Life as a Tower Maid: Locked up with the Prince - Chapter 278

TM has been completely translated on Patreon

Chapter 278

Translator: Yonnee

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With his teeth clenched, Albert called out to Leona in a lower voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Leona promptly responded, nodding. Albert’s eyes flashed fiercely.

“When was the last time you saw Rosé Artius?”

Leona had seen Rosé Artius as Jung-in’s escort until just last evening.

If she hadn’t seen Rosé Artius escaping, she should at least remember the last time she saw her face.

“Apologies, Your Majesty, but I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

But Leona was no different from Liam.

“……”

There was no deceit in their eyes.

Did Rosé Artius erase their memories while fleeing?

Albert examined their bodies. Not a scratch on them—they were perfectly unharmed.

No matter how powerful a dark mage Rosé Artius was, it was impossible for her to manipulate these two without any resistance.

“Schubert.”

“Yes, sire.”

Schubert, who had been following Albert instead of guarding her since Jung-in’s words yesterday, quickly stepped forward.

His expression was deeply furrowed. After choosing his words carefully, Schubert muttered.

“Why is…”

“You remember, don’t you?”

Even in Schubert’s brief words, Albert quickly grasped the crux.

“Yes, I remember. How could I forget someone who tormented Your Majesty like that…”

Realizing he was in front of Liam, Schubert’s voice, initially furious, gradually quieted down.

Liam, unable to understand the situation, furrowed his brow.

But Albert had no time to explain his doubts to him. His mind was racing.

Liam and Leona didn’t have any memories of that woman, but Schubert did.

Schubert had a constitution that magic couldn’t easily affect. What if Rosé Artius used ‘magic’ in her last moments for some unknown reason?

“…As if she started to erase people from memory.”

Suddenly, a clear thought crossed his mind.

Everything became clear.

Albert finally understood the true nature of the incident.

Rosé Artius hadn’t escaped. Nor had she attempted to harm anyone.

The spell originally intended to annihilate Jung-in’s soul.

The spell that completely erases one’s existence from the dimension.

…Rosé Artius used it on herself.

To change the world after her disappearance.

If a world where Rosé Artius ‘never existed’ came to be, then the very reason Jung-in could have met him would disappear.

“Refusing to just leave quietly until the very last moment, hah.”

Albert chuckled bitterly. That woman’s efforts to separate him and Jung-in until the bitter end was admirable.

‘…Even if she vanished quickly, it would have happened a few hours ago.’

The spell that completely erases one’s existence, even if it’s a powerful black magic, progresses quite slowly.

Then, he needed to find a way to ensure that he and Jung-in wouldn’t be separated within that time.

‘How could I ensure that I’ll remember everything?’

There would absolutely not be a second loss of memory.

Even if his own past changed, things would be the same.

Albert turned around and started rushing back to Jung-in.

Time was of the essence.

* * *

In my dream, I went on a trip with Blanc and Albert. We played in the water at the beach.

The sunlight, though sharp enough to sting one’s eyes, was comfortably warm, and the sea shimmered like a rainbow reflecting the sunlight.

Within what seemed like perpetual happiness, I was awakened by a shaking hand.

“What’s going on…?”

Had Albert ever woken me up like this? Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I saw Blanc with a desperate look as he shook me awake.

The last time I saw such an urgent expression was when Rosé attempted to annihilate my soul…

That thought snapped me to full awareness.

“What’s the matter?”

Blanc, furrowing his brow at my question, asked,

“…Jung-in, don’t you feel it?”

His voice was different from its usual gentleness. I frowned and tilted my head to the side.

This wasn’t something he’d casually talk about.

“Close your eyes and concentrate.”

Following Blanc’s advice, I immediately closed my eyes.

…And then, I realized that the current flow of time was becoming strange.

A dragon contractor was a unique existence capable of traversing time and dimensions, and as such, would tend to be sensitive to the flow of time.

Since a dragon contractor could move through the past to alter the future, they could also understand how the flow of the past connects to the future.

It wasn’t always like this. I needed to focus my mind and use my magic.

“……”

Rosé Artius’s existence was disappearing from this world.

No, to be precise, from this ‘dimension’.

Rosé Artius, who, although not as talented as Albert, possessed the talent of an archmage, poured all her power, even sacrificing her life, to create this annihilation spell.

I knew she was out of her mind, but I didn’t know she would stake her own life on it.

“We need to take emergency measures.”

I got up and, together with Blanc, drew a magic circle.

It was a magic circle to temporarily hold the changing time due to Rosé Artius’s disappearing existence.

Holding onto the changing flow of time forever was impossible, but this much could be done.

What we needed was time.

And I have a unique power that makes the impossible possible for others.

The magic circle began to sparkle. I closed my eyes and uttered the spell’s incantation.

“Hold.”

The time-related spell, which only a dragon contractor could recite, froze the current state of time.

Now, it was time to discuss the situation with Albert.