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

Intermission: Ninth Rewind

“Ah, the pain in my neck still lingers.”

After nine rounds of returning from death, Lewis didn’t particularly lose his cool. He seemed as if he had just woken up normally, stretching his body while grumbling about the pain from when his head was chopped off last time, shaking his head back and forth.

“Well then, what should I do this time?”

Living normally didn’t work, seeking revenge didn’t work, and doing nothing also didn’t work.

In this situation where everything felt hopeless, Lewis no longer felt anything as he wondered how he should survive this time and decided to pay a visit to his parents, getting out of bed.

As usual, Miria came into the room to wake him up, and he let her help him get ready. However, somewhere along the way, he recalled that today was the first meeting with his fiancée Iris, and he sighed deeply, thinking how troublesome it was.

After that, Lewis reunited with Edward, who had died in the eighth round, and Elise, whose fate was unknown since they parted ways partway. Yet, for some reason, seeing them didn’t stir much emotion in him. He only thought, “It’s good to see they’re alright,” and that was it.

(Ah. I’m already done for.)

In that moment, Lewis realized.

His heart had broken beyond repair, and now he felt like a doll in human form, a being unlike those who were truly living.

Afterward, Lewis lived on without doing anything in particular, but he still trained in magic and swordsmanship, wanting to at least gain some strength from his experiences in the eighth round. Before he knew it, he had entered Suzette Imperial Academy and was now in his second year.

“Haah. If only everything could end peacefully… Well, that’s probably impossible.”

Basking in the warm sunlight, Lewis had grown tired of his repetitive classes. That day, he decided to skip class and lay in the shade, gazing up at the sky while muttering such thoughts.

However, perhaps that was a bad idea, as one day, just as the academy was preparing for its second martial arts tournament since his enrollment, a major incident erupted at the imperial castle.

It was a rebellion led by the third prince, who suddenly appeared with a group of knights and mercilessly murdered not only the emperor but also the first and second princes, along with the empress, concubines, and even the crown princess, before seating himself on the throne.

Had this developed into a large-scale war, it could have continued for days. Nevertheless, this rebellion occurred internally, and since most knights sided with the third prince, the usurpation of the throne was completed in just one day.

Afterward, the third prince purged all nobles who opposed him, commencing war against the Holstein and Valentine noble houses, which held nearly equal power.

Of course, during this time, Lewis returned to the Valentine Duchy and fought alongside Edward and Zephal, the commander of the knights. Yet, for some reason, the enemy’s soldiers had terrifying strength, like the Saramāju troops from the eighth round, and they were not easily defeated.

Moreover, at this time, despite Lewis having trained using his experience from the eighth round, he was met with the undead Holstein Duke, who had supposedly died, leading the enemy forces. Even for Lewis, facing the sword saint proved to be too much.

“Lewis, just escape on your own.”

“Why? I’m going to fight too!”

“No, Lewis. We are your parents, and parents care for their children above all else. So let us protect you.”

“That’s right. Besides, it’s not decided that we’ll die yet. After we deal with those invaders, we will come for you. So, just trust us and wait.”

“I understand…”

In truth, everyone present knew they had no chance of winning this battle, but no one dared to speak of it. They quietly watched what would likely be the last exchange between the family.

Ultimately, Lewis used a secret passage to escape the territory. Afterward, he would never reunite with his parents and would hear stories of Edward and Elise’s deaths, as well as the fall of the Valentine house.

Three years later.

Having wandered around selling monster parts, Lewis returned to the location where the Valentine Duchy once stood.

“Feels nostalgic. It’s been so long.”

In those three years since that day, many things had happened.

While wandering around, Lewis met a blind female swordsman named Viola, and despite her being unable to see, she exuded a strength that made him envious, prompting him to challenge her out of frustration.

Ultimately, he was completely overpowered and lost, yet intrigued by her strength, he traveled with her for a while to learn her fighting style.

After parting ways as she set off for revenge, Lewis found a new goal within himself—he simply wanted to become stronger, and if he were to die, he wished to fight strong opponents, enjoying the fight and dying with no regrets.

Thus, he began challenging strong monsters and high-ranking adventurers, relishing in the near-death experiences. However, upon hearing a certain rumor, he decided to return to the Valentine Duchy.

“This place hasn’t changed since that day.”

What he found upon returning to the Valentine Duchy was not what he expected. Normally, it should have been taken over by another noble, but before that could happen, the last surviving royal, Sharueina, and the hero, Shudo, rebelled against the new emperor, leading to its abandonment. The charred remains of houses and the duke’s mansion stood as they were.

Moreover, the war escalated, as Sharueina and the hero Shudo had aligned with the Holy Country Ishtarika, dragging the situation into a large-scale inter-state conflict.

