Chapter 25

"Hah!"

In the training ground, I was sparring with a wooden sword, engaging in a mock battle with someone.

"You're doing well, Lord Fried!"

"…! You too, Lady Angelina"

The male student from the Knight's Department, the son of the Marquess Malcott, Lord Fried, is my sparring partner. Even against him, who is renowned for his skill, I have improved to the point where I can hold my own.

"Haaaah!"

"…!"

With a loud "Clang!" Lord Fried's wooden sword was knocked out of his hand. Then I thrust the tip of my wooden sword in front of his face.

"Hehe. That makes it my win!"

"…I yield. You have improved, Lady Angelina."

I smiled at Lord Fried, who graciously admitted his defeat. Then Misha, who had been waiting nearby, came over to us.

"Good work, Lady Angelina. And Lord Fried as well."

"Thank you, Misha."

I took the towel and water bottle she offered and wiped the sweat from my brow, replenishing my fluids.

"Thank you, Miss Misha."

"No… it's nothing…"

Lord Fried also took the towel and water bottle from Misha.

I, Angelina Steizen, am now a second-year student at the Royal Academy. The third-year students, who will soon be seniors, are preparing for graduation.

Our relationship remains good, even now, between Lord Ash and me. We are working on strengthening the alliance between the Baltsline and Steizen territories, involving other families and improving the roads connecting the territories. My life is going smoothly, perhaps. Hehe.

"Lord Angelina"

"Lord Fried?"

My sparring partner, Lord Fried, has actually been a friend since my first year. Of course, there is no romantic relationship between us. We simply recognize each other's abilities.

I started learning swordsmanship and met him in the academy's training ground with some frequency. Misha, who often accompanies me, has also become quite close to Lord Fried.

"Is something wrong?"

"… I have something to apologize for, Lady Angelina."

"Apologize for something?"

I tilted my head in confusion. Did he do something? I can't think of anything.

"I misunderstood you."

"Misunderstood?"

"Yes… I thought you were… more… I apologize. You were a despicable person."

"Despicable!?"

Why!?

"I am very sorry… I don't think that way now."

"Of course not!"

Misha, more than I, was angry. Yes, but really, why? Being called despicable is too much of a stretch.

"… I am not very good at thinking."

"Ah, yes."

Well, that's true, I guess.

"Because of that, I made assumptions, believed them, and saw you with a distorted and clouded view."

Lord Fried looked truly apologetic, his eyes downcast. He must have had something on his mind.

It was near the end of the third year, just before graduation. The graduation of Prince Leonhardt and my brother Carlos, along with their graduation party, was in "one week." During this mock battle, Lord Fried expressed his apology to me.

"… But those were mistakes. It's too late to change them now."

"Too late?"

I don't understand. It seems he harbored some unfounded prejudice against me. For the past two years since I met Lord Fried, I have never been insulted or criticized because of such distorted prejudices.

"At least, the fact that your relationship with the Margrave is a happy one… is my salvation."

"Hmm…?"

What is he so fixated on? It's confusing to be apologized for something I have no recollection of. Is he really okay? I just exchanged glances with Misha, tilting my head in confusion.

Lord Fried, the son of the Marquess Malcott, the second son of a military family, had the talent of a knight. However, he never accepted the offer to join Prince Leonhardt's guard. He is still being offered the position, but he stubbornly refuses. There are rumors that he might join the Royal Knights, but he hasn't made any moves.

Still, Lord Fried never gave up his sword. What does he desire and what does he wish for in life?

My relationship with him is limited to sparring in mock battles. Even now, being so sincerely bowed to and apologized to, I don't understand what's going on. I don't know Lord Fried deeply enough.

"Lady Angelina, can I speak with Lord Fried alone?"

"Ah… I'm fine, but…"

"Lord Fried, is that alright?"

"… It's fine. As you wish."

No, I'm not his superior or anything. Even with the difference in status, we're not in a relationship where he would say "as you wish." Well, I guess I'll have to leave him to Misha.

"Then, please talk to Misha. I'll leave first, Lord Fried."

"… Yes, Lady Angelina."

"I don't know what you're apologizing for, but I accept your apology. I don't have any strong feelings towards you, so don't worry about it."

"… Lady Angelina"

Lord Fried's eyes widened at my words, and he was speechless. I left, entrusting him to Misha.

◇◆◇

【Fried's Side】

◇◆◇

Angelina left the training ground, leaving Fried with her friend, Misha.

Today was the day before the time reversal, the day Angelina was condemned. …For a "non-existent crime." Fried was already certain of this.

He had been regretting his own sins from the lost time, the time he could never reclaim. He had derailed the life of a woman who should have become the future queen. It was an unforgivable sin.

But the means to atone for that sin were forever lost. This regret would haunt Fried for the rest of his life.

He could no longer dream of the former glory. Becoming a guard and entering the palace… was something he could never be allowed to do. He had taken away the future of a lady who should have had a bright future.

