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

Chapter 106: Time with Fiera

The next morning, I woke up to the pleasant scent of wood filling the room, changed my clothes, and tied my hair back in a single knot.

Even though I was used to my long hair that stretched down to my back, it often got in the way when I washed my face, so I always tied it up with a piece of string.

When Fiera and I first set out on our journey together, my mother wasn’t around, so I wanted to cut my hair. However, Fiera had stopped me with all her might, and in the end, I couldn’t cut it.

She was so desperate that I asked her why, and it turned out my mother had told her beforehand to stop me if I tried to shorten it. Unable to defy my mother’s pressure, Fiera had no choice but to comply.

(My mother has always liked combing my hair.)

In my short life, I had never done anything filial, but I thought I should at least fulfill my parents’ wishes a little bit, so I kept my hair in accordance with my mother’s preference.

(Well, I can’t change the ultimate goal, though.)

While reminiscing about my parents for the first time in a while, I washed my face where I had been shown yesterday and then went outside to breathe the fresh air in the garden.

“Good morning.”

“Hmm? Fiera? Good morning.”

As I stepped outside, Fiera, who was already up and in the middle of her daily training, noticed me and greeted me.

“You’ve been at it again today, huh?”

“Yeah. I can’t settle down if I don’t do it.”

Fiera has always loved moving her body, and perhaps because she didn’t want to be a hindrance to me, she consistently trained every morning without fail.

“I see. I’ll watch for a bit.”

“Thanks.”

Saying that, Fiera distanced herself from me and returned to the spot where she had been training, starting to move her body in the same practiced manner.

First, she went through the attack and defense forms I had taught her, then some unique techniques she had read about in books, carefully confirming her movements to avoid any mistakes.

(Hmm. There’s hardly any waste in her movements. The transitions are smooth too; I’ve got nothing more to say here.)

After finishing that, she moved into a mock battle, imagining an opponent.

“Is that… Aido?”

It seemed Fiera was visualizing Aido, the opponent I had fought during the practical training at the magic academy, basing her imagination on the stories I had told her.

Ducking under Aido’s giant battle axe with her speed, Fiera got in close and managed a hit to his abdomen, but it was blocked by Aido’s hard muscles.

Even after that, Fiera dodged his attacks multiple times and tried to counter, but it seemed none of her strikes could damage Aido before his defensive power.

(If she were to transform, Fiera might beat him, but this is her practice in martial arts without relying on that. Does that mean she still can’t compete in her natural form?)

Since Fiera and Aido weren’t actually fighting, it’s hard to say what would happen in a real encounter, but it seemed Aido was quite a formidable opponent for her in terms of defense.

(Even so, it seems like there’s hardly anything I can teach her anymore.)

Back when we first met, we fought with similar counter-attacking strategies, but it felt like our fighting styles had changed quite a bit due to the different experiences we had gone through.

I adapted to my opponent’s moves in a natural stance, while Fiera now had a style that allowed her to anticipate her opponent’s actions, utilizing her beastman instincts and high combat ability.

At this point, it was no longer something I could teach her; instead, she had to seek her strength through her own experiences.

“Good work. You moved well.”

As I was lost in thought while watching Fiera’s training, she finished her mock battle and returned, wiping her sweat with a towel.

“Thanks. But I couldn’t win.”

Fiera sat beside me, looking disappointed, and naturally placed her tail on my knee. I started to pet her tail as we talked about the earlier mock battle.

“Don’t worry about it too much. You didn’t actually fight Aido, so your impression of his strength isn’t clear. If you overestimate him in your mind, your imagined opponent will seem stronger. Plus, you were imagining fighting without transforming, right? In that case, you did pretty well.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. If you face him for real, it’ll be an even better fight. I think you’d actually match up better with him than I would, so why not challenge him next time you meet?”

“Got it.”

In reality, the fighting type I represented, which relied on techniques, didn’t mesh well with Aido, who fought with raw strength. No matter how skillfully I fought, my techniques wouldn’t matter if he overpowered them with brute force.

But for Fiera, if she transformed, her strength wouldn’t fall short, and with her speed, she’d likely have an easier time beating Aido than I would.

“Is there anything else I should improve?”

“No, not really. There’s nothing more I can teach you. From here on, you need to think for yourself and grow.”

“Understood.”

After that, we spent a quiet morning together for a while, but suddenly I decided to ask her something that had been on my mind.

“Hey, Fiera.”

“What is it?”

“You’re from the Beast Kingdom, right? What were you doing before meeting me?”

When I asked about Fiera’s past, she looked a little surprised but then perked up and her ears moved happily.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. When I was in the Beast Kingdom, I lived in the royal castle. I lived there with my dad and mom.”

“The royal castle? …Ah, now that you mention it, the king of the Beast Kingdom…”

“Yup. Silver Wolf Tribe. That’s my dad.”

Realizing that Fiera was royalty in the Beast Kingdom, I couldn’t help but bury my face in my hands and let out a big sigh.

(This is my fault for forgetting such an important detail. Even if I wasn’t interested in information about other countries, I should have at least known about the royalty!)

I was astounded at my own indifference, but I wasn’t the type to dwell on things for long, so I quickly switched my focus back to Fiera.

“Now that I know you’re royalty, why did you decide to become an adventurer?”

“I wanted to, because my dad was an adventurer.”

“I see.”

Indeed, I had heard that the king of the Beast Kingdom used to be an adventurer and had used that experience to found the current kingdom.

(But it’s strange. If she’s the princess of another country, I still can’t figure out why she didn’t appear in my life before now.)

In my past life, most of the characters who became allies of the protagonist were high-ranking nobles or held significant positions in their respective countries.

In the Empire, characters like Iris, that person, the magus kingdom’s Sonia, the holy kingdom’s Sephiria, and the divine tree kingdom’s Shuvina all held influential roles in their nations.

Well, Milia could be considered an exception, but she was my closest companion, so I could chalk that up to her reason for being with me.

By this pattern, it felt odd that Fiera, who was the same age as the protagonist and had sufficient capabilities, had never entered the Imperial Academy during my past life.

(Two possibilities come to mind. First, it might be that she’s involved in something that will lead to my death this time, which is why she’s tied to me now. Second, she might have already died for some reason before entering the Imperial Academy. Both seem plausible.)

“El.”

Lost in my thoughts, Fiera shook my shoulder to bring me back to reality, and I met her worried gaze.

“Is something wrong? You look a bit pale.”

“…No, it’s nothing. We should head back soon. Cecil is probably cooking breakfast for us.”

“Right.”

Though I didn’t know what had happened to her in her past life, I thought that if Fiera ever became an enemy in the future, then I would have to prepare myself for that moment. With that in mind, we returned to the house.