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

Chapter 226: Escape

Two days after the conversation with Shudo, the time had finally come to execute the plan.

Since that day, Shudo hadn’t spoken to us, but he seemed determined not to stop persuading the other adventurers, always chatting with someone.

“Lord Lewis, it’s time.”

“Ugh… got it.”

With Iris’s voice, I slowly opened my eyes and stood up, checking the magic power within my body.

“How’s it looking?”

“No problems. My magic has fully recovered.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“So? Calling my name means those guys have arrived, right?”

“Yes. As you instructed, the watchers brought dinner for you, Lord Lewis.”

I had closed my eyes to focus on recovering my magic, but I had previously instructed Iris and the others to call my name when the watchers brought dinner.

“How are the three of you?”

“I have no issues with my magic or stamina.”

“I’m good too. I’m ready for anything.”

“I’ve been taught to maintain my best state at all times. I can go anytime.”

“Okay. Then let’s move out.”

At my cue, Iris and the others stopped channeling magic into their bracelets, dismissing the recognition interference and presence-dimming spells, reverting to their true forms.

Then, I also channeled magic into the Transformation Ring to return to my form as Lewis, cracking my neck and shoulders to check my body.

And of course, I didn’t forget to use the teleportation magic to change into men’s clothing.

“Ah, my original body feels the best.”

The female form’s graceful muscles weren’t bad, but the body optimized for battle using magic felt way more natural.

“Well then, Your Highness. I’m counting on you.”

“Understood.”

Sharueina said this and stepped forward toward where the adventurers were gathered, and we followed her lead.

“What’s going on?”

“Who are they?”

“…No way.”

The adventurers didn’t seem to recognize us because of our changed appearances, but Shudo, who attended the same academy, looked astonished to see us.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“Don’t move! Just stay quiet…”

“No more talking!”

There were 20 watchers carrying food, and two of them shouted suspiciously.

The moment one man tried to speak up, Sharueina, having drawn her sword without anyone noticing, beheaded him with a thunk, causing his lifeless body to collapse to the ground.

“…Huh?”

The man standing next to him couldn’t immediately grasp the situation, staining his left half with blood gushing from his deceased comrade’s body. However, we weren’t so naive that we’d let that foolish moment slip by, and we quickly moved to capture the other watchers nearby.

“Leave the others alive. They’ll still be useful.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

“Okay.”

After that, everything unfolded in an instant. Not only the watchers but also the captured adventurers and villagers had no time to comprehend the situation as we subdued the remaining ones, tying everyone up with ropes pulled from our storage.

“This is it. I’ll leave the rest to you, Your Highness.”

“Yeah.”

“Miria.”

“Understood.”

Sharueina stepped closer to the still-confused adventurers and villagers, stabbing her sword into the ground. With a serious expression befitting of a princess, she slowly began to speak.

Then she signaled Miria to use wind magic to amplify her voice so those behind could hear.

“My name is Sharueina Ruzenia. I am the Second Princess of the Ruzenia Empire.”

“Huh? The Second Princess of Ruzenia?”

“Is she for real?”

As Sharueina suddenly revealed her name and status, doubts and confusion began to ripple among the adventurers and villagers. Still, Sharueina continued calmly with a confident tone.

“It’s only natural that everyone is confused and wants to doubt me. I’ve never shown you my true appearance, and more importantly, nearly all of you are here because you’ve been betrayed and deceived by the same humans. It may be difficult for you to believe my words right away. But please, at least listen to what I have to say. After you understand what I’ll tell you, I’d like you to decide what you will do next.”

“Is she really a princess?”

“I don’t know. But if she really is, what is she doing in a place like this…?”

“For now, let’s just hear her out. She did manage to capture the ones who were watching us, after all. We can think about whether she’s real or not later.”

“Yeah.”

Now that they seemed to have settled down, they began dwelling on the puzzling fact of why a royal figure like Sharueina would be here, but they decided to listen first.

“Thank you. Now, about why I’m here, which is likely what you’re all most curious about, I infiltrated this place with my friends to help you.”

“To help us?”

“That’s right. While I was attending the Suzette Imperial Academy in the capital, I heard rumors about a village along the border where the residents had vanished. The resurrection rate of adventurers has plummeted compared to before.

However, no actual reports had surfaced, and even my father and the others didn’t know the truth of that rumor. But I’m different. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire; such rumors wouldn’t arise if there was no truth behind the disappearance of villagers.

So, I wanted to verify it with my own eyes. I wanted to see if the villagers and adventurers were indeed disappearing, and if so, where they were going.

To confirm this fact, I disguised myself and my trusted friends, willingly got caught by an organization, and aimed to investigate their movements.”

“I see.”

“So that’s how it was.”

“To think that the princess herself would come for us…”

The adventurers and villagers, upon hearing Sharueina’s story, were visibly moved, some even shedding tears or changing to determined expressions. Unfortunately, most of her story was a complete lie.

Rumors of villagers and adventurers vanishing hadn’t reached the capital, and naturally, Sharueina was unaware of it until I mentioned it.

But it seemed that people didn’t really care about the truth of the matter; what mattered most to them was whether they would be saved or not.

