting boy with ashen hair turned around. His golden eyes were slightly narrowed, and something about his smile didn’t allow for objections. Amelia shut her mouth again.
She’d already reported all of Prisca’s behavior to him. He knew that when she leaned her face closer to her targets, their demeanor would drastically transform before they proposed to her, so he should take care to avoid that. So why am I feeling so uneasy?
No… Hold on. Amelia’s thoughts churned feverishly. The power source of the time loops is that orison stone. Which means the phenomenon that bends the will of others to her whims might be powered by the same thing. Until now, I’ve assumed that she’s been kissing her targets when she leans her face into them, but what if the culprit behind the men’s transformation wasn’t the approaching Prisca, but the approaching orison stone?
Two things happened almost at once. Amelia raised her voice and shouted, “Luke!” Simultaneously, the orison stone on Prisca’s hand made contact with his body.
Amelia was rattled at the sight. In contrast, Prisca sent her a triumphant smile. “With this, Lord Luke is mine once and for all.”
Once again, she placed the necklace around her neck. Amelia could only watch on numbly.
Luke hung his head motionlessly. Silently.
Prisca widened her smile into a sneer. “What a shame, my dear sister. It’s your loss.”
Until now, no man had avoided falling for Prisca at the very end despite how hard they’d resisted. Which means that Luke must also be…
Amelia’s heart was on the verge of being crushed into pieces. Possibly influenced by her despair, large cracks formed in the candy that had been firmly holding the lower halves of the guards in place.
“Oh, could you stand by right here, guards?” Prisca ordered. “Something wonderful is about to happen—having a bigger audience would be more delightful.”
Having received this order from one of the Fourth Palace’s mistresses, the guards straightened themselves; their heads were still smothered with strawberry jam.
Turning back to face Luke, Prisca sweetly said, “Now then, Lord Luke. Please profess your love for the person you cherish in front of everyone here.”
Raising one hand to press down on his chest, Luke replied with a clipped “…Yes” as he drooped his head.
Amelia’s heart sank. I persevered this far, but is it impossible to go against the heroine and the laws of this world in the end? She was frustrated that she hadn’t managed to protect Luke’s free will. She was terrified that she might be killed soon. But above all else, she was miserable that she no longer existed within Luke’s heart, and her vision blurred with tears.
Luke raised his face. He took a deep breath before directing his golden eyes straight at Amelia. Within the pin-drop silence, his voice rang out crisp and clear: “I, Luke Klein, will dedicate my love until the day I breathe last…to Amelia Glaisharle.”
Amelia’s breathing hitched.
“Ex…cuse me?” Prisca muttered.
Everyone was frozen in place—no one could have predicted his words.
Luke walked in front of Amelia and tenderly picked up her hand. “I love you, Amelia.” He pressed his lips against the back of her hand and flashed her a radiant smile.
It was a smile Amelia knew well. He was still the Luke she knew and loved. Her vision became even more watery.
“Don’t cry…” he whispered to comfort her.
“I’m not crying.” She chewed hard on her bottom lip. Luke reached for her face and whisked away her tears with the stroke of his fingers. “Are you really…Luke?”
“I am.” He hesitated. “Honestly, it was a close call, but I snapped out of it thanks to you.”
Perhaps that meant her calling his name had been the necessary stimulus to shake him out of the stone’s influence. Relief gradually washed over her heart. “I’m so glad.”
“Me too. Thank you.”
The hand that stroked Amelia’s head was so tender and comfortable that even more tears threatened to build up in her eyes, but she held them in.
Dumbfounded, Prisca looked at her necklace. “What? How can that even be possible? What is going on? I did everything properly…” Just like Amelia had suspected, contact with the orison stone must have been the reason behind the love interests’ abrupt transformation.
As if it were the finishing touch, Luke ruffled Amelia’s hair affectionately before letting her go reluctantly. He then turned his gaze onto Prisca. “Well then. The judgment of whether Your Highness is the Saint should be left in the more capable hands of the king and the church… But even with that out of the equation, I can’t turn a blind eye to the fact that you attempted to harm Amelia. I shall report this directly to His Majesty and invite Amelia to join us in the Klein estate.”
Though she’d already heard this before, it had never crossed Amelia’s mind that he’d actually do it. She croaked out, “Whaaat?!”
He glanced at her. “History will only repeat itself if you return to the Fifth Palace. Even if Helt is the most capable guard in the world, it’s unreasonable to cover such an extensive area with a single person. Not to mention that increasing the number of guards would be tedious since we’ll have to check whether each is trustworthy. It’s a lot faster and less effort for you to come to my place.”
“B-But…” He made a convincing case, but Amelia’s overwhelmed emotions were struggling to keep up.
“Oh, Helt, you can come directly to our estate, too. What do you think?”
The knight gave his answer without a moment’s delay. “I shall humbly take you up on your kind offer, my lord.”
Wait. Pause. Give me a moment here! Amelia finally found her voice. “But Helt, this is your once-in-a-lifetime chance to become a free man.”
“The fifth consort had requested me to look after you, my princess. Until the day you kick me out of your door as unnecessary, I shall stay by your side.”
While looking like none other than a maid, the man impeccably bowed in the manner of a knight, and Amelia somehow felt disoriented. At the same time, she inferred that even if she attempted to free him by claiming that he was no longer needed, her knight would never accept that outcome. She could only smile wryly to herself.
Luke nodded. “It sounds like we’ve reached an agreement. First of all, we should report to the king—”
A cutting voice interrupted Luke’s words. “This is unacceptable.”
Amelia turned to face the source of the voice—face contorted with resentment, Prisca glowered in her older sister’s direction.
“You’re getting married to Lord Luke? Even though I’m the one who was generous enough to choose Lord Luke as my partner? That’s unacceptable. This isn’t right.”
After spitting out those words, she practically tore the necklace from her neck. “If I’m not going to be showered with love at the center of this world, then this route is a mistake. I’ll start over from the beginning again.”
Start over… She’s talking about the time loops! Amelia’s eyes widened.
Luke reached the same conclusion. He rushed toward Prisca and reached out—but he was too late.
Prisca quirked up the corners of her lips. Together with her wicked sister’s face, Amelia’s vision was soon painted over with stark white.