Chapter 2
The glittering letters shone so brightly that Lor squeezed her eyes shut.
And when she opened them again…
New letters appeared on the page. As if alive, they wriggled out of the book and wrapped themselves around Lor.
Then, her small head filled with strange memories that weren’t her own.
Lor’s eyes widened as she stared blankly at the book.
Inside her head… what was unfolding?
Whose memories were these?
She had never seen or experienced them before, yet Lor instinctively knew they were real.
“Ah, ahhh—!”
Holding her aching head, Lor trembled in confusion.
So, it was like this…
**[Lor’s mother was Princess Elaine Tortrant of the Kingdom of Tortrant.
She entered into a political marriage with Archduke Arcade Atteleon of the Atteleon Empire.
Arcade was the empire’s greatest knight and general, renowned for his countless military achievements. In contrast, the Kingdom of Tortrant was but a small state under the empire’s rule. Their marriage, bound by such disparity in status, was like walking on thin ice.
One day, Princess Elaine Tortrant suddenly fled from Arcade Atteleon’s side.
At the time, Elaine was carrying Arcade’s child. The child she bore was—]**
“Huh? …Princess? What’s a princess?”
Lor blinked, tilting her head. The memories given to her were vast, yet so full of words she couldn’t understand.
She turned pleading eyes toward the book.
As if answering her, the pages rustled and flipped on their own. On a blank page, neat letters appeared.
[A princess is the daughter of a king.]
“Wow! Then my mom is a princess?”
Lor’s eyes sparkled wide. Her mother… a princess? Like the princes and princesses in fairy tales?
Before she knew it, Lor was utterly captivated by the shining book.
Even as the strange memories floated in her head, and the magical words drifted before her eyes, one thought made her smile so brightly she nodded furiously.
‘My mom is so pretty. And her name is written here too!’
Lor’s mother was truly, truly beautiful.
Golden hair shining like sunlight on wheat.
Skin as flawless and pale as porcelain.
Big round eyes with emerald irises that gleamed and sparkled.
Lor had never seen anyone prettier than her mother.
And now to hear that her mom was a princess? It suited her perfectly.
[But…]
The next words jolted Lor. Her eyes widened in shock.
‘Mom… mom….’
No! Tears welled up instantly, and Lor clamped both hands over her mouth.
According to the memories shown—
**[After fleeing from Arcade, Elaine barely survived for a few more years before she passed away.
Archduke Arcade found her only after her death. It was then, far too late, that he realized how deeply he loved her, and he regretted everything.
Elaine grew frail and ill after she escaped. And the cause of her sickness… was none other than Archduke Arcade himself.
That was why he searched for her, why he regretted it, and why he was tormented endlessly.]**
Lor imagined her mother, bedridden for years, too weak to rise.
‘M-my mom’s… going to die?’
Tears brimmed in her green eyes.
No. That couldn’t be true.
‘Grandpa said… if she just sleeps for a hundred nights, she’ll get better!’
Grandpa was smart. Grandpa knew everything and was never wrong. If he said so, then surely… surely Mom would recover.
But still, Lor’s face darkened.
She had seen with her own eyes how her mother grew weaker by the day.
She remembered, too, how the doctor always shook his head when examining her.
The doctor’s face grew graver each time. And even Grandpa’s expression turned gloomier.
‘Mom… Mom isn’t really… g-going to… die… is she?’
Hiccup—Lor swallowed her sobs, biting her lips and scrunching her face to hold back the tears.
‘Mom… Mom mustn’t die. Death means going far, far away and never coming back!’
Clenching her tiny fists, she scrubbed the tears from her eyes. Her round green eyes shone with determination.
‘This book floats, shines, and even gives me memories… Maybe it also has a way to save Mom!’
She reached for the book, but it floated just out of reach.
“Book, sniff… is there… a way to save Mom?”
She looked up desperately. Her voice came out stuffy through her tears, and droplets rolled down her cheeks with every blink.
Then, the pages flipped rapidly.
Elegant writing appeared on the blank page.
**[Arcade’s heart shattered. They said Elaine died of an illness. By the time he arrived, her body was already cold.
He interrogated the doctor who treated her, but trembling, the man only repeated the same words:
“T-there is… no cure for magical overload….”
Magical overload.
Arcade’s chest sank.
The moment he heard it, he understood. The cause of Elaine’s illness was his power.
Even before she fled, he had unknowingly harmed her. Elaine’s death was his fault.
‘I… I could have saved her….’]**
Lor gasped as she read the words.
She didn’t know what “magic” or “overload” meant. They were hard words.
But she clearly remembered—the doctor had said her mother’s illness came from magical overload!
And now she read that her father… could cure it?
“Book! Book! Then… if Dad is here, he can save Mom?”
[Of course! Your father can save your mother!]
Lor scrunched her nose.
So if Mom was to be healed—
‘I need to find Dad!’
She wiped her wet face with her small fists and nodded fiercely.
‘Wait for me, Dad! Lor will come get you!’
If Mom recovered, she could play ball with Lor, run through the forest with her, and even throw open the windows to breathe the fresh evening air.
The thought of all the things she could do with a healthy Mom made Lor grin until her cheeks flushed red.
Even though Mom was sick now, lying by Grandpa’s side, once Dad was here, Mom wouldn’t suffer anymore. Just thinking that made Lor’s heart feel like a floating balloon, soaring high—
Like a cloud drifting in the sky!
Hehe!
But then, a shadow crossed Lor’s bright face.
‘But…’
There was something that worried her.
In the memories, when Mom was with Dad, she didn’t smile as brightly as she did when looking at Lor.
And if things had been good between them, Mom wouldn’t have run away in the first place.
Thunder rumbled in her head—Boom! Boom!
“Book… Mom ran away from Dad. That means their relationship was really, really bad, right? Then… what if Dad doesn’t want to treat Mom?”
What if, when they found him, he said, “I don’t want to help someone who fought with me!”?
Lor stamped her little feet in frustration.
‘What if they fought so badly that Mom couldn’t bear to see Dad anymore?’
Then, the book glowed with golden light and flipped open again. On the page appeared—
[Then you must reconcile them! If they make peace, your father will surely heal your mother.]
The advice lifted Lor’s gloom at once.
“You’re right! Even if they fought, they can apologize and make up! Grandpa always said that’s what you do after fighting with a friend! Then… then Dad will heal Mom!”
[Exactly!]
“I’ll make Mom and Dad reconcile!”
[Clever Lor! That’s the way!]
