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 351: Cherished Time with You

“What? Ryugu and Kamael are dead?”

The deaths of Kamael and Ryugu hit us hard.

Kushana pressed a hand to her mouth, pale as a ghost, while Flora swayed from shock, needing support from Roland. Saluel trembled in fear, gripping my clothes tightly.

“The bodies have been taken care of, so there’s nothing for you to worry about. Continue to focus on your training. Furthermore, from now on, killing will only be permitted during training sessions in the forest. Let’s formally begin the selection of successors.”

As we were left in disarray, Count Albani calmly delivered these words before leading his subordinates out of the room where we had gathered.

“Kamael and Ryugu are dead…”

“I’m sorry, everyone. It’s because I got hurt!”

“That doesn’t matter! Ravi did nothing wrong! Besides, we noticed something was off with Kamael recently too. We just chose to look the other way, and this is the result. If anything, Ravi is just a victim here.”

Kushana defended me, but if I hadn’t been injured then, maybe I could’ve escaped with Ryugu, and we both would have survived. If that had happened, I might have been able to save Kamael later.

It’s all just ‘what if’ scenarios, but since those possibilities even emerged, I can’t say I bear no responsibility at all.

“Anyway, let’s discuss what comes next later. About Kamael and the others, it seems we’ll have to kill to survive now, so I want some time to think.”

“I’ll take my sister away. You all head back to your rooms and rest.”

With that, the discussion for the day came to an end, and everyone, including us, retreated to their own rooms, leaving the conversation behind for now.

Four months later.

The next to die were Flora and Roland, both committing suicide by untreatable poison.

“I found this on their desks.”

Kushana was the first to discover their bodies and showed us a note that resembled a farewell letter resting on Flora’s desk.

The content was simple: they were tired of living, and asked us to forgive them for choosing to leave first.

“If it’s those two, they’ll surely be together even in death, right?”

“Yeah…”

Kushana and I held hands, their warm smiles shining through for the last time as we gazed down at them.

Next to die was Saluel, his cause of death my own hands—a tragic accident.

“Why did you kill Salyu!!!”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry!”

All I could do was apologize as I watched Kushana cry and blame me.

Saluel’s death was purely accidental.

No, to be precise, he had approached from behind to kill me, and as I reflexively swung my dagger after sensing his presence, I inadvertently severed his carotid artery.

Saluel had always been timid since we met, and he’d survived here while being protected by Kushana and others. Even after Count Albani allowed killing, Kushana had continued to guard him alone, but when he was ambushed by other kids, he seized the opportunity to attack me from behind while Kushana’s attention was elsewhere.

It was just a ruse, and he was wielding nothing but a wooden stick. Still, after the killing began, I’d become sensitive to human presence and had swung my dagger without hesitation.

In that moment, Saluel only managed to whisper “I’m sorry” with tears streaming down his face as he smiled for the last time.

Perhaps he could no longer bear being the only one protected by Kushana, with his family dying one after another. But being timid, he lacked the courage to take his own life like Flora and Roland, and he must have chosen to be killed by me, fearing death at the hands of someone else.

Afterward, Kushana continued to blame me until she finally returned to her room in tears, and we both became estranged, finding it difficult to talk to each other.

The last to die was Kushana, who hanged herself in her room a month after Saluel’s death.

I was the first to discover her body, having been called to her room with something to discuss, only to find her lifeless form hanging and a letter accusing me of her death.

“Haha. Looks like I’m all alone now.”

With the initial seven members of our family dwindled to just me, even Kamael’s room, once filled with everyone, now echoed with solitude.

Looking back, it seems the rift in our relationships began when Kamael died; with him gone, we lost a vital part of our hearts.

From that point on, I felt like a marionette with a gaping hole in my heart, numb to the act of killing those who attacked me.

“Sigh. Maybe I should just die too.”

One day, thinking that if I died, I might see everyone again, I was summoned by Count Albani and taken down to the facility’s basement.

There, I found a handful of people dressed like researchers, surrounded by all sorts of experimental equipment, and in the back of the room, the body of a person crucified, their head, arms, and legs restrained.

“This is…?”

“This is the laboratory accessible only to the lord of the Albani Count House and a select few.”

“Who’s that?”

“That is the first Count Albani’s corpse, a pureblood Shadow Spirit. Though he is dead, his body lives on. As you can see, blood is circulating within him.”

As Count Albani said, the first Count looked dead, his head drooping and body motionless, but blood was indeed flowing through the tube piercing his arm.

“The first Count Albani was supposed to be dead.”

“True. However, the history and truth you’ve been taught differ somewhat. First, Count Albani was not an ordinary human but a member of the demon race known as the Shadow Spirits.”

“Shadow Spirits?”

“They are beings akin to spirits who can manipulate shadows, and they have almost no concept of mortality. I could teach you about them if you survive as a successor, but that’s not the focus now. What’s critical is that you will incorporate the first Count Albani’s blood into your body and adapt to the magical power I possess from the Shadow Spirits. If you can’t do that, you will die.”

“Die…”

That didn’t sound too bad, I thought, as I listened to Count Albani’s explanation and without hesitation infused the first Count’s blood into my body, accepting his magic as well.

However, perhaps due to my originally low magical capacity, my power accepted Count Albani’s magic without resistance, and my own magic was engulfed and transformed into the Shadow Spirits’ power.

“Ha! Magnificent. I never expected to find someone who matched perfectly. You are now closer to being pure than anyone else.”

It seemed that contrary to my desire to die, my body had accepted the blood and magic of the Shadow Spirits, and I felt a power arising from deep inside me that I’d never experienced before.

