Yuri invited Graham into her quarters.
His chambers rarely saw visitors. Even Yuri herself was seldom there except when sleeping, as she was usually busy elsewhere.
So there wasn’t much prepared for guests.
Yuri sat across from Graham and whispered to Ena.
“Ena.”
“Yes…?”
“Shouldn’t we at least offer some snacks…?”
“I sent someone. They’ll be here soon.”
“Not now?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Well, the prince usually doesn’t eat snacks…”
“Hmm…”
“And he doesn’t usually have visitors either…”
“Uh-huh…”
“They’ll be here soon. In the meantime, just use the prince’s charm to distract him. I trust you.”
“So it all depends on my skills, huh.”
“Yes. Well, I’ll be off then.”
“Ugh…”
Ena hurried away.
Left alone, the atmosphere suddenly felt awkward.
Yuri cleared her throat.
“Sir Graham, dropping by unannounced like this… a little warning beforehand would have been nice…”
Two cups of black tea sat quietly on the table.
Yuri forced a smile and lifted her cup.
“This is called Earl Grey. It has a wonderful aroma.”
“Is that so?”
“I drink it often. It’s calming, somehow…”
They raised their cups as if to toast and took a sip.
Graham closed his eyes, savoring the tea, then smiled softly.
“It’s good.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
Silence fell again, heavy and uncomfortable.
Yuri’s plan to charm him with eloquence had failed from the start.
As she struggled to find words, Graham spoke first.
“Your Highness.”
“Hmm?”
“The snacks can wait.”
“Huh?”
“I want to speak with you alone.”
“You heard all that earlier?”
“Yes.”
“Uh-huh…”
Yuri felt a bit embarrassed that their quiet conversation had been overheard.
She stood, holding her teacup.
“If you want privacy, let’s go inside.”
“Very well.”
They left the sitting room and moved deeper into the study.
Between neatly arranged bookshelves stood a table, and beyond the window stretched a clear blue sky.
Framed by the window’s lattice, Yuri and Graham sat facing each other.
“A secret conversation?”
“You could say that.”
“Understood.”
Yuri touched the mana stone hidden beneath the table. Magic activated, sealing off all sound between the study and the outside.
Now their words would not escape.
Sipping her tea, Yuri asked, “You surprised me by coming all of a sudden. And now you want to talk secrets? That makes me even more nervous.”
“Hahaha…”
“My offer still stands. So, are you thinking of coming to Briole?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, I thought so…”
Yuri knew well that Graham wouldn’t come.
That made her even more curious.
“Then, what brings you here?”
Instead of answering, Graham stared into his teacup. Something flickered in his eyes as he gazed into the tea.
“Your Highness.”
“Hmm?”
“I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“Have you… by any chance… come from the future?”
“What?”
Yuri nearly spat out her tea. She barely kept her composure, her heart pounding. She calmed herself with a mana method.
She forced a smile.
“Th-that’s impossible. Sir Graham, you say the funniest things.”
“Indeed. Hahaha…”
Graham smiled faintly.
“It’s just a thought. You seem like someone who never makes mistakes.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
He leaned back, eyes distant as if recalling the past.
“In the Alliance army, you were remarkably composed for your age. Everything you tried succeeded. Looking at your record, it’s as if you knew the future.”
“Just lucky.”
“Yet you always seemed so confident.”
“I was just pretending.”
“Is that so…”
Graham lowered his gaze.
“My coming here was impulsive. I suddenly wanted to ask you—among the people I know, who doubts their own decisions the least?”
“Someone who doesn’t doubt their own decisions probably lives in that empire, not here.”
Yuri joked, but Graham shook his head.
“That’s not confidence in oneself, but in power.”
“Sir Graham, you have quite the irreverent tongue.”
“I didn’t say who.”
“Neither did I.”
They laughed together. Yuri continued.
“Alright. I don’t think that way at all, but let’s say you’re right—that I’m a man full of unwavering confidence in my decisions.”
“Yes.”
“What advice did you come all this way to ask from such a man?”
“Your Highness…”
Graham chose his words carefully.
“Do you believe in a worthy death?”
The sudden question made Yuri set down her teacup.
“Let me ask again. Between living by abandoning your honor and dying while keeping it, which would you choose?”
Yuri stared at Graham with a stern expression.
