NOVEL NEXT Chapter 237
Chapter 237. Childhood Friend – Reunion
“That, that’s…”
“Your Highness, please step back.”
When Lloyd Agnac hesitated and stammered, the crusader knight guarding the prince, Sir Manon, intervened without hesitation. He stepped forward, blocking the prince from his own guards and distancing him from them.
The prince frowned.
But, bound by the countless rules of the Church, the prince had little choice. He endured the rudeness of the elderly Crusader who seemed to be watching his every move and spoke.
“It’s alright. If possible, I’d like to hear what Sir Lloyd and those people have to say.”
“They are criminals! There’s no reason for Your Highness to converse with them. And how did they know Your Highness would be here? Sir Lloyd must be in league with them. Leave this matter to me and quickly retreat to safety.”
“But they haven’t even drawn their swords. This doesn’t seem like a situation to overreact to. Sir Crusader, please assess the situation. And Sir Lloyd.”
“…Yes.”
“I have deeply trusted and followed you as my guard and swordsmanship teacher. Explain your relationship with these people.”
“…I don’t know them.”
“Sir Lloyd! You don’t need to fear retaliation from Count Simon! This gentleman is a Swordmaster, and he has agreed to help us.”
At Bryan’s words, the prince, the Crusader, and Lloyd’s gaze all turned to Lev. Lev cleared his throat and showed his respect to the prince.
[Achievement: First Meeting with the Prince – Earns slight favor from all princes.]
[Achievement: Meeting Cleo de Frederick – Earns slight favor from all nobles serving the Frederick royal family. Earns slight favor from Cleo de Frederick.]
From there, things progressed swiftly.
When Sir Lloyd revealed that he was the last heir of House Agnac and Bryan recounted the past events surrounding the Agnac barony and the suspicious actions of the Church, joy spread across the face of Prince Cleo de Frederick, who had been filled with resignation in his rich, reddish-brown hair and green eyes.
When Lev subtly mentioned Cardinal Mihaer, the prince could hardly contain his smile.
“Your Highness! Do you believe the words of these criminals? Their intention is to drive a wedge between the Church and the royal family. Do not be deceived by their lies; act wisely.”
At that moment, Sir Manon intervened. He had always believed that the prince, who dutifully followed the Church’s rules without question, would maintain his stance, but Prince Frederick silenced him.
“Shut your mouth.”
The prince overpowered the Crusader’s words.
“I know well what the Church thinks of our royal family. I will not overlook this matter, so Sir Manon, you may leave now. No, I command you to leave.”
“How, how can Your Highness say such a thing? And according to the decree of Krancher de Frederick I, founder of the Holy Kingdom of Jerome, the prince must be guarded by a Crusader…”
“Decree 13, Article 1! The Cross Church must not damage the authority of the Frederick royal family.”
Cleo de Frederick spoke quickly, as if he had been waiting for this day.
“Decree 13, Article 1, Appendix 1. Should any external or domestic activities of the Cross Church cause damage to the authority of the Frederick royal family, members of the Frederick family have the right to veto the above 12 articles. Based on this, I refuse the Church’s assistance concerning Article 6 on royal protocol.”
“But, but these are unproven accusations. How can you assume the royal family’s authority has been damaged based on the words of such people?”
“Such people? Are you referring to me?”
Lev swiftly interjected.
With a slow southern drawl that emphasized he was a foreigner, Lev intimidated them, daring them to dismiss the testimony of a Swordmaster.
When Lev’s ten disciples also glared menacingly, Sir Manon, feeling outmatched both in strength and justification, closed his mouth.
Face red with anger, Sir Manon retreated, and Lev shook hands with the prince.
“Thank you. I will now return to the palace. Would you like to come with me? I intend to inform the king of this matter.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to meet the king, but there is something urgent I must do first. If you could let us into the inner city, I will take care of my business and come to you.”
“Then I will lend you a residence. I will assign a steward to you; you can speak to him to gain access to the palace. We will also look into ways to remove the mark.”
The prince spoke with careful consideration.