Thus, what they were truly waiting for were not explanations of circumstances but rather about what would happen next.

“Before I was brought here, I had sent a message to the House of Valentine from the town of Carirro. The knights should be close by now, so you all will likely be saved soon.”

“Thank goodness!”

“We’re finally getting out of here!”

Hearing the long-awaited words of rescue, the adventurers and villagers all cheered loudly, but of course, this too was a deception.

I hadn’t called for any help from the start and had planned to resolve everything concerning this country by ourselves, hence there was no intention to call anyone.

So even if knights were waiting outside, help would never come.

“However, as you know, this place is underground. No matter how skilled the knights of the House of Valentine are, it would be tough for them to fight against the people from Saramāju and find this place. Therefore, we should escape from this place on our own and regroup with the knights as soon as possible.”

“Escape?”

“But wouldn’t that mean we’d have to fight?”

“Well, that would put us in danger…”

The moment Sharueina proposed an escape, confusion and fear began to spread among the villagers, and hesitant voices started to emerge from them.

“Please don’t worry. Many of you likely saw my friends making movements earlier; they are strong. Also, there are many adventurers here besides us. If we join forces with them, we should be able to endure without losing anyone until the knights arrive. However, for that, I need your cooperation. Please, lend me your strength and help me.”

As Sharueina said this and bowed her head, not only the villagers but the adventurers were taken aback.

But that was to be expected; it was unprecedented for a member of the royal family, who should be at the top of the country, to bow to mere villagers and adventurers, and it was unusual for her to make a request instead of an order.

“…Everyone, let’s do it.”

Then, as expected in this situation, the first to jump in was the strongly justice-driven Shudo, and with his emotions running high, he turned to the adventurers, overflowing with magic power.

“We are adventurers. We have strength and experience in combat. If we don’t join our forces to protect everyone now, then when will we?”

“B-but… their numbers are greater than ours!”

“Right! Plus, we don’t even know if the knights will really come to help!”

“I understand how you all feel. The enemies outnumber us, and there may be uncertainties. But! The princess, one of the leaders of the country, bowed her head, and she said the knights are coming! And she came here to help you all, disregarding her own danger! Shouldn’t we respond to her sense of justice and our trust in her resolve?”

The moment Shudo’s emotions reached a peak, his magic exploded like a blast, filling the entire underground facility.

“Ugh…”

“Ah, my head!”

“What…the heck is this…?”

The moment they touched that magic power, Iris, Miria, and Sharueina, who had been quietly observing nearby, suddenly started to writhe in pain. However, I quickly released a bit of my magic to create a barrier between them and Shudo’s magic, allowing them to catch their breath.

“Haah, haah…”

“My head… it feels like it’s splitting.”

“What was that? That strange sensation earlier.”

(I see. So there’s something about that magical power after all.)

I had suspected for a while that there was something unusual with his magic, but actually witnessing this phenomenon closely suggested that it undoubtedly had some sort of hypnotic or charm effect.

As evidence of this, the other adventurers and villagers who weren’t shielded by my magic…

“Yeah! That’s right! The princess came all this way for us! Then how can we not respond to that?!”

“Yeah! It’d be a disgrace for men to just let ourselves be saved! We should go all out here!”

“I became an adventurer to protect the people of my hometown! If I don’t act now, then when will I?!”

The adventurers, who had been hesitant just a moment ago, began to show enthusiasm as if that previous hesitation had been a lie, while the villagers, emboldened by their courage, were no longer showing fear on their faces.

(This is an interesting sight to behold. Did they perhaps brainwash like this in the past?)

I had never actually witnessed such a scene before, so I couldn’t be certain, but considering how Iris and Miria had suddenly changed in the past, that possibility could be quite high.

(Well, it doesn’t really matter though.)

Even if that were the case, what had happened in the past was already over, and even if they had been brainwashed at that time, it was no business of mine now.

I was the only one in this world with past memories, and harboring hatred and seeking revenge on them, who didn’t hold those memories, would bring no enjoyment or sense of accomplishment.

In fact, for me, it would be much more meaningful to live following the little remaining emotions I had, wanting to enjoy things, wanting to grow stronger, wanting to die quickly.

“Your Highness. What’s the order?”

“Understood. Then from this moment! We shall commence our rebellion! Everyone, follow me!!”

“Whoa—!!!”

With Sharueina’s battle cry, the adventurers and villagers charged up the stairs toward the surface, kicking down the door and successfully escaping from the underground facility.

“What the…?!”

“Why are these guys here?!”

“Get out of the way—!!!”

The men guarding the door leading to the underground facility showed astonished expressions at this unexpected turn of events, but the adventurers paid them no heed, blowing them away as they rushed toward the entrance.

Amidst this chaos, I walked out slowly from the underground facility, watching as Sharueina separated from the crowd of adventurers, alongside Iris and Miria walking out with me.

“Alright. Let’s leave that over to that guy, and we’ll do what we need to do.”

“Sure.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

“Then let’s start off with a bang.”

Saying that, I lightly kicked the ground, using flying magic to float up into the sky above Saramāju, grinning against the backdrop of a large full moon.

“Now, let’s get this started.”

 

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