But once the thought came to mind, it grew and grew!
The first time I met his family.
I was really excited.
Nike had often praised his brother for being a good person, and I was looking forward to meeting the Crown Prince.
In fact, Crown Prince Bane was a very polite and kind person, and we had a friendly conversation.
That is, until the Crown Prince, who had deliberately created a space for us to be alone together, said, “Break up with my brother!”
"Miss."
It's really embarrassing to say, but that day, I first saw the Crown Prince and held onto his trousers and cried.
As if... I’m eighteen years old...
'Wow, why on earth did you do that!'
It's a memory I want to erase.
Well, now that I've returned, I guess it's been erased from the Crown Prince's mind.
Anyway, that day, the Crown Prince was very embarrassed and said that he understood for now.
A grown woman was sweeping the floor of her office with tears and a runny nose running down her face, and he couldn't really do anything about it...
What happened after that?
The Crown Prince knew that Nike had supernatural powers, and he was a very caring older brother.
"I've always been indebted to Nike. I wanted to do everything for him, but he was the one who didn't ask for anything... but for the first time, he told me he was happy."
“He said he was so happy when he was with the Princess and heard her say she loved him.”
The Crown Prince was wary of me, worried that his brother's life might be in danger if the secret were to be revealed...
"Thank you always. At first, I was rude to you, Princess, but now I only wish you would continue to be by our Nike's side."
From some point on, he trusted me and accepted me.
Now that I think about it, I think he was a really quick-witted person...
Even though I was no different from his enemy's daughter, I was treated as separate from my family and father.
Anyway, I have had many opportunities to meet the Crown Prince, my lover's older brother, so I know better than anyone what kind of person he is.
'He is someone who meets all the requirements of an assistant.'
At this point, he has taken over real power from the weak Emperor and is the actual decision maker in the imperial council.
He hates the Wassenberg family so much that he wakes up in the middle of the night.
He has the youthful spirit of someone who loves the empire and its people more than anyone else and refuses to yield to the corrupt forces.
"So! If the alliance with Ryan fails, Plan B is to go meet the Crown Prince."
But is that as easy as it sounds?
I may not have known when I was the Princess of Wassenberg, but now I'm a twelve-year-old child with nothing.
As Rivan said, if only the Crown Prince lived next door, who knows? How could anyone see the face of the national treasure, something most people never get to see in a lifetime?
The first time I met his family.
I was really excited.
Nike had often praised his brother for being a good person, and I was looking forward to meeting the Crown Prince.
In fact, Crown Prince Bane was a very polite and kind person, and we had a friendly conversation.
That is, until the Crown Prince, who had deliberately created a space for us to be alone together, said, “Break up with my brother!”
"Miss."
It's really embarrassing to say, but that day, I first saw the Crown Prince and held onto his trousers and cried.
As if... I’m eighteen years old...
'Wow, why on earth did you do that!'
It's a memory I want to erase.
Well, now that I've returned, I guess it's been erased from the Crown Prince's mind.
Anyway, that day, the Crown Prince was very embarrassed and said that he understood for now.
A grown woman was sweeping the floor of her office with tears and a runny nose running down her face, and he couldn't really do anything about it...
What happened after that?
The Crown Prince knew that Nike had supernatural powers, and he was a very caring older brother.
"I've always been indebted to Nike. I wanted to do everything for him, but he was the one who didn't ask for anything... but for the first time, he told me he was happy."
“He said he was so happy when he was with the Princess and heard her say she loved him.”
The Crown Prince was wary of me, worried that his brother's life might be in danger if the secret were to be revealed...
"Thank you always. At first, I was rude to you, Princess, but now I only wish you would continue to be by our Nike's side."
From some point on, he trusted me and accepted me.
Now that I think about it, I think he was a really quick-witted person...
Even though I was no different from his enemy's daughter, I was treated as separate from my family and father.
Anyway, I have had many opportunities to meet the Crown Prince, my lover's older brother, so I know better than anyone what kind of person he is.
'He is someone who meets all the requirements of an assistant.'
At this point, he has taken over real power from the weak Emperor and is the actual decision maker in the imperial council.
He hates the Wassenberg family so much that he wakes up in the middle of the night.
He has the youthful spirit of someone who loves the empire and its people more than anyone else and refuses to yield to the corrupt forces.
"So! If the alliance with Ryan fails, Plan B is to go meet the Crown Prince."
But is that as easy as it sounds?
I may not have known when I was the Princess of Wassenberg, but now I'm a twelve-year-old child with nothing.
As Rivan said, if only the Crown Prince lived next door, who knows? How could anyone see the face of the national treasure, something most people never get to see in a lifetime?
