CH 65

“Yes.”

“Thanks to you…”

“Yes?”

“…the world is in jeopardy because the future was changed while regressing, but because of that, clues to stop the regression itself are gradually being revealed.”

Ophelia said nothing. No, she couldn’t.

Because her throat was so tight that even if she opened her mouth, she would burst into tears.

Then, Richard pulled her and held her in his arms.

“So don’t make that face.”

“But… the world…”

Before Ophelia could finish her sentence, he tightened his arms around her waist and embraced her.

“Ophelia.”

A voice deeper than a well traveled through her ears and permeated her whole body.

“I’ll protect you if you want.”

Even if it was the world.

Richard was willing to do so if Ophelia wanted it.

Yes.

He could protect the world or destroy it if she wanted it.

She pulled him, who had been suffocating slowly for a long time, up to breathe.

‘You saved me from the abyss, and I will gladly bring the world or anything to your feet for you.’

At this time, neither Ophelia nor Richard knew.

Just as spilled water could not be contained, and broken glass could not be restored to its original state.

That the world, once cracked and collapsed, would not become whole just by stopping the regression.

And truly, Richard did not know.

To think that the day would come when he would have to weigh the world and Ophelia…

.

By the time Richard and Ophelia noticed that the world itself was creaking from the three signs…

Raisa, the one who started the infinite regression, didn’t care about such things.

“What? All the raw materials for making alcohol are gone?”

“Yes. The swarm of locusts caused irreversible damage.”

“So what?”

“Anyway, it seems difficult to supply it for the festival on time.”

It was a natural result, if it was a matter of course.

Unlike earthquakes and floods, in which Richard and Ophelia repeatedly regressed and completely eliminated their influence, the damage caused by the locusts remained intact.

“We prioritize damage restoration, but somehow it’s difficult to carry out as originally planned.”

A cold sweat broke out like crazy on the back of the woman who said that. If she made a mistake, her neck could have been blown away right here.

Unexpectedly, however, Raisa neither threw something at her nor ordered for her to be killed with a single strike.

She was just silent.

How long had passed in the long period of pain in which one second felt like a billion years to her.

Raisa didn’t even look at her, but waved her hand as if to drive away a nuisance fly.

“If you don’t have enough, prepare as much as you can.”

“Yes. Yes!”

After the woman frantically nodded and hurriedly left, Raisa was left alone in the cold room.

As the sun went down and the village was gradually buried in the night, Raisa did not switch on the light.

Since she wasn’t looking at the present, it didn’t matter if her vision was dark right now.

Raisa was constantly retracing her past.

It had been a long time since her first regression.

But it was tolerable. No, she was really delighted with her situation, which was getting better and better.

In fact, the number of returns had decreased a lot compared to the old days, that was, compared to when she first started regressing.

If you spent a lot of time and failed again and again, no matter how stupid you were, as long as you had a brain, you would gradually get better.

That was exactly the case with Raisa.

After her first regression, she made progress, albeit very slowly, through countless trials and errors.

As a result, it had been quite a while since things went the way she wanted, even if she didn’t have to regress.

But she only made fewer regressions, not that she didn’t.

It was the same this time.

After routinely sending assassins to the crown prince, she waited for the regression, but she did not go back as she thought.

If she failed, she would send more assassins, to try until it succeeded.

Raisa was contemplating the number of cases of whether to regress or not.

And in the end, she decided.

“At this level, I should just push on. Even if I regress, I don’t know what else we can do against the swarm of locusts that is close to a natural disaster, and if the damage gets bigger, it will be troublesome.”

The decision Raisa made as she nodded lightly coincided with Richard’s decision to not regress anymore.

Of course, leave alone Raisa, none of the three involved in this infinite regression knew that.

Another fact that they didn’t know was that, very coincidentally, the time when Raisa attempted to regress from the time the earthquake occurred, the first sign, and the time Richard attempted to regress voluntarily coincided.

And from then on, it became unclear who started the regression first.

Was it Raisa, who sent the assassins to achieve her purpose, or was it Richard and Ophelia, who voluntarily tried to harm themselves for their goal?

