Chapter 7……………………………………………
The Way to Disappearance
“What is it, Rowell?”
Contrary to Leon’s thought that she would handle things on her own, Rowell was barely avoiding the worst possible outcome.
“Who is that?”
Aria’s green eyes fixed on Rowell, filled with suspicion.
“Uh… well…”
Rowell felt as though every drop of saliva in her mouth had dried up. This kind of sudden encounter hadn’t been part of her plan.
“…Is that the person you said you’re seeing?”
When Rowell showed no sign of answering, Aria cautiously asked.
At those words, Rowell looked at Aria. The panic vanished from her eyes in an instant.
“Ah, yes. Haha. He said it was fine, but he really insisted on walking me back.”
Rowell laughed awkwardly, fiddling with the petals of the bouquet of roses she was holding. Thankfully, she hadn’t forgotten to bring the bouquet Leon had given her. Either way, it was one more piece of evidence.
“I see.”
At that, Aria’s eyes immediately softened. It seemed she hadn’t noticed anything strange in Rowell’s words—or perhaps she was pretending not to notice.
Phew.
Seeing that change, Rowell finally relaxed and managed to calm her racing heart.
But when the ominous word “No” slipped from Aria’s lips, Rowell’s relief evaporated in an instant.
“Wait. Rowell, could it be that you…?”
Only then did Rowell realize her mistake—she had used magic right in front of Aria.
“N-no, my lady, that just now was—”
Her lips trembling, Rowell hurriedly tried to explain.
“Is the person you’re seeing a noble?”
But Aria’s question was completely unexpected.
“…What?”
“That magic just now.”
“Oh.”
Fortunately—or unfortunately—Aria had never even considered the possibility that a commoner like Rowell might possess mana.
“Ah, yes. Somehow, it just happened…”
Under Aria’s probing gaze, Rowell answered slowly.
It was Rowell who had used the magic, but it was also true that the person she was seeing was a noble—so it wasn’t a complete lie.
“Does he treat you well?”
Aria fell silent for a moment at Rowell’s reply, then returned to her usual gentle tone. To Rowell, it seemed Aria had no intention of digging deeper into the matter.
“…Yes. He does.”
“I see. Then that’s enough.”
Aria replied casually and smiled softly.
“I woke up and you weren’t there, so I came out to look for you—and ran into you right away.”
As if nothing had happened at all, Aria smoothly changed the subject.
“You’re not going to ask anything else?”
Ironically, that only made Rowell more flustered.
“It’s fine. You trust me, don’t you? I trust you too.”
Aria suddenly lowered her head to meet Rowell’s gaze. The trust and affection in Aria’s eyes flowed straight into Rowell through their locked eyes.
“……”
Because of that, Rowell felt as if an invisible conscience were poking her right in front of her eyes.
“Shall we go? If we’re any later, people will notice that we both went out.”
With a gentle hand, Aria softly wrapped her fingers around Rowell’s.
“The Grand Duke has returned!”
A voice echoed throughout the ducal residence, breaking the calm morning Aria and Rowell had been enjoying.
“Father?”
Aria set down her teacup and walked toward the window. Sure enough, a lavish carriage was entering the garden.
“Welcome home, Father.”
“You’ve worked hard, Father.”
In the center of the hall, where dry greetings were exchanged between family members, all the servants of the estate had gathered—unusual for this hour.
“Mm.”
The man receiving those greetings was a middle-aged man with a weary face.
Delric Heinstein—the Duke of the Khan Empire and head of the Heinstein family—had just returned home after spending several months inspecting his territory.
Having been away for so long, one might expect a warm word for his children, but his expression remained cold.
“Aria. The Imperial Knight Order has sent word that they wish to see you. They’ll be visiting in an hour, so prepare to receive them. I need to head out again.”
“…What?”
That startled response came not from Aria, but from her older brother, Sion.
Instantly, Delric’s tired eyes sharpened as they fixed on his son.
“Ah—no. I apologize.”
Sion immediately bowed his head in apology.
“Tsk.”
Delric clicked his tongue once and turned away, leaving the hall.
“…….”
Until their father had completely disappeared from sight, Sion remained standing still, his eyes fixed on the floor.
Exactly one hour later, just as the Duke had said, the Imperial Knight Order arrived at the Heinstein estate.
“A war… you say?”
“Yes. Recently, large groups of monsters have been sighted near the border. The Order believes this is a sign that war is imminent.”
“But the demon race sending monsters isn’t exactly rare, is it?”
“That’s true, but this is the first time they’ve been this blatant. There are simply too many—we don’t have enough knights to handle it alone.”
The man bearing the emblem of the Imperial Knight Order wore a troubled expression.
“We’ve heard that Lady Aria Heinstein can use healing-type mana. If you would participate in this war—”
“No.”
A sudden voice cut off the knight’s earnest request.
“My sister is frail. That’s why she spent part of her childhood recuperating in the countryside.”
