SLDS 3

Cecil practically tumbled out of bed. His knees and hip bones hit the sharp wooden corners in his carelessness, but he was in such a half-crazed state that he did not even have time to feel the pain.

He ran straight to the window and threw it open. Dazzling sunlight poured onto his forehead, which was drenched in cold sweat. The peaceful scenery of the Imperial Palace filled his eyes. Everything was, unbelievably, the same.

“No… way.”

Muttering to himself, he felt his chest. The clothes he was wearing were only slightly damp with sweat, with no smell of blood or filth. Even the sensation his fingers felt was soft.

Cecil spread both his hands out. His fingernails had surely all been pulled out, leaving not a single spot unharmed, but now all ten of his fingers were clean.

Suddenly, a full-length mirror in the corner caught his eye. Cecil moved right up to it. Though his expression was dazed, it was indeed his face. And a slightly younger-looking version than he remembered, at that.

He found it so hard to believe that he traced his own face for a long while.

“What on earth is this? Did I really go back in time?”

Could I be dreaming? That was impossible. It was too vivid to be a dream.

As if possessed, he took off the nightshirt he was wearing. There was no scar where he had been stabbed. Instead, a very small number was engraved near his chest.

What at first glance looked like a scar was an ancient language mainly used in temples, and it meant the number 1000. Cecil, who had been scratching the number embedded in his skin with his fingertip, suddenly came to his senses and quickly picked up his clothes and put them on.

«I shall grant my poor child a thousand days.»

Remembering the goddess Gaia’s words, he carefully pressed the spot where the number was engraved. His heart pounded uncontrollably. Cecil had to take several long, deep breaths to accept the situation.

Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he turned around and forcefully pulled the bell-pull next to the bedpost. As if they had been waiting, the servants who heard the bell opened the door and entered. The familiar faces all placed their hands over their navels and bowed.

“You’re awake, Mr. Cecil.”

“Felix. What is today’s date?”

The head steward of Peridot Palace, who had been standing at the very front, raised his head.

The white-haired old man hesitated at the sudden question before immediately bowing his head again.

“Today is April 24th, year 628 of the Imperial Calendar.”

“Haa.”

Hearing the answer, Cecil let out a long breath. He really had returned to the past.

“Then I must be twenty years old.”

Cecil swept back his sweat-drenched bangs. He had to recall events from nearly three years ago, not the present, and his brow furrowed on its own.

“Alexis… His Highness the Crown Prince is at the battlefield right now, isn’t he?”

From the servants’ perspective, Cecil, asking about something so obvious, was quite strange. Did he not wake up properly? Felix, who had been observing him, asked cautiously.

“Mr. Cecil. Are you all right?”

“No, how could I be.”

“You don’t look well. Shall I call the palace physician?”

“Never mind that. I need to take a bath first.”

Cecil flapped the hem of the thin nightshirt stuck to his chest. First, he wanted to wash off the sweat covering his entire body. It might have just been his imagination, but he still felt a sticky sensation, as if he were trapped in the underground prison.

As soon as his words fell, the servants moved busily. Beautifully crafted silver trays went in and out of the bathroom connected to the bedroom without rest. A fragrant smell and the hot, humid steam rising from the hot water wafted all the way into the bedroom.

Cecil dismissed all those who offered to attend to his bath and entered the marble bathtub alone. The water, which had turned a light violet from the lavender salt that had been dissolved in it, rose to his chest. In that state, he leaned back against the tub and thought for a long time.

Looking back, the period when he had been at his most wicked was the three years from now. The fact that the goddess Gaia had turned back time a thousand days for him must surely contain the meaning that he should correct his past mistakes.

It was enough time to change the future. At the same time, Cecil ruminated on the fact that his time was limited. Perhaps because he had already experienced death once, he was not afraid. Rather, it felt like he was letting go of his greed.

This time, he would definitely establish a friendly relationship with Alexis. Saving him and safely making him the emperor became Cecil’s sole goal.

Only when his fingertips had become wrinkled from being soaked in the water did Cecil break from his thoughts and stand up. After roughly draping a robe over his wet body, he came out. The servants waiting outside the door rushed in, bowing their heads as if in apology at the sight of him dripping with water.

