Chapter 24

※ This is an episode before the time reversal.

"Mr. Teacher, do you really think that time reversal is 'unlimited'?"

"What?"

It was about proving Angelina's innocence. When Shulk, who was redoing things, appealed to Neil, Neil was at a loss for words.

"The initial us, who knew nothing, would fall in love with Merk. She would accept it half-heartedly because Prince Leonhardt is her true love. Feeling frustrated, we would try to win her affection and view Lady Angelina as an enemy. That's because Merk is wary of Lady Angelina. ... Isn't it cute? She thinks we haven't noticed that she is wary and suspicious. Carlos has been questioned about Lady Angelina many times."

Neil averted his gaze. Indeed, she was unaware that she was revealing her suspicions. She thought she was fooling everyone. Really, that's all she thought. It was so shallow and foolish that it was almost endearing.

"It's funny when you observe from a distance, isn't it?"

"…Funny?"

Shulk raised his right hand and began to count on his fingers.

- Merk is harmed by someone.

↓

- We ask her for suspects.

↓

- Merk, seemingly certain, thinks of someone but tries to hide it.

↓

- We, intrigued, search for the suspect based on her obvious expression.

↓

- Upon reflection, she has been concerned about Angelina for a long time.

↓

- We realize that Angelina's persecution of Merk has been ongoing for much longer than we thought, perhaps even before Carlos started investigating Angelina's behavior, over half a year ago.

- From then on, we consider Angelina.

"…Something like that."

"That's…"

"‘I realized that I had failed to notice Merk's unfortunate situation all this time.’ ‘Angelina has been doing such despicable things without us noticing. I can't forgive her.’”

Neil furrowed his brow.

"The frustration over our own inadequacy and the mistreatment of the one we love, and then… the ‘disappointment’ in Lady Angelina is significant, isn't it? We aren't to that extent, but there are people who trusted and believed in her. When that trust is betrayed, the anger towards Lady Angelina becomes uncontrollable, more so than concern for Merk. Carlos is of this type."

Neil covered his mouth with his hand, trying to control the intense emotion that made him want to shout and deny Shulk's words. He had to take Shulk's words, who was redoing things, seriously.

Because if they chose time reversal driven by emotion… they risked getting stuck in an 'infinite loop.' That was why his former self had refused to redo things without everyone's memories.

…If that happened, they might end up back at the original starting point. Therefore, someone had to return with their memories to prevent repeating the same mistakes.

There was supposed to be a 'safety mechanism' to prevent this, where Merk's mental state would deteriorate and stop the loop. But if Merk took time reversal for granted…

Neil looked at Shulk, sweating coldly.

"We are merely reproducing the magic that the former Alstroemeria royal family could use. We have constructed the theory, but it is based on the artifacts the royal family possessed."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Then, could the former royal family freely reverse time? If they could, wouldn't it be impossible for the royal family to fall?"

"…!"

The former royal family had fallen. It's unknown how Merk's ancestors managed to preserve their bloodline, but the royal family had indeed ended, despite having the magic of time reversal.

"…Is there some kind of 'limit' inscribed on that artifact?"

"Probably. And the fall of Alstroemeria couldn't be prevented because of that limit."

"That's…"

"Yes. That's probably the reason why we keep 'failing' no matter how many times we redo things. The magic of time reversal can't be used 'unlimitedly.'"

Were we destined to fail in this life?

No, that can't be.

"…I think that at some point in time, my past self or the teacher had already reached this 'conclusion.'"

"Huh?"

"That's why I think they tried to prevent Merk from being caught in the loop. For us, who are considering time reversal, Merk's happiness should have been the most important thing."

After a moment, Shulk continued.

"– We, who are redoing things, will 'inevitably' fail. We will end up regretting it. That's probably the limit imposed on the magic of time reversal. To reverse time, someone has to draw the short straw. We, who are redoing things, will 'definitely' have to."

Neil was speechless again.

"Then… that means…"

"To succeed after time reversal, a sacrifice is needed. But it doesn't necessarily mean it will repeat. So, this game allows for 'retirement' at any point. It's a compromise, a compromise for happiness. Even if the goal isn't achieved, this life can still be good. If we can compromise and give up, the journey through time should end. Without repeating. But no one could give up. And that's the current situation."

Shulk sighed.

"It was probably a mistake for me, the teacher, and Merk to be in the same era. We were able to reconstruct 'it.' We were able to awaken the legacy of Alstroemeria. For Merk's happiness, we reached this magic and tried to redo things… to 'reset.' We have the capability to do so. And then there's Prince Leonhardt."

"Prince?"

