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 131: The Imperial Capital

It’s been a little over a week since we left the Valentine Duchy, and finally, the castle walls protecting the imperial capital came into view through the carriage window.

“Are we almost there?”

As I gazed blankly at the walls I’ve seen countless times, I began to rethink my plans ahead.

(The exam itself shouldn’t be a problem, and if Fiera and the others haven’t forgotten, they should pass. But what should I do afterwards? That guy should be easy to find since we’re in the same class, and as for the Hero, I can just ignore him for now. Events and incidents in the capital pop up randomly, so predicting them is tough. Maybe I’ll just take it easy for a while.)

“Wow! There’s so many people!”

“Yeah. There’s way too many, I might get lost. El, let’s hold hands.”

“No, we’re in a carriage, so getting lost isn’t an issue, right? Don’t try to sneak off for some weird reason.”

While I was pondering my entry into the academy, it seemed the carriage had passed through the gates and entered the capital, and Fiera and Shuvina were involved in some nonsensical back-and-forth about the city’s liveliness.

“Ugh. Enough of this silly banter; we’re about to arrive at the mansion.”

Just as I said that, the carriage came to a stop, and the driver opened the door for us.

“What a beautifully splendid mansion!”

“Yeah. This mansion is white and looks like snow.”

As Fiera and Shuvina voiced their impressions of the ducal mansion in the imperial capital, they continued to gaze at its beauty in awe.

“Calling it snow-like isn’t entirely wrong. The duchy is a region with heavy snowfall, and historically, white has symbolized the House of Valentine for generations.”

“I see.”

“Indeed, the mansion we saw in the snow before was ethereal and beautiful.”

By the way, the color representing the royal family is the deep blue, akin to the encompassing sea, while the other ducal family, the House of Holstein, represents a blazing crimson like a wildfire.

“Alright, let’s head inside. Even though it’s warmer here than in the duchy, it’s still winter, so we cannot risk getting chilly.”

“Agreed. If I catch a cold before the exam, all my efforts will be for nothing. Let’s go in quickly.”

As my father and mother said that, Fiera and the others followed them into the mansion.

Just as I was about to follow them, I noticed Sheila looking unsure about entering, so I approached her and called out.

“Sheila, why don’t you come with us?”

“Uh, are you sure? I should probably look for another inn…”

“Don’t worry. Besides, it’ll be tough to find a place to stay now, so if you’d like, feel free to stay at the mansion. You can even live here while you’re in the capital.”

“No way! I can’t trouble you that much!”

“Please don’t mind it. After all, you came all this way for us, and living in the capital is much pricier than in the duchy, so whether renting a room or a house, it’ll cost quite a bit.”

“I-I see. But still…”

“Lewis, that’s enough. You shouldn’t force people.”

“Mother!”

The one who spoke up was my mother, who seemed to have noticed we weren’t entering the mansion and came to check on us.

“Lewis, I understand your actions are out of concern for Sheila, but it’s not good to pressure someone. Besides, once you all enter the academy, she’ll be living here alone. How could she find peace like that?”

“I see. That makes sense. My apologies, Sheila. I hadn’t thought it through.”

As I said this, I turned to Sheila and bowed slightly as a gesture of apology.

“N-no! I understand you were looking out for me, Lewis. Thank you so much!”

“Hehe. But Sheila, just like Lewis said, I think it’s tough to search for an inn now, so for today, at least stay here.”

“Understood. I’ll gladly accept your kindness.”

“Come on, Lewis, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Afterwards, Sheila and I followed my mother into the mansion, each heading to our prepared rooms to rest and shake off our travel fatigue.

Four days had passed since arriving at the ducal mansion in the capital, and tomorrow would finally be the day when we take the entrance exam for the Suzette Imperial Academy.

On this day before the exam, Fiera, Shuvina, and I were walking around the city to do some sightseeing.

“It’s too bad Sheila couldn’t join us.”

“Well, it’s understandable. She went to work for our sake.”

As Shuvina and Fiera said, after resting in the mansion for two days, Sheila borrowed a house through my mother’s introduction and then went off to work at the guild.

“She’s probably got a lot to learn in her new environment. She was really eager for our sake, so I’m sure we can invite her to go sightseeing again next time.”

“That’s true. It’s not like we’ll never see her again; we can hang out another time.”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

The two of them chatted about what to do with Sheila when they would hang out again as they looked around the city, excitedly planning to come back.

“Still, it’s as I thought when I first came. There are just so many people.”

“Yeah. It’s really lively. Plus, there are a lot of kids.”

“That’s because of the academy entrance exams. As I mentioned in the previous lesson, Suzette Imperial Academy is a well-known prestigious school even in other countries. A lot of people come here aiming to enroll from other nations.”

“I see.”

The capital is always bustling, but reflecting on my past life, it’s clear that the exam season brings even more people.

Thus, merchants are also desperately trying to sell their products to the people from other countries, enhancing the liveliness of the capital itself.

