Regulus, moving forward down the long, opulent hallways with Julia, soon arrived outside a heavy oak door.
"Please wait a moment," Julia said softly. She raised her hand and knocked gently on the wood.
"Who is it?" a somewhat weak, raspy voice came from inside the room.
"Father, it's me. Julia."
"...Julia."
"Yes. An envoy from the Capital wishes to see you."
"An envoy from the Capital... I understand. Please, let him in."
After receiving permission, Julia looked apologetically at Regulus.
"Father's health isn't very good lately, so please forgive any rudeness or lack of proper protocol."
In response, Regulus shook his head. "Poor health is unavoidable."
Though he said this politely, Regulus felt a surge of satisfaction in his heart. He had arrived at just the right time. It was incredibly fortunate that Roswaal was currently in a weakened state.
If this man's body had been in peak condition, dealing with him would not have been easy. Roswaal A. Mathers—or rather, the soul inhabiting this current body—was a renowned existence, known as the strongest mage in the Kingdom.
Julia pushed open the heavy door, stepping aside to let Regulus enter.
Inside the dimly lit room, Regulus saw a man lying in a large, canopy bed.
This was the current generation's Roswaal.
However, the man before him was different from the eccentric, clown-makeup-wearing Lord that Regulus remembered from the canon story.
This Roswaal was a middle-aged man, perhaps in his late forties, looking pale and gaunt.
Because he hadn't yet possessed his daughter's body—he hadn't yet transformed into a woman—he naturally hadn't experienced the strange sequence of events that would shape his future persona.
In the original timeline, after possessing Julia and becoming a woman, Roswaal would eventually fall in love with a certain hot-blooded young swordsman: Wilhelm van Astrea, the future Sword Demon.
It was precisely because of this doomed, one-sided romance while inhabiting a female body that, even after Roswaal later possessed male descendants (like the Roswaal L. Mathers of Subaru's time), his speech and mannerisms retained a feminine, flamboyant flair. To conceal this emotional scarring and his true identity, Roswaal ultimately adopted the persona of a juggling clown.
But looking at this current, weary middle-aged man, Regulus noticed something that completely derailed his train of thought.
As the sickly Roswaal looked up from his pillows, his heterochromatic eyes locked onto Regulus.
Instantly, those eyes filled with an extremely complex storm of emotions: shock, disbelief, overwhelming delight, and profound, crushing shame.
It was a look of recognition.
It was as if... the two had met before.
But this is impossible, Regulus thought. This is our first meeting. I just transmigrated into this world a few months ago.
Before Regulus could process this, Roswaal spoke, his voice trembling.
"Julia. Go... go entertain the guests in the hall."
"I understand, Father."
Julia, sensing the heavy atmosphere, couldn't help but steal a glance at Regulus as she turned around. She was burning with curiosity about this white-haired man's relationship with her father.
Could he be Father's illegitimate son?! she murmured to herself as she walked to the door.
It felt like a very real possibility. First, their ages (visually) matched the timeline perfectly. Second, the complex, almost tearful emotional changes in her father's eyes just now fit the narrative.
Perhaps he was a father who had abandoned a lover, leaving a mother to raise her child alone. And now, when the father was nearing the end of his life, the illegitimate son had come knocking to claim his birthright.
Wait! If he really is an illegitimate son... wouldn't my position as the heir be in danger?!
Julia's imagination ran wild, concocting a grand, tragic family drama in her mind. But she quickly shook her head.
No, no, no. I must be overthinking it. How could Father be the kind of person who would abandon his own flesh and blood?
"Indeed, I should try to avoid reading those strange romance novels from the capital," Julia muttered to herself, taking one last look before closing the door firmly behind her.
She chose to leave obediently. Even if she was dying of curiosity, she dared not eavesdrop. Her father's magical perception was terrifyingly strong; he would surely discover anyone lingering in the hallway.
As the heavy door clicked shut, the silence in the room became suffocating.
"Roswaal," Regulus said carefully, testing the waters.
"Yes."
Roswaal responded immediately. He threw off his blankets and, with agonizing effort, labored to get off the bed. His legs shook as they touched the floor.
Then, under Regulus's bewildered gaze, the most powerful mage in the Kingdom dropped to his knees.
He pressed his forehead directly against the cold wooden floorboards in a full, desperate prostration.
What's going on!? Regulus thought, his eyes widening.
Such a grand gesture upon meeting? This was an old monster who had lived for over three hundred years by continuously possessing his own children. He bowed to no one.
"Grandmaster..." Roswaal wept, his voice cracking with three centuries of suppressed grief. "I am sorry. I... I failed to protect Master. She is already..."
"Hmm!!?"
Regulus raised an eyebrow, feeling a mix of shock and utter speechlessness.
It was very easy to understand that Roswaal's "Master" was Echidna, the Witch of Greed.
But the problem was, Echidna had been dead for four hundred years! And Regulus had only been in this world for a short time.
Grandmaster? He's calling me his Grandmaster?
That meant Roswaal believed Regulus was Echidna's man. Echidna's husband or partner.
This guy couldn't have mistaken me for someone else, could he? Regulus thought rapidly.
But Roswaal wasn't the type to make a mistake about a soul's signature. If he hadn't made a mistake, there was only one logical explanation for this paradox.
Time travel.
At some point in the future, Regulus would gain the ability to travel back in time, four hundred years into the past. He would meet Echidna, conquer her, and become Roswaal's "Grandmaster."
Actually... that makes perfect sense, Regulus realized, his heart beating faster.
Because he possessed the Authority of Plunder.
In this world, there were all sorts of strange Divine Protections, Authorities, and special magics. Who could guarantee that there wasn't an ability related to time manipulation?
As long as such an ability existed, and its wielder was a girl, he had a high probability of conquering her and Plundering her power.
And if he did obtain a time-travel ability in the future... would he ignore the legendary Witches of Sin? Would he ignore the Witch of Envy, or Echidna?
Absolutely not. He would definitely travel back to conquer them and add them to his harem.
It was a closed time loop.
Deciding to play along and gather more information, Regulus looked down at the prostrating mage and feigned cold displeasure.
"You mean to tell me... Echidna is dead?" Regulus asked, his voice echoing with authority.
"I am sorry! It is all because of my incompetence!" Roswaal cried out, his shoulders shaking. "Even though you had already foretold what would happen before you left... even though you warned me... I still failed to live up to your expectations!"
Roswaal's words were filled with crushing regret and self-reproach.
The next moment, Roswaal raised his head, his tear-streaked face filled with desperate, manic hope.
"Grandmaster! Please... please use it to resurrect Master!"
Roswaal reached into his robes and pulled out an object. His trembling hands offered it up to Regulus like a holy relic.
"This is what I have collected over the past three hundred years. I followed your instructions perfectly. If it is still not enough, I can continue to collect more!"
Regulus reached out and took the object.
It was a spherical object, dark red and crystalline, pulsing with a strange, heavy mana.
As Regulus held it, he peered inside the translucent red sphere. Suspended at the very center was a small, intricate golden pocket watch.
Regulus frowned.
He felt that the golden pocket watch looked incredibly familiar, but he couldn't quite recall where he had seen it before his transmigration.
What exactly is this thing?
He didn't understand it. He didn't recognize its magical signature, let alone know how to use it.
But based on what Roswaal was saying, this artifact—something Regulus himself had apparently ordered Roswaal to build four centuries ago—was the key to resurrecting the Witch of Greed.
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