The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Episode 76: Saintess

As I entered the carriage alongside the Saintess, I cast a soundproofing spell over the entire carriage to avoid any voices leaking outside, then sat opposite her, crossing my legs.

“So? First, tell me how you knew I was Lewis.”

“I understand. But before that, please allow me to introduce myself. I am the current Saintess, Sephiria Ishtalika. Thank you for indulging my story. And I apologize for the rudeness of my knight earlier.”

The reason Sephiria introduced herself with the surname Ishtalika after her name is that Saintesses are symbols of the Holy Nation. Therefore, upon becoming a Saintess, they adopt the nation’s name, Ishtalika, after entering the cathedral.

“Enough of that. Hurry up and tell me.”

She had nothing to say about my attitude and began by removing the robe she was wearing.

“Understood. My eyes are a bit special, possessing the ability known as the Eyes of Truth, which can see through lies and deceit. Because of that ability, I was able to realize you are Lord Lewis.”

“Huh. Then go ahead and state your purpose.”

“First of all, let me explain why I, who should normally be in the Holy Nation’s cathedral, am here. I visited the Empire to meet you, my lord, and until recently, I was in the Valentine Duchy. I am currently on my way back.”

“What? You came to meet me?”

Not understanding the true meaning behind her words, I glared at Sephiria, attempting to read her true intentions.

“I understand why you would doubt me. However, I have never intended to harm you. Rather, I wanted to meet you and apologize.”

“Apologize? But we only met for the first time today!”

“That is correct. Today is indeed our first direct encounter. But when I became a Saintess two years ago, I met a certain goddess.

She introduced herself as the Goddess of Destiny, Aurience, and partially revealed the past to me.”

(Aurience? What does that mean? And the past?)

“Didn’t you all worship the Creator God, Raphael, in the Holy Nation? And yet you believed the words of Aurience, who isn’t even a part of your scriptures?”

“Yes. We do indeed revere the Creator God, Lord Raphael, as the one true deity, but the divine aura Aurience emanated was distinctly that of a god, leaving no room for me to doubt her words.”

What she spoke was something I had never heard before, not even in my previous life. Judging that I didn’t have enough information to figure it out on my own, I inquired about the past she mentioned.

“What’s this past you’re talking about?”

“That’s about… what I did to you and your parents.”

“…So you really did hear it.”

“Yes.”

The tale Sephiria said she heard from Aurience was undoubtedly one of my experiences from my previous life, proving she wasn’t lying.

I learned about Sephiria during my second life when I became a second-year student.

She was in the year below us and, due to certain circumstances, had enrolled at the Suzette Academy instead of being in the Holy Nation’s cathedral.

At that time, I had no particular interaction with her, but in my third life, she was nearby when the protagonists killed me.

After that, she was involved in my deaths a few more times, but she didn’t directly impact my life; she was just around, going with the flow.

However, during my seventh life, about a year after I entered the academy, the Saintess suddenly had the Holy Knights restrain me.

Not understanding the sudden development, I was powerless and forced to kneel.

“Lewis Valentine. You have been designated a heretic by divine mandate. Therefore, you must die as an enemy of God.”

“Huh? What’s going on! I didn’t do anything!”

“We will hear your story before His Majesty the Emperor. Knights, take him away!”

“Y-yes!”

Before I could comprehend anything, I was taken before His Majesty the Emperor, where the Chancellor, the Knight Commander, the Head of the Court Magicians, and other nobles had gathered, among them my father and mother.

They desperately tried to explain that it must be a mistake and that I hadn’t done anything, but neither His Majesty nor the other nobles seemed to listen to their pleas and looked at me as if I were a criminal.

And then…

“God has spoken. The parents of the heretic are also heretics. Therefore, execute the parents.”

“Understood. Knight Commander.”

“Yes!”

“W-wait! Please, just spare my parents…!”

