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

Chapter 233: Unchanged?

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“I never expected to see such an outcome.”

As Sharueina cleaved Rogurando in two, Fūshiru, who had been watching their battle next to me, voiced his surprise.

“I never thought that woman would win. Did you know this would happen?”

“Not at all. I considered it as a possibility, but I couldn’t have known for sure if the princess would actually win.”

That’s the truth.

The moment I saw the initial clash between Rogurando and Sharueina, it was clear he was holding back.

In fact, Rogurando’s fighting style appeared to be awkwardly focused on counters, and he was only making attacks that would leave Sharueina alive by the skin of her teeth.

It was as if he was pointing out her habits and weaknesses, trying to correct them and engrain more practical skills in her body.

“When did you notice Rogurando’s intentions?”

“The first time I questioned it was when I went to his room with you. Remember what we discussed? Why there was a room on the first floor?”

“Ah, right. But I also mentioned that I didn’t know the reason. And no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find anything that would explain it.”

“True. Initially, I thought it was to hide something special. But it turned out to be different. Just the fact that he used a room on the lowest floor held meaning.”

“What do you mean?”

“Demons tend to have strong desires and prefer being at the top—be it the strongest power, the highest status, or the highest room in a building. Yet, Rogurando, who was possessed by a demon, was using the lowest floor. This indicates he had been resisting the demon’s desires for twelve long years.”

“No way…”

“I’m guessing he used the lowest room to clearly show he was resisting the amplified desires brought on by the demon. It was likely his final form of resistance to maintain his own identity.”

This had only been a hypothesis so far, but having witnessed Rogurando and his twisted fighting style, it became clear that the hypothesis was far from wrong.

“And he didn’t hide the documents proving the war in a subspace but rather on a desk. Truly, he probably didn’t intend to hide them at all—instead, he wanted someone to find them.”

“You mean he wanted someone to stop him?”

“Ah.”

“I see. I thought he cared as long as he cooperated with our plans, but Rogurando turned out to be a warrior with quite the strong will.”

The Dragon Kin are a proud race, and as such, they tend to recognize and respect individuals with strong beliefs and will, which seemed to put Fūshiru in slight admiration of Rogurando.

“So what’s next?”

“Nothing in particular. Rogurando, who had been planning a war, is gone from this world, and I’ve got all the necessary evidence now. Most of what we needed to do is already done. All that’s left is to hand this location over to those who need it as planned.”

“Then, as promised.”

“Yeah. Everyone I’m providing for you guys is already frozen with my magic. Feel free to do as you like with them. Just keep in mind others need them too, so I’ll discuss those details once everything is over.”

“Understood.”

As my conversation with Fūshiru ended, it seemed that Sharueina had also finished her farewell with Rogurando. She drove his sword into the ground and approached us with a different expression—one devoid of prior softness.

“I’ll take my leave for a bit. Let me know when the time comes.”

“Got it.”

After Fūshiru vanished, Sharueina began to speak to me.

“Iris.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Have you finished your farewells?”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, I was able to send my uncle off properly. I have no more regrets now.”

“Is that so?”

Her eyes were slightly red from crying, but true to her words, she seemed much clearer and alleviated compared to before the fight.

Well, since her left arm was also feeling lighter now, I snapped my fingers and used a healing magic to restore her missing arm back to its original state.

“Thank you. I never thought you could even heal a lost arm—impressive as always! So, what will you do from here?”

“I’m going home. Summer break is still long, and I want to rest at home.”

“Ha ha. Sounds just like you. If you don’t mind, can I spend time with you all at the Valentine Duchy?”

“That’s fine by me. I think Mother would be happy to see you as well, and our original plan was to vacation together at the Valentine Duchy.”

“Thank you.”

As Sharueina smiled, her face appeared fresh and clear, as if a burden had been lifted, with all her previous troubles seeming to vanish.

“Oh, and I want to give this to you, Your Highness.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s your uncle’s diary. I haven’t looked inside, but it should contain details about the past twelve years.”

I took out the notebook I found alongside the evidence when I was searching my storage and handed it to her.

“You didn’t peek?”

“I don’t have a hobby of reading other people’s diaries without permission. I have no idea what’s written in it, but if anyone has the right to read it, it must be you, Your Highness.”

“…Thank you.”