That was because their actions had been nearly tied during countless regressions.

And now.

The regression stopped without a discussion.

Was it coincidence or fate?

Or should it be said that coincidences became fate?

After Raisa decided not to go back, she tried to figure out the expected revenues she would make from the festival’s liquor licenses and the fate of those who had been sold into human trafficking in her village.

—Tok tok.

“Excuse me, my lady. The marchioness told me to bring you.”

.

Immediately after being summoned by Marchioness Neir, Raisa headed to the Imperial Palace with her without hearing anything as usual.

And following the Marquisate of Neir’s carriage, the heads of other families also arrived at the Imperial Palace one after another.

“What the hell is going on in the middle of the night?”

“Have you heard anything?”

“Would I be like this now if I had?”

It hadn’t even been a few days since the big meeting due to the locust swarm ending, but the meeting was reconvened without notice.

The throne was empty, but right next to it was the crown prince sitting askew, looking down at them with a bored expression.

The confusion that was present across the faces of those who entered the conference room quickly turned into tension.

It was true that the grand meeting presided over by the crown prince was so small that it could be counted on one hand.

But every time… 

“It’s over. Drag him out.”

“It’s over. Lock him up.”

“It’s over. Send him there.”

It never ended as a ‘meeting’.

In the ‘grand meeting’ presided over by the crown prince, without exception, someone’s crime was revealed, and he punished the person for it.

Still with a bored expression, Richard nodded as he looked down at the heads of households who settled down one after another.

—Thud.

The thick door separating the conference hall and the outside closed, and a dry voice cut through the still air.

“The reason why I called this grand meeting today.”

Even the sound of breathing died down in the quiet hall, and Richard went on to add, as emotionlessly as always.

“It’s because of the festival.”

The topic of the meeting came up, but no one said anything.

No, they couldn’t open it.

Festival? Why… all of a sudden… was the festival brought up?

Among those who were still bewildered, some expressions became urgent.

Among them, the viscount, who was in one of the lowest positions and desperately needed an inflow of external capital to restore the damage to his territory, impatiently uttered.

“Your Highness, no. If the festival is not held, the entire empire will continue to stagnate and become more and more desolate!”

Then, panic spread to the faces of those who were tired from dealing with the aftermath of the locust swarm.

“That’s right. Please consider the pain of the people of the empire and allow the festival.”

“Your Highness!”

“Please!”

As the voice grew louder and louder, Richard said,

“It’s not a matter of whether or not the festival will be held. As you said, the festival will be held.”

His voice was not very loud, but the hall fell silent for an instant.

Richard tapped the armrest slowly.

“It’s about the interests.”

At his words, the faces of several family heads turned pale.

The count, who lost his son and only heir, and even passed the liquor license to Raisa, was no exception.

Originally, it was the imperial family that gave the licenses for the festival, so the imperial family could take away all of it.

Since it was a right granted a few decades ago or even a hundred years ago, realistically it would not be possible to reap it with a single word, but in principle, it was not impossible.

And if that happened, how could he return the rights he had already lost?

Throwing something of the imperial family’s away was itself a problem that could be accused of ‘treason’ if done wrong.

Their nervousness and anxiety were embodied in Richard’s voice.

“The rights from the imperial family. It’s not something anyone can buy or sell. But. It seems some did.”

The moment when the complexion of those who were stark white turned a death-like gray, and their knees bent by themselves.

“I didn’t do it for a trivial gain.”

In a calm voice, Richard recited all the rights the Marquisate of Neir had usurped.

“And even, the liquor license.”

Marchioness Neir, who had never lifted an eyebrow except for sweating, scrunched her forehead.

A liquor license? That wasn’t on her list.

However, such questions had to be put aside for now.

“Marchioness Neir.”

Ame: ophelia, dear child, chin up, you have to keep trying! And the way it’s richard’s turn to comfort and encourage her! TT_TT and and and and andddddddd the butterfly effect is crazy in this novel, i feel like i need to draw a timeline out lmao

Dea: things are about to go down! And hearts are about to be broken…i’m talking about my heart and it’s because of Ophelia and Richard T^T