Chapter 182………………………………….
As his power returned once more, Kyle became confused.
The Elufe he loved and the Elufe I had seen in the past seemed like completely different people.
She was obsessed with Rekanon, had succeeded in getting engaged, and seemed likely to marry soon.
“But it’s not just El who has changed.”
Rekanon, who had hated El; the missing Zeros Hellen; even the imperial servants who had been wary of Elufe—all of them were different now. Something was definitely strange.
“A god who set taboos to prevent a swapped life… then why is this life completely different from before…?”
Those who rewind time do not remember the lives they lived before.
I had tricked the system to seal my power and recover my past memories, but that was only possible because it was Kyle.
Yet somehow, everything around Elufe was changing.
“That doesn’t mean El is the culprit. She got engaged to Rekanon just as she wanted, and in the previous life, she never used dark magic.”
No matter what form my target took, I had sworn to tear them apart.
It was the first time I had felt love in a dragon’s life, and how could I let the one who would waste this time go unpunished?
“Late, aren’t we?”
Kyle turned his head at Rekanon’s voice coming from the darkness. Rekanon, hiding his presence, quietly approached.
“Were you waiting for me?”
The Rekanon he had known had always been impatient.
He would often complain that the tea everyone else drank was too hot, and it was common for him to gulp down the cold milk tea Elufe had prepared.
Seeing Rekanon calmly sitting and waiting for him was like the sky suddenly splitting in two—utterly impossible.
“I could not sleep, not even for a moment.”
“Is it really so important that you can’t sleep? It seems rather peaceful for something that serious.”
He was returning from dealing with the beasts. His entire body was soaked in fatigue, and only after thoroughly slaughtering the surroundings could he close a single door.
That was the death of a dragon.
Two dragons that had protected humans had died; if not for him, it would not have been surprising if the empire fell.
“Trying to speak casually, huh… You don’t even know what situation the empire is in right now…”
Despite Kyle’s indifferent tone, Rekanon’s eyes still shone. Seeing him act as if he had made some great resolve, Kyle finally asked, pretending to give in.
“This isn’t about beasts, nor a war. There must be internal conflict in the empire. What is it this time? Have the emperor’s faction and the nobles started another petty political fight, blaming each other?”
“A petty fight… I see. The royal family seen by the guardian has always been this lacking.”
Kyle, who had assumed it was merely some minor disappointment, realized belatedly the near-despair on Rekanon’s face.
“Where is El?”
“……”
The woman Rekanon loved, the woman the imperial family and nobles feared—that was all El.
It seemed that while I was dealing with the beasts like the empire’s dog, he had planned to deal with El.
“Tell me now! Where is my El!”
Kyle’s eyes flared red with uncontrollable rage.
Even the mere thought that something might have happened to El made his entire body tremble beyond his control, threatening to revert to his true form.
As the atmosphere grew tense, Rekanon finally spoke.
“She is in the underground prison. They say the execution will take place soon.”
“Who gave the order for an execution…?”
A thick black mist rose, as if ready to swallow the entire empire.
Rekanon knew better than anyone how much Kyle despised this empire.
As a guardian, he had never cared for the royal family, nor had he ever treated the emperor he grew up with as a friend.
“Have you always felt this way?”
Even without touching the thick mist, Rekanon found it hard to breathe.
It was as if someone was strangling his throat. He struggled, gasping for air.
Liquids flowed involuntarily from his eyes, nose, and mouth. Feeling death was near, Rekanon barely held onto his consciousness and looked at Kyle.
“I… I’ve thought of a way.”
“……”
Kyle wasn’t sure if the method coming from Rekanon could be trusted, but he first dispelled the darkness surrounding him. Then he quietly looked down at him and asked:
“It means abandoning your father, your siblings, and the empire. And yet, you would give me this method for my sake?”
“No. It is to prevent losing the empire abandoned by my father and to save the siblings abandoned by my father.”
Rekanon bit his lip firmly as he said that.
“Very well. If you return El to me in her original form, I will not touch the empire or your siblings.”
It was a deal with the dragons. What the first emperor recorded in history had done.
And now, Rekanon—who had no qualms or qualities of an emperor—managed to do that remarkable thing.
He did not think himself admirable. He was only ashamed of his ancestors who had ruled the throne all their lives over something as trivial as this.
“Today, it would be best if the guardian did not return to the palace.”
“…Perhaps I expected too much from you?”
“If you trust me just once, I will ensure you do not regret it.”
Thanks to Rubleon, some of his strength had returned, but that was all.
Perhaps due to excessive use of dark magic, his body was in the worst state since he had lived as Elufe.
Roughly dragged along, the soldiers began bustling about.
“Ugh.”
Seeing sunlight after so long, his eyes hurt as if blinded.
His unsteady body fell over instantly.
Though tears of sorrow threatened to fall, he forced them back.
“This isn’t something that happened because of me.”
He had lived a life that wasn’t perfect without law, but he had never done anything bad enough to be a criminal.
And now he was facing execution. This ridiculous false accusation made his anger surge.
Until now, he had never failed to complete a dating-sim game. Yet here he was, utterly defeated.
“Damn original-story-loving god.”
If there was a god, it was all the god’s fault. If he were executed here, it was not because of him but because of the original-story-obsessed god.
Because the stubborn, foolish god never corrected the story.
“Up!”
Someone shoved him, and he was thrown anxiously where hundreds could see.
The unpolished wooden boards jabbed sharply into his knees.
Kneeling and looking around, he was shocked to see Elforten and Count Inferna tied up together.
“Why are you here?”
At his outburst, Count Inferna’s face flushed red.
Half-crazed Elforten seemed unable to speak, only opening his mouth slightly and crying.
“Someone framed me. You know, right? That I brought poison to assassinate Her Highness the princess—absurd, isn’t it?”
Trying to escape with the count’s help seemed meaningless now.
Had he known it would come to this, he would not have overused dark magic. His excitement had blinded him to such possibilities.
“Die! You wicked witch! You worthless things fit only for chicken feed!”
“Ungrateful bitches! Even flaying you for the wild beasts wouldn’t be a waste!”
Voices, as good as curses, shouted below his knees.
Exhausted from looking at them, Kyle lifted his head and saw Rekanon staring at him.
Until recently, he had believed that not getting engaged to Rekanon would keep him safe, dreaming of a happy future.
Mocking his own foolishness, Rekanon was now passing the death sentence on him.
“I, Rekanon, imperial prince and captain of the First Knights, shall punish these criminals on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor. Based on the results of the great assembly, all members of the Inferna family shall be sentenced to death….”
As in the original story, Rekanon sentenced him to death. Damn this original-story-obsessed god.
“No matter what I do, can I never reach a happy ending?”
Suddenly, fatigue hit him. Even if a happy ending was impossible, he hadn’t expected such an extreme sad ending.
At least if it were a sad ending that spared his life, it would be somewhat bearable.
“Considering the gathered opinions of the empire’s people, it was deemed suitable to offer you as food for the wild beasts. However, as the criminals are nobles, they will be placed on the guardian’s altar and offered as sacrifices.”
The empire cheered at Rekanon’s declaration that the sacrificial offering would be for the guardian, lost decades ago.
“…My family, which I have protected my entire life, has sunk to such filth.”
Count Inferna murmured, stunned.
Elforten and Count Inferna seemed to have no intention of begging for their lives.
It seemed they had no strength to do so.
Of course, Kyle felt differently.
Was it because of his motto: if wronged, repay in kind?
The thought of surviving by any means, by evil or force, rang in his mind like a constant warning alarm.