He was preemptively securing Lev’s cooperation, thinking Lev might not come otherwise. With no reason to refuse, Lev smiled and agreed.
How could things be progressing so smoothly?
Lev felt he was riding the flow desired by the deity. And he believed it would continue this way, until…
“You bastard. I’ve finally found you.”
As Lev descended the mountain with the prince and entered Rutetia, a burly young man at an inn rushed at him, swinging his fist without warning.
[Forced Termination: Lena’s Murder 2/3]
It was Leo Dexter, who remembered Lena Einarr’s murder from previous cycles.
* * *
“When are we going home?”
“Let’s explore a few more days. Isn’t this place amazing?”
“I suppose it is…”
Lena Einarr replied curtly.
She wanted to return to Castle Avril quickly but couldn’t rush Leo. The best she could do was trail off at the end of her sentences, something that was uncharacteristic for her.
After all, her fiancé was the great Swordmaster. Someone like her could never hope to measure up, no matter how hard she tried…
The disappointment that threatened to overwhelm her was held at bay by the bright smile she forced herself to wear.
Smile.
Smiling makes you feel better.
It was her little trick.
If she lifted the corners of her mouth high enough, she could trick herself into feeling happier.
“Fine! What’s a few more days? Besides, I like this inn.”
Though the smile was forced, it wasn’t a lie. The inn was quite expensive, with excellent facilities and delicious food. She especially liked the bed.
It seemed all she could do now was share this bed with Leo. She had considered learning to cook, but honestly, she lacked the confidence.
Just then, Leo grabbed her suddenly. “Huh? What’s wrong?” she asked, but his reply came a bit late.
“Let’s take a walk.”
“Suddenly? A walk sounds nice. But you know, you sometimes take forever to respond. You seem so out of it… you weren’t like this before.”
– Slap!
Lena playfully slapped the Swordmaster’s back. Leo, walking on, didn’t react.
It always made her heart sink when he did that.
Fortunately, Leo eventually joked, “Ouch! That hurt,” turning what could have been an awkward stroll into a light-hearted one.
Just then, Leo stopped abruptly. Staring blankly at the entrance in the distance, he suddenly turned around and hugged her tightly.
“Huh? What’s gotten into you now?”
Sometimes, Leo’s actions lacked context, and Lena was used to it. But this time, something was different.
His arms trembled as he held her, his breathing became ragged, causing his chest to rise and fall, and the jaw that rested on the back of her neck was clenched tightly.
Is he crying?
Although she couldn’t see, Lena had that thought. Feeling immensely uneasy, she pushed Leo away and was about to say something when…
His clear eyes, filled with intense emotion, looked straight at her. With a face full of various emotions, he gently stroked her cheek.
“I love you.”
“What, what’s with the sudden outburst?”
“…”
Leo’s gaze was intense. So intense that it was embarrassing. So embarrassing that it made her giggle.
Although she had heard the words “I love you” countless times, it felt like she was hearing a genuine confession for the first time. Lena Einarr glanced at him shyly and pulled him closer by the neck.
“Shall we go inside?”
“…Alright. But wait a moment, you go on ahead. I’ll be up shortly.”
Barely five minutes into their walk, Lena returned to the inn, while Leo Dexter watched her contentedly as she walked away. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions.
He was trying to control his feelings.
But as he reflected on the events of the past and present cycles, his anger became uncontrollable. Memories of other scenarios slowly surfaced, revealing the context, but as Leo turned around, he sought someone to vent his anger on.
“You bastard. I’ve finally found you.”
– Whoosh!
Leo Dexter’s fist sliced through the air. Lev, narrowly dodging the punch, took a step back and spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
– Whoosh!
“I said I’m sorry. You know I wasn’t in my right mind back then…”
– Whoosh!
“I’m really sorry!”
– Thud!
Eventually, Leo’s fist struck Lev’s solar plexus. Despite also being a Swordmaster and nearly unrivaled in one-on-one combat, Lev was no match for Leo Dexter.
For one, the size difference was enormous.
Lev had to stand on tiptoes to reach Leo’s chin, and Leo’s broad shoulders made Lev seem like a woman’s build when hugging him… It was a huge blow to Lev’s pride, but it was the truth.
