Chapter 02

“I am sorry that I couldn’t trust your word, even though you were speaking the truth.”

The Prince lowered his head slightly. His dark hair, flowing down to his shoulders, swayed accordingly. At a glance, his androgynous appearance could easily be mistaken for a woman’s.

No, even upon closer examination, his androgynous appearance was enough for him to be unquestioningly accepted as a woman had he claimed to be one. I was surprised since the Prince didn’t match my previous expectations.

“I thought I’d be expelled on the very first day.”

And expelled by the heir apparent no less. After silently brushing over my chest, I calmly gave my answer.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I wouldn’t believe it myself, had I not experienced it first hand. Who would believe such an implausible excuse? I would be glad if I could escape without hearing a rebuke for my nonsense.”

“Hahaha! That’s a relief!”

At the sight of the Prince, wholly divested of suspicion, my tension eased, and I leaned back in my chair.

So, this woman started crying out of nowhere, frightened by my presence? Even by my own standards, the excuse was hard to believe.

If I, the person involved, feel this way, how must he have felt walking in halfway? Naturally, he didn’t believe it. He tried to call me out for a more detailed explanation.

The one who resolved the situation for me was the woman with orange hair. The moment we tried to go out, she got up rapidly as if she was on fire and clung to my sleeve.

Throughout her sobbing, she affirmed that what I said was true several times, helping clear up the misunderstanding.

“You shouldn’t be in that state in front of the podium, but there’s still plenty of time left. No matter how short the proceedings, it’ll last at least an hour.”

If it’s proceedings, does it refer to the director and principal’s speeches? Even in the novel, the teachings were repetitious.

“I will take care of it. There seems to be some unknown relationship between the two of you. You seem more suited for the role than I do.”

The Prince subtly whispered, watching us. The woman with orange hair was crying, holding onto my sleeve as tightly as ever.

A relationship would imply I have met her before today. He seemed to have had the wrong impression.

“Come back 10 minutes before my turn. If you need more time, let me know. I can  make up for about an hour on my own.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I will try my best to avoid such circumstances.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Also…”

His voice lowered. The smile disappeared from his androgynous face in an instant.

“Remember, this is not just a simple favor. I am also curious as to why she reacted that way.”

“Yes. I’ll remember.”

He meant that he wants me to tell him why the woman with the orange hair cried later.

Given that, he could at least have kind intentions. Why would the heir apparent do such a huge favor for someone he just met?

Since he is the youngest son of the Crate family, it’s possible he did some background check on me, but he was undoubtedly meeting me for the first time.

“I’ll go for now. I’ll come back later.”

After the Prince left, it was just the two of us. Still, the woman with the orange hair didn’t let go of my sleeve.

Her eyes were red from crying for more than 10 minutes, her voice was hoarse, and her body was soaked with tears. Despite that, she was still holding onto my clothes and didn’t intend to let go.

“Have you calmed down a bit now?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. Then first let this hand go—”

“No, I can’t! I can’t!”

The girl lunged forward, not grabbing my sleeve but my wrist. It was momentary, but the force was strong enough to make me falter. Her eyes, looking up at me, held a hint of obsession bordered on madness.

“I’m not going anywhere. Why should I, when the Crown Prince himself commanded to ask you why you were crying?”

“But still…”

Despite my protest and bringing up the Crown Prince’s name, she was obstinate. I let out a deep sigh and straightened my posture. It can’t be helped. I, as the sane one, should give in first.

“Okay, fine. Do whatever you want.”

“…Thank you.”

“So, why were you crying?”

She launched right into the topic. Upon hearing my question, the girl blankly paused for a moment, then gently caressed the hand she was holding.

“I’m happy. I’m so happy that I…”

“Happy? About what?”

“You came in…”

“We just met for the first time today, didn’t we?”

Just what possible reason could a girl I met for the first time today have for crying out of happiness at the sight of me? I pondered, but however hard I tried, I couldn’t think of a reason.

“No, it’s not that… Ideally, I mean… instead of you, another person should have come in. Aria April, she was supposed to be the top of the freshman year…”

“Huh?”

A familiar name caught my attention. Aria April. The blond-haired girl who introduced herself as class vice-president. The fact that she was supposed to be the top of the freshman class only compounded my confusion.

“‘She was supposed to be the freshman leader’, what do you mean by that?”

However, something else she said couldn’t simply be overlooked.

“Well, it’s like this…”

She tightened her hold on my hand, her grip so strong that her knuckles turned white. The red-haired girl was silent for a while, then with difficulty, opened her mouth to speak.

“The truth is… I have been reincarnated.”

That’s one hell of a secret.

“So, if I put together what you’ve said—”

“Don’t call me senior. Like I told you. My name is Priscilla Agnes.”