On his face, the same melancholy she had seen in him during their past life flickered—like the Graham who had been sent away alive, burdened with sorrow.
It was as if that past Graham had returned to ask:
You survived disgracefully.
And then what?
Was it better to live that way, or would it have been better to die?
Yuri already had her answer.
But the words wouldn’t come.
So she lowered her gaze to the surface of her tea, reflecting on the past.
In the end, she was glad to be alive.
Because she survived, she had returned to the past and gained a chance to atone for her sins.
But it was all chance.
Originally, she was meant to die—losing her head to Roland and left as a corpse in the wilderness.
She would never have found peace in death, burdened by the sin of not dying where she should have.
Once she abandoned honor, there was nowhere in the world to call home.
So how fortunate it is to die where one must.
But.
Graham Hart.
How could she give a proper answer when this honorable knight came with that expression, asking about death?
She wanted to say no.
Yuri looked up at Graham.
He smiled, as if to say, “It’s okay. Just answer me.”
Yuri spoke.
“Sir Graham.”
“Yes.”
“I want to tell you a story about someone I know.”
“Good. Someone I know?”
“Maybe.”
“May I ask who?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Are they dead?”
“You could say that.”
“Understood.”
“Now that I’m about to start, I don’t even know how to begin…”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“True.”
“Hahaha, then I’ll be the one asking.”
“Alright.”
“First…”
Graham tilted his head and asked,
─What kind of person was he?
How did it come to this?
Elaine sat in her room, facing the emperor’s daughter.
The empire’s treasure, Yekaterina.
Even to another woman, she was impossibly beautiful.
Elaine had often been called beautiful herself and was quietly confident.
But looking at the princess, she felt ashamed for ever thinking that.
It was like they lived in completely different worlds.
“…”
Yekaterina sipped her tea with a calm expression.
“The aroma is nice.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Earl Grey?”
“You know it?”
“There was someone I liked who did…”
Her green eyes were unrealistically clear, like a doll’s with jewels for eyes.
At first, Elaine found her emotionless gaze eerie.
But when Yekaterina smiled talking about the tea, her whole face lit up.
She was beautiful.
Elaine even wondered who the person was that could make her smile like that.
Just changing her expression made others think deeply—truly a face blessed by the heavens.
But as a merchant, Elaine knew better than to be fooled by appearances.
“So, why did you come to see me?”
“I heard you brought goods from the East.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Elaine pulled out a thin booklet she had brought.
“Then take a look at this. It’s a rough catalog of the items…”
“Enough.”
Yekaterina shook her head.
“I didn’t come because of the goods.”
“Then…?”
“Is the room soundproof?”
“Pardon?”
“I want to talk in secret.”
“Oh, yes.”
Elaine concealed her unease and took out an artifact from her clothes.
Mana from the mana stone spread a soundproof barrier inside the room.
Now their conversation wouldn’t leak outside.
“This is reliable, right?”
“Of course.”
Yekaterina eyed the artifact suspiciously, and Elaine explained.
“This was given to me directly by the Master Wizard of the Mage Tower…”
“Sorry. It’s a very secret conversation.”
“I’m Elaine Wood. I value trust like my life. Nothing will leak.”
“Understood.”
Elaine expected Yekaterina to speak immediately, but she hesitated.
At times like this, it was best to stay silent.
Elaine waited for Yekaterina to open her mouth.
“May I call you Elaine?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Elaine. Actually, I’ve been watching you for a long time.”
“Pardon?”
Elaine looked up. Yekaterina wore a vague smile.
“I’ve been thinking about you…”
What followed left Elaine momentarily speechless.
“Are you from the future?”
Remaining silent in shock is basically admitting defeat.
So Elaine always answered first, no matter the situation.
But this time, I truly couldn’t say a word.
It wasn’t just because I was dumbfounded.
The truth was, Elaine had entertained similar thoughts herself.
“By any chance, where—or rather, when—are you from?”
“You’re more interesting than I expected, Your Highness. Ha ha ha…”
“Or maybe it’s not you who’s from the future, but someone around you?”
“Your jokes are quite something.”
Elaine barely managed to keep her composure. Yes, it was entirely possible.
She had expanded her business without a single failure so far. From an outsider’s perspective, it might have seemed as if she knew the future.
“Being told I’m from the future must mean you hold my insight in high regard. I appreciate the compliment.”
