Chapter 19
“Yes, that’s right. You must’ve been very hungry, huh?”
From the looks of it, they had been training nonstop since morning.
Just then, Havel took the cart Prina was holding onto.
“I’ll hand it out. Please rest, noona.”
“No, Havel. You were the one sparring so hard. Go get some rest. This is my job, so give that back—”
“It’s fine, noona. I want to do it.”
Havel even took the basket she was carrying in her other hand.
“Please don’t leave… I’d like you to stay here until I come back.”
“Havel…”
“…I’m not forcing you.”
His face reddened, and he quickly turned away.
Watching his broad back retreat into the distance, Prina thought:
Havel…
You took the cart. How am I supposed to leave now?
He really is such a kind boy.
It had already been years since she first started watching over him.
When did that tiny little kid grow so much?
Prina remembered clearly the first moment she met him.
Unlike now, with his solid, well-built muscles, he had once been starved for so long that he was smaller than other children his age—so frail he seemed like he could fit in one hand.
That pitiful appearance overlapped with the image of her younger brother, and because of that she had grown especially attached to him.
Then, when memories of her past life returned and she realized Havel was the protagonist of a regression story—someone doomed to repeat endless deaths—Prina had frozen in shock, as though a massive tidal wave had swallowed her whole.
But no matter how pitiful he was, there was nothing Prina could do for him.
…Because she was nothing more than a side character.
Maybe that was why.
“Noona.”
Before she noticed, Havel had finished distributing the food and returned to her side.
…There isn’t much time left before Havel’s regression begins.
Whenever that thought surfaced, it became harder and harder for her to look directly into those clear violet eyes.
…Because she felt unbearably guilty knowing the future that awaited him, yet being forced to stand by and do nothing.
“…Noona?”
When Prina didn’t respond for a long moment, Havel cautiously called out to her again.
“Thank you, Havel. You must be hungry too, so hurry and go eat.”
“…Noona, your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you feeling sick?”
“Hm? Of course not.”
Prina smiled calmly and retrieved the cart Havel had pushed away earlier.
Honestly, even receiving help from him made her feel guilty.
I know your future, yet there’s nothing I can do for you.
“Noona… is it because of that ex-boyfriend?”
Hm?
“If that’s the case…”
Havel hesitated as though he wanted to say something.
“You should forget a terrible bastard like that already.”
Prina had absolutely no idea what kind of rumors the Daisy Hall staff had been spreading around.
“No, Havel, I—”
“Instead of some rude jerk like him, maybe… maybe…”
But despite his large build, Havel couldn’t finish his sentence.
His face burned bright red with an emotion somewhere between embarrassment and shame, and in a voice barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz, he added:
“Maybe you could… go out with me instead…”
“Havel! You can do it! Fightiiing!”
“Yeah! Ah, the fiery youth of a young man! Wonderful to see!”
The knights’ thunderous shouting drowned out his voice.
“Havel, what did you say? Sorry, I couldn’t hear you because it’s so loud.”
At this point Havel couldn’t even raise his head properly.
Seriously. They need to stop teasing the poor kid.
But the knights, stuffing sandwiches into their mouths, had nothing to fear anymore.
Prina reached up and brushed aside Havel’s sweat-dampened hair.
“Noona, that’s dirty!”
Havel recoiled in horror.
“How is it dirty? My younger brother swings a sword while dripping sweat just like you do.”
His soaked bangs were sticking to his forehead and about to poke his eyes, so she brushed them aside. Havel’s pale eyelashes trembled faintly.
“Havel, I’ve still got work piled up, so I should get going now.”
“Ah…”
Was the training under the blazing sun too exhausting?
Or had the knights’ relentless teasing completely drained him?
Havel looked dazed, like someone whose soul had left his body.
Yep, this is definitely because he hasn’t eaten yet.
“Make sure you eat properly. See you next time.”
“Yes, noona…”
…How long until Havel’s regression begins?
She was on her way back from the training grounds to Daisy Hall.
There wasn’t even half a year left until Havel’s coming-of-age ceremony.
By then, perhaps he would have already lived through dozens—hundreds—of lifetimes.
…And throughout all those hundreds of lives, Havel had never once managed to defeat Declan.
Because of that power Declan possessed.
“AAAGH!”
