As the throne room's door opened, Evangeline quickly fixed her expression, changing it to a more neutral one.

Moments later, several people entered in an orderly manner with their heads lowered. Most of them seemed to be from the Guardian Order, followed by those who appeared to be members of the council.

After coming to a stop a few meters away from the throne, they respectfully bowed to Lilias.

Standing at the forefront of the group, an elderly man with a shaved head spoke in a calm and respectful tone.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for granting us this audience. With the time that was given to us, we have discussed several matters among ourselves. If the prophecy that the girl standing by you spoke of is really true, then going to the continent could prove to be a decision that may lead the Gracias kingdom and its people to ruin. But we cannot simply ignore the island's current condition either."

The elderly man turned around and briefly looked at all the people standing behind him.

"That is why we have devised a plan. There is a small island not too far away. While it is nowhere near big enough to house all the people, it can still provide land. So we were thinking of shifting all our agricultural activities there. We will use the ship to help the farmers travel between islands. Please approve of this decision."

Evangeline furrowed her brow.

'Didn't they come here to apologize?'

Forget apologies, they seemed to be acting as though they weren't about to attack the castle today in the first place.

But Lilias seemingly ignored this point and replied after pondering for a bit.

"Hmm… there are several problems with this plan. The crops would be hard to look after if nobody lives on that island. And if we do send a few people to live there permanently, then it would be really unsafe for them since nobody would be there to protect them from attacks from the sea. Currently, we are struggling to defend this island, so we won't have forces to spare anytime soon."

She sighed.

"But I get it. We don't really have other options either. And considering our current situation, something is better than nothing. So I will approve of this plan, but you need to discuss it a bit more to make it more reliable and efficient. Now then, are you done with this little test of yours?"

The elderly man tilted his head.

"Test? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Your Majesty."

"Stop the act." Lilias narrowed her eyes. "I am not naive enough not to understand what is going on here. You all want to test me to see whether I am fit to be the ruler. Even though you all do not have the authority to test me, I have still allowed it, so the least you can do is stop pretending and not piss me off."

Evangeline's eyes widened.

'So that's what was going on here. No wonder Lilias was so calm. She really is a genius!'

The group of people all looked at her in shock. The elderly man, meanwhile, was staring at Lilias with a look of admiration.

He lowered his head and bowed once again.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I, for one, didn't doubt your abilities after seeing how you controlled the situation today. Sadly, the ones behind me were still doubtful, so I had no choice. If the prophecy is true, then the most we can do is endure until the four mythical rulers kill each other."

Then the old man suddenly bent down on one knee. Moments later, others followed as well.

"We have come here to sincerely apologize to you for what we were about to attempt today. We are aware that our crimes are punishable by death, and we thank you for showing us mercy."

Looking at them, Lilias calmly nodded.

"I accept your apology and forgive you for all your crimes targeted at me. But this will be the first and last time. Should such a thing happen again, then the perpetrators will be sentenced to death as per the kingdom's laws."

The people slowly rose to their feet. After a brief moment of silence, the elderly man spoke hesitantly.

"While I understand your decisions, Your Majesty, isn't it a bit extreme to remove all current members of the council from their positions? They are tasked with running this kingdom, after all. Can't you… forgive them too?"

The other people looked at Lilias intently. Evangeline, too, turned to her, wondering what the girl would do in this situation.

But Lilias's reply was firm and unyielding.

"I will not forgive them. And that is not because I hold a grudge against them. Their duty was to govern the kingdom, ensuring peace and stability. Yet they have organized a rebellion instead. There is no place for incompetent failures like them in the council. I have both the authority and the justification to remove them. The only reason I am leaving the Guardian Order alone is because we are already short of forces and can't afford it at this moment."

She turned her gaze to a particular individual in the group. It was the old woman, and she had her gaze lowered.

Lilias spoke to her in a calm and casual tone.

"On that note, I think it is time for you to retire from your position, Teacher. I believe you have gone senile and will do more harm than good for the Guardian Order. Make way for the younger generation, will you?"

The old woman lowered her gaze without a reply, prompting Lilias to smile.

"The elections for the new council members will begin in five days. Until then, I will be governing the kingdom in their place. Guardians, do not forget that enforcing the law is also your duty. Do not use your weakness as an excuse to be incompetent. That was all I had to say. You can have another audience with me after a few more hours, where we will discuss other important details regarding policies and governance."

The people bowed to her once again and turned around, walking out calmly. Moments later, the throne room's door was closed once again, leaving Evangeline and Lilias alone in that silence.

Evangeline opened her mouth to speak, but Lilias suddenly rose from the throne and began walking towards the exit.

Evangeline slowly followed behind her. They left the throne, and after climbing the stairs for a bit, they arrived at the castle's balcony. Allowing the white stone railing to support her weight, Lilias gazed at the scenery that stretched beyond.

Evangeline copied her pose and looked down at the view of the kingdom stretched before her eyes.

From this spot, the island didn't look too large, yet it was still bustling with people going about their lives.

Lilias's voice entered her ears, sounding a lot different than usual. It sounded gentle and emotional.

"With this, the cycle of loops should now be broken since the danger to my life is gone. Not only that, but I have also resolved the problems happening in my kingdom to a degree. Mother wouldn't have to worry about me anymore. She can rest in peace now."

Evangeline turned to Lilias, only to find a pair of turquoise eyes looking at her.

