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 152: Dream

~Side Iris~

In the venue where the welcome party was held, Iris, who had lost consciousness, found herself standing in utter darkness.

“Where is this…?”

In this pitch-black space, she couldn’t tell up from down, nor the direction she was facing, and she had no idea how far this darkness extended.

“Well, I suppose I need some light. ‘Light’… huh?”

Iris tried to cast the light attribute beginner magic to figure out her surroundings, but for some reason, her magic power wouldn’t gather, and she couldn’t activate the spell.

“This is quite the predicament.”

After pondering for a moment about what to do, Iris decided she couldn’t just stay there and chose to move straight ahead.

“Phew, phew. There’s absolutely nothing here.”

She had no idea how long she had walked, but still, there was no end in sight, and she was starting to lose track of whether she was even making any progress.

“Lewis…”

Anxious, Iris whispered the name of her beloved, and suddenly, light appeared right before her.

“Could that be the exit? Let’s go check it out.”

With no other options available, Iris steeled herself and took a step towards the light.

“What is this place…?”

Before her appeared a space that was completely the opposite of the dark area she had just been in, now all covered in white.

“What on earth is going on here?”

Looking around in confusion, Iris noticed a sofa had mysteriously appeared in a place that should have been empty just moments ago.

“Are you telling me to sit?”

Glancing once more around for anything else, she found nothing but the sofa, and reluctantly, Iris sat down.

“Hah. What on earth is this place? A dream… I wonder? But even so, I feel tired, and I really don’t understand anything.”

Not knowing how to escape this space or where to go, Iris leaned back on the sofa, looking a bit weary.

“What is that?”

Suddenly, a light blue board-like object appeared right in front of her.

“Lewis? And next to him is… me?”

The board displayed a scene of Iris and Lewis appearing close to each other, as if they were enjoying a day out exploring the Valentine Duchy.

“What is this? I have no memory of this…”

No matter how much she thought, there was no recollection of ever going out with Lewis, let alone seeing him look at her with so much affection.

“That hair accessory… where have I seen that…”

Seeing the white iris flower hairpin that Lewis had gifted her, she felt an uncanny sensation, as though she knew it despite never having seen it.

“How happy they look.”

The Iris reflected in the light blue board appeared truly happy, and because it was herself, she could deeply understand the emotions displayed in that image.

“Could that be someone from the party?”

After the date in the duke’s territory with Lewis, the scene shifted to show Shudo helping Iris at the party venue.

“Are you okay?!”

“Ah, who are you?”

“I’m Shudo. But really, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s great! Also, I took care of the thugs who tried to harm you. You’re safe now.”

As Shudo spoke, Iris looked around to see several shady men lying on the ground, and it appeared they were in an alleyway with no one else around.

“Now, please take my hand.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Ugh… this pounding in my chest…”

As Iris took Shudo’s outstretched hand, something inexplicable flowed into her, and her heart started to race.

“This… is wrong. These aren’t my feelings.”

She endured the uncomfortable emotions flooding in, and the image on the board shifted again.

“Is this the imperial castle’s audience chamber? But the atmosphere feels… off. Why is Lewis kneeling?”

The next scene displayed the audience chamber filled with many nobles and the Emperor, with Lewis kneeling and restrained.

“That looks just like a criminal.”

The gazes from the Emperor and the nobles directed at Lewis were those of judging a criminal, and it appeared they were about to state the accusations against him.

“Lewis Valentine. You are accused of treason. Regarding the barrier magic you constructed, it was confirmed that an unnatural flow of magic connected to the Demon Domain allowed demons to enter the Empire.

Moreover, we have received reports that you have been colluding with demons. You are a villain who conspired with demons to bring about the downfall of the Empire, committing an unforgivable crime. Thus, you and your family shall be sentenced to death.”

“That’s impossible! Lewis would never do such a thing!!”

The accusations made by the chancellor in the image were unfathomable, and despite knowing it was hopeless, a deep anger surged within her.

The imagery continued, showing Lewis and his parents protesting to the Emperor, but they were completely ignored.

“What am I doing? Knowing Lewis is being falsely accused!!”

Even with the possibility of her beloved being killed, the image of Iris still showed her not moving, simply staying with the young man who had saved her from the thugs.

Then, the moment the Emperor demanded that he confess to the crime to save his family, the image of Iris rushed towards Lewis.

“Finally, you’re going to help! But it’s too late. If it were me, I would have acted quicker…”

“If you confess to your crimes, others will be spared. Besides, I’m sure the Emperor won’t execute you immediately. There are things we can do in the meantime. Please, Lewis, confess.”

“…Huh?”

Iris thought her image was finally acting to save Lewis, but what she actually did was lead him to his doom.

“No way, that’s me… ugh. What is this unpleasant feeling…”

It was as if something was inside her, giving her the feeling that her body wasn’t even her own; even smiling at Lewis felt so nauseating.

“Lewis…”

Iris didn’t want to see her beloved suffer anymore, but for some reason, she felt like she couldn’t miss even a second of this imagery, and she continued to watch it with regret and disgust.

Then, as the final scene change occurred, a crowd gathered, staring at the gallows where Lewis was about to be executed.

“Lewis!”

The Lewis in the image looked battered as if he had been tortured, and just watching him made Iris’s heart ache, leading her to shed tears.

And just when the execution was about to happen, once more, an alien feeling flooded into her.

“Lewis! Lewis!!”

The Iris in the image was pushing through a crowd, trying to reach Lewis while shedding tears, but there were too many people in the way.

The feelings she felt were of regret, despair, and an undeniable love for Lewis.

Yet, even with those strong emotions, the execution happened, and the beloved’s head fell before her, while the crowd erupted in cheers.

“Ah, ahhh… ahhhhhh!!!”

The Iris in the image crumpled, sitting down as if she had lost everything, and continued to wail brokenly.

The overwhelming feeling of loss and regret merged with the despair and sorrow from Iris’s perspective, pushing her heart to the brink of breaking.

“It’s me… I… Lewis…”

Staring at the now still and colorless board, Iris found herself unable to think of anything anymore.

If this were just a dream, it would be nice, but Iris instinctively understood that this was not a dream, but a real past event.

“Why… what have I done?”

As Iris thought that she wished she could just die like this, she suddenly felt someone embracing her from the front.

“You’re not meant to die yet.”

“Who are you…?”

“At the appropriate time, we shall atone for our sins together. Now, it’s time to awaken.”

“Wait! Who are you!!”

“We shall meet again someday.”

With those words, Iris’s consciousness faded, and she disappeared from the white space.

“…Where am I?”

“Oh, you’re awake, my lady!”

“Marna?”

“Yes. Good morning! But my lady! Why are you crying?!”

Iris awoke in her room at the dormitory as the maid Marna hurried over in a fluster.

“Crying? …Oh, it seems I really am.”

Touching her cheek after Marna’s words, she confirmed that tears were indeed streaming down and wetting her fingertips.

“Did you have a scary dream?”

“A dream… I don’t know.”

She felt as though she had dreamt something important, but no matter how hard she tried to recall, it was as if her mind was shrouded in fog.

“I see. More importantly, please rest in your room today. I heard you felt unwell during the welcome party, and I was worried about you.”

“Understood.”

Remembering the events from the welcome party the previous day, Iris fell asleep again while being cared for by Marna.