Chapter 19
— — —
"Yes, that's right. You were very hungry, weren't you?"
Judging by the look of it, he had been training breathlessly since the morning.
Just then, Havel took the cart Prina was holding.
"I will distribute them. You should go and rest, Sister."
"No, Havel. You’re the one who had a grueling sparring session. Go and rest. That’s my job, so give it to me and..."
"It’s fine, Sister. I want to do it."
Havel even snatched the basket Prina was holding in her other hand.
"Don't go... I would like you to stay here until I return."
"Havel..."
"...I am absolutely not forcing you."
Havel turned away in a hurry, his face flushed red.
Prina watched his broad back as he walked away and thought to herself.
Havel...
You took the cart, so how am I supposed to go back?
'He really is such a kind soul.'
It had already been several years since she had started watching over Havel.
'When did that little kid grow up so much?'
Prina vividly remembered the moment she first encountered him.
Unlike his current muscular physique, he had been smaller than his peers and barely a handful, thanks to long periods of starvation.
That pitiful sight had overlapped with her own younger brother, which made her feel particularly protective and fond of him.
Then, when her memories of her past life returned and she realized that Havel was the protagonist of a regression story who repeated an endless cycle of death, Prina felt a shock that stiffened her entire body, as if a massive tidal wave had crashed over her.
But no matter how pitiful that boy was, there was nothing Prina could do for him.
...Because she was nothing more than an extra.
Perhaps that was why.
"Sister."
Before she knew it, Havel, having finished the distribution, approached Prina’s side.
'...Havel’s regression isn't far off now.'
Whenever that fact crossed her mind, she found it difficult to look directly into those clear, violet eyes lately.
...Because she felt endlessly sorry that she had to remain a mere bystander while knowing the future that awaited him.
"...Sister?"
When Prina didn't answer for a long time despite his call, Havel called out to her once more, cautiously.
"Thank you, Havel. You must be hungry too, so go and eat quickly."
"...Sister, your complexion is poor. Are you perhaps feeling ill?"
"Hm? That’s impossible."
Prina smiled nonchalantly and took the cart that Havel had been pulling.
To be honest, she felt guilty even receiving help from him.
I know the future, yet I can't do anything for you.
"Sister, is it perhaps because of that ex-boyfriend?"
Hm?
"If it’s something like that..."
Havel parted his lips as if he had something to say.
"You should stop thinking about such a bad guy now."
She had no idea what kind of things the colleagues at Daisy Hall had been saying behind her back.
"No, Havel, I..."
"Instead of a jerk with no manners like that, rather, rather..."
However, contrary to his large frame, Havel couldn't finish his sentence.
His face turned bright red with an emotion she couldn't tell was shame or embarrassment, and he added in a voice no louder than a mosquito.
"Rather than him, if you would meet with me..."
"Havel! Hang in there! You can do it!"
"That’s right! The hot-blooded youth of a man! It’s a wonderful sight to see!"
Havel’s voice was buried by the boisterous shouts of the knights.
"Havel, what did you say? I’m sorry. It was too noisy, and I couldn't hear you."
Havel couldn't even lift his head properly now.
'Honestly. I told them to stop teasing the kid.'
But the knights, having stuffed sandwiches into their mouths, no longer feared anything.
Prina raised her hand and brushed away the hair that had been disheveled by sweat on Havel’s forehead.
"Sister, it’s dirty!"
Havel recoiled in shock.
"Dirty? My younger brother also sweats buckets and swings his sword just like you, you know?"
As she pushed away the hair that was stuck to his forehead by sweat, fearing it would poke his eyes, Havel’s snow-white eyelashes trembled.
"Havel, I have work piling up, so I’ll be going now."
"Ah..."
Was it because the training under the scorching sun had been too grueling?
Or was it because he had been drained by the knights' mischievous teasing? Havel looked dazed, like someone who had lost his soul.
It must be because he hasn't eaten.
"Make sure to eat well. See you next time."
"Yes, Sister..."
* * *
'...How much time is left until Havel’s regression?'
She was on her way back from the training grounds to Daisy Hall.
There was less than half a year left until the point when he would hold his coming-of-age ceremony.
By then, Havel would have lived through dozens, perhaps hundreds of lives.
...In all those hundreds of lives, Havel had never once defeated Declain. Because of 'that power' Declain possessed.
