CH 42

Since she had to spit out the truth that she really didn’t want to say out loud.

Yes.

Ophelia didn’t want to die at Richard’s hands.

She didn’t mind anyone else’s hand, but she didn’t want it to be his.

If she were to die at his hands… the pain and misery of death would be nothing.

The feeling of betrayal or resentment she might feel wouldn’t be a problem either.

What Ophelia was truly afraid of, and something she never wanted to see…

…was the wound Richard would receive.

Could it be explained with the simple word ‘wound’?

Even if he forcibly tore open his chest, ripped his heart out and held it in front of his eyes, would that pain compare to that?

She was by no means a saint who embraced everyone with love and forgive even those who killed her.

But, as it was.

Just as Ophelia was always an exception to Richard.

For Ophelia, only Richard was always an exception.

She hated seeing the indescribable pain he would endure more than the pain, hurt, misery, and sorrow she would feel at the moment of death.

Even if he closed his eyes so as to not see, because he knew it, he would not be able to take his eyes off, let alone look away.

Even if blood flowed from the body, the bloody tears flowing from the eyes would touch him even more.

A dangerous air swelled between the two, as if everything was about to collapse.

Ophelia and Richard. Neither one backed away, eyes locked, staring at each other tenaciously.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Richard stretched out his hand toward Ophelia.

He didn’t mean to break her neck, nor did he want to pierce her heart.

Those dry, rough fingertips brushed Ophelia’s round forehead, passed the smooth bridge of her nose, grazed her lower lip, and touched her chin.

He did each motion slowly, as if he was checking if she was really in front of him, and then he took a step back.

“You were the one who told me you didn’t want to die and to survive.”

He was smiling faintly even though he was telling a bloody story that wasn’t funny at all, and Ophelia likewise smiled.

His sword exposed its entire body with a shrieking sound that scratched the nerves as it came out of the scabbard.

Contrary to Ophelia’s imagination, however, Richard did not immediately stab or aim at her heart with the sword.

With her eyes wide open at the sharpened blade of the sword, her reflection flickered on it, then disappeared.

‘Oh, I asked to borrow.’

It was more like asking for a loan than borrowing it.

It seemed she forgot about it for a moment because her head wasn’t working well.

Ophelia reached for the hilt of the sword, then paused when Richard shook his head.

He immediately brought out a handkerchief and glanced at Ophelia.

She reflexively looked at the handkerchief, her eyes widened.

“What are you doing?”

Richard wrapped his handkerchief around the sharp blade.

“The length is not suitable for stabbing while holding the hilt of the sword.”

Ophelia blinked at the very simple and clear answer, then grabbed a handful of the hem of her dress and said,

“Use this.”

“This should be enough—”

“Use it.”

She sternly cut off his words.

“How can I endure with a handkerchief? I want to die, not to have my palms cracked and covered in blood.”

Ophelia shuddered as if she didn’t want to imagine it, then clenched her fist and pounded her chest.

“When I die, I want to go at once as painlessly as possible!”

“I wonder if that’s something to say so resolutely.”

“Isn’t that what everyone wants? They say that when you die, it’s best to go peacefully in your sleep.”

“The knights say that fighting and dying on the battlefield is the best. And for the emperor, it’s to be holding the pen, doing work for the sake of the people of the empire until the very end.”

“That’s… that’s right. Anyway, I’m me. Please use it.”

At those resolute words, Richard lightly swung his sword, and in the blink of an eye, Ophelia’s dress was cut below her knee very precisely and neatly.

Ophelia felt embarrassed to have her legs exposed up to her knees.

Although before she possessed, she used to wear skirts that didn’t even reach halfway up her thighs.

She had somehow adapted to life in a different world.

It was going well. Until she was trapped in the bondage of infinite regressions, she was trying to grow her secret funds and sneak off with her engagement ring.

It was indeed a very long time ago.

Ophelia, who briefly reminisced, raised her head and gritted her teeth, and slowly went down on her knees.

As she picked up the sword, which was lined with cloth in the middle of the blade, Richard’s voice, which seemed to be slightly trembling, flowed into her ears.

“Aim at the heart as it is.”

She aimed the tip of the sword at her heart, but he shook her head.

“A little to the left. No, more to the left.”

