---

The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Chapter 202: What Will You Do?

“Your uncle, Rogurando Ruzeria is alive.”

“…!?”

Upon hearing that Rogurando was alive, Sharueina hesitated for just a moment but quickly returned to her usual calm demeanor without showing much surprise.

“You’re not that shocked, are you?”

“Does it… seem that way?”

“Yes. Honestly, I was prepared for you to completely lose it and start pressing me for answers.”

“Haha. I feel like if you pressed even a little, I’d just dodge your questions.”

“True. I was thinking of avoiding them.”

“You really are honest, aren’t you?”

Seeing her calm enough to joke around, I took out the cake and tea I had bought from the patisserie earlier from storage and placed them before both of us.

“Help yourself, if you’d like.”

“Thank you.”

Sharueina took a sip of her tea, set it back on the table, and let out a big sigh.

“Anyway, back to the topic—did you perhaps know that Rogurando was alive?”

When I asked, she slightly jumped her shoulders and then laughed weakly.

“Haha. I really can’t outsmart you.”

“Then…”

“Not so much knew, as suspected… I just wanted to believe it was all my misunderstanding.”

“Can I ask for more details?”

“Sure. The day my uncle was executed, I couldn’t believe that he had rebelled against my father. Thinking it must be a mistake, I snuck out to meet him. But by the time I got to the execution ground, the sentence had already been carried out, and my uncle was dead.”

“Hmm. So, he was really dead, meaning there was a body?”

“That’s right. I didn’t see the body myself, but I saw them carrying him away. Also, my father, the commander of the magic knights, and your father, Duke Horstin, all witnessed the beheading. There’s no doubt about his death.”

“Then, why does Your Highness believe Rogurando is alive?”

“Because I saw him.”

“What do you mean, you saw him?”

“I saw my uncle cloaked deeply in robes, leaving the Imperial Castle.”

◇◇

That was about 12 years ago. Having woken up from a nap, I headed with my nursemaid to my father’s office, where he was busy with work.

Since my father was the Emperor, the king of a nation, he was a very busy man, but whenever I visited, he would always greet me with a smile—such a kind person.

“Your Highness, please wait a moment.”

However, for some reason that day, the atmosphere felt louder than usual, with knights moving about in full armament.

“Your Highness! Quickly, return to your room!”

One of the knights spotted my nursemaid and me, raising his voice almost angrily.

“W-what? What’s going on?”

“Rebellion! Lord Rogurando has led knights and nobles to assault the Imperial Castle!”

“…Huh?”

“Your Highness! Let’s go!”

“B-but! Father is!”

“In this situation, it’s dangerous for you too, Your Highness! Don’t worry about His Majesty; the commander of the knights is with him!”

“You all protect the Princess! Even if it costs you your lives!”

“Yes, sir!!”

I was grabbed and carried away by my nursemaid, unable to grasp the situation, and was soon told not to leave the room. I could only tremble in terror alongside the maids until everything was over.

A few hours later, as the sun began to set and the daylight turned orange through the window, the door to my room was flung open forcefully.

“Sharueina!!”

“F-father?”

“Thank goodness you’re safe!”

The one who came in was my father, looking more flustered than I’ve ever seen him. Once he confirmed I was okay, he hugged me without worrying about appearances.

“Father… what about my brothers…?”

“They’re all safe. No one was injured. So don’t worry.”

“I’m glad…”

With the tension lifted now that I knew my family was unharmed, I lost consciousness as I was embraced by my father and fell asleep.

When I next woke up, the castle bustle was chaos from the aftermath of the rebellion, with maids and knights moving restlessly.

“Father!”

“What is it, Sharueina?”

“What about Uncle…?”

I couldn’t shake off my anxiety from the previous day, and the fact that my uncle had supposedly rebelled was hard to wrap my mind around, so I asked my father.

“I’m sorry, Sharueina. I can’t talk about your uncle, even to you.”

“I see…”

I understood that he wanted to protect me by withholding information, but that only fueled my worry, making me accept the harsh reality of my uncle’s betrayal.

