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

Chapter 234: Change

◇◇◇

Time rewinds a little, and it was shortly after Sharueina and Rogurando began their battle.

Having finished off the demons, Iris and Miria were heading toward the Royal Castle to regroup with Lewis and the others when a young man approached them from behind.

“Hey!!”

“Yes?”

“You are…”

Startled by the sudden voice from behind, Iris and Miria turned around to find Shudo, whom they had met several times at the academy and the underground facilities.

However, unlike the last time, he appeared to be quite angry about something, with his expression and demeanor radiating a tremendous amount of magic power infused with rage.

“What do you want?”

From previous experiences, Iris and Miria knew that getting too close to Shudo’s magic was dangerous. They kept their distance and cautiously observed him while enveloping themselves in their own magic power.

“Where is Lewis Valentine?”

“Lord Lewis? He isn’t here.”

“Not here? You let only the girls fight, and that man isn’t here? Not only did he do such a thing, but now this… That’s unforgivable…”

Taken aback by the unexpected question, Iris responded normally, but upon hearing that Lewis was absent, Shudo’s anger somehow intensified, and the power emanating from his magic increased.

“Ugh…”

“Gah! Hah, hah…”

Despite having kept their distance, the sudden expansion of Shudo’s magical range lightly brushed against Iris and Miria’s magic.

I love that person.

I want to be with that person forever.

That person is the only one who saves me.

That person is my savior.

In that moment, an overwhelming flood of unfamiliar emotions surged through their minds, and the sweet, sultry voice that they had never heard before spread throughout their bodies, tainting something precious.

“Miria, raise the density of your magic.”

“I… I’m sorry. I’m already out of magic…”

If the two of them had been in perfect condition, they might have been able to put up a bit of resistance with their magic, but unfortunately, they were both exhausted, having just finished a battle, and their magic power was less than half of what it usually was.

In that situation, Miria was the first to collapse. Despite having little magic left, she initially managed to hold on, but couldn’t endure the ongoing assault of Shudo’s emotions and fainted right there.

“Are you okay!!”

“Guh…”

Shudo, who could finally look around after Miria collapsed, approached Iris and Miria with a worried expression, unlike before. However, with every step he took closer, the discomfort that assaulted Iris increased.

And unable to endure the unpleasant feeling any longer, Iris also knelt and fell to the ground, her vision slowly blurring.

“Lewis… my lord…”

As she uttered Lewis’s name, Iris lost consciousness, collapsing alongside Miria.

◇◇◇

Watching Iris and Miria behind Shudo, I propped my chin on my hand while sitting on a water cushion and pondered how my actions might affect the future.

(From the situation, it seems the two have been brainwashed by Shudo’s magic.)

What was immediately evident was that Shudo’s magic was sticking to their magic like slime. And it was sticking in an amount far beyond what I had seen before. Perhaps due to the battles they had fought, even Iris, who had resisted it before, couldn’t stand up to it this time.

(I’ve got a rough idea of the situation. Now, the next question is whether or not it’s worth saving them.)

Shudo’s magic at present wasn’t particularly powerful, as he hadn’t yet obtained the holy sword, and I could likely peel it off without too much trouble.

But was it worth going through that hassle for those two right now?

(Not really.)

While they had shown clear affection towards me with their actions now, if I thought about the future, I had to admit that they wouldn’t necessarily be essential going forward.

(Iris’s magic and Miria’s poison and espionage skills are excellent, but without them, the gap left isn’t that significant for me.)

After all, in the past, I had done combat, healing, and information gathering all on my own.

Given that experience, the loss of those two wouldn’t matter much, and I didn’t need someone to fill in the gaps.

“Hmmm…”

Normally, this would be a problem I wouldn’t need to ponder over, but I hesitated to immediately arrive at a conclusion because I was slightly curious about something.

(If Iris and the others managed to regain their sanity on their own in this situation, it would clearly prove that the future is changing.)

Looking back on everything so far, many points were different from the past, starting with my meeting with Fiera, with Iris developing feelings for me instead of Shudo, or having an aversion to him instead.

Yet, deep down, I couldn’t shake the feeling that their paths would ultimately align with the past events and lead to a similar conclusion.

However, if Iris could break free from Shudo’s brainwashing on her own at this point, it would serve as evidence that the future would clearly change.

“This is a hassle, but it’s for the future after all.”

Having made up my mind, I released a little bit of magic without changing my attitude and addressed Iris and Miria with a dignified stance.

“I don’t know if you two can hear me, but since this is a hassle, I’ll explain quickly. You have two options now. The first is to become allies of that guy over there and get killed by me.”

“What?! You’re going to kill them!! Are you serious about killing them?!”

“Next, the second option. You break free from that dirty magic-induced brainwashing by your own power. I’ve already saved Iris once and Miria three times; therefore, I think there’s no point in helping you anymore. It doesn’t matter which option you choose, but this is the last time. Will you become my enemy and die, or will you resist that magic on your own and live freely? Choose right now!”

As I declared that I would kill Iris and Miria, Shudo began to shout again, but I ignored him and watched their reactions.

Sharueina was also observing quietly, as if she understood how abnormal the situation was.

“U… ah…”

“Ah….”

Then, as if in response to my words, Iris and Miria let out small sounds, and in the next moment, their hands and fingertips twitched slightly.

