Chapter 5

Before the pointless battle of nerves could continue any further, I handed the signed letter to Wolfgang.

“Send this to the Grand Temple. I’ll give you ten seconds.”

“…Yes, as you command.”

Thankfully, he didn’t resist.

If he’d kept talking back, I was ready to throw a punch, but he wasn’t stupid enough to misread the mood.

Wolfgang obediently accepted the letter and stepped back.

After taking a deep breath, I turned toward the source of the problem.

“Do you have a problem with Wolfgang?”

“No.”

Feels like he does.

That slightly sulky look on his face was seriously annoying.

“If you’ve got something to say, do it in the carriage.”

There wasn’t time to pick apart every little thing.

Just as I started walking toward the waiting carriage—

Lothar immediately moved ahead of me and opened the carriage door.

“Where are we headed?”

“Hmm, the destination.”

I mechanically held out my hand while choosing my words carefully.

Honestly, I expected a different question first.

Something about our future plans, or how we intended to kill Maximilian.

His instincts really were sharp.

There was a reason he’d survived battlefields people expected him to die on again and again.

I parted my lips briefly before answering.

“Graufels.”

“…What did you say?”

His voice instantly froze over.

Graufels.

The territory of the Stauffen family, Lothar’s maternal relatives and the first people to betray him, was our destination.

I waited while Lothar stood there staring down at me, then pushed against his chest.

“If you’re not going to escort me, move.”

Unfortunately, Lothar didn’t obediently accept my suggestion.

Instead, the hand gripping the carriage door crushed part of its edge.

…Wait.

Wasn’t that iron?

Mother of God.

Not only did his wounds heal instantly, had he grown up drinking Hercules’s milk or something?

As I stared blankly at the legendary abilities of the Second Prince unfolding before my eyes, Lothar’s face suddenly moved much closer.

Close enough that our noses almost touched, he spoke.

“Are you joking right now?”

So he could get angry.

He’d spent all this time following behind me with that calm expression, so I’d started thinking he had no pride at all.

This was better than him being completely spineless.

There was no way we could defeat Maximilian without deep-rooted rage and vengeance.

The surroundings had become eerily quiet.

At some point, every Holy Knight had drawn their sword and was waiting for Wolfgang’s signal.

I shook my head at Wolfgang, whose gaze had shifted beyond Lothar’s back.

This wasn’t something to resolve with force.

Still, his face was way too close.

His warm breath carried a faint scent of mint.

I reached up and pinched Lothar’s cheek.

“…!”

“Back up a little. What, are you hoping for a kiss?”

For a warrior who’d fought on battlefields, it probably didn’t even hurt.

But his expression looked so shocked you’d think I’d punched him.

Still, the effect was good.

The fury swirling in his green eyes calmed slightly.

“Get in first. We don’t have time for this.”

“……”

Lothar released the carriage door with a hardened expression.

The edge he’d crushed was still bent inward enough that wind would probably whistle through the gap.

I definitely needed to make that bastard pay for repairs later.

Thinking that, I let go of his cheek.

I wasn’t even expecting an escort anymore and was about to tell him to just get inside already when—

“…My apologies.”

Along with the short apology, he held out his hand.

The same hand that had crushed the carriage door.

I quietly stared at that large, solid palm.

He was a man strong enough to crush all five of my fingers without much effort.

Even so—

“You should’ve done that from the start.”

I placed my irritatingly pale and thin hand atop his.

He wasn’t the type to hurt a woman just because he lost his temper.

With Lothar’s help, I safely climbed into the carriage.

He followed after me and tried to close the door, though naturally it didn’t fit together neatly anymore.

But then—

“…It seems I should compensate for this.”

I stared blankly as the bent door slowly straightened inside Lothar’s hand.

Right.

If he could crush it, he could flatten it back out too.

How had I forgotten such a simple principle?

Eventually, the door closed somehow.

