The Evil Noble Desires A Beautiful Demise - Could It Be That You're Stuck In A Loop? - Episode 9

“I’ve come to help you, Tiarola.”

Hearing that voice again almost brought me to tears. But I held back. Everything depends on getting out of this predicament first.

Just like last time, I am led by the hand out of the carriage.

“Um…”

This might not be the right time to ask, but I don’t want to have any regrets. There’s no guarantee we’ll meet again.

“May I ask your name?”

Ah, I can feel my heart racing.

Why am I so nervous?

“Salifa”

“Lady Salifa, is it?”

Salifa, Salifa. What a beautiful name.

From now on, I will never forget.

I want to hold that hand forever, but that’s not possible. I quietly tell Salifa about the guard.

“Lady Salifa, please listen carefully. All the surviving guards are enemies.”

“Is that so?”

Salifa was surprised.

The expression isn’t moving, so it’s hard to tell.

“Would you be willing to trust me?”

For Salifa, this is our first meeting.

Will they believe what the child says?

“Of course, I believe you. We’ll catch them off guard and wipe them out.”

He believed me easily.

At the same time as feeling relieved, happiness wells up inside me.

The subsequent developments were breathtaking.

Before the enemy could notice, they were bound by ice magic, and in an instant, the entire enemy force was annihilated.

“Hi, hi!!”

My father is freaking out, but I don’t care.

The rest is that I have to do something about the black outfit.

“The enemy in black attire is still here. And reinforcements too…”

The threat is still far from over.

“…Yeah. I’ll protect Tiarola.”

At those words, my heart starts racing again.

What has happened to my body?

“Hey, you! What the hell do you think you’re doing killing the guard?!”

My father is putting on a brave face while still being hesitant.

In front of such a strong Salifa, how can they act so arrogantly?

“That’s the enemy.”

“How could the Empire’s guards be enemies!! What do you want…!!”

“I just want to protect Tiarola.”

“What the…!?”

“We don’t have time to argue. We’ll leave here before reinforcements arrive.”

Salifa takes my hand and starts walking.

“P-Please wait…!!”

The stepmother who got off the carriage called out to Salifa. The children, too, followed her, trembling with fear.

“Please take us with you too…!!”

“Gianna, what are you…!?”

“Please be quiet!!”

The stepmother bows her head towards us.

“I apologize for this man’s rudeness. Please, could you also protect me and my children…?”

“What are you going to do?”

Salifa is asking me.

To be honest, I want to leave it behind. The problem is how Salifa feels about it.

“Isn’t it going to be a burden?”

“That’s true, but…”

Then, I suppose I will decline.

More than how I look, Salifa is more important.

“Even just going together is fine! I don’t know the geography of this area, so…!!”

Did she sense that I was about to refuse? The second wife is desperately pleading with me. How can I turn her down so she’ll give up? At this rate, she might just follow me around on her own.

“If it’s me, it’ll be fine.”

Seeing me troubled, Salifa might have misunderstood and said that. It might be better to keep an eye on me nearby, as it could be more troublesome if she follows me around on her own.

“Understood. I’ll just follow you.”

“Thank you very much…!!”

The second wife is bowing deeply in an exaggerated manner.

Seeing that, the father hurriedly followed.

“Wait, please take me with you too! Take me with you!!”

Saying that, they come stomping over here.

It came over to me, and then…

They restrained my body and held a knife to my neck.

“Wha…!?”

I am astonished by my father’s actions.

Why is this happening now…!?

“Put down the sword, you brat…!!”

“You!! What are you doing!?”

The stepmother is screaming.

“Shut up, shut up!! All of you are just mocking me…!!”

“Calm down.”

“Shut up, brat!! You care about this guy, right!? Put down the sword already!!”

Receiving her father’s words, Salifa slowly places the sword down.

“This all happened because of this Saint, right?! If we hand her over, we should be able to get help!!”

“You’ll just end up getting killed too.”

“Shut up, you noisy brat! What do you know about…?”

“Ice Coffin”

In an instant, the father is enveloped in ice.

It was adjusted so that it wouldn’t affect me, who was being detained.

However, this was a fatal flaw.

Were they waiting for this moment? The black-clad figures rush at me and Salifa.

“Tiarola!!”

It happened again.

Salifa took all the blades upon herself to protect me.

“Lady Salifa…!!”

Again, again.

Again, it’s because of me that Salifa is going to die…!!

“Tiarola, live.”

Leaving the same words behind, Salifa was exhausted.

Ah, ah, why, why.

I ended up trusting my father, even just a little…

The blade in black attire pierced through me, and I was killed.

“I’ve come to help you, Tiarola.”

As usual, time rewound, and the moment I saw my father, I felt like I was going to explode with anger. But I endured it. To see Salifa once more.

From now on, I won’t trust anyone except Salifa.

As long as Salifa and I survive, that’s all that matters.

As before, I informed Salifa that the guards were enemies and had her take them down. After that, we shook off my shouting father and stepmother and continued up the mountain path together.

“Where are you headed?”

If it’s with Salifa, I don’t care where we are.

“We’ll let the reinforcements pass. There are indeed too many of them.”

If it’s Salifa, it will work out somehow.

If I weren’t here.

“Are you hiding somewhere?”

“Yeah. There’s a cave up ahead. Let’s take a break there.”

I can tell that you care about me.

When I’m with Salifa, I feel very at ease.

Before long, we arrived at a small cave.

“Let’s rest here until nightfall. We’ll set off once it gets dark.”

“I understand.”

When I sat on the ground, it felt like the tension snapped, and I lost all my strength.

“Good night, Tiarola.”

Taking advantage of those kind words, I lie down and close my eyes.

“Thank you very much, Salifa-sama.”

It was my first time sleeping outdoors.

But I was able to fall asleep more peacefully than ever before.