“Among the important matters that were omitted in the novel you read earlier, there was also the Dilbat disaster.”

 

She confessed to the various attempts she had made to prevent the Dilbat disaster.

 

She had waited in Dilbat several times ahead of the dragon, but each time she saw not even his shadow before time rewound again.

 

If she herself could not go, then at least she should send troops to protect the city, so she fabricated the excuse of a Saintess’s prophecy, but very few people took it seriously.

 

She had stubbornly insisted, and eventually the smallest unit of the Euphrates Royal Knights, along with a few Astarte Holy Knights, were dispatched to Dilbat, but they let their guard down and ended up caught in the disaster, suffering serious injuries.

 

“And then, just once. There was a time when I arrived exactly at the moment the dragon attacked Dilbat. That was when I happened to witness fireballs falling from the sky above the city.”

 

She added that even then, she had only seen it faintly from afar, and the only thing she could clearly sense was a destructive energy completely different from divine power.

 

On the other hand, I gradually grew somber.

 

‘I asked for more details because I wondered if there might be some small clue related to Selene’s unique ability reacting to the dragon or opposing the god Nanna.’

 

The more I listened to her story of solitary struggle, the more pity I felt.

 

Especially when she mentioned sending troops to protect the city, only for them to get injured as well, my blood pressure rose so much that veins bulged on my forehead.

 

After quietly listening to Selene’s story, I moved my lips for a moment, pondering what kind of comfort to offer, but the sentence that finally came out was simple.

 

“Umm… You must have gone through a lot.”

 

It was because I wasn’t very good with words, and no suitable encouraging phrase came to mind.

 

Instead, I patted Selene’s shoulder that I was holding. She gave a bitter smile and replied.

 

“It’s okay. Thanks to those attempts, I was able to figure out the best possible choice I could make.”

 

The words themselves sounded positive, but her voice was powerless, as if she had given up. I quickly changed the subject before the atmosphere grew any heavier.

 

“Anyway, in conclusion, you must not meet the dragon, right?”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

“Ha, it can’t be helped then. In that case, Selene, please wait here.”

 

I asked her to wait here because I needed to resolve my questions related to Nanna and inform her as well.

 

“Huh? Here…?”

 

For some reason, she looked reluctant.

 

Sensing that she didn’t want to stay here, I asked carefully.

 

“Are you planning to return to the Euphrates Kingdom once the trial is over?”

 

I asked because I was worried that after experiencing all sorts of things this time, she might have grown uncomfortable with the Holy Kingdom. 

 

However, she muttered something incomprehensible.

 

“Ah… So when you said ‘here,’ you meant the Holy Kingdom.”

 

As I tilted my head and mulled over her monologue, I quickly realized what misunderstanding Selene had.

 

“Of course it’s the Holy Kingdom. You didn’t think I was telling you to wait in prison, did you?”

 

The question of whether my character looked that trash-like rose to my throat, but I rationalized that her long prison life must have left her with no leeway, and let it slide.

 

It was about time to wrap up the conversation, so I made my final request.

 

“Oh, right. More importantly, could you keep the fact that I am not Laura Laurus a secret from others?”

 

“Does no one know yet? Not even Lord Yves?”

 

“Yes. Well, I’m not planning to hide it forever, but it doesn’t seem like the right time yet.”

 

“Understood. I promise I’ll keep it even if it costs me my life.”

 

Then Selene firmly grasped my hand and made a resolute vow.

 

“Don’t die, just spill it. Time can’t rewind anyway, right?”

 

“Well, that’s true.”

 

Fortunately, she seemed to accept it readily.

 

“Now that I think about it, you mentioned that if you regress this time, your memories might disappear. That was because you weren’t originally Laura, wasn’t it?”

 

Selene surprisingly remembered the conversation we had in the private prayer room.

While I was recalling that extremely chaotic day, before I could even reply, Selene added with a self-deprecating smile.

 

“But even if I went around talking about it, I doubt anyone would believe me anyway.”

 

“Lord Endymion, who trusts you very much, would probably believe you.”

 

I simply spoke the honest thought that came to mind without any special intention, but unexpectedly Selene burst into clear laughter.

 

“Anyone else maybe, but Lord Endymion absolutely would not believe it.”

 

That was surprising.

 

I hadn’t expected the word “absolutely” to come out of her mouth.

 

“Aren’t you judging too quickly?”

 

“Shall we make a bet? The winner gets one wish granted?”

 

Her bright face, completely free of malice, was filled with conviction.

 

“You seem confident you’ll win?”

 

“Of course. Lord Endymion even dismissed my words about the dragon attacking the city as ridiculous nonsense.”