Sion said this while turning to look at Aria, deliberately putting on a worried expression.
“More importantly, Aria has never properly learned magic. Even if she were to participate in the war, she wouldn’t be of much help.”
With his brows drawn low, Sion added his words. To anyone watching, he looked like a devoted older brother who deeply cherished his sister.
A lie. He’s just afraid she’ll stand out even a little if she goes to war.
Standing behind them and pouring tea into a cup, Rowell thought bitterly.
Sion, the heir of the Heinstein family, had always envied his sister for being born with mana. He was the kind of person whose mind was filled only with ways to remove his sister from his sight, rather than enjoying the wealth and honor that would come to him regardless.
Well, either way, my lady won’t go to war.
Regardless of her opinion of Sion, Rowell was certain of that. Remembering all the regressions so far, it was obvious. Aria, knowing that death led to regression, had no reason to throw herself into a battlefield.
“I will go.”
But the moment those words left Aria’s mouth, everyone—including Rowell—turned to look at her. Even the knight of the Imperial Order, who hadn’t expected a positive answer, widened his eyes.
“I will participate. In this war.”
Ignoring all those reactions, Aria spoke with firm resolve, wearing an expression Rowell had never seen on her before.
Yesterday she was complaining about how hard it was, and today she’s doing just fine again.
That night, as usual, Leon watched Rowell train her mana in his tower and thought as much. With a steady flow of mana wrapping around her body, Rowell was practicing far more diligently than the day before.
“Ugh, I need a short break.”
Before long, Rowell collapsed face-first onto the table. Leon thought, Figures, but seeing her gasping for breath, he decided to allow her a brief rest.
She’s exhausted.
At that moment, Rowell stared blankly ahead, thinking that she truly needed a real break.
Working at the estate during the day and learning magic at night—it was a grueling schedule. It was only natural that her body was protesting.
“……”
While Rowell lay there looking half-dead, Leon sat across from her, trying his hardest to refocus on the book he had been reading. No matter how much he tried, though, it was difficult to completely ignore the person sprawled out right in front of him.
Eventually, after Rowell shifted restlessly on the table a few more times, Leon let out a long sigh and waved his hand through the air.
“…Huh?”
A warm, deep fragrance began to envelop Rowell.
Following the scent, she saw Leon murmuring something under his breath, his eyes still fixed on his book. From the movement of his lips, Rowell recognized the incantation for a stamina recovery spell.
“Did you cast magic on me?”
Recognizing the spell, Rowell asked in surprise, her mouth falling open.
Leon didn’t answer. Instead, he raised one eyebrow in response.
“Hmph….”
At that arrogant reaction, Rowell narrowed her eyes—then gave up. She was genuinely exhausted, and the fragrance surrounding her was more than enough to calm even her irritation.
“Hey.”
After a little more time had passed, Rowell suddenly called out to Leon.
“Why doesn’t my mana have any scent?”
Still lying face-down, she asked with her eyes closed, savoring the fragrance of Leon’s mana.
Leon’s scent was warm yet strangely mysterious, filling her lungs in a way that felt oddly fitting for him.
“A scent only spreads when your proficiency is high enough. You’ve just started learning, so your mana doesn’t have one yet.”
“I see.”
With that, Leon thought the conversation was over. He moved his eyes back to the page he hadn’t been able to read at all and tried to focus on the characters—
“But when are we going to live together?”
At those words, Leon’s eyes were forced away from the book yet again.
“That again. You know this already—marriage isn’t something you can do the moment you feel like it. Even if I’ve left my family, I still need time to prepare if I want to be completely free of their interference.”
“I’m sorry. I just keep thinking there isn’t much time, and it slips out.”
Contrary to Leon’s expectation of a dissatisfied rebuttal, Rowell’s voice quickly drooped.
“You…”
A few seconds later, all of Leon’s movements stopped. More precisely, the sudden sight of tears streaming down Rowell’s face brought him to a halt.
“Lady Aria… is thinking about disappearing.”
The damp words spilled from Rowell’s lips. With every word, the events of that morning involving Aria replayed in her mind, one scene after another.
The Demon Race’s Dimension—Annihilation and Time.
After the Imperial Knights had left, Rowell had found that book beneath Aria’s pillow while tidying up the bedroom.
Aria’s declaration that she would go to war, and that ominous title.
Rowell immediately understood the conclusion Aria had reached after countless regressions.
“If my lady disappears from this world…”
Her trembling voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Rowell remembered every moment of Aria’s life.
From the Aria who had taken care of her when she first woke up in this world knowing nothing, to the Aria who burned with resolve after the first regression, to the Aria who slowly began to despair under the weight of endless repetition.
And in every single one of those moments, the warm gaze that had always been directed at her.
Rowell remembered it all.
“……”
At last, tears fell from her eyes.
“I don’t want to lose someone precious to me.”
With her vision blurred by tears, Rowell covered her face with her hands and murmured. She could feel the tears slipping through her fingers as they fell.