Technically, the Holy Country wouldn’t have cooperated solely based on Shudo and Sephy’s friendship, as they prioritized legitimacy. However, the fact that the new emperor’s soldiers were possessed by demons was revealed by Shudo and Sephy, prompting the Holy Country to join the war to eliminate the demons.

Consequently, a fierce battle raged on for three long years between the holy army led by Shudo and Sharueina against the demon-possessed imperial army under the new emperor, ending finally in victory for the holy army.

After their triumph, Sharueina returned to her noble status, leading to Shudo, her lover and the hero who saved the Ruzenia Empire, ascending to the throne as the new emperor.

Normally, it would have been impossible for a non-royal to become emperor, but under Ruzenia Empire law, a woman could not ascend to the throne, thereby making it inevitable for Sharueina’s partner to do so.

Additionally, as a hero, Shudo was a unique existence in this world. Thus, no one objected to him becoming the new emperor.

On that day, the capital held the wedding and coronation of Shudo and his lover Sharueina. Lewis, however, decided not to attend, choosing instead to return alone to his deserted homeland, taking advantage of the end of the war.

“What’s that?”

Though he thought no one would be there, as he approached the duke’s mansion, he started to sense a presence. Finally arriving at the site of the duke’s mansion, he discovered a group cloaked in deep purple robes, engaging in a suspicious ritual surrounding a complexly drawn magical circle.

“Could it be… father…?”

In the center of their circle lay what appeared to be his father’s corpse, seemingly undamaged and looking as if he were merely asleep.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but this feels ominous.”

Having accumulated a lot of experience, Lewis instinctively knew he had to stop that ritual. He intended to spring out from his hiding spot behind a rock, but unfortunately, he was a step too late.

“Ugh, too slow.”

As he drew his sword to attack the robed figures, the magical circle on the ground glowed a sinister purple, growing steadily until it became a massive circle enveloping the entire capital of the Valentine Duchy.

Then, the sky suddenly cracked open, and demons with horns and wings began to emerge one after another.

“Is that… the demon race? Does this circle summon demons? No, I don’t have time to think now. I can’t let my homeland be ravaged any further.”

What their purpose was or why demons appeared there remained uncertain.

However, despite his homeland already being ruined, Lewis couldn’t allow it to be further desecrated. He tightened his grip on the sword in his hand and charged into battle against the hooded group and the demons.

Initially, having trained hard, he overwhelmed the robed figures and demons. Yet, as the cracks in the sky spilled forth a continuous stream of demons, they grew stronger the later they appeared, eventually pushing Lewis back.

Nevertheless, fueled by determination, Lewis continued fighting valiantly, managing to take down the last demon.

“Hah… hah… ha. This time, I might be able to die in a somewhat decent manner…”

Having lost sight in his right eye and suffering injuries to his left arm and right leg, Lewis managed to stand using ice magic for a prosthetic limb. Yet even that was reaching its limit. The gash in his side from a demon’s magic made his condition downright tragic, almost making it a wonder he was still alive.

Even so, he felt he could finally protect something he wanted to keep safe and thought his wish to fight joyfully and die without regrets could be fulfilled. As he faced death, for the first time, a smile appeared on his face.

“Ah. If only I could end it like this…”

That would be perfect.

Just as Lewis was about to voice this desire, the massive magical circle responded to something, glowing brightly one more time. The sky darkened ominously with a sinister purple hue, as if an eclipse had occurred.

“No way…”

The moment he blurted this out, the crack opened wider, as if the very fabric of space was tearing apart, and with a resounding sound like shattering glass, a completely naked woman with grayish-black hair and crimson eyes emerged from the void.

“Whoa~. Who disturbed my slumber?”

This woman, reeking of lethargy and yawning as she spoke, scanned her surroundings as if searching for something.

“What’s this? No one is awake?”

Muttering to herself, the woman yawned again and then, for some reason, suddenly released her magic to cast a spell.

“Well then, I suppose since I’m awake, I might as well cause a bit of chaos.”

“What… is that spell…? Could it be…?”

An overwhelming power.

Lewis instinctively realized who she was upon witnessing that power, one so majestic it transcended age or race—it felt as if her very existence was different.

“First, for disturbing my slumber when no one else is awake, you shall perish.”

The moment she uttered those words and cast her spell, every piece of rubble and body around disintegrated into dust, and Lewis’s own body began to crumble into particles from his fingertips.

“Damn it. I couldn’t even die properly. To think someone like her still existed… I’ll kill her someday!”

“Still hanging on, are you? Hmm? Who are you…?”

As if hearing Lewis’s last words, the woman turned her gaze toward him, displaying a look of slight surprise before murmuring something.

However, her words never reached Lewis, and he soon vanished into dust, ending his ninth life without ceremony.

That was Lewis’s first encounter with the woman known as the Demon Queen.