【10】

In the ruins, I sat in front of Isla and Judrich, still bound by hand and foot.

Judrich began speaking with a rapt expression: “A month ago, extremists from the Jorn Empire approached me, saying they wanted to ‘cooperate.’ They claimed that ‘Your Highness Judrich is the rightful ruler of this kingdom.’ So, I decided to become their standard-bearer. After their power destroys the current royal family, I will become the true king of this country!”

Beside him, Isla seemed uninterested, idly playing with her hair.

“A month ago…” I muttered, and Judrich nodded deeply, moved.

“Yes. After being exiled from the capital, I was forced into harsh labor at a poorhouse. That’s when the extremists from the Jorn Empire appeared. Dissatisfied with the current rule of the Floren Kingdom, they proposed this ‘plan’ to me.”

“What plan…?”

“Their force consists of a total of sixty people! They will all become my subordinates and execute the foolish king, queen, and second prince for me. Then, I will be hailed as the hero who sparked this revolution and become the new king!”

…Seriously?

Is he kidding? Is he an idiot?

Oh, right, he is an idiot…

He’s so stupid that I’m speechless.

Judrich is too foolish for me to even know where to begin to point out his flaws.

“How about it!? It’s such a splendid plan that you’re speechless, Mireille!”

“………………..”

“What’s with that look? You’ve always looked at me with eyes that ridicule me. If you have something to say, say it clearly!!”

“No, it’s just that plan; I think there are a lot of difficulties. Aren’t you just being used by extremists from a neighboring country to incite civil unrest?”

“What!?”

“Isn’t it too reckless to attempt to overthrow the state with just sixty men…? Even if you assassinate His Majesty and the others, even if you’re identified as the mastermind, do you really think the people will see you as a ‘hero’?”

“B-but my father, who exiled me! He’s a foolish king who deserves to be killed!”

“You may hold a grudge against him, but the general dissatisfaction with the current king isn’t widely known. If anything, he’s mocked as a ‘cowardly king who dislikes war,’ which could also be interpreted as a stance of promoting peace with other nations.”

“U-ugh…”

Judrich was speechless.

… It might not be good to provoke him too much, but maybe unsettling him a bit could create an opening for escape.

“If you really plan to assassinate three members of the royal family with such a small force, don’t you think causing explosions everywhere to attract attention is a foolish strategy?”

“What!?”

“If you do that, the castle security will become even tighter. I think any opportunity to harm His Majesty and the others will completely disappear.”

…Their true goal is probably to incite civil unrest by raising Judrich, the exiled prince, as a mere figurehead.

They might intend to create chaos within the kingdom, seize the opportunity, and launch an invasion war.

For them, Judrich was just a pawn from the start.

A pawn whose capture and execution as the mastermind are already assumed.

“T-that can’t be. They’re my loyal pawns… R-right, you guys!? Tell me more about the future plans!”

Judrich’s expression changed drastically, and he retreated to the inner room.

Isla, who had been silently observing, started laughing, shaking her shoulders.

“Well, I thought it sounded too good to be true, but that’s their scheme, huh? Interesting.”

“Isla. I don’t think it’s unrelated to you either.”

“No, I have nothing to do with it! Because I can turn back time. With Noel, it’s possible.”

– Turn back time with Noel.

“…Are you perhaps talking about the ‘resetting the game’ that’s unlocked when intimacy reaches its maximum?”

“That’s right! Geez, you’re also a reincarnator, huh? It’s seriously annoying.”

With a sharp sound, I felt a shock on my cheek.

Isla pushed me, stumbling, and then stepping on my back.

“I want to redo it from the beginning of the school entrance ceremony! Then, I won’t lead such a miserable life. Without choosing Judrich or Mireld, I’ll live happily being loved by a decent man!!”

Even I, in my past life, was a game player.

So, I know that when intimacy with Noel reaches its maximum in the game, the option ‘Do you want to redo your life?’ will be displayed — although I’ve never actually tried it.

“But, this world isn’t a game itself…! It’s not certain that Noel can manipulate time —”

My words were cut off as she strangled me.

“She can definitely do it! Noel just mentioned something about ‘time cheating’ earlier. They’ll be back soon with Noel. If you’re here being strangled to death at that time… Wouldn’t that be amusing?”

I couldn’t breathe.

Isla was laughing.

My vision blurred, my strength fading, my breath, gone…

“――Mireille!!!”

The sound of the door being smashed and a voice calling my name. Numerous footsteps, the metallic sound of swords being drawn.

Something was happening beyond the rushing consciousness.

I regained my breath.

Coughing violently, someone held me firmly in their arms in the fresh air.

The arms were supple yet strong, and the citrus scent emanating from that person clarified my consciousness.

――It’s my older brother.

Surprised, I looked up, and there was my brother’s face.

A face contorted with anguish but seeming on the verge of bursting into relieved tears, a mix of various emotions on my brother’s face.

“…Brother.”

“Mireille, are you okay?”

While still holding me, he gave Isla a stern glare.

Isla fell on her butt, looking bewildered.

“Y-you… hit me, Mireld. The heroine, me…!”

“So what? Don’t think a mere punch is enough. I’ll give you a strict judgment according to the law for trying to kill Mireille.”

My brother, accompanied by knights of the Gasstark family, seemed to have come to rescue me.

Several knights were inside the ruins.

As my brother gestured, one of the knights quickly restrained Isla.

Leaving me sitting there, my brother stood up.

He surveyed the interior while narrowing his eyes in disgust.

“…Seems like the hideout of those causing the explosions.”

Sounds of intense sword fighting still echoed from the inner room.

“Why… are you here, brother?”

“Noel told me.”

My brother’s gaze shifted outside the house.

From the open door, several knights and Noel could be seen. Noel’s face was tear-streaked, gazing straight at us with an adorable expression.

I expressed my gratitude to my brother once again.

“As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. But the damage within the capital is severe. From now on, this country will face unimaginable――――――”

The next moment, my brother’s expression changed drastically as he lunged towards me.

…What’s wrong, brother!?

I was pushed down by my brother and didn’t understand what was happening.

Brother?

I called out to him, but there was no response.

Instead of a response, he

“Coughed”

and spat out blood.

A scream escaped my throat.

A knife was stuck in my brother’s back.

Blood, copious amounts of blood. It dyed his back completely red.

“Brother! Brother!?”

“…How dull. Targeting Mireille.”

Swaying, Judrich emerged from the depths.

Judrich held knives in both hands.

A laughter tinged with madness bubbled from Judrich’s throat.

“Everything is over! Everything doesn’t matter anymore! But Mireille, I’ll make sure you’re not alone!”

With a gleam in his eyes, Judrich flashed his knife and charged towards me.

“I’ll tear you apart for ruining my life!!”

It all felt like a nightmare.

I never imagined such a nightmare.

So my mind, blank, completely blank.

“Turn back time!!!”

At the moment I heard that scream,

My consciousness was abruptly cut off.

***

The next moment, I found myself in my brother’s office.

Outside the window, twilight enveloped the surroundings, and the clock’s hands pointed to 8 o’clock.

In my hand, I held the estate’s financial report, while my brother stood before me.

My brother held a canvas of an oil painting that Noel should have delivered yesterday.

“Huh…? What just happened…”

My brother murmured, his face pale.

I probably looked just as pale as him.

“What… happened?”

As I muttered in astonishment, Noel’s voice came from right beneath us.

“Noel turned back time.”

Tears streaming down, Noel trembled.

“Noel can only turn back time once. Mireld, you were stabbed… Noel turned back time on her own!”