"…He won't give up on Merk, will he? And he can easily reach Alstroemeria's magic. The royal family probably has records of this magic."

"Yeah, that's possible. That's why… Prince Leonhardt approached me with this proposal."

The beginning of time. All the elements were too easily aligned.

So, it was inevitable that someone would reach that conclusion? And the journey through time began.

"…Then, should we give up on our own? If we don't lend a hand, there wouldn't be any time reversal in the first place."

"Probably, that's also meaningless."

"What?"

"Unless we stop Merk and Prince Leonhardt, the conditions are met as long as the artifact exists… and…"

"And?"

"…Merk knew the 'incantation passed down by the Alstroemeria royal family' even before she met us."

"!?"

Neil was truly shocked this time. That incantation was something he had only recently discovered after years of research.

"Why!?"

"Who knows. Maybe she was told something by her parents, or there were other circumstances. Anyway, unless we stop Merk and Prince Leonhardt, the magic of time reversal will be used even without our help. In that case, it might be better for us to guide it."

"No… that's true, but… wait. If she has the knowledge, we could just keep Merk away from that scandalous scene."

"That's impossible."

Shulk said firmly.

"Why…"

"Because the crucial memories become vague, or an unforeseen situation occurs, or she gets involved in 'another incident.'"

"…! The 'limit' of the artifact?"

"Yes. Failures can't be changed, and 'endless new incidents' keep arising. That's why we're in this situation. And… to be honest… Merk is 'naive.'"

"Huh?"

"Why? When she gets together with Prince Leonhardt, she lets her guard down. She thinks, 'It's fine now,' 'I've worked hard,' 'It's okay,' 'Don't worry.' …She can't survive in the noble society with that mindset. Her vigilance drops to zero. This time, she messed up because of that. She seems to think that as long as it's not Lady Angelina, anyone else is fine. But that's not true."

Neil recalled Merk's recent behavior. …Shulk's observations were accurate.

Her actions were exasperating if not for her infatuation.

She didn't seem like a prince's fiancée or a future queen.

She was just floating on cloud nine.

He thought it was just for now, but it was fatal.

"Wasn't there a discussion about who set the trap for Merk, whether it was Lady Angelina? I'll tell you, Mr. Neil. The culprits were the royal family, the Roddick ducal family, and other marquis families. Sometimes, other houses were involved too."

"…So many?"

"Yes. Especially the Roddick family… They've been outshone by Merk for a long time."

"Outshone?"

"Academically. Lady Sandika was always below Merk, right? It was quite a blow for a ducal family's daughter to be consistently outperformed by a former commoner. She probably faced criticism at home too. In fact, if you think about it calmly, the bullying might have been from Lady Sandika, not Lady Angelina."

"Lady Sandika…"

"Yes. Merk had many enemies. That's why there were so many bullies at the academy. And it was hard to gather evidence. After all, everyone was in on it. …The evidence that came to light was all about discrediting Lady Angelina. It was convenient for everyone to make her the 'villain.' Once she was blamed, Prince Leonhardt, his entourage, and Merk herself would 'accept' it. It was the perfect scapegoat."

Neil finally turned pale. He was confronted with the fact that he had deprived an innocent lady of her future. It was too late to reverse it.

"…Then, what should we do? To stop the time loop, should we target Merk or Prince Leonhardt?"

"Kill them? They're both royals now. If we do that, our lives are over. …And I don't think it would succeed. It might become a new 'cause' for the time loop. If a prince is nearly killed, the kings would likely think of this magic."

"…Can't the time loop be stopped?"

"Hmm. We are currently exploring ways to stop the repeated redos. We are being selfish in wanting a 'happy ending.' We haven't found a compromise yet."

"But there is a 'limit,' right?"

"Yes. But I don't think the 'absolute inability to be happy' is the 'price.'"

"…What?"

"Because this is the magic of the Alstroemeria royal family. The artifact is inscribed with a 'limit,' not a 'price.' So, there might be a 'route' to a happy ending."

A route. For a happy ending.

"I think the key… is Lady Angelina."

"…Lady Angelina?"

Shulk nodded and looked into Neil's eyes seriously.

"‘Time can only be reversed for the sake of what is right.’ Otherwise, those who redo things will inevitably regret it."

Right. Is that the limit of Alstroemeria's magic?

"Somewhere along the line, we reached this conclusion but still misjudged what was 'right.' We thought removing those who hurt Merk was right. But we were fundamentally wrong. That's why we keep failing and redoing things."

– In other words.

"The one who needs to be saved is not Merk. It's Lady Angelina. …We need to reconsider this and redo things. Otherwise, this time loop will never end."