“I confessed to my senior… That is… I asked you to date me.”

Good heavens, what are you doing? A confession?

Was there really a knight who confessed to Rosebelia?

As I opened my lips slightly in surprise, Simon’s face turned bright red.

“Ah, that… You confessed to me?”

Simon, who was touching his reddened cheeks, nodded his head.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But… I don’t know you well, and I don’t have the emotional capacity to date anyone right now.”

“Then, when you have emotional capacity later, would you reconsider?”

It was quite a bold question for someone who seemed too shy to even make eye contact.

“…I might have some capacity someday. But that’s not a promise, right? I might never have that kind of emotional capacity…”

“It’s because of the upcoming monster subjugation, isn’t it?”

Ah, right, there was going to be a monster subjugation soon.

There was a mention in the early to middle part of the original work that the White Knights Order went on a monster subjugation, so it was indeed not far off, as Simon said.

“It’s not just because of the monster subjugation…”

In truth, I can’t say ‘I’m not the Rosebelia you liked,’ so I just bit and released my lips repeatedly.

“…”

“I appreciate your feelings, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Then, is it okay if I like you on my own?”

If I can’t avoid the ending that flows according to the original work, you’ll be unhappy if you like me anyway.

Furthermore, if our relationship progresses, it will bring even greater misfortune.

“I wouldn’t recommend that either, because I think there are plenty of better partners for you.”

“I haven’t been in the Knights Order for long, but I’ve been admiring you after hearing rumors about you. To me, you are the best woman.”

“Um…”

“I’ll cherish these feelings on my own. That’s okay, right?”

When I hesitated to answer, Simon bowed his head and quickly left the training ground.

The original work, the ending, death…

The unsolved problems that had been troubling me since yesterday once again muddled my thoughts.

“Senior.”

A low voice echoing in the empty space touched the tense string. I could tell without even turning around.

It was Ian.

“When did you come?”

“Don’t tell me you mistook that guy for me?”

So you heard everything.

“Well…”

“Senior, you really have no eye for detail, do you?”

Simon and Ian, they had distinctly different images. While Simon was closer to a boy’s image, Ian was…

Suddenly, our eyes met. Ian, who had been frowning one eyebrow, let out a hollow laugh.

It seemed that no matter how he thought about it, it was ridiculous that I had confused him with Simon.

“Well, it could happen.”

“We don’t look alike at all, you know.”

“It was the night of the festival. I might have really been drunk…”

Ian, who had approached close by now, suddenly twisted his head. Ian’s face, which was slowly tilting towards me, stopped at a distance where we could feel each other’s breath.

“What are you doing?”

“This is about the distance we were at when we were close during the duel tournament. It’s close enough to tell whether there’s an alcohol smell or not.”

“…”

“You weren’t drunk. Clearly.”

As Ian straightened his body, the deep blue sea that had been swaying before my eyes receded.

“That’s strange. Then why can’t I remember only that day? I thought for sure I couldn’t remember because I was drunk.”

I tilted my head, forcibly pulling up the corners of my stiff lips. Since I don’t remember it anyway, I could just insist until the end that I don’t remember.

The question is whether this clumsy act will work on Ian.

“If you thought you were drunk for that reason… I guess it could be.”

Ian surprisingly seemed to agree readily.

You’re unexpectedly okay, huh? I thought you’d insist it was strange until the end.

“Anyway, sorry for the confusion.”

“To be honest, I’m not very pleased.”

“Huh?”

“It means I’m not that impressive a junior to you, right?”

There’s no need to exaggerate it that far.

There’s no way Ian’s impression could be vague to me who knows the ending, but in Rosebelia’s memory, Ian was just one of the new recruits who joined this time.

“Well, that’s because a lot of new recruits joined this time…”

“Do you know my name?”

“Ah, name…”

I know the full name, but… Surely he wouldn’t have used the name Ian as is.

As I hesitated, Ian shrugged his shoulders as if he had expected this.

“I guess I’ll have to make sure you remember me clearly with this duel.”

“What?”

“My presence, to you, senior.”

His eyes curved gently as he finished speaking.

“Is it because of the upcoming duel? That sounds pretty fierce?”

Ian easily caught the practice sword I suddenly threw, and one corner of his mouth curled up. Soon, his protruding Adam’s apple moved.

“My name is I… Klein.”

“Klein… Alright, shall we begin?”

As I slightly tilted the practice sword, Ian brought the tip of his sword to meet mine. The duel began with me pushing away the tip of his sword with force.

As I stood still holding the practice sword, Ian made the first attack attempt. I let the incoming force flow through, and stepped back while receiving his sword.

I couldn’t help but smile at the relentless attacks. Realizing anew that Ian was serious about the duel, I put strength into the hand holding the practice sword.

As I, who had only been defending, started to attack, Ian’s sword also gained strength in response.

When Ian aimed for my wrist, I quickly stepped back, pushed away the tip of his sword, and instantly aimed for his neck.

“That’s it for today.”

Ian was a swordsman with good qualities. His skills were outstanding for a newcomer, but I instinctively felt that he was at least two levels below Rosebelia’s skills.

“You went easy on me.”

Ian’s breath heaved as he finished speaking.

“No, it was an enjoyable duel for once.”

In contrast, my breathing remained steady. While my breathing hadn’t changed, there was another change.

My body felt much lighter, as if Ian had been a pretty good sparring partner. As the pressure that had been weighing down my whole body disappeared, even my throbbing head felt clearer.