Even with Ryan (the Crown Prince's most hated bloodline, the Wassenberg bloodline, and his criminal record as the murderer of Konrad), the difficulty level was tenfold!
"But..."
Opportunity comes.
[105th Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament]
The path to becoming an honorable knight!
I look at the notice for the swordsmanship tournament that I had been keeping, looking forward to the day I would meet my beloved knight, Kali.
This is an official event hosted by the Imperial Family.
'The Crown Prince is also scheduled to visit.'
Of course, even if I went here as a twelve-year-old commoner with nothing, I wouldn't be able to talk to the Crown Prince.
Still, let's hope for a small variable, since we can at least see the Crown Prince's hair.
"Hmm."
After finishing my thoughts and cleaning up my desk, Ryan came to mind.
His face was unusually confused. Perhaps he'll gather his thoughts and tell me tomorrow.
I have no intention of going back down the difficult path.
He said he would push forward as he had initially planned.
“Haaaaaah.”
What if it turns out like that...
***
Ryan couldn't sleep.
He's not debating whether or not to accept Vania's offer.
Of course, he accepts it...
He's a human too, so how could he not be happy if there was a way for him to live with dignity even after everything was over?
He doesn't even think it will be difficult.
Of course, he's not 100% sure, but if Vania has the Blessing of Return as he guessed... then she can't fail.
'If I fail, I can just try again and again until I succeed.'
So, it's a challenge that Ryan has nothing to lose.
But the reason he can't fall asleep is not because of Vania's suggestion...
Vania, it's because of the worries about the child itself.
“You plan to hide away from your father, train your abilities to the max, gather all the people with abilities, and kill them all at once, right?”
That question.
Of course, it's easy to predict how Ryan will take revenge.
But assuming Vania is a regressor, her question is likely to be about a future that actually happened.
‘I must have killed her, right? I still feel like doing it, of course. That’s why I’ll go after her brothers...’
Vania had asked that only three of her brothers be spared.
Ryan doesn't know the faces of his half-siblings who were born after him, but he probably dealt with them, too.
Even if there were circumstances, there would have been no way to find out, and there would have been no time to listen to each and every one of them in a place where everyone was killed.
Then.
perhaps.
Before the regression, he and Vania may have met in a death-or-killing relationship.
Actually, he could have just asked Vania the truth, but the reason he hasn't done so yet is that he can roughly guess what's going on.
'I think it'll be painful for both the person who has to open their mouth and me who's listening.'
Ryan frowned and rolled over onto his side.
Vania's voice continues to linger.
"You've shouldered this burden alone for the sake of everyone in the world, and you can't let anyone else know that. You can't just live with the label of a crazy murderer..."
Honestly, Ryan almost cried.
It was a little surprising that the kid was deeply concerned and worried about something that even Ryan himself hadn't been prepared for or worried about.
And after hearing that...
He ended up blaming himself for his future actions, even though he couldn't be sure if they actually happened.
Did he try to kill her?
If that were the case, wouldn't she have felt resentment as she ran away to the past to avoid the murderer who tried to kill her without mercy?
“Ugh!!”
Ryan, who was so frustrated that he shouted, put a pillow over his head.
If these guesses are correct...
Vania, who came back to the past, took his hand and even said she would save his life.
“...The speed is good.”
He just thought he was a heartless person.
***
The next morning.
The living room table where Revan, Vania, and Merchen are huddled together on one side.
Ryan appeared with dark circles under his eyes.
“Hi, Dad. Did you sleep well?”
"...uh."
Vania looks up with bread in her mouth.
Ryan, who was thinking of sitting next to Vania as always.
'Ha.'
He dragged his plate and sat alone at the far end of the table.
“What are you doing out there alone? Are you playing lone wolf or something?”
“Hey, what’s this gloomy morning?”
Two pieces of toast with butter and ham, and apple juice.
It was a menu item he ate often, but Ryan was complaining for no reason.
“You just eat what’s served, so why are you complaining at the dinner table...?”
“I don’t know if this is water or juice. I can’t even see the shape of a banana.”
“Miss?”
"Now that you have money, don't be so petty and put it in generously. You have a growing child."
“Why are humans acting like this from morning? I stuffed it in hard! Since I ground it up, you can't see the shape anymore! If I grind you up too, no trace of you will remain!”
Phew...
Someone laughed. It was Merchen.
When Ryan glared at him, he waved his hand frantically.
“No! I wasn’t laughing!”
Breakfast soon resumed.
He wasn't sure if the bread was going into his nose or throat, but Vania came over and sat next to him with her plate.
Ryan was nervous.
He glanced at her, and their eyes met immediately.
"...You look tired. Didn’t you sleep?”
“...”
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