Chapter 6: Crown Prince Olivier (Alternative Perspective)

In the mountain range along the border of the Distoria Kingdom, a sinister castle called the “Demon King’s Castle” appears upon breaking a powerful barrier created by magic.

On the top floor of that castle, in a room adorned with modest furnishings considering it was made for the castle’s owner and the stone-paved floor, a young man sits in a rocking chair.

With dazzlingly soft silver hair, beautiful eyes reminiscent of transparent amethyst, and a gallant facial expression, he is sometimes secretly described by the kingdom’s noble ladies as a “treasure in existence itself” or “too dazzling to look at directly.” In front of an old friend, he cracks a smile that can even appear overly refined and cold.

“Demon King Silas, it’s been a while. How many years has it been? Roughly around 300, I suppose.”

“W-Well… that’s about right. Want a refill of wine?”

“I’m good for now. It doesn’t really agree with me in this current life.”

Declining the wine offered, Olivier Luke Sinfield, the Crown Prince of the neighboring Shinwood Empire, sits in the rocking chair. Despite being 22 years old, Olivier has been friends with the black-haired man sitting with his knees drawn up on the chair in front of him for about 300 years.

“Um… you mentioned your name is Olivier in this current life. But still, why in such a remote place…”

Facing the relaxed Olivier in the rocking chair, the pale-faced, black-haired man sitting triangularly on a wooden chair is the Demon King Silas. One of the two twisted horns on his head is significantly chipped.

Although he is thrilled by the visit of a human bearing the same soul as his old friend, Silas is the type who finds it hard to express joy outwardly. After offering the welcomed old friend wine and his favorite rocking chair, he is unsure about what to do next, and his gaze wanders.

In other words, the demeanor of the Demon King Silas hasn’t changed at all from his past life. Finding it nostalgic and joyful, Olivier becomes talkative.

“Yesterday, I received a letter from someone. After that, I couldn’t stay put. Before I knew it, I was heading here.”

“A letter that made Olivier want to see me; does that have something to do with our past lives…?”

“Yeah.”

Answering Silas’s cautious question with a smile, Olivier is observed by a coral-haired girl who had been watching the two from a distance, twisting her expression as if mocking.

“Hmph. Honestly, you look scared. It’s hard to tell which one is the Demon King.”

“S-Sorry, Lady Lala. It’s been about 300 years since I last saw you.”

“Yeah. The Demon King, you really haven’t changed at all.”

“Lala, you’re still as adorable as ever.”

“What?! Are you trying to say I’m childish!?”

“Huh…!?”

Reacting to Lala’s stern tone, Demon King Silas, still in a triangular sitting position, jumps up. Even that sight was nostalgic, but Olivier restrained Lala.

“Lala, Silas is my friend from the past. Lala, you spent time with us in the past too, right? Could you be a bit gentler with him?”

Lala, who looks like a mid-teenage girl, both in this life and the previous one, is Olivier’s contracted spirit. She seems to be sensitive about appearing young.

In fact, Olivier’s life is in its second round. One day, when he turned three, Olivier suddenly recalled that in his past life, he was a member of the royal family named Vincent in the Distoria Kingdom.

In this world, it’s not uncommon to be reincarnated with memories from the past life. However, it would be quite a challenge for a crown prince like himself if it were known that his past life was that of a royal of another country.

To avoid causing confusion, Olivier has kept the fact that he is a reincarnated individual a secret. The only one who knows is Lala, the contracted spirit from his past life who appeared when he regained his memories.

However, yesterday, a letter arrived that would change this situation. Lala, the one who brought it, formally bows her head towards Silas.

“Y-Yes. I’m sorry. But until I received a letter from Rene yesterday, I had completely forgotten about Demon King Silas-sama. …I didn’t even have a bit of memory about Olivier-sama’s lover in the past life.”

“I see. Her name in this life is apparently Leefe. The contracted spirit, Rene informed me about it in the letter.”

Olivier takes out the carefully kept letter and shows it to Silas. This is a letter sent by Rene, a high-ranking spirit who was Olivier’s lover and contracted spirit in his past life.

High-ranking spirits in this world, once they form a contract with someone, no longer move for the sake of others. Just like how Olivier currently has Lala as his contracted spirit, it is evident that Rene is acting for the sake of her former master, the black magician Lauri, in this life.

――”I am looking for someone to escort my master to the evening party one month from now.”

With just that sentence at the beginning of the letter, it was already enough for Olivier.

(She was reincarnated, just like me. Moreover, in the same era, Can such a coincidence really happen?)

Unable to hide his joy, Olivier, in front of Silas, who has read the letter thoroughly, exclaims.

“…I see. You did everything you could in your past life to save her. However, as a result, her memories were erased. As a price for the forbidden spell to save her.”

“Yeah.”

Silas’s gaze turns toward a chest with a glass door, the only one placed against the plain wall. Inside, there are mysteriously shaped boxes on display.

Demon King Silas is a user of all kinds of forbidden spells, rivaling the black magician Lauri. This chest is used to store the compensation received for requests. In the middle, there is a small box of pale blue.

“Olivier… no, Vincent. She must have been reincarnated. In that case, the memories of ‘Lauri and Vincent’ are always—”

Shaking his head at Silas, who opened his mouth as if determined, Olivier responds.

“It’s not the right time now. I want to naturally meet her and build a relationship from scratch. Perhaps she already has someone she likes in this life. I don’t want to trouble her, and even if that’s the case, I hope she’ll turn to me once again.”

“…I understand. But if you ever need to, come to me anytime.”

Facing the somber mood between the two, Lala sighed.

“Don’t go hugging her out of the blue the moment you reunite, okay? No matter if you were lovers in the past and were separated just before the wedding, She doesn’t remember anything about you, Olivier-sama.”

“…I know.”