Chapter 45. Things Going Wrong
“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
Bang! Lloyd slammed his desk with all his strength.
Something had gone wrong.
Something was clearly going off track.
From the very day he realized he had turned back time, he had a deep sense that things were somehow… misaligned.
He was supposed to be the only one who had returned to the past.
So why were things going so awry?
He believed the problem began with the timing of his return—of all days, it had to be Amelia’s wedding day.
Amelia had said she didn’t want to marry Leofric.
As the wedding approached, she grew more and more depressed and distraught.
No matter how many times he offered her empty reassurances, her heart didn’t ease.
She had probably hoped he would ask her to marry him instead.
But unfortunately, he already had a designated fiancée.
Someone who would stand firmly on his side once he became emperor.
Though Vermerian was a good card to play, her overly loyal father was a problem.
Wary of the Marquis of Vermerian, Lloyd had never given Amelia an answer—until the end.
Still, he’d made good use of her in his previous life.
Too bad he realized far too late that she was never what he truly wanted.
Thud! Lloyd slammed the desk again, gritting his teeth.
If only he had come back just one day earlier.
If he had returned the day before her wedding, things wouldn’t have gotten this tangled.
Amelia had come to see him right up until the night before the wedding, begging him with tears to stop her.
And he distinctly remembered receiving reports that she had cried for him on the day of the wedding.
Yet, absurdly, he regained his past memories on the morning of the wedding.
The worst possible timing for someone who had already drawn up a plan to reset everything.
He thought he was just one step too late and rushed to the wedding, but Amelia dared to pretend not to know him.
The same Amelia who clung to him desperately just the night before was no longer there.
Thinking he might’ve seen wrong, he approached her later to solidify their connection—only to be ignored again.
Even when they ended up together in Waynes, the same thing happened.
And now, today, at the Marquis of Ferze’s ball.
At this point, even a fool could figure it out.
She was deliberately ignoring him.
Even bringing up some absurd excuse about being “sister-in-law to a cousin.”
Why!
“What’s wrong, my son?”
As he sank deeper into his thoughts, a voice behind him—one he hadn’t noticed—startled him.
She must’ve been watching him fret ever since he returned with a dark expression and eventually followed him all the way to his room.
Even though he had told her it was nothing and not to worry.
“It’s nothing. Please leave.”
Lloyd replied coldly without even turning to look at her.
Before or after regression, she was always a bothersome and annoying presence.
Clicking his tongue, he recalled his mother—how she only came to him when it suited her, changing her attitude on a whim depending on what she needed.
“My dear son, something clearly upset you today. Surely there’s something your mother can do to help. Don’t be so angry…”
“Can you really do anything to help, Mother?”
“What?”
It must have been that memory.
Thinking of the useless and self-centered woman she’d always been, made his words harsher than he intended.
Lloyd immediately regretted saying it.
As delusional and trapped in past glories as she was, she was still someone he needed to keep around for now.
In fact, she had even been useful in smoothing things over with Amelia in the past.
Reminding himself of her remaining value, Lloyd turned to her with a pitiful expression.
“I misspoke, Mother. I’m just so upset I couldn’t control myself…”
“Oh, Lloyd. My sweet boy.”
Seeing his helpless expression, his gullible, simple mother rushed to embrace him with a sorrowful face.
Her overpowering perfume—probably applied in layers for today’s ball—assaulted his nose, but he clenched his teeth and endured it.
“My precious son. You must have been so upset to react like that. It’s okay. Mother understands everything.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Yes, yes. Who else could understand you but your own mother? Now, can you tell me what happened?”
She stroked his cheek as if she were a loving mother.
How utterly revolting.
He smiled bitterly, knowing full well she would change her attitude again by tomorrow.
“It’s nothing serious. I just had a bit of a disagreement with Amelia. I think she’s struggling with managing the imperial household.”
“So, the Vermerian girl lashed out at you?”
Lloyd almost scoffed at her sharp, venomous tone.
‘Vermerian,’ she said—without even using Amelia’s full title.
She was the Crown Princess, after all.
That petty jealousy—reserved only for women more capable or more beautiful than herself—reared its ugly head again. Her expression twisted with resentment.
Perhaps this was what came from a woman who, even in old age, still believed she was the empire’s most precious and beloved lady.
Looking at her aging face and deepening wrinkles, Lloyd barely suppressed his laughter.
“She didn’t lash out. I simply failed to understand how overwhelmed she is. It’s probably hard for her to take on so many unfamiliar responsibilities.”
“Hah! I thought she was some kind of prodigy, taking charge of the merchant guild and all! So it was all just pretentious nonsense?”
She scoffed, mocking Amelia.
Typical of her to rant about how women shouldn’t act too competent or outshine men.
So naturally, she looked like she was savoring this moment.
Lloyd, taking deep breaths to keep calm, gently encouraged her.
“Perhaps so. Maybe you should visit her, Mother?”
“…Me?”
“Yes. You used to manage the palace when you were a princess, didn’t you? Surely you could be of some help to Amelia.”
He smiled like an angel.
He didn’t actually believe she had ever managed anything.
Back then, the head lady-in-waiting probably did it, or the empress took over after she arrived.
Still, he urged his mother for one simple reason:
Whenever she asked for something, Amelia always listened.
If she asked for jewels—Amelia bought them.
If she wanted to travel—Amelia arranged it.
Whatever she wanted, Amelia made it happen.
Amelia always tried to please his mother, and that probably hadn’t changed in this life.
“Please help her, Mother. Then we can make up soon, which will be good for you, too.”
He had to get Amelia back.
For the future he aimed to perfect by returning to the past—
She was essential to that vision.
So, please—
“I’m asking you, Mother. For your one and only son, can’t you do just that?”
“O-of course, Lloyd. Just leave it to your mother.”
She nodded reluctantly at his soft-spoken plea.
She looked unsure, like she had no idea how to guide Amelia—but she would still try.
There was no one more foolish and easy to manipulate than his mother.
Lloyd sent her off, clenching her fists in determination.
Hopefully she succeeded—but if not, he had to find another opportunity to talk to Amelia himself.
Crossing the now quiet room, Lloyd sat at his desk.
To win her back, he needed to retrace the past.
He laid out a sheet of paper and began listing the events he remembered.
The first time he met Amelia.
Her wedding.
His debut.
His rise to the throne—everything.
He also reviewed everything he had newly orchestrated in this life to reclaim her.
It all began when he sought out Derrick Valois, the head of the noble faction and a man who dreamed of standing above the emperor himself.
