Plop.

Having returned to his room, Joshua flopped into his bed, tired as hell. His mental and physical exhaustion mixed together to form a weird, roiling sensation.

“Ah… I’m really tired,” he muttered, finally capitulating to the god of sleep.

The events of earlier danced through his mind.

His own father… The Duke’s words seemed to capture his heart in a jar. It was not a pleasant feeling.

“The Archmage Evergrant, yes… He will be here, along with a member of the royal family. Rest assured that it won’t be the Emperor, but the identity of the royal in question won’t be revealed until just before their arrival—for security reasons, I hear.”

But for some reason, Joshua had an ominous feeling that the incoming royal would be someone that he knew very well.

“If it’s really Evergrant and hi...