“Hey, how about we check out that cake shop over there? I heard it’s pretty famous. It would be a nice break, right?”

“Sounds good.”

After looking around various stalls and clothing shops in the city, we decided to take a break and entered the most famous cake shop in the capital, where we were seated after being guided by a staff member.

“Have you decided on your order?”

“I’d like the strawberry cake.”

“I’ll have the cheesecake.”

“And I’d like a nut cake and a grape cake, please.”

“Understood.”

Once the staff finished taking our orders, they went to prepare the cakes and returned a little while later with our selections.

“Shall we dig in?”

“Yeah.”

“Mm.”

As we enjoyed the sweetness of the cakes we ordered, suddenly, the door swung open violently, and a young man entered with a few guards, acting all high and mighty.

“What’s this? I heard this is the most famous cake shop, but it’s not that great.”

“Uh, sir, that’s not a nice way to talk.”

“Shut it! Don’t give me orders!”

It seems this guy is some noble from a certain household, and the nearby butler looked utterly flustered, unsure of what to do.

“Huh?”

Then, the young man seemed to notice us watching and grinned smugly as he sauntered over.

(Sigh. Here comes more trouble.)

In that moment, I envisioned the predictable turn of events that I was so sick of and found myself longing to just go back to the mansion and lounge around.

“El. He’s coming over here.”

“Yeah. It seems he has business with us.”

“Just ignore him. We only came here to eat cake.”

Saying that, I popped a piece of strawberry cake into my mouth as the young man approached and stopped right by our table.

“Hey, isn’t this place meant for real guests? You low-level impostors shouldn’t even be here. Get out!”

He sneered with a disgusting grin, licking his lips while looking at Fiera and Shuvina.

“El, this cake is delicious. You should try it!”

“Mm… It really is good.”

“Ah! That’s unfair! Mine is delicious too, try it!”

Despite being looked down upon, the two girls didn’t mind and started feeding me their cake using their forks.

“T-this!! Don’t you dare ignore me!!”

The young man, clearly offended by our indifference, grabbed the table in front of us and was about to flip it over.

“Tch.”

Using gravity magic, I halted the approaching table in mid-air and gently lowered it sideways.

“Who do you think you are?”

“Huh? I’m nobility! It’s you who should apologize for ignoring me! How dare you lowly impostors disrespect me!”

“Ugh. How ridiculous. You’re from the Anphicen Kingdom, aren’t you?”

“Yeah! I’m the next Marquis of the Schnaihel family from the Anphicen Kingdom! So apologize quickly!”

The Anphicen Kingdom is situated beyond a large forest area in the Adonia region, and they don’t have a great relationship with our Ruzenia Empire.

However, due to the academy’s level, many still come to take exams even if their countries are not on good terms.

The Kingdom’s main feature is its human supremacy philosophy, considering not just demons but demi-humans like beastmen and elves as lesser than livestock.

“I’m the next Duke of the House of Valentine in the Ruzenia Empire. And those girls are my companions.”

“Eh…”

The moment the young man heard my status, his previously flushed face lost all color, and his hands trembled slightly.

“So? Why should I, a noble, apologize to a mere noble of the kingdom?”

“That’s because…”

“You called them impostors, but in this country, all races are treated equally. And this isn’t your land. As long as you’re here, you must follow the laws and rules of this nation. Got that?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then who should be the one apologizing?”

“Ugh. I-I’m sorry…”

As the young man bit his lip in frustration and bowed his head, I didn’t like his attitude, so I released a killing intent to intimidate him.

“If you pull the same stunt in this country again, I’ll be cutting off all your heads. And if you treat other races or humans the same way, your heads will roll too.”

Saying this, I snapped my fingers and cast a spell on them, smiling with a hint of cruelty.

“I’ve placed a spell on you. This spell will behead you if you fail to follow my orders. It won’t wear off until I release it. Now, get outta here. You’re in the way.”

“Yikes?! Y-yes, understood! We’ll make sure nothing like this happens again!”

The young man, now pale, turned tail and ran off, and the guards hurriedly followed suit.

Despite the presence of many customers, the shop fell eerily silent, with even some patrons looking at me with a mix of fear and awe.

“Sigh. What a buzzkill. Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

“Alright.”

“Um…”

As we stood to leave and head to the register, the staff member who took our orders approached us.

“What is it?”

“Um, thank you for earlier. It should have been my job to handle things.”

“Don’t worry about it. That guy just came over and started messing with us.”

“Um, as a way to apologize, you don’t have to pay this time. Also, please take this cake with you.”

The staff member handed us a wrapped cake.

“Really? Well, thank you very much.”

“Y-yes! Please come again!”

I smiled at the staff member as I took the cake, and she blushed, wishing us well as we left.

“El, you shouldn’t smile too much at girls.”

“Yeah. Your smile’s too charming; it’ll be too easy for you to win them over.”

“Alright, alright.”

The two girls kept chirping away at me afterward, but I tuned them out as we walked on, making our way back to the mansion.