Prologue

His wife had died.

Zecard Evanhardt couldn’t believe it.

When he first saw his wife’s corpse, he thought he must be trapped in a terrible nightmare.

Why?

Faced with the horrific tragedy unfolding before his eyes, his heart shattered into pieces.

Even putting it mildly, Zecard’s marriage had been far from happy.

And yet, Zecard loved Ines. Although she didn’t love him, and had even tried to betray him several times, he turned a blind eye to everything.

〈I didn’t do it. Please believe me.〉

Whenever he saw his wife pleading with tears in her eyes, it felt as though his own heart were being torn apart.

No, perhaps he had simply needed to believe her.

If he truly acknowledged her guilt, Zecard would have no choice but to cast her aside.

That was the one thing he could never accept.

〈I’ll keep watch over her myself. Don’t bring up this matter again.〉

When he said those words to his vassals and subordinates, it was a desperate struggle to hold on to his wife at all costs.

Never imagining that things would end this way.

Zecard knelt before his wife’s corpse. Then, he carefully lifted her body and cradled her in his arms.

His wife lay still with her eyes closed, as though she were asleep.

Apart from her pallid complexion and the single drop of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, she looked just as she always had. He could almost believe she had merely fallen asleep.

“Ines…”

Zecard repeated his wife’s name, biting down hard on his lip.

The moment he finally accepted her death, the last remnants of his humanity crumbled away completely.

He could never accept this reality.

From that day onward, Zecard went completely mad.

Abandoning both his territory and his official duties, he ran rampant as a merciless killer.

He tore through the entire empire, determined to find and avenge the person who had killed his wife.

Everyone lamented the downfall of Zecard Evanhardt, the great hero who had once saved the nation.

“What was so special about that woman?!”

Zecard’s wife, Ines Evanhardt, was infamous throughout the empire as a wicked wife.

There had even been rumors in the past that the Duke of Evanhardt loved the Saintess rather than his own wife. Although people feared the man he had become, they couldn’t understand why he had gone so mad over the death of a woman who had been nothing but a terrible wife.

Years passed.

At long last, Zecard uncovered the secrets surrounding his wife’s death and mercilessly slaughtered everyone who had driven her to her demise.

Countless people died.

Innocent priests who tried to stop him and heroes who sought to punish the wicked all fell by his hand. Everyone trembled at the sight of such brutal and horrifying slaughter.

By then, no one remembered Zecard Evanhardt as a hero anymore.

“There is no way to bring the dead back to life.”

The priest, who had been dragged before Zecard and forced to examine Ines’s corpse, spoke in a trembling voice.

“With my divine power, all I can do is preserve her body in its current state so that it won’t deteriorate any further.”

According to the priest, death belonged entirely to the domain of God, and humans dared not interfere. No, he couldn’t even guarantee that the almighty God Himself could truly bring someone back to life.

“So please, it’s time to… let your wife go.”

But Zecard couldn’t accept that.

No. He had to bring Ines back to life.

I still have something to tell her…

Amid the hellish agony, Zecard gazed at his wife’s pale face and made a vow.

If only God knew the solution, he would find Him and bring his wife back to life, no matter what it took.

Of course, everyone who learned of his plan was horrified.

‘Zecard Evanhardt must have gone completely insane.’

Even his subordinates, who had remained loyal to him until then, opposed the idea.

God?

He wasn’t even sure whether he could meet such a being, let alone ask for a favor.

Even if he somehow managed to stand before God through sheer luck, there was no guarantee that God would grant his request.

Nevertheless, Zecard ultimately succeeded in meeting God.

He endured countless agonies along the way.

Trying to meet God in the frail body of a mere mortal was reckless in itself.

But Zecard was prepared to sacrifice everything he had, and that was exactly what he did.

At last, he stood face-to-face with God.

What extraordinary determination you possess.

Looking at Zecard, who was covered in wounds and bleeding profusely, God expressed genuine admiration.

Why have you gone to such lengths to find me?

Zecard spat out his answer through clenched teeth.

“Please bring my wife back to life.”

In his arms lay Ines’s corpse. Despite the horrific hardships and trials he had endured, not a single scratch had marred her body.

What a relentless love you have.

Zecard’s eyes blazed as he looked up at God. Even standing before an absolute being, his gaze never wavered.

Watching him, God smiled.

But that is impossible. It is not within my authority.

At those words, Zecard released such murderous intent that it seemed he was about to strike God down on the spot. But before he could move, God’s voice rang out once more.

There is another way.

“…What is it?”

God smiled benevolently and spoke.

I shall turn back time.

Zecard’s heart lurched.

To the moment before everything happened, when you can still set right your mistakes.

Once he understood what those words meant, Zecard was shaken to his core.

He could return to the time before his wife’s death.

To the days when Ines was still alive.

Well? Will you try?

Zecard bit his lip without realizing it.

“…What must I do?”

He had already paid a tremendous price just to reach God.

He couldn’t begin to imagine how much more he would have to sacrifice to perform the miracle of turning back time.

Yet God merely smiled.

You need to do nothing. However, in exchange, I shall take away what you cherish most.

God’s long finger pointed toward Ines, who lay in Zecard’s arms.

When you return to the past, she will lose her love for you.

Love.

Zecard instinctively tightened his arms around Ines, gripped by the fear that he might lose her forever.

She would no longer love me…

Even imagining the possibility made his heart feel as though it were being squeezed in a vise.

In truth, while Ines had still been alive, Zecard hadn’t known that she loved him.

It was only after her death, when he investigated the truth, that he belatedly discovered she had loved him all along.

Once he learned the truth, Zecard was consumed by bitter regret. He had finally realized that his own foolishness and obtuseness had caused her so much pain.

That was why, if he ever had the chance to meet Ines again, there was something he desperately wanted to tell her.

The truth was, he loved her, too…

Make your decision. What will you do?

At the sound of God’s majestic voice, Zecard lifted his head.

He no longer hesitated.

“…I will do it. Please turn back time.”

At his resolute answer, the smile on God’s face grew wider.

I shall give you some time to say your final farewell.

Zecard gazed at his wife in his arms.

Everything would be set right now.

Even if, when she opened her eyes again, she would no longer love him.

Unable to tear his eyes away from Ines’s face for a long time, Zecard bowed his head and reverently kissed her forehead.

“…Next time, I will be the one to approach you first.”

Soon, their bodies were enveloped in a sacred light.

Zecard felt his consciousness slowly slipping away.

Memories of his wife flashed through his mind like scenes from a revolving lantern.

Their time together had been brief and filled with hardship, but they had shared happy moments, too.

They were memories of two people who had loved each other through their eyes and actions, even though they had never openly shared their feelings.

But those moments would never happen again. As the price of regression, Ines would no longer love him.

‘…It’s all right. This time, I’ll set everything right.’

As his consciousness faded, Zecard pulled his wife into one final, tight embrace.

And so, Zecard returned to the past.

Leaving everything behind.

The past that no one else would ever remember remained only in Zecard’s heart…