Fortunately, all the memories from Saul’s life remained intact in his mind.
His memories were tangled together in various ways, but it was not difficult to find the knowledge and information he needed at the moment.
Besides, he was a patient right now.
With a young prince lying injured in bed, no one around him would bother him more than necessary.
“Gray.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“My head hurts. And I’m tired. Would you leave me alone for a while?”
“Of course. Then....”
Roland—no, Saul—did not get his wish to sort through his thoughts alone.
An attendant’s shout came from outside.
“His Majesty the King has arrived!”
“……!!!”
The King of Darsen.
Maren Darius had come.
It seemed that even a father who normally paid little attention to his son had felt compelled to visit after hearing that the boy had suffered an accident and been badly injured.
Saul was greatly flustered.
He had not even prepared himself mentally, yet he was suddenly about to come face-to-face with the king of his former enemy nation.
His body moved before his mind could catch up.
No matter how young the prince was or how badly he had been injured, the man approaching was the king.
Even a prince had to show proper respect to a man who was both his father and his sovereign.
Unless he had broken a bone and was physically incapable of rising, he could hardly remain sprawled in bed while receiving the king.
Saul forced himself upright, and Gray helped him sit as straight as possible.
In the meantime, Saul’s father and king, Maren, appeared.
“F-Father.”
Following what his body remembered, Saul bowed his head.
Just as he remembered, Maren was an imposing middle-aged man.
He had short brown hair, a full beard, and deep reddish-brown eyes.
He stood a head taller than the average man, with a massive build that even his magnificent royal attire could not conceal.
His gaze was sharp, as though it could see through everything.
He had such an intimidating appearance that, without the king’s garments, he could easily have been mistaken for a general or the leader of a mercenary company.
This was the man who had occupied the throne of the Kingdom of Darsen since the days when Roland had still been active more than a decade ago.
Maren Darius.
Saul’s body instinctively bowed before his great father.
His soul, however, felt differently.
He might be Saul’s father, but he was also the king of an enemy nation.
What would happen if Saul cut off his head right here and brought it back to the Kingdom of Gamelda?
Would that not avenge his father and his elder brothers, who had lost their lives on the battlefield?
It would also avenge Roland himself, who had died in battle just as they had.
But he could not do that now.
Whether he could survive after killing the enemy king was a secondary concern.
With the frail body of a ten-year-old boy, he had no way of attacking and killing the enormous man before him.
Moreover, Saul’s own memories and identity restrained the hostility of ‘Roland.’
Before recovering his previous life’s memories, Saul had never deeply resented his father.
He had wished Maren would love him more and show him greater attention, but he had never hated him.
His mother had been dead for years, and he did not even have relatives to support him. He was an insignificant prince with neither a powerful background nor a faction of his own.
In a way, it was only natural that the king would not pay much attention to such a prince.
Even Saul, a young boy who knew little of the ways of the world, had understood that much.
He had few memories of experiencing a father’s warmth, but Maren was still his father.
He was also a respectable king who had skillfully guided the kingdom through turbulent times.
Saul might have resented him before, but he had never hated him.
Could he truly begin treating his father as an enemy merely because he had remembered a previous life?
In the end, Saul made his decision.
For now, he would play the role of a good son and a proper prince.
“It is an honor that you came to see me, Father.”
At Saul’s words, Maren spoke in an authoritative voice.
“You may remain at ease.”
“Thank you.”
Only after receiving Maren’s permission did Gray help Saul settle into a more comfortable position against the bed.
“How are you feeling?”
“My head hurts a little, but I’m all right.”
“I was greatly alarmed when I heard the news. I was relieved to learn that the wound was not serious and that it had merely been an accident.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Maren watched Saul as he spoke with his head lowered, then suddenly said,
“Raise your head.”
“…….”
Had Father noticed something strange about him?
Despite his anxiety, Saul had no choice but to obey.
Maren looked into Saul’s eyes and said,
“It seems your father feels like a stranger to you.”
“N-No, that isn’t true.”
“It is all right. Come to think of it, I have been so occupied with affairs of state that I have not seen you very often. From now on, whenever the opportunity arises, I will try to make at least a little time to see you. Take good care of yourself.”
At those words, Saul felt warmth spread through his chest.
Separate from ‘Roland’s’ memories, Prince Saul had always longed for his father’s affection.
The warmth of a father’s love.
It was something Roland had hardly experienced in his previous life.
Who would have imagined that he would experience it only now, after being reincarnated in the body of an enemy prince?
Saul did his best not to reveal his complicated emotions.
“Yes, Father.”
A short while later, Maren rose from his seat.
As Maren’s back receded into the distance, Saul let out a sigh of relief.
Unaware of Saul’s true feelings, Gray said,
“His Majesty truly is your father, Your Highness. He must be terribly busy, yet he came to see you personally.”
“You’re right. I’m grateful.”
***
King Maren was leaving after visiting his son when he suddenly stopped, as though something had occurred to him.
“Summon the mage who treated Saul.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At the king’s command, the healing mage was immediately summoned.
“You called for me, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. I want to hear about Saul’s condition once more.”
“The wound was not minor, but His Highness is past the worst of it. With proper magic and medicine, he should recover completely without even leaving a scar.”
The healing mage answered tensely, wondering whether he had somehow made a mistake.
“That is good to hear. It is only that Saul’s gaze and manner of speaking seem somewhat different from how I remember them.”
“He appears to still be suffering from the shock. I will do everything I can to ensure that there are no lingering aftereffects.”
“Very well. See your duty through to the end.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
***
Saul spent the next several days in bed, sorting through the complicated mess inside his head.
Gray, the mage, and many others devoted themselves to caring for him.
