Chapter 4

After three days, Adele's face looked less exhausted than the first time I saw her. Back then, she appeared as if she was about to collapse, but now she only looked mildly fatigued.

‘That means she must have regressed a lot at that time.’

Each regression comes with a certain amount of pain, so her exhaustion would have been much worse. But that doesn’t mean I feel sorry for her. After all, it's her burden to bear.

‘…I must be losing it too.’

Every time something like this happens, I realize just how much I've changed.

To think I was once just a regular college student who volunteered in my spare time—now, look at me.

All I can do is sigh.

"Do you have any more questions?"

"…No. Nothing in particular."

"Then let's discuss the contract."

-Snap!

With a snap of my fingers, a piece of paper materialized from thin air and landed on the table. Adele picked it up and began reading through the contents.

“The contract is bound by a Geass, so breaking it will result in a penalty.”

For reference, the penalty is a reduction in lifespan. It's a very severe penalty, so each of these contracts is worth about as much as a decent-sized carriage.

Even nobles don't buy these contracts lightly. They may be wealthy, but their wealth isn’t unlimited.

Of course, as a duke, this isn't such an expensive item for me.

“First. I will become Adele's fiancé for one year and provide her with as much support as possible.

Second. In return, House Hardenberg will gain exclusive rights to Count Este's trade for one year.

Third. If necessary, the contract can be extended or canceled through mutual agreement. However, both parties must be of sound mind during the agreement.”

I finished reciting the contract’s terms and looked at her.

“This is the contract we agreed upon back then. Do you have any revisions?”

“No, I do not.”

“Good. Then you may take the contract.”

“Why…?”

“For mutual trust.”

For my purposes, I need Adele’s ability to regress. And to secure that, I must first build trust. If handing her the contract is enough to gain her trust, it’s a small price to pay.

“…Thank you for the consideration.”

She replied with a bewildered expression, tucking the contract into her coat.

“Oh, there’s something I forgot to mention.”

At my words, Adele tilted her head slightly.

“Come in, Evan.”

-Thud.

The door opened, and a burly man stepped inside. Black hair, black eyes, and an honest expression. At a glance, he could be mistaken for a bear, given his large frame.

This man, Evan, was the vice-commander of the Black Raven Knights and used to be my bodyguard before I became a duke. Despite being a commoner, he rose to the position of vice-commander, making him a role model for other common-born knights.

“Uh…”

Adele looked puzzled by his sudden appearance.

“You called for me, Duke!”

His booming voice echoed, and I briefly closed my eyes. Come to think of it, this guy was the loudest one this morning.

“...Lower your voice.”

“Yes, sir…”

Evan answered in a lower tone, though I knew it wouldn’t last long. His voice would get loud again soon enough.

I’d half given up by now, but if I didn’t point it out, he’d get even louder, so I had to say something.

‘He’s talented and has a good personality—why does he have to be so loud?’

Adele looked at me, then turned to Evan before asking me.

“…Who is he?”

“He’ll be your bodyguard from now on.”

“Nice to meet ya, ma’am!”

“…Address her as ‘Miss’.”

“Yes! Nice to meet you, Miss!”

“…I see.”

Evan's unimpressive appearance seemed to drain the strength from her voice, making it clear she was less than confident. To be fair, given what she'd seen so far, it wasn’t unreasonable for her to have doubts.

“There’s no need to worry. He may not look it, but he’s the vice-commander of the Black Raven Knights.”

“...Vice-commander?”

She repeated the title as if she couldn’t believe it, and I had to suppress a smile. A quick glance at Evan showed his face was hurt by her disbelief.

“Yes.”

“...Thank you for your excessive generosity.”

“Don’t mention it. After all, my fiancée’s safety is important to me as well.”

“Evan… I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes, ma'am! I’ll do my best!”

Evan’s overly enthusiastic response made Adele look a bit overwhelmed. She turned to me, as if seeking relief from the sudden pressure.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“...No, none.”

“Then I’ll be on my way. By the way, you can ask Alan about your bridal lessons.”

“Understood.”

