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Chapter 45
“Gentlemen, greet each other.”
“……”
“Hmm. Greet.”
Because Glenn lightly pressed the back of her head down, Ariletti awkwardly bowed. Rasian did the same.
‘The Third Prince remembers the vanished past too…?’
Only then did all the pieces fall into place. Why Rasian had been so hostile toward her.
Even though he possessed the overpowered ability of foresight, why had he kept losing in the previous two lives?
It was because of Ariletti.
As she stood there in shock, Glenn’s firm voice came down over her ringing head.
“I’m not very interested in what happened in the past. What matters to me is this moment.”
“You may feel that way, hyung, but I—!”
“And since you’ve come to the territory of Hezeit, I expect you to do the same.”
Rasian bit his lip hard. Ariletti had already gone pale.
“If you failed twice, then succeed the third time.”
“……How did you kno—”
“Don’t be tied down by the past. Look at the present. Respect what each of you has done so far, and think about what kind of person you can become to each other.”
“……”
“That is the condition for staying in Hezeit. Understood, gentlemen?”
* * *
That night.
Just like the day before, Ariletti ended up sharing a room with Rasian.
The room was so quiet it felt suffocating.
‘Live in the present…’
Ariletti blankly recalled Glenn’s advice from earlier.
‘What kind of existence can I become to Rasian Pederka…?’
She didn’t need long to think about it.
To Rasian, she was someone he would gladly tear apart. The fact that he hadn’t tried to kill her on sight was already a miracle.
In the past, Ariletti had rewound time hundreds, even thousands of times over trivial matters. If she didn’t like the future she saw, she would turn back time and start over.
She would see the future, return to the past, change things, and guide events toward a new future. It was horribly inefficient, but the failure rate was close to zero.
‘By abusing my power like that, I kept getting in Rasian’s way every single time.’
While she twisted the world to her liking through dozens of regressions, the boy who truly saw the future had been crushed under the endlessly multiplying possibilities.
And that wasn’t all. She had driven Glenn—whom he followed like a real older brother—to his death. She had caused the fall of Hezeit. She had completely isolated Rasian.
‘If it were me, I would have strangled myself on the spot.’
If Albert or Lucius had been standing before her, she would have lost her reason and attacked them. From Rasian’s perspective, she was exactly that kind of enemy—his natural nemesis.
Ariletti carefully climbed down from her bed and walked to Rasian’s across the room. Step by step, she approached and gently shook the edge of his blanket.
“Hey.”
“……”
“I’m sorry.”
Rasian, lying with his back turned, glanced over his shoulder.
“……You can cry too?”
In his dark green eyes—deep like pine trees—clear moisture gathered. His large eyes looked as though tears might fall at any moment.
Ariletti murmured weakly,
“I’ll repay the sins of my previous lives in this one.”
She had been sharp and defiant before, yet now her voice was completely subdued. Rasian felt his strength drain as well.
He too had been thinking over Glenn’s words about forgetting the past and living in the present.
The future where a monster wave destroyed everything had disappeared. The dragon that had attacked the territory in his foresight was now protecting it. All because of that girl.
If he set the past aside, then in this life, thanks to her, Glenn and Hezeit had safely overcome their first great crisis. For that alone, he could bow his head a hundred times.
He had sworn never to bow to that witch.
But Glenn’s request—to think only of the present—overcame the boy’s pride.
Rasian rubbed his face roughly.
“……Just don’t kill my brother, you witch. Glenn hyung and Hezeit did nothing wrong.”
“Of course not. I owe this territory far too much. And in this life, I have no intention of siding with the other princes.”
So in this newly begun third life, Ariletti’s choice was already made.
“So, Rasian Pederka.”
“What? Why?”
He didn’t even have time to scold her for boldly saying a royal’s full name.
A strange chill ran down his spine.
The girl’s eyes, fixed straight on him, held firm determination.
“Become my emperor.”
What?
Rasian doubted his ears.
He sat up abruptly and turned toward her.
“You’re telling me to become emperor?”
“Yes.”
“Be serious. Do you think I even have a chance?”
“Yes.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I chose Your Highness. That means you will become emperor.”
“That makes no sense—”
“Don’t ask how. Even if it seems impossible, I’ll make it possible.”
Rasian flinched at her burning gaze. How could such a small girl radiate that kind of spirit? The fierce light in her eyes gave him goosebumps.
“I can’t use the power of regression anymore. I’ve used up all the chances.”
“There’s a limit to your power?”
“There is. I didn’t want to find out, but I did. I’ve even chosen a successor to inherit it.”
Choosing a successor meant her death wasn’t far off.
His thoughts drifted to the potion bottles she always carried. Were they life-extending potions?
‘I smashed three of them…?’
Ariletti shook her head impatiently.
“That’s not important. I can’t use the power anymore, but I know many things. About the First Prince. About the Second Prince.”
“……”
“And Your Highness can see the future.”
Unless Ariletti interfered, his prophetic dreams almost never went wrong. They showed the future with the highest probability from the present moment.
“If we move together, we won’t fail. Hezeit won’t fall, and…”
“Glenn hyung won’t die?”
“Exactly.”
Ariletti’s top priority was repaying Hezeit. And if possible, giving those trash princes a proper blow.
Rasian’s goal was to keep Glenn alive and survive to the end himself.
Their goals in this life aligned. There was no reason they couldn’t cooperate.
As long as they were certain neither would betray the other.
When hesitation crossed Rasian’s face, Ariletti took a sharp breath.
“You still want revenge on me. I understand that. So…”
“So?”
“I’ll give you my death.”
“……”
“Once you become emperor, kill me. Use any method you like.”
This time, Rasian truly lost his words. There was not a trace of a joke in her expression.
“Until then, I’ll make sure to stay alive.”
What kind of mind did she have, to be this extreme about everything?
“So this isn’t kindness or repayment. It’s a deal. Well? Do you still not trust me?”
Rasian glared at her.
He hated to admit it… but he knew how brilliantly she could scheme.
For the first time, he had a chance to aim for the throne. For the first time, he could become a lord worthy of Glenn Hezeit.
For the first time in his long lives, he had a chance to take revenge on the other princes.
If he ran forward with that certainty. If there was even a little hope…
He could pretend not to know the past. As many times as necessary.
“Fine. I accept.”
Only then did Ariletti smile slightly.
Rasian paused.
For the first time, an expression appeared on her doll-like face.
Relief. Lingering guilt. And somewhere beneath it, fierce hatred and burning determination toward someone.
“You won’t regret it.”
Whether she meant it for him or for herself, he couldn’t tell.
But he could faintly sense that the past two lives had not been easy for her either.