“Ah, by the way, I almost forgot to mention, this power is actually cursed. The fourth head sought power and killed the first Count Albani, establishing this facility, but in seeking power beyond one’s means, the curse fell upon him. Yet, before overwhelming strength, such matters are trivial, and since then, lords and their successors have used this facility to inherit the abilities of the Shadow Spirits.”

“What’s a curse?”

“It’s simple. A curse will be cast that反対 of the deepest desire a person holds.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm, an easy example would be Kamael, right? He cared deeply for you all and wished for everyone to survive. In that state, absorbing the blood and magic of the Shadow Spirits, he was cursed to desire the death of his family and ending up killing them. That was the result you witnessed.”

“You mean Kamael attempted to kill me because of this curse?”

“Indeed.”

I recalled that Kamael’s odd behavior began after he was taken away like I was by Count Albani.

Kamael likely suffered in silence, yearning to kill us since that time.

“And what about my curse?”

“I don’t know. You’ll only find out when the time comes. But you are a truly remarkable being. From now on, I’ll regularly inject you with blood and magic.”

Regularly summoned, I continued to receive blood and magic, seamlessly accepting it all and growing more powerful.

In this situation, I realized the curse cast upon me: perhaps because I wanted to die after losing my family, the opposite curse of living had been placed upon me, making it impossible to die regardless of the circumstances.

No matter how many times I tried to hang myself, cut my throat with a dagger, or stab my heart, every attempt was futile as my body resisted and retaliated, killing those who tried to harm me.

Exhausted and torn by the never-ending cycle of wanting to die yet being forced to live, I eventually ceased to think, surrendering myself to the flow of fate.

Before I knew it, I had killed all other candidates for succession, and by absorbing a quantity of blood and magic none of the previous heads had managed, I eventually became the successor of the Albani Count House, dubbed the family’s greatest masterpiece.

As I completed my tasks, killing those both in and out of the country as instructed by Count Albani, I pondered yet again.

“Right, I should kill Count Albani. And then I’ll take out everyone associated with the Albani House and find someone to kill me.”

Instead of living aimlessly until someone ended my life or I died of old age, I aimed to kill Count Albani and his associates—the reason my family died—and find someone willing to kill me.

That way, my gaping heart might find closure, and above all, if I could die, it would be the best twist of fate.

“Haha. Let’s do that. First, I need to prepare to take down the Albani Count House. Also, I need to find someone who will kill me.”

With newfound purpose, my heart began to race, feeling the blood course through my veins once more.

From then on, I created my own organization in secret to gather information on strong individuals who might kill me without alerting Count Albani.

Despite preparing to kill Count Albani, finding someone willing to take my life proved more challenging than anticipated. While pondering this, I enrolled in the Suzette Imperial Academy under the persona of Kamael, where fate would lead me to an encounter that would change everything.

“Hey. Mind if we chat for a bit?”

As I lay there thinking the academy was a hassle, one casually spoke to me—Lewis Valentine, talking as if he were just another friend.

Initially, I found him a bother, knowing that Lewis had a less-than-stellar reputation in my knowledge. Frankly, I wanted to keep my distance. Yet, somehow he knew my goals and wishes, and as I contemplated him, I found myself developing an interest.

What solidified my interest was witnessing his unfathomable strength during the ranking battles, as he overwhelmed Ride Horstine. In that moment, I genuinely thought if I were to be killed, I would rather it be by him.

From then on, I did my best to fulfill my desires through cooperation with him, yet it was a challenging period filled with odd names he gave me and girls who fancied him being pushed my way.

Nevertheless, when I informed his mother about the transformation ring and saw him glare at me with a slight hint of regret, it truly felt satisfying.

After such fun yet arduous days ended, I returned to the dull routine of killing foreign royals and nobles involved in the wars instigated by Saramāju on Count Albani’s orders. I endured it all, knowing that once completed, I could finally get my revenge.

And then…

“Heh. Who would’ve thought I’d be killed by a wild dog I raised?”

“No, no. We never wished to be raised by you.”

“Ah, right. I suppose that’s true.”

“Indeed. Well, it’s not like killing you will change anything here. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Do as you please.”

“Yep. That’s the plan. Bye-bye!”

With one last remark, I swung the scythe in my hand, severing Count Albani’s head.

He never did look my way in the end, but the reflection in the window showed a hint of satisfaction in his face.

Perhaps, somewhere deep inside, he too wished for death like I did.

Afterward, I was busy demolishing the facility managed by the Albani Count House, dealing with the researchers down there and disposing of the first Count Albani’s body. Yet, all of this was purposeful, and I pushed myself because one by one, I felt like I was finally able to mourn all those who had died.

Once everything was concluded, I visited Lewis, who had promised to kill me, to finish my life.

He turned out to be stronger than I imagined, and it became clear how alike we were.

We reveled in our life-and-death battle, wherein we ultimately longed for our own demise over each other’s.

I didn’t know why he felt that way, but right now, it mattered little; I cherished every moment as I fought against someone who understood me, gradually and surely inching closer to death.

Most of all, knowing that Lewis was solely focused on me, that he would be the one to witness my end brought me happiness.

“Ah, ah… So, this is the end.”

Lewis peered down at me, devoid of the usual composure he showed, his beautiful golden eyes shimmering like the moon, blood staining the left side as it closed.

“I’m counting on you. Kill me.”

“Got it.”

He responded to my final request, raising the sword he gripped in his right hand overhead as I looked up at him.

Honestly, this would be the end. I hoped to see everyone again. But if I had one last thing to leave behind…

“Ah. Truthfully, I also… wanted to walk the path you choose together.”