CH 75

Killing her breathing, she whispered as she moved closer to Richard.

“Is someone coming?”

“No, nobody.”

At his firm answer, Ophelia awkwardly relaxed her shoulders.

“Then why did you suddenly stop?”

“Did you say ‘die and wake up’?”

“Yes. Before, the story of Lady Neir throwing her shoe came out.”

Ophelia’s doubts were immediately answered by Richard’s words.

“Who is the one who sends the most and most frequent assassins?”

It was an abrupt change of topic, but it was easy. She knew right away what he was trying to say.

“It’s Lady Raisa Neir.”

“Yes.”

“The arrival of the assassins is the beginning of an infinite regression.”

“She said she would meet you again.”

“Yes. She said that I would meet and tell her everything I know. If she holds me back and regresses infinitely, well, I’ll tell her everything, even what I didn’t know.”

“Anything else?”

“At some point, Lady Neir had changed from before.”

“People change when they die and wake up.”

“And time.”

Ophelia didn’t say anything more, but Richard nodded.

The similarity with Richard that she found in Raisa’s eyes.

After collecting the fragments that had fallen in the meantime, a vague shape appeared.

“What about the others who sent assassins?”

“They are not as suspicious as she is.”

“Do you think she has something to do with regression?”

“Do you think Raisa Neir has the ability to turn back time to infinity?”

“It’s absurd, but what could be more absurd than an infinite regression? Dying, and awaking. It means regressing. And what’s even more ridiculous…”

“You think even Marchioness Neir doesn’t know about this?”

“Yes. That’s what I was trying to say, but how did you know?”

“It’s been found that Marchioness Neir is addicted to drugs.”

“What? Drugs? All of a sudden?”

“The strangeness of her condition at the meeting is an early symptom of typical drug addiction. Considering how her own body is so dear to her that no one could have poisoned her like that…”

“It must be Lady Neir.”

Ophelia added with an indescribable expression.

“No, then you mean that even though they fight like they are killing each other, they have the same goal?”

“Well, if it’s the throne, it’s probably a position worth targeting.”

For a while, Ophelia and Richard faced each other in silence.

The two of them didn’t say anything, but they, having had countless conversations before, eventually nodded at the same time.

“A way to find out for sure.”

“There will be one.”

“Yes. There’s no choice but to regress. Ah, after putting everything together like this, I can understand why she kidnapped me. If she regresses, it will be something that never happened, so what is there to be afraid of?”

Ophelia shrugged and rubbed her wrists, which she had forcibly twisted earlier to loosen her bondage.

Richard, who was staring at her blankly, extended his hand to her, but then quickly withdrew it.

This wasn’t seen by Ophelia as she was focused on her wrist, which had begun to swell.

She wiggled her wrist and paused.

There was no problem with regressing and checking, but… she didn’t know if she would be able to get out of here so easily next time.

She didn’t know what would happen to her if she couldn’t get out, but the chances that she would end up in a worse situation than she imagined were by no means low.

Still, the important thing now was to leave via regression and check it, so she must accept it.

How many miserable and painful deaths had there been in the countless regressions?

‘I can never get used to it, but I can endure the corresponding pain anyway.’

After completing a series of calculations, Ophelia nodded broadly.

“If we regress and I lose a limb after being kidnapped, please let me return again… Richard?”

Ophelia stopped talking and blinked.

‘Why are you so angry?’

The air swirling around him was so cold that their breaths turned white.

Before she knew it, his expression was difficult to see because he had put on his cloak again, so she stretched her neck forward.

“Richard?”

“Let’s regress.”

“Yes? Uh… Yes. That’s right.”

Ophelia nodded hard and froze at Richard’s words.

“Even if I blow off all of Lady Neir’s limbs, it will be nothing if she regresses.”

It was a terribly low voice, as if it was flowing from an abyssal pit.

Only pursing her lips, Ophelia barely made a sound.

“That’s… that’s not necessary…”

“We won’t need it.”

“Right?”

“But I would like to.”

“Yes? No, what do you mean you want to cut her arms and legs?”

“She kidnapped you, the price is light compared to that.”