Eventually, when the unprecedentedly sharp tip of the sword stood at the exact location of the heart.

“There… if you stab it as hard as you can.”

He turned away without finishing his words, and Ophelia looked at his back for a while before focusing all her strength into her arm.

In the next moment, as Richard had said, Ophelia died instantly.

She stumbled forward, and her stagnant red blood soaked his heels.

The instant Richard unconsciously scratched his neck, pulled out another sword and was about to slash his carotid artery.

—Puck.

An iron arrow pierced his chest.

—Puck puck puck.

Then, as the blare of tearing fabric resounded in succession, blood flowed from Richard’s lips, which were faintly smiling.

.

— Ophelia Bolsheik, during the sixth infinite regression…

With a very nervous expression, Ophelia pressed her nose against the window, making a pig’s nose while looking out into the heavy rain.

She swallowed her dry saliva as the heavy rain that had been pouring down right above the Imperial Palace slowly stopped.

‘Don’t let your guard down just because the rain subsides.’

Among the numerous regressions that she could not remember, there were countless times when heavy rain fell like that and then it simply stopped.

She was delighted at first.

Since the heavy rain did not develop into a flood and stopped, it would be okay to stop regressing… What!

Within seconds, a devastating flood that shattered dreams and hopes came.

It wasn’t only once or twice that she was fooled, and at this point, even a monkey wouldn’t be full of hope.

However, since she had to see the end anyway, she didn’t give up on looking outside.

‘What we had done to make this regression… should I just give up? Will it just collapse?’

No! Even if it collapsed, of course it must rise again.

Finally, the rain stopped completely and the sky was as blue as her eyes.

—Gulk.

The sound of saliva going down her throat echoed loudly and a few seconds later…

And a few minutes…

Again, more time had passed.

A large hand covered Ophelia’s forehead as she stared at the clear sky with the most suspicious expression.

Richard cupped her forehead and pulled her into his arms, and said,

“If you rub your forehead and nose against the window like that, neither will remain.”

Ophelia, who opened her mouth but didn’t answer, gazed far off at the clear sky.

Then, leaning the back of her head against his hard chest, she rubbed the corners of her eyes, which were dry and twitching from not blinking.

Lowering his hand and holding her tightly in his arms, Richard also looked up at the sky.

“The rain has stopped.”

“The rain… it’s not raining.”

“Yes.”

“Can we end it now?”

“It’s been over an hour.”

“Should we wait longer?”

“Well.”

Who could answer this?

But the two had to make a decision.

Should they wait longer or end it?

“If there is no flood by the end of today, there is no way it’s not a success…”

Ophelia, who had grown sullen as she spoke, rubbed the back of her head against his chest.

“Ahh, I don’t know. I can’t do it anymore.”

At that, Richard wiped her forehead and smiled.

Ophelia opened her closed eyes and muttered,

“Still, this regression has paid off.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mhm. For example, the conditions for an assassin to come, and that you must never let your guard down even if you seem to succeed after returning.”

Ophelia continued, licking her lower lip.

“You don’t necessarily have to go back to the point where you first regressed, that is, right before the empire collapsed after the flood. It worked even if you go back to the start of the flood. It took a while, but I’ve learned some new things, so this infinite regression is wo…”

“Wo…?”

“It’s not worth it! Let’s end it right now. This sickening regression!”

As Ophelia almost cried and vented her anger, Richard tapped her head with the tip of his chin and nodded.

“All right, it’s over.”

Not long after those words, as if it was a starting point, the assassins who had crawled into the Imperial Palace and were holding their breath waiting for an opportunity were swept away with the autumn leaves.

“It’s done?”

“Yes.”

Ophelia estimated the time she was alone, but no matter how she calculated, common sense didn’t come up with enough time to kill all the assassins.

But the person was Richard.

A man whose common sense became the common sense.

If he said it was over, then it was really over.

“Ugh, this regression is finally over.”

At the end of Ophelia’s words was a long yawn, and she stretched like a cat.

Ame: How long can they keep up with the disaster-regression tactic ;-; I’m worried already… and also, not me screaming “cute!!!!!!” at the backhug scene when they’re in a life and death situation >_> #guilty_as_charged

Dea: I appreciate the cute scenes, no more pain and suffering, just fluff and romance pls..they deserve it!