 

She was right.

 

‘After all, it was a scene that appeared in the game too.’

 

It was even one of the important branching points that split into a happy ending and a bad ending.

 

Endymion had scolded his aide for taking Selene’s nonsense seriously, and she happened to overhear that conversation.

 

‘Honestly, that was partly Endymion’s fault, and it’s even better not to meddle in other people’s love lives, but…’

 

For some reason, it felt like the more these two were left alone, the deeper the misunderstanding would grow.

 

“He’s the old Endymion.”

 

So I defended Endymion with the hope that he would at least slightly notice the difference between his past self and his current self. But she made a statement I could never have imagined.

 

“I don’t think he’s changed much even now.”

 

‘She’s been right beside the completely different Endymion this whole time, how can she not feel the difference?’

 

…That question lasted only a moment.

 

A sudden guess flashed through my mind.

 

Perhaps she was similar to Yves.

 

Just like Yves, she might have noticed that Endymion had changed, but because of all the karma he had accumulated so far, she couldn’t accept the change even after seeing it directly. 

 

With that thought, I cleared my throat and asked in a calm tone.

 

To confirm whether she was clearly aware of Endymion’s change.

 

“Then, Selene, do you think the current Lord Endymion is exactly the same as before?”

 

“Well… I guess he seems a little different.”

 

A little? Just a little?

 

‘Good grief, she’s even worse than Lord Yves.’

 

Unlike Yves, who had deep distrust of people and suspected that the changed Endymion must have some other scheme, the current Selene really didn’t seem to have noticed at all.

 

‘No matter how bad Selene is at reading the atmosphere or picking up on cues, isn’t this too much?’

 

While I was inwardly exclaiming in silent shock, I decided to go through Endymion’s changes step by step.

 

“Wait a moment. Think about it again. Right now, Lord Endymion follows you all the way to the Holy Kingdom. Isn’t that an enormous change compared to the past?”

 

“That was certainly unexpected. However, your secret is an even more absurd story than the dragon’s. Unless someone experiences something strange as I did, they won’t believe it.”

 

“Lord Endymion also has memories from before the regression…”

 

I unconsciously started to reply that he also had memories from before the regression, but I hurriedly shut my mouth.

 

Before meeting Selene, I had given Endymion a splendid piece of advice. I couldn’t be the one to spill his secret first here.

 

‘Still, there’s still hope.’

 

Perhaps because she was mentally and physically exhausted from prison life, there had been several moments today where the meaning of our conversation had gone astray.

 

There was a chance that Selene hadn’t heard it at all, or that she would misunderstand it in some strange way.

Just as I was thinking I had to somehow gloss it over smoothly…

 

“I thought there was something you were hiding… so that was why.”

 

Selene murmured in a noticeably lower voice.

 

“So the reason Lord Endymion suddenly changed was that the memories from the lost time period disappeared.”

 

Anyway, my mouth really had a mind of its own.

 

💫

 

“Lord Yves, I’ll go see Lord Endymion for a bit.”

 

After leaving the prison, I headed straight toward Endymion, simply informing Yves, who was waiting in the corridor, of my purpose.

 

If Yves hadn’t grabbed my wrist.

 

“I’ll go with you.”

 

“It’s fine if you come, but since it’s about Lord Endymion… you might not be able to hear the conversation. Is that okay?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Um…”

 

I couldn’t readily accept.

 

Because I was going to apologize to Endymion, there was a possibility I might show him an unflattering sight.

 

‘I don’t think I’ll end up kneeling, but just in case…’

 

As I was thinking that, Yves accurately read my inner thoughts.

 

“You don’t want me to go with you?”

 

“It’s not that…”

 

I couldn’t just honestly admit it, so I dragged out my words, looking troubled.

 

“Sir Leblanc, you were here! I’ve been looking for you.”

 

A savior appeared right on time.

 

It was Enheduane.

 

“What is it?”

 

“His Holiness the Pope said there is one last thing to confirm before proceeding with Miss Selene’s trial.”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What about Laura…”

 

“Miss Laura is fine. Sir Huluppu gave the statement in her stead.”

 

Nice!

 

‘Thank you, Sir Huluppu.’

 

While I was inwardly thanking Huluppu, Yves, with a stiff face, spoke words of refusal to Enheduane.

 

“I’ll go see him separately later.”

 

“No, you can’t. All the other High Priests are gathered right now, so it has to be done at this time.”

 

“…”

 

“It won’t take much time. About thirty minutes?”

 

I seized the opportunity and helped Enheduane.

 

“It’s rare for all the High Priests and the Pope to be gathered together. Shouldn’t you go quickly?”