The only solace was that Angelina and the Margrave of Baltsline were getting along well. After that, in the world before the time reversal that Fried remembered, Angelina was indeed married to Baltsline.

The situation must be different now. There must have been hardships. She herself faced rumors and false accusations. …But still.

The Margrave would surely have accepted Angelina. Fried could only hope for that. He didn't know where the repeated time had gone, or if it had disappeared.

"Lord Fried"

"… Miss Misha"

Misha Trimmel, the daughter of a viscount, a friend of Angelina. A woman who, despite the change in Angelina's position from the time Fried knew, still remained by her side. She was trustworthy, Fried thought, because she knew the previous time. At the very least, she would be an ally to Angelina.

"… I don't understand what you regret or what you want to apologize for, but I can see that you have been regretting something and continuing to feel remorse. Because I have been watching you all this time."

"… That's true."

"Lord Fried, why don't you look forward?"

"Forward…?"

"Yes. In a year, Lady Angelina will go to Baltsline. She won't return to the capital as often."

Angelina's marriage to the border region. Is it fate? Fried hoped it was a happy fate, unlike their own.

Deep down, there was a feeling he should never have. A faint… unrequited love he saw in her sword-wielding form.

The blind man. The anger at her being a "villain"… and the fact that the image of the "villain" he imagined didn't match the woman in front of him. After realizing this, he lived in doubt.

Then Fried realized his mistake. By the time he did, it was too late to make amends. He realized he would live with an unforgivable sin. By then, his feelings for Melch Schreigen had already faded.

What remained was a knight in name only, carrying only regret. All he could do in this world, in this time, was pray for Angelina's happiness.

"Would you like to go to Baltsline with me, Lord Fried?"

"Eh…"

"Actually, I have noticed your feelings. Your secret love for Lady Angelina. You never showed it, and she hasn't noticed it."

"No, I don't have… the right…"

"Yes, Lady Angelina's partner is Lord Ash."

"…"

Fried had nothing to say in response to that.

"So, would you support Lady Angelina with me?"

"… With you?"

"Yes. Lord Fried, please go to Baltsline as a knight. I will support you."

Fried's eyes widened as he looked at Misha. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she looked at him with a pleading gaze.

"Miss Misha"

"… I am used to chasing after men who don't return my feelings. But if it's you, you can be a support to Lady Angelina and Lord Ash. If it's someone like you, I can walk with you. If you are drawn to Lady Angelina, then let that feeling, not love, but a great love, or loyalty, elevate. Even if it takes time. I will be with you. … I will live with you."

Fried listened to Misha's words in a daze. He was a sinner, a sinful knight. He was not allowed to enter the palace. He had closed the future of a lady who should have had a bright future.

If so, he wanted to see the future of the lady who had married to the border region. He had indeed developed feelings for her. But the flame of love had disappeared before it could fully ignite. It was not a relationship he was allowed to desire as a woman. What remained was only regret and prayer. So.

"I have done terrible things to Lady Angelina. … The fact itself has disappeared from this world, becoming an unforgivable sin."

"… Yes."

"But, because of that. If she is walking the path of happiness… I want to be a support. This time. … I am not very smart. I only know the way of the sword. … So. If they allow such a person as me to offer my 'sword'…"

"I will make sure they accept you. After all, I am Lady Angelina's 'friend.'"

If that path is shown to me. I want to offer it. This time, my sword.

This time, for the 'right thing.' So.

Fried knelt on one knee before Misha.

"Miss Misha"

"Y-Yes…"

"I am not very skilled. I never understood love or affection. But…"

"…"

"I probably can't love two people at the same time."

"…! Yes, I understand… You are… for Lady Angelina…"

Fried took Misha's hand.

"So, from now on. The only person I will love… is you."

"Eh?"

"… To Lady Angelina. To Lord Ash. I will offer my sword. To protect their happiness. That won't change. I still don't understand love or affection. So. Please… teach me true love. To not make the same mistake again. Since you are by Lady Angelina's side and are her ally… I can entrust my 'heart' to you."

"Lord Fried"

"Please. Together. To Baltsline. I am asking you… please."

Fried bowed his head, pleading with Misha.

"Yes, yes…! Let's support Lady Angelina together, Lord Fried!"

※To those who have read this far

In the story, it is said that… due to the influence of an unreliable narrator, there are parts that may confuse the readers about the setting. I will provide a meta explanation from outside the story to clarify.

Melch is not a "possession" but a "reincarnation."

Therefore, there is no "original Melch" or "original Melch" as a blameless, pitiable soul. It is not a situation like a "person inside a person," but rather a being who was born and raised as Melch, with only the memories of a past life. There are not two souls coexisting. Each time a time reversal occurs, a different Melch does not come. It is always the same, single Melch. The situation is simply that a reincarnated person exists, and the time reversal overlaps on top of that. The memories of the past life have been with Melch since birth.

Similarly, there is only one Angelina.

There is no "original Angelina" as a person or soul. The Angelina known to the readers is the only one. Melch and Angelina are each the only characters who exist, as described from their respective perspectives and monologues.