"Aaaagh!"
Did my inner voice slip out for a moment?
"Do you have any idea who I am, you bastards?!"
It wasn't that.
Prina’s eyes widened as she turned her head toward the source of the scream.
A man was being dragged away roughly like a piece of luggage, his arms bound by armed Imperial knights.
It was a familiar face.
It was the face she had seen at the banquet just last night.
'Count Seaton!'
The knights clad in silver armor ignored the Count’s struggling, treating it like the fluttering of an insect’s wings.
"Your Majesty! This is a grave injustice! All of this is a vile conspiracy to frame me!"
His voice was desperately pitiful, but the gazes around him were cold.
She could hear whispers from the surroundings.
"They say he embezzled the war funds the Imperial family sent to Caesar."
"He must have had a lot of nerve! They say he used the embezzled funds to support the war efforts of an enemy nation?"
Not even a few days had passed since the banquet ended.
Declain was swift in his actions.
'That’s why you shouldn't have crossed Declain...'
Normally, she would have thought that, but right now, she couldn't bring herself to.
Prina’s footsteps quickened as she headed back to Daisy Hall.
'I was just trying to save Hugh!'
It really was a pointless endeavor.
I should have at least tried to figure out that Hugh was Declain sooner!
But logically speaking, who would ever think that their ex-boyfriend was the mastermind...
Who on earth could ever come up with such an idea?
Wouldn't it be more normal to just laugh it off, thinking, "I must be crazy," or "That’s impossible"?
Arriving in front of Daisy Hall, Prina prayed for the day to pass as quietly as possible. So that she wouldn't get caught up in it by sheer bad luck...
"You always seem to be trying to ruin your own life. You should have just behaved yourself. Would it kill you to live quietly and keep your head down like everyone else?"
Suddenly, the words her mother had said a long time ago came to mind. Whenever she had too many thoughts, her voice would echo in her ears.
Prina pushed away a fragment of memory and gripped the doorknob.
'But why is it so quiet inside?'
Even if the lunch distribution was over, the interior of Daisy Hall, which should have been filled with the noise of preparing the next ingredients and washing dishes, was as silent as a grave.
When she pushed the door open, trying to ignore the chilling cold creeping up her spine, it happened.
Inside the kitchen, the people of Daisy Hall, who should have been moving busily, were frozen in place as if by some unspoken agreement. Tense and stiff, their faces pale.
"Ah, Prina..."
One of her colleagues called her name in a low voice. Knights were standing among the colleagues.
"Are you Prina Crowell?"
In that moment, Prina realized it.
"Grand Duke Caesar has ordered us to bring you, Prina Crowell."
Declain had finally found out her real name.
What was bound to happen has happened.
As expected, he never lets things slide.
* * *
The knights took Prina down to the Imperial underground prison.
To be precise, that was where the interrogation room was located.
'My wretched fate...'
A sigh escaped her lips.
It seemed they had concluded that she was the only one who could have stolen the poison. And in truth, she had.
'You knew this would happen.'
Even before she intercepted the wine the assassin was holding.
So, let’s stay calm.
I have an alternative...
"If you had just listened to your mother, this wouldn't have happened. Poor Prina."
The voice in her ears momentarily clouded her mind. At the very moment she felt her consciousness fading.
*Clank—*
The cold iron door let out a chilling, sharp sound as it cracked open.
"Ah."
It was a smile as soft as spring, but it gave Prina a strange chill.
"You're here?"
A sweet voice called her name.
She knew now.
Just how cruel that gentle voice could be.
"You may leave now."
As soon as Declain’s words fell, the knights who had brought Prina bowed their heads as if their job was done and quietly left the room.
What, where are you going...
The greatest terror of her life was right here.
He was scary sometimes when they were dating, but knowing his true identity made him even more terrifying.
It was a level of fear that a commoner couldn't handle.
'But why did Declain come himself?'
Doesn't he usually have someone else do the interrogating?
"Are you going to keep standing there?"
Declain’s gaze, as he leaned back against the chair, landed on Prina.
Physically, he was sitting much lower than Prina, but she felt a strange, overwhelming pressure, as if he were looking down at her from a great height.
"Sit."
It was, of course, not an invitation.
It was when Prina pulled the chair that had been tucked under the desk.
"Ms. Prina Crowell?"
Declain called her name.
...Not Renia Felt.
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