“It all comes down to what Priscilla, I mean senior—”

“Just call me by my name.”

“Priscilla senior—”

“You don’t need honorifics.”

“So, if I put together what you’ve said, Priscilla…”

Only then did Priscilla nod in satisfaction. She was still clinging to me, not letting go of my hand.

“You are a person who reincarnated into this world much earlier than me, and even though you saw the ending, the cycle of reincarnation kept repeating, driving you to the brink of losing your sanity.”

Nod, nod, Priscilla nodded more vigorously than before. I leaned back on the couch. Priscilla, perhaps fearing that I’d go away, hastily leaned toward me. Her dropped shoulder came into contact with mine again.

I was overwhelmed. I had never imagined that someone else had been trapped here before me, let alone so long ago.

What’s more, to see her so devastated.

“Do you not remember how many times you’ve regressed?”

“No, I stopped counting after the 100th time… It felt like I was just increasing my despair if I kept counting… That’s why…”

‘How awful.’

I felt a chill run down my spine as I listened to her.

Starting as a 15-year-old Priscilla Agnes, she would reach the novel’s ending at 20, which meant she had to have lived at least 500 years so far.

To think that she had been reincarnated multiple times in those immense years was mind-boggling enough, but there were even more terrifying facts to consider.

“It’s warm…”

As I shivered and my words trailed off, Priscilla giggled recklessly and rubbed my hand against her cheek. She didn’t mind that her plump cheeks were squished into a strange face.

‘I wondered why she was so insistent about physical contact.’

The most terrible thing was the fact that Priscilla lost control of her body and was involuntarily made to move like a character in an ‘original work’ whenever she tried to break away.

Just like a linear adventure game forces a player to stick to a certain route or kills the player if they deviate, it was the same for Priscilla.

Actually, it was even worse. At least in those games, the player’s control isn’t snatched away just because they go somewhere else.

‘I miss the warmth.’

At first, I wondered why she wouldn’t let go of my sleeve, but having heard her explanation, felt infinite compassion for her.

Ever since she possessed this work, she had been living for hundreds of years as Priscilla Agnes.

It would be painful enough if regression repeated hundreds of years, but Priscilla couldn’t even do what she wanted. It was impressive that she was even able to keep her sense of self.

‘Your constraints lifted after meeting me, right?’

‘Yes, the reason I’m able to act like this now, it’s all thanks to you…’

Tears welled up again in her light brown eyes.

She had been sitting without moving as was written in the ‘original work’, waiting for Aria April. As soon as she realized I came in, she was able to move freely.

Unbeknownst to herself, tears came rushing out as soon as she realized that fact.

‘Listen, I don’t know how this will sound to you.’

I laid my hand on top of Priscilla’s. She looked at me with a surprised face.

‘You’ve been through a lot. Really.’

These were sincere words. Though I’ve had the experience of being dragged into another work once and surviving, I couldn’t dare imagine the pain Priscilla must have gone through.

Upon hearing my words of comfort, Priscilla’s tear-soaked eyes widened, then her body shook, and she began to cry heavy tears again.

‘Thank… thank, you…’

And then, the door opened and a gender-neutral voice came in.

‘I distinctly remember telling you to console her, not make her cry again.’

Unbelievably, no matter what when he comes here, it always on the the worst moment. Checking the clock, nearly an hour and a half had passed. As expected, it had taken unbearably long.

‘There was an unavoidable circumstance.’

‘Hmm, really? I couldn’t trust your words before, but I’ll trust you this time.’

The Crown Prince, who glanced at me, stepped back. Although his words claimed trust, his actions likely came from reading Priscilla’s expression.

Priscilla was crying while wearing a smile brighter than before, a significant enough difference from before.

‘Let’s end this chatter. In about 10 minutes, our turn will come to reveal our ambitions as head students in front of thousands. What are you going to do?’

Immediately upon hearing those words, Priscilla reacted. Her shoulders retracted, thighs pallid, body shaking. It was a natural reaction from having done this hundreds of times.

I paused to think, then used magic to retrieve the speech Priscilla originally preparated and was forced to tell every regression.

‘Hmm?’

‘Uh?’

As I shredded the retrieved speech, both the Crown Prince and Priscilla expressed their reactions. One sparkled with curiosity, while the other opened there eyes wide.

The shredded piece of the speech fluttered softly. With a flick of my fingers, I even destroyed the debris into ashes. The prince’s half-covered crimson eyes stared at me.

‘I want to know why you did what you did. Did you have a special reason to act like that in front of me? One that would convince me?’

‘I’m trying to do some good for the students. And for senior Priscilla too.’

The Crown Prince didn’t show any particular reaction, his eyes just sparkled. It seemed like a sign to keep talking.

‘Since the previous speech was so long, shouldn’t we try to keep ours short?’