The Regressed Tyrant Princess Rewrites Her Dark History - Chapter 2.3

To rewrite the bloodstained history she had once carved before her regression, Ariadne took the first step by heading to the underground guild.

She was accompanied only by Sonia, while the rest of her escorts remained stationed around the building. As soon as she removed her hood in front of the tavern master—whose establishment served as a front for the guild—she was promptly led to the back room.

Waiting inside, after ensuring that no one else was present, was the guild master, Keith.

“Didn’t expect to see you back here, girl. Should I be sending my congratulations on your engagement?”

His way of speaking was as crude as ever.

However, Ariadne paid it no mind. She removed her robe and moved toward the sofa. Just as she was about to lay the robe over it, Sonia placed a handkerchief on the sofa instead.

“Please, have a seat.”

Ariadne smiled at Sonia’s thoughtfulness and took a seat on the prepared cushion. Keith, watching the exchange with a look of surprise, let out a grin.

“Looks like you’ve trained your maid well while I wasn’t looking.”

“And you—how long do you plan to keep speaking so rudely to Princess Ariadne?”

“Oh, touched a nerve, did I?”

Keith shrugged.

But in the next moment, his gaze sharpened.

“I heard you managed to humiliate that insufferable marquis not once, but twice. Gotta say, I’m grateful for that.”

“Oh? I hope you’re not satisfied with just that.”

Ariadne’s words were teasing, and Keith responded by flashing his teeth in a wolfish grin.

“That bastard Wilfried murdered my parents and stole my family’s legacy. Just making him suffer a little isn’t nearly enough. No matter what it takes, I’ll make sure he pays.”

“Good. Then you can rest assured—because next, we’re going to take Wilfried’s head.”

“His head? Is that… a metaphor?”

Keith narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but as he met Ariadne’s unwavering gaze, his own widened in shock.

“You’re serious?”

“I wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

“…I see. So, what do you need me to do?”

“There are several things, but first, I need you to make contact with a student from the Magic Academy.”

A quiet smile graced Ariadne’s flawless face as she signaled with her eyes. Sonia gave a small nod before handing Keith a document detailing their target’s profile.

The moment Keith glanced through it, his eyes widened.

“Wait a minute… You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Didn’t I just say I don’t joke about these things?”

“But… A foreign prince secretly attending the Magic Academy? That’s…”

“Unbelievable? If you think that, then it means his deception is working.”

The student in question was Oscar Avellia.

The second prince of the Holy Kingdom of Avellia, yet as the firstborn of the queen, he once held the strongest claim to the throne.

That was, until his mother passed away.

With her death, Oscar found himself in a weakened political position.

In that sense, his situation was similar to Arnold’s.

The key difference was that Oscar had no real backing. His elder sister, the first princess, was his only ally, but she lacked the power to protect him.

Realizing that remaining in his home country was too dangerous, he secretly enrolled in Granheim’s Magic Academy.

His position in Avellia was precarious.

Yet, Ariadne believed that he held the key to ending the war between their nations.

“…Alright. Suppose this foreign prince really is in our country. What do you intend to do once you make contact? If he’s in hiding, he won’t want his identity exposed.”

“True. But… there are circumstances that won’t allow him to stay in hiding forever.”

“Circumstances?”

“—Someone is trying to assassinate him.”

Before her regression, an attack had occurred.

The incident took place at a magic exhibition held at the academy. The assailants were from the Holy Kingdom of Avellia, and their target was none other than the undercover Oscar.

However, the moment it became known that an Avellian prince had been attacked within Granheim’s borders, tensions between the two nations escalated.

It was one of the triggers that intensified the war.

And that was precisely why Ariadne had to prevent it.

“Are you saying there’s a chance a foreign prince might be attacked while in our country?”

“Yes. And it will happen on the day of the magic exhibition, when the crowd is at its largest.”

Keith’s eyes widened, and even Sonia drew in a sharp breath.

Regardless of the prince’s secretive status, an attack on foreign royalty within their borders could spiral into a diplomatic crisis. Their shock was only natural.

Keith swallowed hard, then muttered in a hoarse voice.

“So, you want us to investigate his surroundings, find the assassins, and stop them?”

Given the flow of their conversation, that assumption was understandable.

However, Ariadne shook her head and smiled.

“No. You’re going to trigger the attack.”

“—What!?”

“On the day of the magic exhibition, just before Prince Oscar is attacked, another assassination attempt must occur. The targets will be Queen Carla and—me.”

Ariadne placed a hand on her chest as she made the declaration.

Keith, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of her words, remained frozen in place.

She let out a small chuckle before continuing.

“Of course, no one actually needs to die. The purpose of this staged attack is to force the real assassins to move prematurely. They must believe that their intended target was never Prince Oscar but rather Queen Carla and myself.”

If a royal figure was attacked during the exhibition, the event would be canceled immediately, and the attendees evacuated.

If that alone was enough to deter the assassins, then Oscar’s life would be safe.

But stopping the attack wasn’t Ariadne’s true goal.

She wanted to force the real assassins to act, making them believe that Carla and herself had been their intended targets all along.

“Wait, wait, wait! Are you seriously suggesting this!?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“But—do you realize how dangerous this plan is!?”

“I do.”

If their timing was perfect, the assassins would take the bait.

But if they acted even a moment too late, their deception would fail.