With that, I left the reception room and made my way toward the office. I could only imagine how many documents would be waiting for me today…

Just the thought gave me a headache, but as long as I held the title of Duke, there was no avoiding it.

***

Who knows how much time has passed?

I finally finished checking over the duchy’s budget and reviewing the detailed plans for our business ventures. At least for now, it seemed like the workload wouldn’t pile up again soon.

As I was considering that, a certain thought crossed my mind.

‘...Ah, right. Count Este’s trading company.’

The headache returned as I sighed and leaned back in my chair. Holding exclusive rights to the Este Count’s goods meant I’d have a monopoly on whatever they sold.

Of course, monopolizing things too much could backfire on me, so I’d need to exercise restraint. But that’s not what I was after.

What I was really after were the military supplies the Este Count handled.

Given his connection with the imperial army’s supply chain, I knew he would do his best to hide that fact. And I wouldn’t make it a priority to uncover it either.

The problem lay elsewhere.

-Clang!

I turned my head to see three assassins dressed in black masks. Were they hired by an assassin guild? From what I could tell, their skills didn’t seem particularly impressive.

“Damn, it’s a failure!”

They immediately made a break for the window.

“You won’t get away that easily.”

-Snap!

With a snap of my fingers, the assassins froze in place.

This was space magic, a technique passed down through the Hardenberg family. These fools must not have known I could wield space magic when they decided to attack.

‘This could be a warning…’

It was possible that merely establishing ties with Count Este had caught the imperial family’s attention. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what my knights were doing while these people snuck into my office.

-Bang!

The door flew open, and a man dressed in a celestial armor rushed in. Lean and composed, he knelt before me.

“My deepest apologies, Duke.”

This was Ilho.

He was the leader of the Crow, an assassination unit secretly created by the Hardenberg family, and one of my most trusted subordinates.

Of course, in the original story, the Crow never existed.

It was a group I assembled by gathering orphans who were known for their remarkable combat abilities. Whether it was dirty work or clean, they were the ones who handled it all for me.

Thanks to their existence, the influence of the Hardenberg family had grown far greater than in the original story.

“So, how did they manage to get all the way into my office?”

“I have no excuse, sir.”

“I’m asking for the reason, Ilho.”

“There were more of them than anticipated.”

“And Lady Adele?”

“She’s safe, thanks to Sir Evan.”

“Well, that’s some relief.”

-Bang!

I lowered my hand, and the assassins who had been standing rigidly were slammed into the ground.

“Ugh…”

They groaned in pain, desperately trying to crawl away. Normally, I would’ve killed them to end their suffering, but…

‘There’s no need to show mercy to those who seek my life.’

“Ilho.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Take them and extract whatever information you can.”

“I will carry out your orders.”

-Snap.

With another snap of my fingers, the assassins foamed at the mouth and passed out. At Ilho’s signal, other members of the Crow appeared, dragging them away.

“Oh, one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Begin investigating the Imperial Nest.”

“…It’s time, then?”

“Yes. It will take a long time, but it has to begin now.”

“I will follow your command.”

With a respectful bow, Ilho disappeared into thin air. Watching him leave, I sighed and turned my gaze to the world map hanging on the wall.

The map resembled the one from my previous life in many ways. The key difference was that about 70% of the world’s territories were marked as part of the Arie Empire.

And if there was one person responsible for conquering 70% of the world, it could only be one individual.

‘The Emperor.’

In the original, or rather, in Adele’s perception of the original story, the Emperor was portrayed as a laid-back old man.

He was the comic relief, constantly interfering with the Crown Prince’s attempts to confess to the female lead.

But the Emperor’s true nature was far from that of a doting grandfather.

He was the final boss and the ultimate mastermind of <The Villainess Rewinds Time’.

Even with all my knowledge of the original plot, I couldn’t be certain how effective it would be against him. After all, even in the story, no one succeeded in killing him.

‘…This is something I’ve been preparing for a long time.’

Hoping that my plan would succeed, I closed my eyes.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

[TL: You can support the translation and read 3 chapters ahead of the release here on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OracleTls 

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