The uncle I knew was so kind, talented with both sword and magic, the one who supported me as I overheard thoughtless words alluding to traditional gender roles throughout my childhood.

Knowing that such a kind uncle would rebel, I became unable to trust anyone, closing myself off.

Days later, upon learning that my uncle’s execution had been carried out after his questioning, I couldn’t believe he had really rebelled and rushed out of my room, wanting to hear his side.

“Uncle… huh…”

But by the time I arrived, his execution had already occurred. All I could see was blood that seemed to belong to him and knights carrying what looked like his covered body.

That was the first time I had ever seen death.

I don’t remember much afterward. Somehow, I found myself crouching behind the castle, hiding from everyone.

“Uncle. Why did you rebel…?”

It was frustrating not knowing the answers I sought, and I felt miserable for not being able to ask.

While I was there, filled with this aimless sadness and confused feelings, out of nowhere, a robed figure appeared.

“Uncle?”

Though I couldn’t see his face due to the deep hood, that person appeared to be my uncle, who was supposed to be executed, and I instinctively let that voice slip out.

“Who goes there…?”

Despite the small voice, he turned upon hearing me and revealed eyes as red as blood from beneath his hood.

“!!”

With white hair and red eyes. Despite his hair and eye colors being completely different from my uncle’s, the features of his face—the eyes, nose, and contour—were unmistakably his.

However, frightened by the ominous air he exuded, I hurriedly hid behind a nearby tree.

“Is someone there?”

If discovered, I would be killed.

In that moment of fright, I pressed my hand over my mouth, desperately trying to suppress my presence, but the figure resembling my uncle began to approach my hiding spot slowly.

“Your Highness! Where are you! Your Highness!!”

“Tsk…”

Just as I was about to be discovered, I heard voices calling me from a distance, and the figure small hissed before hurrying out of the Imperial Castle.

Afterward, I was found by the knights who had come looking for me and taken back to my room.

(That was surely just my mistake. Uncle is dead. Father said so too.)

After returning to the castle, I asked my father if Uncle had really died.

However, my father, along with Duke Valentine and Duke Horstin, said they had witnessed my uncle’s execution and had even confirmed the body disposal.

Thus, I concluded that what I saw was a misunderstanding and resolved not to think about my uncle again.

◇◇

Hearing Sharueina’s story, I began to contemplate several possibilities reliant on her information.

“However, according to your account, your uncle, who should be dead, is alive and even planning to start a war against the Empire as the king of Saramāju. I can no longer discern what the truth is.”

With a frail voice, Sharueina looked down with an unusually uncertain expression for her.

“To ascertain the truth, I can only meet him in person, but I can theorize four possibilities.”

“Four?”

“First, there’s the soul manipulation magic unique to certain demons. This magic can clarify and control the ambiguous concept of a soul using special magic. One of its forms allows for transferring another’s soul into a different vessel… a body. However, it’s highly unlikely for that demon to assist Rogurando, a human, even though they’re of the same race.”

“The second is necromancy. While it can’t control the soul, it can raise the dead as undead. However, without a soul, they lack self-awareness and cannot speak or move of their own will. But from what I gather, that man seems to act with clear intent, so the likelihood of necromancy at play can also be discounted.”

“I didn’t know about soul manipulation magic, but I do have some knowledge of necromancy. Now that I think about it, he truly seemed too human to be called undead.”

“I agree. Which narrows it down to the remaining two possibilities; the first being the creation of a decoy using an artifact. Numerous undiscovered or unknown artifacts exist. If there were one that could create an identical clone of oneself, perhaps the decoy was executed instead, and the real body escaped. However, as I mentioned before, there are many artifacts yet to be discovered, and their locations remain unknown. Looking for an artifact that may or may not exist to avoid execution is hardly practical.”

“True. Even if he possessed one from the start, considering he was under constant surveillance, it must have been difficult for Uncle to switch places without being caught.”

As Sharueina said, there’s always the chance he could have obtained the artifact before the rebellion, but being constantly imprisoned, there wouldn’t have been an opportunity to switch.

Even if the rebel was a clone, there’d be no reason for the real body to come to that castle, so the probability of the artifact’s involvement is slim.