Cecil also refused the hands that tried to dry his body. He wiped himself roughly with a dry cloth and turned around to get dressed. Conscious of the flustered servants, he allowed them to at least tidy his appearance, and only then did their hands busily attend to him.

No one found it strange. The master of Peridot Palace being sensitive and whimsical was not something that had only happened for a day or two.

While the servants dried his wet hair, Cecil quietly gazed at Felix, who was managing the servants beyond them.

The gray-haired old man was one of the Empress’s longtime cronies. He appeared benevolent on the outside, but his insides were as gloomy as could be. Although he had served Cecil with all his heart since he was a child, he was also the one who had taught him all sorts of tricks and schemes at his side, inciting him to steal what Alexis had.

‘Lady Cornelia, the daughter of the House of Duke Havel, is being mentioned as a candidate for Crown Princess. She is one of the most eligible brides in the empire. Most importantly, if Duke Havel sides with the Crown Prince, he will solidify his political standing. You must prevent this at all costs.’

‘I have planted my foster son in the Crown Prince’s palace. He will be Mr. Cecil’s eyes and ears.’

‘Never let your heart grow weak. You must seize Crown Prince Alexis’s weakness.’

The words he had said naturally came to mind.

“Felix.”

“Yes, Mr. Cecil.”

Cecil fiddled with the sleeve of his garment, which was adorned with small jewels. He glanced up and looked at the head steward, who was smiling gently.

“Isn’t it about time for you to retire as well?”

“What are you talking about!”

The old head steward was startled.

For a moment, Felix failed to control his expression, and flames flared up in his wrinkle-filled eyes.

“I will remain in Peridot Palace until the day I die and serve Mr. Cecil.”

But he immediately and skillfully calmed his excitement and replied. At the sight of his snake-like eyes darting around, Cecil pulled one corner of his mouth into a long smile.

“That’s a very moving story.”

“Who else would worry about Mr. Cecil as much as I do? Please, trust this old man to the end. Retire? I can still work for another ten years.”

“Should I call you greedy, or should I call you loyal?”

The two men’s gazes met. Felix gulped, trying to read Cecil’s inner thoughts.

There was more than one strange thing about him today. From Cecil’s way of speaking to his atmosphere, he had become more mature by several years, and it felt as if he were looking down from above, as if he knew everything.

Cecil, who had been holding his gaze, suddenly smiled brightly.

“I only said that because I feel quite uncomfortable employing an old person. You could be enjoying your old age by now, but you’re still doing menial work under me, so it’s been on my mind.”

Felix could not relax the expression full of doubt on his face. It was because Cecil kept feeling unfamiliar. The quick-witted Cecil, lest the head steward notice something, intentionally acted childish as he spoke.

“As you know, I’m not even of the imperial bloodline… I don’t know if I’ll be able to give Felix a proper sum when he retires later.”

Felix strode forward to stand in front of Cecil. With a wrinkled hand, he personally adjusted the collar of Cecil’s shirt. The doll he had so carefully groomed and raised was boasting its beautiful appearance again today.

“Do not say such things. Her Majesty the Empress will be greatly angered if she hears you.”

Felix tilted his head slightly and whispered in a small voice that only Cecil could hear.

“As I have told you time and again, Mr. Cecil, you are destined to become a great star of the empire.”

“Thank you, even if they are empty words.”

“Empty words? There is not a shred of falsehood in my words. Her Majesty the Empress and I will surely make it so.”

“As expected, you’re the only one I can trust.”

The two men simultaneously put on fake smiles. Cecil gestured with his head that the attendance was now enough. By now, he looked perfect in anyone’s eyes.

“Ah, there’s something I’d like to ask of you. I would like to have lunch with my mother. Felix, could you go and tell her yourself?”

He specifically asked him to do something that could have been done by the young servants. Felix took a couple of steps back and bowed respectfully.

“I will obey your command.”

Afterward, the elderly head steward walked out of the room with his chin held high. Cecil, who had been wearing a subtle smile until then, wiped the smile completely from his face as soon as Felix was out of sight.

That damned old man. He would definitely get that man out of his sight first.