“Aren’t you tired of being used by someone else? It’s about time to be free, right?”

“Lu… Lewis….”

“Lewis… my lord…”

And when I called out to them once more, they clumsily yet clearly spoke my name and stepped forward with one small step.

◇◇◇

“Where is this…?”

When Iris opened her eyes, she found herself in a familiar, pure white space that only had a small table and two chairs.

“Somehow, this feels familiar…”

Iris, unsure of where she had seen it before, felt like she had been to this place before and sat down in one of the nearby chairs.

“Hello.”

When a voice reached from across, she looked up to see a person she knew well standing there.

“Is that… me?”

Standing before Iris was a girl who looked remarkably like her but had her eyes covered with black cloth, giving her an appearance that seemed slightly more mature than the current Iris.

Nevertheless, since they shared so many similarities, it wouldn’t be surprising for someone to mistake her for an older Iris, so it was only natural for Iris to be astonished.

“Ehehe. What a cute reaction.”

“Who are you?”

“Well now, who could I be?”

The girl giggled for some reason, and her laugh and slight quirks were strikingly similar to Iris, leaving her feeling more and more perplexed.

“For now, call me Lily.”

“Lily, huh?”

“Yes. It’s a name given to me by that person, so I thought I might as well use it.”

Lily said this while sitting across from Iris, sipping tea that seemed to have come from nowhere.

“Will you drink?”

“No, I’ll pass.”

“Is that so?”

“More importantly, where is this place? I feel like I’ve been here before, but I can’t recall.”

“This is a place called the spiritual realm or deep realm—a dream-like space, to put it simply.”

“A dream?”

“Yes. You are currently in a state of lost consciousness. Do you remember what happened last?”

When asked by Lily, Iris searched her memory for the last scene she recalled, only to find it cut off as she touched a certain young man’s magic.

“I remember touching the magic of someone named Shudo, but beyond that, there’s nothing.”

“Correct. You lost consciousness there, so it’s understandable that you have no memory of what happened after that.”

“Then what happened to me?”

Iris understood that she had lost consciousness, but still had no idea why she was in such a place, or what had happened afterwards.

“Well, let’s explain it one by one. I won’t take up too much time, so this will be a brief explanation. First of all, the reason you are here is that I called you to this place.”

“You called me? Why?”

“Simply put, it’s to protect you from that magic. You might say it’s for defense. If you had continued touching his magic, it would have been too late. Thanks to your well-trained magical control, the worst-case scenario was avoided. Good job.”

Iris was taken aback by the unexpected praise, but more than that, it was the part about it being potentially too late that made her anxious about what was truly going on with her.

“Please, don’t be so anxious. This time, you’re safe. I would love to explain this in more detail, but I don’t have the time, so I’ll cut to the chase about the current situation you’re probably concerned about.”

When Lily snapped her fingers, a light blue panel appeared in the air, showing the images of Lewis, Sharueina, and Iris and Miria standing behind Shudo.

“What is shown on this panel is the scene you are currently witnessing in reality. And you are now under Shudo’s magic, being manipulated.”

“So, that means I’m following a man other than Lord Lewis?”

“Indeed. However, what’s really important starts from here. Look at that person.”

When Iris turned her gaze to Lewis as instructed, she noticed that he wore an expression she had never seen before, one that was cold and filled with a killing intent so dense it felt as if he might kill them at any moment.

“Right now, that person is disappointed by the reality in which you’ve been brainwashed. And he is considering killing you if you are a hindrance to his plans. Do you understand? If this continues, you will find yourselves opposing Lord Lewis, and one of you is likely to die.”

“Th-that’s so scary! I’m not afraid of dying myself, but to think of killing Lord Lewis…”

“Yes. Therefore, you must break free of this brainwashing on your own. But to do that, you need to make a sacrifice.”

“A sacrifice? I’ll do anything! If it means escaping this situation and returning to Lord Lewis!”

“Hehe. Well stated. That sacrifice is, essentially, your life.”

“My… life?”

“Yes. But it doesn’t mean you have to commit suicide or offer your life to something. When the time comes, entrust your life to that person. He will decide what to do with your life.”

“When the time comes?”

“That will become clear naturally. You just need to go with the emotions you feel then and entrust your life.”

“I understand. I will follow your words.”

Without hesitation, Iris responded to Lily’s words with a resolute expression and nodded.

“You’re impressive. Now, I will use my power to return your consciousness to your body. Also, to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again, I will cast a special magic on your soul. So, it’s likely we won’t meet again until that time comes.”

“Thank you for everything.”

“No, this is necessary. And please continue practicing magical control and magic. If you’re to follow the path of that person, your current abilities are still insufficient. You’ll tread a much harsher path going forward. Take care not to die before entrusting your life to him.”

“I understand.”

Upon hearing her response, Lily smiled contentedly, and the hidden left eye behind her black cloth briefly sparkled, while Iris’s body gradually became transparent and her consciousness slowly faded.

And after Iris’s figure vanished, Lily remained in that space, turning her face towards Lewis, who was still visible on the light blue panel, smiling at him lovingly.

“May you find the peace you desire.”

◇◇◇

If you’re interested in the simultaneously serialized work, “The Former Hero, Who Became the Demon Emperor, Devotes His Life to the World,” I would greatly appreciate your support!

If you’re curious, I would be delighted if you could give it a read!

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330663836544021

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