“I’m not speaking figuratively. I’m literally asking—are you from the future?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why you’re asking that?”
“Just a feeling I got.”
“Just a feeling?”
“Yeah.”
Now Elaine wanted to understand what exactly the princess was thinking with such a question.
So she spoke with more conviction.
“Your Highness.”
Elaine wasn’t about to be intimidated just because she was speaking to royalty.
“You wouldn’t have rushed to find me just because of a vague feeling. Not immediately, as if you’d been waiting for this moment. Considering your personality, that would be even stranger.”
“You know my personality?”
“I thought you might become a key client.”
“Do you have something you want to sell me?”
“I do, but let’s get back to the main topic.”
“I thought you were joking, but you’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Feeling a little guilty, maybe?”
“Your Highness, if you don’t tell me honestly why you came, I have no reason to continue this conversation.”
“Ha ha…”
Ekaterina laughed playfully.
It was a new expression she’d shown today. Elaine, who had been about to press further, suddenly fell silent.
Not for any particular reason—she just wanted to see that face a little longer.
To be silenced just by admiring an expression—that was truly an impossible face.
Elaine sighed deeply.
“Well, anyway…”
She tried to see things from Ekaterina’s perspective.
She didn’t know how much was true, but the princess didn’t seem crazy.
She wasn’t the type to come all this way just to make a silly joke.
“Please speak plainly. I’m tired too.”
“Alright. Since you still seem wary, maybe I should be the one to open up first.”
Ekaterina toyed with her teacup’s edge as she spoke casually.
“I’m from the future too. That’s why I’m asking.”
Elaine was speechless once again.
Most would have doubted the princess’s sanity or assumed she was teasing.
But Elaine found herself taking it seriously without realizing it.
That reaction alone meant she harbored the same suspicion deep down.
From the moment Ekaterina mentioned the future, Elaine had been thinking of him.
Yuri Briol.
Her business partner who always seemed to know the future, always providing the answers.
“Ha ha ha…”
When Elaine remained silent, Ekaterina burst out laughing.
“Must be tough hearing something like that out of the blue.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Right, I understand.”
That inscrutable smile reminded Elaine of him.
While she was lost in thought, Ekaterina spoke again, her voice light and teasing.
“What can you do now? I’ll tell you. You can just take it or leave it.”
“Alright.”
“This is just a story about someone I know. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“So…”
She lowered her long lashes and said,
“This person I know suddenly started recalling memories of the future. It was like they’d come back from the future to the past.”
“Yes.”
“But the memories weren’t complete—just fragmented scenes, like torn pages. At first, they thought it was a delusion. But then the future they knew started coming true.”
“I see.”
“So they wondered if there was someone else like them in the world. And that’s how I found you—the merchant who seems to know the future and is succeeding in business.”
“I was just lucky.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s not you.”
“Huh?”
“There’s actually someone else. Someone who’s taking a different path from the future I know.”
At some point, the subject shifted, but neither of them seemed to mind.
“The reason you succeeded early in business must be because that person helped you. Am I right?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I’d appreciate it if you were honest.”
“You sound like you’re convinced someone’s behind me.”
“I am.”
Elaine couldn’t deny she was intrigued by Ekaterina’s story.
She, too, had her doubts about Yuri Briol, and the part about “someone helping you succeed early” stuck with her.
She wanted to know what kind of future Ekaterina knew.
What had she been like? Had she managed to revive Elaine’s shop, even if belatedly?
And what about Yuri Briol? Was he as remarkable as he was now?
There were so many questions she wanted to ask.
But before that, Elaine asked the most important one.
“Your Highness, if I may.”
“Yes. If you may.”
“I’m just adding to the story because it’s interesting. If, as you say, someone is behind me. And if that person truly has knowledge of the future.”
“If they do?”
“What would you do with that person?”
It was a casual question, just testing the waters.
But the moment Ekaterina heard it, her face darkened. Like a blooming flower suddenly wilting, the radiant light in her eyes was replaced by deep sorrow.
What had happened between them?
Elaine waited calmly.
But Ekaterina found it hard to speak.
At times like this, it was better to soothe gently.
“Your Highness.”
“Hm?”
“If it’s difficult to talk about, I can ask differently.”
“Alright.”
“We have plenty of time, so take it slow. First…”
Elaine chose her words carefully and asked the question she was most curious about.
—Who was he?