And if they acted too soon, the real attackers would back off entirely.

Still—

“I won’t get the timing wrong.”

At the pinnacle of high society stood the crimson rose. Ariadne, her confidence backed by her own history, let her presence shine through.

Keith found himself nearly overwhelmed by her sheer intensity.

“B-but if the culprits behind the royal attack are found, the knight order will hunt them down relentlessly.”

“That won’t be a problem. I’ve already arranged substitutes for them.”

“Substitutes?”

“You know I was targeted at my engagement party, don’t you? The attackers from that night are still alive. They’ll take the fall for this.”

“But if they testify—”

“Testify? The dead don’t speak.”

Ariadne cut off Keith’s concerns before he could finish.

Understanding now why the assassins had been kept alive until this moment, Keith inhaled sharply.

“…You’re as ruthless as ever, girl.”

“Oh? They tried to kill me. It’s only fair they pay the price.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true.”

Even so, Keith doubted the captives had any idea they had been kept alive for such a reason.

Despite being their enemy, he couldn’t help but feel a shred of pity for them.

Lifting his head, he asked offhandedly,

“By the way, do you know who the attackers were? Depending on their background, they might not work as stand-ins for the ones who attacked Queen Carla—Wait, I see now. That’s why you said you’d take Wilfried’s head.”

Ariadne neither confirmed nor denied his deduction—she simply smiled.

If the assassins had been Queen Carla’s subordinates, they wouldn’t work as scapegoats.

But if they were Wilfried’s men, framing them as the culprits behind the attack on Carla would be entirely feasible.

“Unfortunately, I don’t recognize Wilfried’s pawns. But… what about Queen Carla’s subordinates?”

Just as Ariadne, once one of Siegbert’s followers, had been familiar with his retainers, it was highly likely that Carla’s subordinates knew Wilfried’s men.

Even if they didn’t, Carla was shrewd. If anyone could uncover their identities, it was her.

Which meant she had the perfect tool to drive a wedge into the Second Prince’s faction.

As Keith listened, his expression contorted—part fear, part anticipation.

He was terrified by how terrifyingly well-thought-out the plan was.

But at the same time, he couldn’t suppress the hope that he might finally have his revenge.

After a long silence, he finally let out a strained voice.

“…You really are terrifying, girl.”

“Oh? If this much frightens you, you won’t survive what comes next.”

The planned assassination attempt was only one part of Ariadne’s strategy.

The real objective—the plan that would unfold in parallel—was something far more crucial.

She needed to minimize the damage from the upcoming monster attack while also securing the Saint.

However, she couldn’t reveal the future knowledge she had gained through her regression.

Instead, she had crafted a scenario that would guide events in the right direction.

“Now, let’s get to the main topic.”

As Ariadne shifted the conversation, Keith’s face twisted into something unreadable.

“What is it? Is there a problem?”

“No… It’s just that I already feel like I’ve heard something insane, and now you’re telling me that wasn’t even the main plan. Just what kind of madness am I about to hear next?”

“Didn’t I tell you? We’re taking Wilfried’s head. Surely you didn’t think the previous plan alone would be enough to accomplish that?”

Keith’s eyes widened.

Then, lowering his head, he let out a deep sigh before slapping his cheeks with both hands to brace himself.

“My mistake. Looks like I got complacent. Let’s hear it.”

“Then I’ll be blunt. I want Sonia to infiltrate an orphanage. It’s a dangerous mission, so I need her older brother’s permission first.”

“A dangerous mission? Do you think we’d back down because of something like that?”

His expression darkened with displeasure.

It was clear he still didn’t fully grasp the gravity of what she was asking.

“Keith, did I ask you to prepare yourself when I ordered the assassination?”

“…Tch. Are you telling me this is even riskier than attacking royalty?”

“I thought that was obvious?”

Keith’s eyes flicked toward Sonia, who stood behind Ariadne.

But unlike him, Sonia showed no hesitation.

She had already been briefed by Ariadne beforehand.

Her lips curled into a knowing smile.

“Sonia, are you seriously taking on a mission this dangerous? You’re not letting your grudge against Wilfried cloud your judgment, are you?”

Keith’s gaze was sharp, scrutinizing her resolve.

But Sonia shook her head.

“Princess Ariadne has explained everything to me. After hearing the details, I’ve determined that completing this mission will bring me closer to avenging my family.”

“But… it doesn’t have to be you.”

“Brother. Princess Ariadne gave me the option to refuse. But I refuse to let someone else take the chance to bring Wilfried down.”

She had chosen this path herself.

Her unwavering gaze met Keith’s, both of them bound by the same unrelenting desire for vengeance.

After a long silence, Keith finally exhaled and spoke.

“…I see.”

“So, your mind is made up?”

“Yeah. The Black Sun will take on this job—both the assassination plan and the orphanage mission. We’ll see this through.”

“…Good. I’ll be counting on you.”

Ariadne nodded in satisfaction and stood up from the sofa.

As she moved, strands of platinum blonde, shimmering with a faint bluish hue, spilled over her shoulder.

She brushed them away with the back of her hand.

If the plan succeeded, Wilfried would fall.

But if it failed, Ariadne would once again be branded as the tyrant princess and executed.

Would her web of schemes lead to praise—or condemnation?

The only way to know was to trust in herself and move forward.

And so—

“Let the curtain rise on this tale of vengeance.”