Final Chapter 2: Alice
 

 
Long ago, I was in an orphanage. I don’t know why I was there, and I’m not particularly interested. The orphanage wasn’t a great place, mainly because it had few books. With no other choice, I read the same books over and over or distracted myself by reading the nuns’ diaries and letters.
 
I just wanted to read something, anything. I wanted to know things. For me, that was everything; there was nothing else.
 
The turning point came when I was ten years old. Lady Selina arrived at the orphanage.
 
I … Read the rest

Final Chapter 1: Marius
 

 
Marius is back.
 
Of course, to the world, it didn’t seem like he suddenly came back.
 
The world had changed, blending the previous life and the current one, and he was treated as if he had always been there.
 
Thanks to the [Record], Marius and I knew that two worlds had existed.
 
However, the servants, who hadn’t known Marius before, now recognized him as someone who had always been there. They believed that the ritual performed in the magic training ground was to recover Marius, who had lost his existence … Read the rest

6-4 The Last Wish
 

In the basement of the duke’s mansion, there is a large magical training ground.
 
Even though great nobles rarely engage in battles themselves, their ancestors were often excellent knights or warriors. In the case of the Rosenberg ducal family, their ancestor was a magician.
 
This underground training ground is a remnant of that legacy. While it’s sometimes used for magic training, it was originally a place for magical rituals.
 
Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to use magic openly in the garden during broad daylight, but magic was originally a secret art, not meant … Read the rest

6-3 The Price
 

 
I finished reading the [Record] in my room. Despite the book’s considerable thickness, the pages with text didn’t even fill half of it.
 
No matter how much I flipped through, no more of his messages appeared.
 
The book, impervious to any interference, repelled even my tears, which slid off its surface.
 
Of course, reading the [Record] doesn’t allow me to remember Marius.
 
It’s just a vague feeling that “someone like that might have existed.”
 
However, his presence completely filled the hole in my heart.
 
The other visitor besides Father, … Read the rest

6-2 Marius
 

If Selina is reading this, it means you’ve been given another chance at life.
 
Wonderful. I’ve succeeded in altering the world. Now I can proudly say that I’m a magician worthy of the Seven Stars.
 
However, Selina, you probably don’t remember me.
 
It’s understandable. Magic always requires a price. The cost of changing the world far exceeds mere magical power.
 
To cast this spell, I had to offer my very existence as payment. In other words, I had to give up my own existence to the world.
 
Do you understand what I’m … Read the rest

Chapter 6: The Ritual
 
6-1 The Seven Stars
 

“I might be recommended for the Seven Stars.”
 
Alice reported this to me some time after my engagement to the crown prince had been privately called off.
 
The Seven Stars is a title given to the top seven magicians in this country.
 
There are apparently evaluation criteria such as magical power, ability, and achievements. But it’s rare for someone Alice’s age to be recommended for the Seven Stars.
 
Alice has been at the top of the magic class since her first year, and has been creating … Read the rest

5-5 Breaking the Engagement
 

After that, the servants continued to expand their influence on their own.
 
After all, I had been telling them since their training that “the real deal starts when you enter the academy,” so it was too late to stop them now.
 
I saw knight-class students shouting “Sir, yes sir!” to Richard, but I pretended not to notice. I hope I’m wrong, but could it be that the servants are applying the education I gave them to the regular students?
 
I can’t exactly say,
 
“That education is for assassins, so you shouldn’t … Read the rest

5-4 Mortal Combat
 

 
My deadly battle with dogs continued even after I entered the academy.
 
After all, I had to get used to dogs since I needed to bring them along when meeting the Crown Prince (and the Queen).
 
However, no matter how many times I fought, I was always one-sidedly trampled, and I couldn’t find a way to win.
 
I couldn’t keep facing dogs without a strategy. Knowing your enemy is a golden rule in battle.
 
So, before today’s fight, I decided to invite Louis, who knows dogs best, to my room for … Read the rest

5-3 Control
 

In my previous life, I led a fairly significant faction at the academy. It was a group formed by those attracted to the name of the ducal family, but in the end, it proved useless.
 
Other such factions exist at the academy. As in my previous life, people tend to gather around children of influential nobles. Even now, people congregate around Prince Edward, who is in the same year as us… though not as many as before.
 
Until now, there hadn’t been any conflicts between factions. Nobles must maintain an outward appearance of grace. Even … Read the rest

5-2 Oscar
 

 
My earliest memory is of being led by the hand to an orphanage by my mother.
 
“Your real father is a nobleman. Live with pride in that fact,”
 
she said with a sad expression.
 
Looking back now, my mother probably had a child at a young age but couldn’t force marriage with the noble father. Yet it was difficult for a woman to live alone, so she left her child at an orphanage to marry another man.
 
In other words, my existence was a nuisance.
 
Well, that’s fine… No, it’s not fine, but I can understand. However, … Read the rest