With that, Sharueina hugged Rogurando’s diary with care, falling silent for a while to absorb the moment.

“By the way, Iris. From now on…”

“Louis Valentine!!”

Just as she was about to say something, a young man burst through the door, calling my name as if he had timed it perfectly.

“Ugh. I knew you would come. Why does my wish always seem to be granted only at times like this when I’m feeling good?”

Despite having just witnessed a great battle and feeling elated, the young man ruined the atmosphere as he strode toward me without reserve.

“Calling someone’s name without permission is rather bold, isn’t it? I don’t recall granting you the right to call me by my name.”

“Shut up! That’s not what’s important right now!”

“Ha ha. I don’t know why you’re angry, but maybe you should calm down a bit. Uh, your name was Shudo, right?”

The angry young man was Shudo, the one who had approached me when we were imprisoned in the underground facility, and he also attended the same Suzette Imperial Academy.

“What’s this about being angry? Don’t you really understand? Or are you mocking me?!”

“No, no. Why would I mock you? I wouldn’t waste my time on someone I haven’t even had a proper conversation with.”

“Iris…”

As I restrained Sharueina, who still didn’t comprehend the situation, and stepped back, I took a seat on a water cushion, crossing my legs while gazing at Shudo with a haughty demeanor.

“I’ll enlighten you if you really don’t get it! Why did you kill the people of this country!!”

“Killed? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb! You froze the elderly and children indiscriminately with magic and killed them!!”

“Oh, that incident.”

Initially, I was genuinely unsure why he was so emotional, but upon hearing the mention of freezing, I finally grasped what he was angry about.

“Indiscriminate, huh? That’s quite an accusation. I didn’t freeze people indiscriminately. And those individuals didn’t die either. It’s absurd to blame me without even understanding what kind of magic it was.”

“Not indiscriminate, you say! Then explain! Some of those affected by that magic were people I was trying to escape with!”

“Explain, huh? Well, fine, but whether you’re satisfied with the explanation is another story. First off, that magic is a freezing spell that renders its target alive. It’s a top-tier spell that any ice magic wielder knows, including the princess standing right there. You can ask her.”

“Is that true?”

As I said that, Shudo turned to Sharueina, intensifying his questioning as if to confirm whether my words were accurate.

“Y-yeah. That magic doesn’t have any direct lethal capability. If the caster dispels the magic, the person returns without any issues.”

“Is that so?”

“See? I told you so.”

Hearing Sharueina’s explanation, Shudo seemed relieved to find out they weren’t dead, but despite that, his expression still betrayed his inability to forgive me, as he continued to glare at me.

“But the fact remains that you froze people indiscriminately. Some were even individuals the princess tried to warn to escape together. Why did you do such a thing?”

“Don’t just assume it was indiscriminate. It was done with an aim.”

“Then what was that aim?”

“Ugh. I really don’t get why I have to break this down for you, but the people I froze with my magic were those who committed crimes according to the Empire’s laws.”

“…Huh? Crimes?”

“Exactly. Various laws exist in the Empire to judge crimes such as murder, theft, drug offenses, assault, injury, intimidation, and illegal slavery. The individuals I froze with magic fit those criteria, and the old and young you mentioned, as well as the people who were trying to escape with you, all had their hands stained with crimes at some point. That’s why they were frozen—not because I froze people indiscriminately.”

“That’s… that’s possible…?”

“It is. I have the power to do at least that much. You understand now, right? If you get it, then stop with the baseless accusations. It’s tedious.”

In truth, I had no obligation to explain such things, but I had one curious thing in mind, so I answered his questions this time.

“More importantly, I want to ask one thing… Why are Iris and Miria, who should have been with me, standing behind you?”

Yes. What had puzzled me all along was why Iris and Miria, who had been quietly standing behind Shudo, had said nothing since we arrived.

“I just encountered them on the way here.”

“Really?”

Indeed, if Shudo had traveled through the town of Saramāju to get here, it was plausible he would have run into Iris and the others fighting against demons.

However, what I really wanted to know wasn’t the details of that encounter, but rather why they were on his side.

(Hah. So this is how it ends up again.)

I had seen this scene many times before.

The way Iris and the others stood behind Shudo, almost like they were being controlled or manipulated, transformed into puppets who only followed his words grew colder and colder in my mind, feeling emotion drain away like never before.

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