The basics of the fencing épée I learned was thrusting, and Rosebelia’s swordsmanship aimed at cutting, so there were many differences, but I could immediately understand why Rosebelia had become a Sword Master.

To be able to move the feet so nimbly while holding a sword that weighs easily three times as much as a fencing sword. Moreover, Rosebelia considered this sword’s weight to be light.

I could only see it as having reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship…

“May I request another duel next time?”

“Anytime.”

Wait, is this okay?

After Rosebelia injured Edwin during a duel in the past, she didn’t duel with anyone for a while…

Regret belatedly washed over me, but I didn’t take back what I had said. I didn’t want to let go of this refreshing and invigorating sensation I was feeling after a long time.

“Thank you, senior.”

Ian bowed his head deeply and smiled brightly. That smile brought a pang of guilt.

When reading the original work, I only cheered for Daisy, Edwin, and Rosebelia, and didn’t pay much attention to Ian.

Was that all? There was a time when I empathized with Daisy’s emotions and hated him for not understanding her feelings.

So when Edwin delivered the news to Daisy that he had finally met his death, I hoped it was for the best, that Daisy and Edwin would work out well like this.

But the Ian in front of my eyes now was utterly ordinary. He honestly felt emotions and expressed them as they were.

Perhaps this was how Ian looked when Daisy first took him to heart.

“I have one thing to ask, can you detect aura?”

“I can only detect it.”

Rosebelia detected aura just a year after picking up a sword. Then at some point, she became able to freely manipulate aura and reached the level of a Sword Master.

In short, she was a genius in swordsmanship.

“Since when?”

“Not long ago.”

To begin with, knights who can detect aura are rare, and for a knight who has just started detecting aura to be able to manipulate it takes anywhere from a few years to decades.

In the latter half of the original work, that is, until Ian became a tyrant, there was barely a year left.

Coldly speaking, could Ian become a Sword Master within that time?

No, that was impossible. It was impossible even for Rosebelia, who was better at swordsmanship than Ian right now. It couldn’t be possible for Ian.

It’s certain that some change occurred in Ian in the middle of the original work, but the word ‘curse’ stuck out.

If it’s a curse, it means it’s not voluntary but involuntary…

Is that what made you change after all?

“Senior?”

“Huh?”

“I think we should leave now.”

I took the cloak Ian handed me and lightly threw the practice sword into the storage box.

“Right.”

“Then when is our next duel?”

“Four days later, at the same time as today.”

“Understood.”

Can I change our ending, overshadowed by death?

If we could avoid the fate of killing each other…

It would be nice if you and I could live ordinary lives…

As I followed Ian out of the training ground, a gentle breeze blew. My chest felt strangely fluttering.

*

‘Have you thought about it?’

‘Yes. I’ll decline the duel request.’

‘Why? Is it because my skills are lacking?’

‘You know your skills aren’t bad. Objectively, your skills are very good. That’s why I briefly considered that you might be okay…’

‘Then why are you refusing the duel?’

‘It’s just my belief. I’ve made up my mind not to duel with anyone in the Knights Order, and I don’t want to break that belief by giving you special treatment.’

I suddenly opened my eyes. A dim light was seeping through the slightly parted curtains.

Was it a dream?

As if Rosebelia and Ian were having a conversation in front of me…

“The place was the training ground too.”

The place where the two were talking was also, coincidentally, the training ground. The very training ground where Ian approached me on the day the festival ended.

“What on earth is this?”

It felt somehow unsettling to just dismiss it as a mere dream.

What if what I saw was a story of Rosebelia and Ian that wasn’t revealed in the original work?

If it was the real Rosebelia, the feeling that she would have refused like that gradually solidified into certainty.

If it’s true that Rosebelia refused the duel in the original work…

“Is the original work already changing? Can it be… changed?”

A strange thrill ran through my whole body. My heart raced wildly with just the expectation that the original work could be changed.

No, it’s too early to get excited. It’s just a dream after all.

Whether I can change the original work or not can only be confirmed on that day. The day when Daisy, the original female lead, meets Ian, the original male lead.

If I can change the original work as I wish on that day, then everything will become certain.

I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind was racing wildly, making it impossible to fall asleep easily.

I changed clothes and quietly slipped out of the mansion, heading towards the forest on the outskirts of the marquis’ residence.

It was a place where even Rosebelia often came to practice manipulating aura because it was sparsely populated.

“I wonder if I can use that aura thing too.”

Will manipulating aura come as naturally as swordsmanship that seems ingrained in the body without separate training?

When a crisis situation arose during the monster subjugation, Rosebelia used aura.

It was obvious that Rosebelia, who had been consistently selected for the monster subjugation list since joining the White Knights Order, would participate in the upcoming subjugation.

I should hope there won’t be a situation where I need to use aura, but I should practice just in case.

As I drew the sword, a soft dawn light settled on it.

Slowly, following Rosebelia’s memories.

As I felt the aura flowing through my body and let it flow into the sword, a white light soon surrounded the sword. Then, with just a light swing, a tree was cut in half.

“It worked. Is this really this easy…”

I couldn’t finish the rest of the sentence. I clutched at my throat, which felt like it was about to burn up.

What is this? Why is my throat so hot?

With a sensation as if vomit was about to rise, a cough burst out. Then, as I slowly lowered my head, what entered my sight was,

“Why…”

Blood covering my entire palm.