Chapter 02
“I am sorry that I couldn’t trust your word, even though you were speaking the truth.”
The Prince lowered his head slightly. His dark hair, flowing down to his shoulders, swayed accordingly. At a glance, his androgynous appearance could easily be mistaken for a woman’s.
No, even upon closer examination, his androgynous appearance was enough for him to be unquestioningly accepted as a woman had he claid to be one. I was surprised since the Prince didn’t match my previous expectations.
“I thought I’d be expelled on the very first day.”
And expelled by the heir apparent no less. After silently brushing over my chest, I calmly gave my answer.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I wouldn’t believe it myself, had I not experienced it first hand. Who would believe such an implausible excuse? I would be glad if I could escape without hearing a rebuke for my nonsense.”
“Hahaha! That’s a relief!”
At the sight of the Prince, wholly divested of suspicion, my tension eased, and I leaned back in my chair.
So, this woman started crying out of nowhere, frightened by my presence? Even by my own standards, the excuse was hard to believe.
If I, the person involved, feel this way, how must he have felt walking in halfway? Naturally, he didn’t believe it. He tried to call out for a more detailed explanation.
The one who resolved the situation for was the woman with orange hair. The mont we tried to go out, she got up rapidly as if she was on fire and clung to my sleeve.
Throughout her sobbing, she affird that what I said was true several tis, helping clear up the misunderstanding.
“You shouldn’t be in that state in front of the podium, but there’s still plenty of ti left. No matter how short the proceedings, it’ll last at least an hour.”
If it’s proceedings, does it refer to the director and principal’s speeches? Even in the novel, the teachings were repetitious.
“I will take care of it. There seems to be so unknown relationship between the two of you. You seem more suited for the role than I do.”
The Prince subtly whispered, watching us. The woman with orange hair was crying, holding onto my sleeve as tightly as ever.
A relationship would imply I have t her before today. He seed to have had the wrong impression.
“Co back 10 minutes before my turn. If you need more ti, let know. I can make up for about an hour on my own.”
“Thank you for your consideration. I will try my best to avoid such circumstances.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Also…”
His voice lowered. The smile disappeared from his androgynous face in an instant.
“Rember, this is not just a simple favor. I am also curious as to why she reacted that way.”
“Yes. I’ll rember.”
He ant that he wants to tell him why the woman with the orange hair cried later.
Given that, he could at least have kind intentions. Why would the heir apparent do such a huge favor for soone he just t?
Since he is the youngest son of the Crate family, it’s possible he did so background check on , but he was undoubtedly eting for the first ti.
“I’ll go for now. I’ll co back later.”
After the Prince left, it was just the two of us. Still, the woman with the orange hair didn’t let go of my sleeve.
Her eyes were red from crying for more than 10 minutes, her voice was hoarse, and her body was soaked with tears. Despite that, she was still holding onto my clothes and didn’t intend to let go.
“Have you cald down a bit now?”
“…Yes.”
“Good. Then first let this hand go—”
“No, I can’t! I can’t!”
The girl lunged forward, not grabbing my sleeve but my wrist. It was montary, but the force was strong enough to make falter. Her eyes, looking up at , held a hint of obsession bordered on madness.
“I’m not going anywhere. Why should I, when the Crown Prince himself commanded to ask you why you were crying?”
“But still…”
Despite my protest and bringing up the Crown Prince’s na, she was obstinate. I let out a deep sigh and straightened my posture. It can’t be helped. I, as the sane one, should give in first.
“Okay, fine. Do whatever you want.”
“…Thank you.”
“So, why were you crying?”
She launched right into the topic. Upon hearing my question, the girl blankly paused for a mont, then gently caressed the hand she was holding.
“I’m happy. I’m so happy that I…”
“Happy? About what?”
“You ca in…”
“We just t for the first ti today, didn’t we?”
Just what possible reason could a girl I t for the first ti today have for crying out of happiness at the sight of ? I pondered, but however hard I tried, I couldn’t think of a reason.
“No, it’s not that… Ideally, I an… instead of you, another person should have co in. Aria April, she was supposed to be the top of the freshman year…”
“Huh?”
A familiar na caught my attention. Aria April. The blond-haired girl who introduced herself as class vice-president. The fact that she was supposed to be the top of the freshman class only compounded my confusion.
“‘She was supposed to be the freshman leader’, what do you an by that?”
However, sothing else she said couldn’t simply be overlooked.
“Well, it’s like this…”
She tightened her hold on my hand, her grip so strong that her knuckles turned white. The red-haired girl was silent for a while, then with difficulty, opened her mouth to speak.
“The truth is… I have been reincarnated.”
That’s one hell of a secret.
“So, if I put together what you’ve said—”
“Don’t call senior. Like I told you. My na is Priscilla Agnes.”