"While it was I who solved my own problems, I don't think it would've been possible if you hadn't been here, Evangeline. For everything you have done… I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I promise, I will certainly repay you someday."

But Evangeline shook her head before she herself could understand why.

"No, Lilias, there is no need for you to think of repaying me."

She didn't know how, but she would have to return to her original timeline. She didn't belong in this era.

'I wonder how the future will change after I return.'

But as she was thinking of all this, a sudden thought came to her, accompanied by a desire she'd had for a while.

Evangeline hesitantly opened her mouth.

"Actually, I want something else. I… want us to be friends."

Technically, Evangeline had a lot of friends. There was Adrian, there was Ravian, and then there was Hazel as well, among others. But Evangeline didn't think that any of them could be truly called her friends.

That was not to say that she didn't consider them friends, but still….

Adrian was her fiancé. Ravian was her friend only because of her connection to Adrian. Hazel and the others weren't as close to her as she thought a friend should be.

But from the bottom of her heart, Evangeline wanted a friend, a true friend. Someone who would be really close to her and understand her the most.

And that was why…

Evangeline's lips curled up into a bright smile as she asked.

"Lilias, will you please be my friend?"

Lilias seemed somewhat taken aback, but she also smiled brightly moments later.

"Of course, is that even a question? After everything, I had thought we were already good friends. So—"

Just then, the two of them felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere, making them pause.

Down below, the people in the city began turning into a formless black substance and dissolving into the ground.

Evangeline blinked in confusion.

'...What?'

Moments later, cracks began appearing in the space itself. The cracks continued to widen rapidly until the entire world shattered.

Evangeline and Lilias instinctively held onto each other. The scenery around them shifted and…

"...Huh?"

They found themselves in the throne room.

But it looked somewhat different from before. Evangeline's mind was in disarray, and Lilias also looked confused.

But suddenly, the girl paused.

Slowly, she turned her head to look at the throne. A skeleton wearing a beautiful dress was sitting on the throne, holding a golden mace as a beautiful crown rested above its head.

The moment she saw it, Lilias's eyes widened in realization, as if having recalled something long forgotten. And then, the girl's expression twisted in absolute despair.

"Ah… ha… haha… s-so, this is how it is. How could I have forgotten…?"

Her eyes grew moist, and tears began rolling down her cheek one after another.

"I-It's all ruined… Mother, I-I… I am sorry, I failed you… All my struggles… all that suffering… they were all meaningless in the end…"

Slowly, Lilias's body began dissolving into wisps of mana.

Lilias… was disappearing…

Evangeline—who was frozen in confusion until now—widened her eyes in horror and desperately grabbed onto Lilias's body.

"Lilias! What is happening?! Why are you disappearing?! I don't understand, so please answer me!"

No matter what was happening, she had to do something! She had to help Lilias!

But before she could think of anything, Lilias's entire body had already dissolved into mana, leaving nothing in her grasp.

In her final moments, the girl opened her mouth and muttered weakly.

"Curse you… Avaritia…"

With those last words, Lilias disappeared into nothingness, leaving behind a drop of black liquid that floated in the air, glowing with a dark radiance. In the next moment, that drop of black liquid was suddenly absorbed into Evangeline's body.

Evangeline stood there, frozen, staring at the spot where the first friend she had ever made had been moments ago.

Suddenly, the entire castle shook violently, and cracks began to spread across its walls. It was as though the castle were crumbling. Yet Evangeline still stood unmoving, as if petrified.

But someone suddenly grabbed her hand as Adrian's desperate voice entered her ears.

"What are you doing?! The castle is crumbling, and we need to escape quickly!"

And so, Evangeline was suddenly dragged along as they ran.

***

As the four individuals escaped the castle, more cracks spread over its entire structure, growing bigger with every passing moment.

And after reaching its limit, the entire structure crumbled like a sandcastle.

In the process, the basement structures of the castle were revealed, including the royal crypt.

But the inside of the crypt was different from what Evangeline had seen in one of the loops. And that difference lay in the walls of the royal crypt. They were not plain, but instead, they were painted with what appeared to be murals depicting an ancient legend.

The beginning of the murals showed a girl trapped in a cage made of dull grey energy, trying her best to break free. Then came a crowd carrying various weapons. They entered the dull grey cage and attacked the girl, leaving her with hideous wounds.

But then the cage repaired itself, and all the wounds on the girl's body were healed. Yet her miserable expression didn't change. The same thing happened over and over. The girl would try to break the cage, a crowd carrying weapons would attack her, and the cage would repair, healing her wounds.

But after a while, the girl was too broken to try to break the grey bars. She knelt down and prayed to the skies in desperation.

As if answering her prayers, a dark humanoid being descended from the sky.

All the people who used to attack the girl were absorbed into the being, becoming a part of it. A mere touch from the being's finger completely shattered the dull grey prison that had trapped the girl until now.

Yet instead of smiling with joy, the girl looked at the being with an expression of absolute terror.

In the next scene, the dark being was shown holding the girl by her throat. With its other hand, it put a tiny drop of its dark blood into the girl's mouth. After that, the being put the girl in another prison, this one made of a formless, dark substance.

That was the end of the murals.

Moments later, the walls containing the murals also crumbled, and the legends disappeared into the void of history.

---------------------

{End of Volume 2: Coin of Time}