Since our departure had been delayed, the carriage quickly picked up speed.

Only the rattling sound of wheels remained in the silence.

Sitting with my legs crossed, I called out to Lothar.

“Hey.”

“Are you going to keep calling me that?”

“Then what should I call you? Your Highness? Do you want me to start speaking formally too?”

Not happening.

It wasn’t like he could report me for insulting royalty anyway.

Honestly, I didn’t care if we both spoke casually.

Lothar was simply the one insisting on politeness.

“I do have a name, you know.”

Yeah.

Everyone has a name.

The problem was just that by the time I got used to saying it, either they died or I did.

Still, since we were technically husband and wife now, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to practice sounding close.

After a bit of thought, I spoke.

“…Lothar?”

“Yes. Then, Elise.”

The moment we finished awkwardly sorting out how to address each other, Lothar called my name.

“Go ahead.”

His face looked serious as he waited with both hands folded together.

It almost seemed like he’d already decided that no matter what nonsense I said, he wouldn’t harm the woman sitting before him.

Should I match his seriousness?

Instead, all that crossed my mind was:

Damn, he’s handsome.

“I’m not sure where to begin.”

Scratching the bridge of my nose, I started talking.

“Do you believe in regression?”

“…What?”

“I mean, would you believe me if I said this is my sixth life?”

“……”

Lothar’s brows furrowed slightly.

But he didn’t react like I’d said something absurd.

The reason was simple.

“Is that the Saintess’s divine power?”

Because I was the Saintess.

The vessel chosen by the noble goddess Pellmira after a hundred years.

This was a world where monsters and dragons existed.

So returning through time didn’t sound completely impossible either.

Which meant I could probably just nod and say yes.

But—

“I don’t think so.”

I answered honestly.

If regression were truly the Saintess’s power, then my divine power should weaken every time I returned to the past.

That had never happened.

Lothar stroked his chin with one hand and only spoke again after a long silence.

“In all of your past lives… did I always die?”

So he really wasn’t stupid.

Once again, I answered without hesitation.

“Yeah.”

Not a single exception.

Unless I interfered, the flow of the past never changed.

But honestly—

“That’s not the important part.”

“……”

Lothar looked at me like I was a psychopath.

Ignoring him, I continued.

“In my fourth life, I actually succeeded.”

“…Succeeded in what?”

Clunk.

The carriage jolted once after hitting a rock.

“I killed that bastard Maximilian.”

***

First life.

I was dragged away without knowing anything and experienced hell.

Second life.

My husband was framed and executed.

Third life.

The foreign kingdom I escaped to was conquered by Maximilian.

And then, the fourth life.

I’ll kill him.

What remained was pure murderous intent.

So I stopped running.

I willingly became Maximilian’s possession and stayed by his side.

“I love you, Maximilian!”

I worked hard for a very long time.

Hard enough that he cherished me.

Hard enough that he wouldn’t grow bored of me as some trivial toy.

I never even made eye contact with the maid who had once handed me poisoned tea.

I didn’t want to become an object of pity.

And so, ten years passed.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

It took ten years before I could finally stab knives into the body of a sleeping Maximilian who trusted me completely.

I won.

Even while climbing the execution platform, the overwhelming sense of fulfillment never faded.

At the moment my head was cut off, I made another wish.

Please, don’t let me open my eyes in this hell again.

But—

“…Again?”

My second wish was not granted.

***

“What did you do in your fifth life?”

“I burned down the temple and got executed.”

“That sounds horrifying.”

I didn’t mention the fact that I was originally from another world.

That felt like too much information.

For someone hearing such shocking stories, Lothar remained calm.

He quietly looked me over with strange eyes, lost in thought, and for a moment I wondered if he was considering escaping from this crazy woman even now.

That wouldn’t do.

We’d already signed the papers.

Then suddenly, Lothar spoke.

“If regression is not your power as the Saintess… then what is your true power, Elise?”