“And thus, the highest probability lies in a contract with a demon.”

“A demon contract? But we royals are bound by magic at birth so we can’t make deals with demons. That’s simply impossible.”

“True, it shouldn’t normally be possible. But does the restriction encompass death?”

“No, I believe the restriction states we are forbidden from contracting or summoning demons for life.”

“I figured as much. Well then, do you know, Your Highness, that there’s a fleeting moment of awareness as a person is decapitated?”

“Huh?”

This is something I have personally experienced, so I can say it—humans do not die instantly upon beheading.

There’s a brief moment of consciousness left, where that instant feels eternal.

And the effects of the magic limitation mentioned by Sharueina are life-bound. That is to say, it only takes effect as long as that person is alive, leaving out the inclusion of death.

It’s likely that once Rogurando’s head was severed, the magic restriction deemed him dead and was released.

Then, utilizing the brief time after being freed from magic before losing consciousness, he probably signed a contract with a demon.

If he wished for survival in that moment, it aligns smoothly with Sharueina’s claim of seeing a living Rogurando afterward.

“So, you’re saying Uncle made a contract with a demon in those fleeting moments before dying?”

“Most likely. Afterward, he would have used that demonic power to fabricate something resembling his own body with magic and escaped. If the hair and eye colors were different, there’s also the chance the demon possessed the body after the contract.”

“However, that’s just a theory, right? It’s unlikely someone could spontaneously come up with a plan at the moment of death…”

“What if he had considered such a possibility beforehand?”

“No way…”

“A rebel is always in a position to take the initiative. Thus, it wouldn’t be strange to think he might have contemplated the scenario of his defeat. With the proper mindset and foresight, it’s feasible to act upon such plans right at the moment of decapitation. Not to mention, there are additional pieces of evidence.

Back when I went to subdue the bandits, there was a mage among them who summoned demons. Their goal was to transport kidnapped adventurers to Saramāju to bolster military strength during the war. What do you think? Doesn’t that elevate the likelihood?”

“So, could it be that Uncle really…?”

“Well, we can’t say for certain what the truth is, but this seems to be the most plausible theory.”

After hearing all of this, Sharueina picked up her cup with trembling hands and took a sip of the now-cold tea.

“So? What will Your Highness do?”

“What do you mean, what will I do?”

“Of course. Whether you’ll retreat here or come with us.”

“That’s…”

“Should you decide to come, you will encounter the Rogurando that the Dragon Kin spoke of, and you will likely have to fight him. To be honest, I’m worried about whether you might hesitate in the midst of it, and whether you’ll hold us back. If there’s by even a smidgen of doubt in your heart, I’d prefer it if you returned instead.”

“Ugh…”

“I apologize for saying this when I asked you to accompany us, but surely you don’t wish to die either, do you?”

It seemed Sharueina couldn’t readily accept what I told her, whether out of shock or confusion—she fell silent for a moment following.

“Well, since it’s tough to reach a conclusion right here, I’ll wait three days. Tomorrow night, we’ll be crushing the venomous snake, and we plan to depart this town three days later with the knight who came here and the new guild staff in tow. Please decide by then. Farewell.”

With that, I stood up, dispelled all the magic I had cast around us, and left the room, leaving Sharueina alone.

(Ah, I’m so tired. I think I’ll sleep in tomorrow until noon.)

Afterward, I headed to the other room where Iris and the others were and informed them that I had finished my conversation.

And since Iris suggested it would be better to leave Sharueina alone for now, the three of us settled into one room to sleep.

Ronnie, on the other hand, rested in a different room that we had borrowed, whereas we, originally in a single room, ended up with Iris and Miria sleeping in the same bed, while I created a water cushion to sleep on.

◇◇◇◇◇

If you’re interested, please check out my concurrently serialized work, “The Former Hero Becomes the Demon King and Offers Up the World”!

I would be thrilled if you take a moment to read it!

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330663836544021

Click the heart to easily convey your support! (Login required)

Support

If you have an account, please log in

Learn more about Kakuyomu’s reading experience available.

 

---