I struggled desperately to save them, but in my restrained state, there was nothing I could do as my father and mother had their heads severed by the Knight Commander.

Then, their heads rolled toward me, and I locked eyes with the already lifeless forms of my parents.

“Ah, ahhh… ahhhhh!!!”

Overcome with emotions at their deaths, I unleashed my magic, causing destruction all around me, and embraced my parents’ heads as I blasted a hole in the castle.

“I will definitely… I will definitely kill you all!!”

With that, I fled through the opening I created.

After burying their heads beneath a tree devoid of anything, I entered a forest filled with monsters, where I manipulated them with dark magic.

After repeating this in several forests, I had them attack, steadily causing devastation to the Empire from the outside.

Around me were people fleeing in terror, their screams echoing as the monsters mercilessly slaughtered them.

“Hah. To see such a tragic scene and not feel anything at all. I guess I’ve finally lost it.”

Neither the burning houses nor the people crushed or bitten to death elicited any feeling from me; I had become numb to the scent of blood in the air. Finally, just as I was about to reach the capital, the protagonists appeared before me.

“We won’t let you go any further! We will kill you here and protect the Empire!”

“Lord Lewis! We cannot allow any more of these heinous acts!”

The protagonists and their comrades said various things to me, but I ignored all their words.

“As expected, you were indeed a heretic, as God said. You must die here for being a heretic.”

“Damn it. What’s this ‘God’ nonsense? What did I… what did my parents do? I will never forgive this! Saintess! I will be the one to kill you!”

We fought after that, but the result was the same as before—I could not match them and lost my limbs, rolling on the ground.

(Why! I can’t even take revenge for my parents! A country like this, a world like this, it should all just be destroyed!)

Cursing the Empire that killed my parents, resenting a world that wouldn’t even let me take revenge, I was ultimately killed by the protagonist amidst my last tears.

“So?”

“Yes?”

“What’s your purpose this time?”

“W-well, you see… I wanted to apologize for what happened before. I’m truly sorry.”

Did she really just want to apologize, without any other words to say?

“Ugh. I understand now that you came to meet me for just that.

But that’s enough of it. First off, how could you expect me to do anything after apologizing for the past now? My parents died then, and I died too. That’s the end of it. At least, I think so now. So there’s no need for you to apologize any further. If your business is over, can you go home?”

“Eh? W-what should I do then? How can I atone for my sins in front of you?”

She seemed genuinely troubled by guilt, her face looking as if she might crumble under the weight of it.

“How would I know? If you’re feeling guilty, isn’t it strange to beg for my forgiveness to escape it?

Forgiveness is something given, not extorted. Think for yourself and act. It’s precisely because of this that you acted without thinking when you were told what to do by God back then, right?”

The reason I disliked her was not solely because she set the stage for my parents’ death.

It was her blind obedience to God’s words, her lack of self-thought in relaying them to others that irritated me.

Even if there were factors hindering her resistance, her lack of selfhood was far too much for my liking.

“…You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Well then, I’m leaving.”

“Excuse me. Just one last thing. Aurience said that if you’re going to the Magic Kingdom, you should visit the forbidden library at the Magic Academy.”

“The forbidden library? Got it.”

With those last words, I left the carriage this time for real and returned to Fiera and the others while lost in thought.

(The forbidden library, huh. I initially thought I just wanted to learn magic, but it sounds like there might be something even better.)

Though there had been an unexpected meeting, I gained useful information, so as soon as I regrouped with Fiera and the others, we left Safari before long.

“Lord Lewis. May this time bring you good fortune.”

After Lewis exited, Sephiria prayed for his future.

However, it was not to God; it was simply a heartfelt prayer for him.

Lewis’s future would be filled with quite a challenging path. A significant wall would stand in the way of fulfilling his wishes.

“I will support him in the way that I can. That will be the utmost atonement I can offer.”

Having heard part of Lewis’s goals and future from Aurience, Sephiria resolved to support him even at the cost of everything else.