Thanks to them, after only a few days Saul recovered enough to get out of bed and move around on his own.
“Your Highness, please be careful.”
“I’m fine.”
Gray became anxious even when Saul merely rose from bed and moved around a little on his own.
Being utterly devoted to a prince was admirable, but was this not excessive?
Still, Saul did not rebuke Gray for it.
Saul’s memories from the past ten years proved one thing beyond doubt.
Within this royal palace—and indeed, within the entire kingdom—the person Saul could trust most was Gray.
“Gray.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Remind me. What year is it?”
“Pardon? Why... it is the year 521.”
“Year 521 of the Continental Calendar?”
“That is correct, Your Highness.”
Roland had died in the year 510 of the Continental Calendar.
Presumably, not long after Roland’s death, he had been conceived by the woman who would become his mother, then reborn and lived for another ten years.
They said ten years was enough to transform even mountains and rivers.
Yet the world Saul knew was not greatly different from the world Roland had known.
The Kingdom of Gamelda and the Kingdom of Darsen both still stood, and their relationship was still terrible.
According to Saul’s memories, however, the two kingdoms had signed an armistice treaty after a major war several years ago.
As for the details of that war and the armistice treaty....
“Mm....”
When Saul clutched his head, Gray spoke in alarm.
“Does your head hurt? I will summon the mage immediately.”
“No, I’m fine. Gray, more importantly....”
First, he needed to understand exactly what was happening in the world now.
Only then could he decide what direction his life should take from here on.
“Gray, I have something to ask of you.”
“Please tell me.”
“Maybe it’s because I hurt my head, but everything feels a little confused. Help me.”
“Of course. If there is anything I can do to help....”
“Good. I want to organize my thoughts while reading. Take me to the library.”
Before regaining the memories of his previous life, Saul had loved books.
He had read many books that were difficult for someone his age.
As a result, the library of the Ivory Palace was packed with countless volumes.
He remembered receiving a large shipment of books about a month ago.
Those books should allow him to learn how the world was currently changing.
“The library, Your Highness? But....”
Gray was visibly hesitant.
The accident had been unforeseen, but Saul had still been injured in the library. That must have bothered him.
Saul therefore gave him an earnest look.
“Please. Take me there.”
In his previous life, Roland had begun his military career as the lowest-ranking officer.
Because of that, he knew very well that a superior’s ‘request’ could sometimes carry more weight than an ‘order.’
A ‘request’ from a beautiful young prince who had inherited his deceased mother’s features was more than enough to sway the elderly attendant’s heart.
“Very well, Your Highness.”
***
The Ivory Palace had originally been built for a royal concubine.
Compared to the other detached palaces within the royal grounds, it was considered somewhat less prestigious.
It was smaller and more modest than the ‘Golden Palace,’ where the king resided, or the ‘Amber Palace,’ where the queen lived.
But to Roland, who had once been a low-ranking noble, it was more than large and luxurious enough.
‘I’ve lived here all my life, yet simply recovering my old memories makes it look completely different.’
Walking toward the Ivory Palace library with Gray, Saul found himself admiring it anew.
True to its name, the palace was constructed from ivory-colored marble. It might not have been dazzlingly extravagant, but from ‘Roland’s’ perspective, it was magnificent enough.
The palace library was similarly impressive and contained an enormous collection of books.
Even Saul, who loved reading, had left far more of its books unread than he had finished.
Massive bookshelves filled the room, and many of the books were placed so high that they could not be reached without a ladder.
As Saul looked around the library, one particular set of books caught his eye.
That set had been published less than a year ago.
It could be considered a compilation of relatively up-to-date knowledge and information.
“Then....”
The encyclopedia was kept high on a shelf, beyond the reach of the short Saul.
Fortunately, there was a ladder nearby, so Saul began moving it himself to retrieve the books.
“Your Highness?”
Only after hearing the displeasure in Gray’s voice did Saul realize his mistake.
‘Right.’
Saul would never have done something like this himself before.
He would have ordered an attendant or a maid to retrieve the books for him.
The accident Saul had suffered had not even been related to reaching for a book on a high shelf.
He had simply lost his balance while reaching for a book within easy reach, collided with a bookshelf, and then been struck by books that fell as a result.
But backing down now would only make things more awkward.
Saul decided to brazen it out.
“I thought I’d get some exercise.”
“E-Exercise, Your Highness?”
“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”
Gray’s imagination was not wild enough for him to conclude that the prince he had served all his life had suddenly awakened memories of a previous incarnation.
“Exercising in a library is dangerous. You should leave things like this to me, or to one of the other attendants or maids....”
Before recovering his previous life’s memories, Saul would have agreed with Gray.
No, he would never have moved the ladder himself in the first place. He would simply have ordered Gray or another servant to do it.
The Saul of the present was different.
He knew that he now possessed the body of a noble prince, but he still found it more comfortable to do certain things for himself.
Now that the memories of an ‘officer mage’ who had spent years on battlefields had resurfaced, merely lying in bed for several days had already left him restless.
Nor did he like the idea of continuing to live as an overly pampered young prince.
Saul felt that he needed to make it clear that he had no intention of being coddled any longer.
“Gray, I’ve realized something.”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“It took getting hurt for me to realize how frail I’ve been until now. So let me do things like this myself.”
“…….”
“Please.”
Once again, the truth that a superior’s request could be more powerful than an order proved itself.
Gray still looked worried, but he could no longer object and reluctantly accepted it.
‘All this fuss over moving one ladder.’
And so Saul retrieved the books himself.
Even climbing the ladder and taking down several thick volumes of the encyclopedia was difficult with his frail body.
Thinking that he should begin exercising once he had fully recovered, Saul opened the encyclopedia.