“It all cos down to what Priscilla, I an senior—”
“Just call by my na.”
“Priscilla senior—”
“You don’t need honorifics.”
“So, if I put together what you’ve said, Priscilla…”
Only then did Priscilla nod in satisfaction. She was still clinging to , not letting go of my hand.
“You are a person who reincarnated into this world much earlier than , and even though you saw the ending, the cycle of reincarnation kept repeating, driving you to the brink of losing your sanity.”
Nod, nod, Priscilla nodded more vigorously than before. I leaned back on the couch. Priscilla, perhaps fearing that I’d go away, hastily leaned toward . Her dropped shoulder ca into contact with mine again.
I was overwheld. I had never imagined that soone else had been trapped here before , let alone so long ago.
What’s more, to see her so devastated.
“Do you not rember how many tis you’ve regressed?”
“No, I stopped counting after the 100th ti… It felt like I was just increasing my despair if I kept counting… That’s why…”
‘How awful.’
I felt a chill run down my spine as I listened to her.
Starting as a 15-year-old Priscilla Agnes, she would reach the novel’s ending at 20, which ant she had to have lived at least 500 years so far.
To think that she had been reincarnated multiple tis in those imnse years was mind-boggling enough, but there were even more terrifying facts to consider.
“It’s warm…”
As I shivered and my words trailed off, Priscilla giggled recklessly and rubbed my hand against her cheek. She didn’t mind that her plump cheeks were squished into a strange face.
‘I wondered why she was so insistent about physical contact.’
The most terrible thing was the fact that Priscilla lost control of her body and was involuntarily made to move like a character in an ‘original work’ whenever she tried to break away.
Just like a linear adventure ga forces a player to stick to a certain route or kills the player if they deviate, it was the sa for Priscilla.
Actually, it was even worse. At least in those gas, the player’s control isn’t snatched away just because they go sowhere else.
‘I miss the warmth.’
At first, I wondered why she wouldn’t let go of my sleeve, but having heard her explanation, felt infinite compassion for her.
Ever since she possessed this work, she had been living for hundreds of years as Priscilla Agnes.
It would be painful enough if regression repeated hundreds of years, but Priscilla couldn’t even do what she wanted. It was impressive that she was even able to keep her sense of self.
‘Your constraints lifted after eting , right?’
‘Yes, the reason I’m able to act like this now, it’s all thanks to you…’
Tears welled up again in her light brown eyes.
She had been sitting without moving as was written in the ‘original work’, waiting for Aria April. As soon as she realized I ca in, she was able to move freely.
Unbeknownst to herself, tears ca rushing out as soon as she realized that fact.
‘Listen, I don’t know how this will sound to you.’
I laid my hand on top of Priscilla’s. She looked at with a surprised face.
‘You’ve been through a lot. Really.’
These were sincere words. Though I’ve had the experience of being dragged into another work once and surviving, I couldn’t dare imagine the pain Priscilla must have gone through.
Upon hearing my words of comfort, Priscilla’s tear-soaked eyes widened, then her body shook, and she began to cry heavy tears again.
‘Thank… thank, you…’
And then, the door opened and a gender-neutral voice ca in.
‘I distinctly rember telling you to console her, not make her cry again.’
Unbelievably, no matter what when he cos here, it always on the the worst mont. Checking the clock, nearly an hour and a half had passed. As expected, it had taken unbearably long.
‘There was an unavoidable circumstance.’
‘Hmm, really? I couldn’t trust your words before, but I’ll trust you this ti.’
The Crown Prince, who glanced at , stepped back. Although his words claid trust, his actions likely ca from reading Priscilla’s expression.
Priscilla was crying while wearing a smile brighter than before, a significant enough difference from before.
‘Let’s end this chatter. In about 10 minutes, our turn will co to reveal our ambitions as head students in front of thousands. What are you going to do?’
Imdiately upon hearing those words, Priscilla reacted. Her shoulders retracted, thighs pallid, body shaking. It was a natural reaction from having done this hundreds of tis.
I paused to think, then used magic to retrieve the speech Priscilla originally preparated and was forced to tell every regression.
‘Hmm?’
‘Uh?’
As I shredded the retrieved speech, both the Crown Prince and Priscilla expressed their reactions. One sparkled with curiosity, while the other opened there eyes wide.
The shredded piece of the speech fluttered softly. With a flick of my fingers, I even destroyed the debris into ashes. The prince’s half-covered crimson eyes stared at .
‘I want to know why you did what you did. Did you have a special reason to act like that in front of ? One that would convince ?’
‘I’m trying to do so good for the students. And for senior Priscilla too.’
The Crown Prince didn’t show any particular reaction, his eyes just sparkled. It seed like a sign to keep talking.
‘Since the previous speech was so long, shouldn’t we try to keep ours short?’
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