A limb was indeed a generous and merciful punishment.

Wasn’t it all the more so because she wouldn’t even remember the same pain as the wrath since it would go back to the way it was?

“Indeed, it is.”

Ophelia, who unexpectedly nodded her head obediently, added something she didn’t have to say.

“She has to pay that much for having touched the aide of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Ophelia.”

“What?”

“It’s because you’re not an aide.”

This time, Ophelia who had been bravely running on empty, took a step closer and coolly nodded her head at Richard’s low voice.

“If Richard had gone through something like this, I would have done the same. The only one in the world… Eup? Euuup?”

Ophelia’s eyelashes flapped swiftly like the wings of a butterfly in a storm.

Because he covered her mouth with his big hand.

His familiar scent pushed deep into her.

He looked at her blankly without saying anything, then withdrew his hand and took a step back.

“Let’s get moving.”

At that, Ophelia blinked and nodded awkwardly.

Before she met Richard, she had been extremely careful to conceal her presence, but after she met him, she didn’t have to.

As whoever that comes would not be able to avoid his senses.

When she went up from the basement to the first floor, she advanced very slowly, almost crawling on all fours, but it was an instant from the first floor to the exit.

—Krrrr, ki-yi-yi.

The moment she walked out the door and took a couple of steps, leaving behind the ear-scratching noise of worn-out hinges…

Someone wearing a cloak ran madly at Ophelia.

And, of course, that someone was caught in Richard’s grasp.

Richard, who was about to crush that person’s jaw without asking or questioning, met his eyes and paused.

It was because his chin was lifted, revealing the face hidden by the robe.

“Sheffield?”

“What?”

Having been simply watching the scene of Richard harpooning an unknown bastard, Ophelia stared in amazement.

“Why are you here… No!”

It didn’t matter why Lawrence Sheffield was here now.

“No, no, Your Highness! Jaw, his jaw! It’s about to be smashed.”

At the very normal voice that sounded lively at first glance, Lawrence glanced sideways at Ophelia with an indescribable expression.

The person who received that gaze feared that the next Marquis of Sheffield’s chin would be completely blown out by Richard’s hand, so it slipped her notice.

However, Richard immediately noticed Lawrence’s bewildered gaze.

“Your Highness? No, why are you adding more strength? Ugh!”

When Lawrence’s jaw creaked as if it was dislocating, Ophelia let out a groan, as if she was the one in pain.

After another squeaking sound, she involuntarily tugged at Richard’s sleeve and shouted,

“Richard!”

The next moment.

Lawrence had to roll on the floor as Richard’s grip gave way.

“Keugh!”

Lawrence held his face; the grip that held his jaw hurt more than the impact of being suddenly thrown to the ground.

And Ophelia stopped just as she was about to stretch out her hand toward him.

Due to the promise she made with Richard.

Reflexively measuring the distance from Lawrence, she moved closer to Richard, then asked,

“Sir Sheffield? Are you all right?”

There was no answer coming back, but the intermittent groaning was a sufficient answer.

Looking down at Ophelia who was worried about Lawrence who had been grunting for a long time, Richard said, 

“Ophelia.”

“Yes?”

“Just now.”

“What? Just now? Just now, the next Marquis of Sheffield was in a position where he would never be able to chew anything again!”

Naturally, she thumped her fist on his arm, which was as hard as steel.

The fist that hit the back of an assassin’s head couldn’t be like a cotton bat.

But who was Richard? Ophelia’s fist was like a cotton puff to him.

“No, just now.”

“Why did you do that! If your jaw had been smashed, how much would Catherine cry…”

“You called me ‘Richard’.”

Ophelia froze at his low whisper, unable to finish her words.

Unable to even blink, Ophelia stared at Richard with a faraway look, then she turned her head—she could have sworn it made a creaking sound—towards Lawrence, who, at some point, was no longer groaning.

Ame: It’ll be kinda cool if Lawrence finds out their regression secret. Wait, how are they gonna regress with Lawrence third-wheeling? Knock him out and get on with the program?

Dea: Lawrence would probably forget everything after they regress but i’ll be enjoying it while it lasts haha