Moreover, Lev was just a boy from a remote mountain village.
Though his achievements had piled up to this point, they couldn’t compare to Leo Dexter’s natural talent and years of swordsmanship training. Even the ‘Monster Hunting’ achievement counter was different.
Leo Dexter still had the original count of 3, while Lev had used 2 in the beggar siblings cycle and gained one by killing Oantahu, making his count 2, thus widening the gap further.
The result was evident.
If they had fought with swords, the situation might have been different, but Lev couldn’t avoid Leo’s lightning-fast punch.
Struck in the solar plexus, Lev fell backward, clutching his chest, while Leo, unable to contain his anger, seethed.
The reason for Leo Dexter’s rage…
“How dare you kill Lena? I told you I’d get revenge.”
“…You did.”
– “Grgh… you, bastard. I’ll, I’ll kill you. I swear, I’ll avenge…”
It was in the 13th childhood friend cycle.
Lev, who had become an apostle of Barbatos, killed Lena Einarr and Leo Dexter in succession, altering the 11th engagement scenario that had proceeded due to the broken engagement. The subsequent engagement scenario, the 14th cycle, was forgotten because Minseo lost his mind.
A gap was missing.
In this 17th cycle, Leo Dexter, who has just become a Swordmaster, recalls the 11th cycle of his past life as one where he was killed by an apostle of Barbatos.
This is what fuels his anger.
As he mechanically followed past actions until now, meeting Lev has just brought his memories back to life. The memories of that previous cycle are still vivid.
Moreover, this engagement scenario is not going well either.
Although he has become a Swordmaster, Lena has given up on her dreams, and he came here with her, trying to comfort her in her sadness.
Leo spoke gruffly.
“Is saying sorry all you can do? You killed people, and saying sorry won’t bring them back.”
“…But they’re back alive.”
“Do you really want to die?”
So what does he want me to do? Yes, I did something wrong, but was I the only one at fault? And why is he fixated on just his own cycle?
Lev felt a surge of anger but managed to hold it back. He bit back a sigh that was about to escape, trying to avoid provoking Leo further, and apologized again.
Whether it was the blow he had landed on Leo or the gradually resurfacing memories of other cycles that revealed how sorry Lev truly was, Leo eventually calmed down, though his anger was not entirely gone. He issued an edict to leave.
“You understand why you’re here and why I am here. Just go. I don’t want to see you anymore. Come back tomorrow.”
“…Alright. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Lev brushed off his clothes and stood up. But before he turned away, he called out to Leo with a warning.
“By the way, be careful. In the previous cycle, Lena got pregnant. On the way back to April Castle.”
“…What?”
“She might already be pregnant. We should keep an eye on it. Considering the timing, it was around this period that she could have gotten pregnant, so you should be careful about contraception from now on…”
“Shut up.”
Leo Dexter turned around with a fierce glare.
“I know you know everything, but this pisses me off, so keep your mouth shut. Lena and I are the ones in a relationship, not you or Minseo. And if we’re talking about it, I’ve been married to Leah too.”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“I know what you’re trying to say… Damn it.”
Leo Dexter gritted his teeth and walked away. Lev stood there for a moment, dazed.
In the early stages of the scenario, the ‘Leos’ are usually like this—consumed by anger and resentment, with a sense of victimhood.
Leo Dexter, in particular, was intense. His personality played a part, but being engaged to Lena in this cycle had a significant impact on his emotions.
At least it’s fortunate that ‘Lenas’ reach out to him at the start of each cycle. If Lena Einarr had not been there, Leo Dexter’s anger would not have ended with just a punch.
Holding his aching chest, Lev walked back to the mansion loaned to him by Prince Cleo de Frederick. He thought to himself that this guy is definitely different from Leanne de Yerriel.
After all, this guy is his younger brother.
Our beautiful and pure-hearted younger brother…
He suddenly remembered that his younger sister was in the southeast. Leanne de Yerriel had set out on his journey very slowly for some reason and had only recently arrived in Rutina.