For a moment Prina wondered if the scream inside her head had burst out aloud.
“Do you know who I am, you bastards?!”
No—it wasn’t her.
Turning toward the source of the screams, Prina’s eyes widened.
A man was being dragged away like baggage, both arms bound by heavily armed imperial knights.
It was a familiar face.
She had seen him just last night at the banquet.
Count Seitan!
The knights in silver armor ignored the count’s desperate struggling as if it were no more than the fluttering wings of an insect.
“Your Majesty! I have been wronged! This is all a vile conspiracy meant to frame me!”
His voice was pitifully desperate, yet the surrounding gazes remained icy cold.
Whispers spread among the onlookers.
“I heard he embezzled war funds the imperial family sent to Kaisar.”
“He must’ve gone insane! Apparently he used the stolen funds to support the enemy nation’s war effort!”
Not even a few days had passed since the banquet ended.
Declan moved fast.
That’s what you get for messing with Declan…
Normally, that’s what she would have thought.
But now she couldn’t think that way at all.
Prina quickened her pace toward Daisy Hall.
I was only trying to save Hugo!
It really had been an unnecessary thing to do.
She should have realized sooner that Hugo was Declan!
But honestly, who in their right mind would imagine that their ex-boyfriend was secretly the mastermind villain?
Wouldn’t any normal person laugh it off and think, No way, I must be crazy?
Arriving in front of Daisy Hall, Prina silently prayed for the rest of the day to pass quietly.
Hopefully she wouldn’t get caught up in this mess too…
“You really do insist on ruining your own life. If only you’d behaved obediently. Would it kill you to stay quiet and live like everyone else?”
Suddenly, words her mother had spoken long ago resurfaced in her mind. Whenever her thoughts grew tangled, she could still hear that voice whispering in her ears.
Prina cut away the fragment of memory and grabbed the doorknob.
But why is it so quiet inside?
Even though lunch service had ended, Daisy Hall should still have been filled with shouting over dishwashing and preparing ingredients for the next meal.
Yet the inside was silent as a graveyard.
Ignoring the cold chill creeping over her skin, she pushed the door open.
Inside the kitchen, the people of Daisy Hall—who should’ve been bustling nonstop—stood frozen in place as though by prior agreement, their faces pale with tension.
“Ah, Prina…”
One of her coworkers quietly called her name.
Knights stood among the staff.
“Are you Prina Crowell?”
In that instant, Prina knew.
“Archduke Kaisar has ordered us to bring Prina Crowell before him.”
Declan had finally uncovered her real name.
So it’s come to this after all.
Of course he wouldn’t just let it slide.
The knights escorted Prina down into the imperial underground prison.
More specifically, there was an interrogation room there.
My life really is cursed…
A sigh escaped her naturally.
They must have concluded that she was the only one who could have stolen the poison.
And they were right.
I expected something like this would happen.
Ever since the moment she snatched the wine from the assassin.
So calm down.
I have a backup plan—
“If only you had listened to your mother, none of this would’ve happened. Poor Prina.”
The voice ringing in her ears momentarily clouded her mind. Just as her thoughts began slipping away—
Clank—
The cold iron door opened with a sharp metallic groan.
“Ah.”
The smile was gentle as spring itself, yet Prina felt strange goosebumps crawl over her skin.
“You’re here?”
A sweet voice called her name.
Now she understood.
Just how cruel a soft voice could be.
“You may leave now.”
The moment Declan finished speaking, the knights who had brought Prina lowered their heads and quietly departed as though their task was complete.
Wait, where are you going…?
The greatest terror of her life was standing right here.
Even while they were dating, there were times she found him frightening.
Now that she knew his true identity, he was even more terrifying.
It was fear beyond what an ordinary person could endure.
But why did Declan come personally?
Wouldn’t he normally send someone else to interrogate her?
“Are you going to keep standing there?”
Leaning lazily against the back of his chair, Declan fixed his gaze on her.
Physically, he sat far lower than where Prina stood, yet she felt as though he were looking down at her from some impossibly high place, radiating overwhelming pressure.
“Sit.”
It was clearly not a suggestion.
Just as Prina pulled out the chair across from him—
“Miss Prina Crowell?”
Declan called her name.
…Not Lenia Felt.
