Episode 2: Late at night, in the library

The coldness of the stone steps woke me up.

　I can't breathe properly. I can't taste the blood that should have been in my throat. I look down at my hands. There are no rope marks, and no white execution garment. Instead, there are the worn cuffs of my cloak and familiar fingerless work gloves.

　The moment I took a deep breath, the smell of paper, leather, and old wax filled my lungs.

　It's the library in the middle of the night.

　The library, located in the deepest part of the palace's basement, was dimly lit even during the day, but by midnight it was almost like night itself. The shadows of bookshelves reaching to the high ceiling overlapped in layers, and pale blue magic lamps hanging on the walls faintly illuminated the passageway. The light flickered dimly on the polished black stone floor.

　I must have been sitting down halfway up the stone steps. When I traced the steps with my fingertips, I could even remember the feel of the worn edges.

　This night.

　That night, after finishing repairs to an old ledger donated to the relief hospital, I was exceptionally allowed to return it to the underground library. I wasn't from the accounting department, just a clerk at the relief hospital, and that was the only time I was allowed into this place. I remember the bell outside had just struck twelve, and I was hurrying back to the surface after getting the signature on the ledger's return tag—

　"...Are you back?"

　The moment I put it into words, my whole body trembled.

　I pinch my cheek to make sure it's not a dream. It hurts. I can clearly feel the coldness of the stone steps and the numbness in my toes.

　That night, one year ago.

　Then, there's still time.

　Before the audit next month begins, the ward's books haven't been completely tampered with. The contracts to sell the children can be stopped before they come to light. The plot to frame me can also be thwarted now.

　The image of the execution platform remained in the back of my mind like burnt ruins. Mina was crying. Leo was desperately stretching on his tiptoes. And I died without being able to do anything.

　"This time..."

　This time, I won't let anyone else have it.

　As I tried to stand up, I noticed a silvery sparkle scattered at my feet. It was a tiny shard of mirror. Apparently, just a small piece had fallen off the edge of the large magic mirror that stood in front of the door leading to the back of the library at the bottom of the stairs.

　In the mirror I peered into, I saw my own eyes illuminated by a pale light. My face looked much younger than it did just before I died. But the depths of my eyes were like those of a completely different person.

　At that moment, I heard the sound of cloth rustling behind the bookshelves.

　I instinctively recoiled, taking half a step to hide behind the stairs. Only a limited number of people would come to the library at this time. The librarian, someone with royal permission, or perhaps...?

　"Who's there?"

　It was a low, clear voice. There was no way I could have mistaken it.

　Elisha.

　My heart skipped a beat. The gray eyes that had been looking up at me from beneath the scaffold were now calmly gazing into the darkness between the bookshelves. He wore a black cloak and held a bunch of keys to the sealed library in one hand. I already knew why the Duke would descend into the underground library alone at this late hour.

　In his first life, this person also investigated corruption within the royal family.

　And then, he was killed for getting too close to the truth.

　Only I, who know the future, know of that death.

　A sense of urgency welled up before fear. Nothing would change if I just stayed silent and waited. If I wanted to change things, there was someone I had to grab onto right here, right now.

　I emerged from behind the bushes.

　"...It's me. Skyler, the clerk at the orphanage."

　Elisha's gaze narrowed sharply. It was only natural that a mere scribe would be suspected if he were crouching in the deepest part of the palace basement at this hour.

　"The return record should have been received a while ago. Why are you still here?"

　"I'm feeling a little unwell..."

　Half of it was true. No one could remain calm after just dying and coming back to life.

　But Elisha is not the kind of man to take excuses at face value. His gray eyes darted across my hands, my feet, and even the shards of the mirror in an instant.

　"That's not the face of someone who's just feeling unwell."

　"……I agree"

　My throat is burning.

　What I'm about to say isn't something a sane person would say. But that execution block was the result of dying while still sane.

　So, even if it's embarrassing, even if it makes you seem crazy, you should say it.

　I looked straight at Elisha.

　"Your Excellency, I have a request."

　"It depends on the content."

　"Please make me your wife."

　Silence fell.

　Only the faint hum of the magic lamp continued between the bookshelves.

　Elisha's expression broke for the first time. It wasn't so much surprise as it was the look of someone who had been struck by an unexpected blow. Normally, the thought that she was the one who had made the cold-hearted duke look like that would make her flinch a little. But now she didn't have that luxury.

　"If this wasn't an underground library, I'd just dismiss it as a joke."

　"I'm not kidding."

　"Then I question your sanity."

　"Be suspicious. But before you do, ask a question."

　I took just one step closer. I gripped the hem of my coat to keep my legs from trembling.

　"During next month's audit, the ledgers of the relief center will be replaced. After being moved to the accounting office's sealed vault, the original copies will be hidden elsewhere. The children will be sold into servitude, and I will be framed for embezzlement."

　"...Who told you that?"

　"I didn't hear it. I know it."

　Elisha's eyes gleamed like a sword that had lost its heat. If I said any more, I could easily be captured. But I didn't stop.

　"And then, two months later, in the middle of the night, His Excellency was assassinated at Nanqiao."

　"What did you say?"

　The atmosphere changed.

　The eyes that were looking at a suspicious woman just moments ago have now changed to those that look at a dangerous witness. I have already crossed a line that cannot be forgiven if it is a lie.

　"You don't have to believe me, but please use me. I can get to the evidence of the corruption you're pursuing. In return, I want to protect the children in the orphanage."

　The faces I saw on the execution platform flashed before my eyes one after another.

　Mina. Leo. Yuna. Those little hands that would hold onto my sleeve and fall asleep whenever they had a fever. Those kids who were called by their order of admission, and were made to memorize their numbers before their real names.

　"I don't want to lose it again."

　My voice trembled uncontrollably when I said that last word.

　Elisha didn't answer immediately. After a long silence, he quietly jingled the bunch of keys he was holding and looked down at me.

　"You know two things that the clerk at the relief center couldn't possibly know."

　"yes"

　"One is the actions of the Board of Accounting. The other is my own schedule."

　"yes"

　"And then you proposed to me."

　"yes"

　I gave a stupid-sounding answer, but no one laughed at me.

　Elisha narrowed his eyes just a little. His wariness remained. Yet, he hadn't completely dismissed the idea either.

　"Alright. Let's hear the rest first."

　"……continuation?"

　"I need to see if you truly know the future, or if you have a very poorly conceived plan. We'll talk after that."

　In that way of speaking, I felt I saw a different kind of relief than coldness. It didn't immediately dismiss it. Instead of postponing judgment, it gave me room to consider it further.

　If this were me before I died, I might have cried just over that.

　But I won't cry now.

　Because I've already made a promise to the person in that mirror.

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