Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 238: Childhood Friend - Reunion

Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 238: Childhood Friend - Reunion

"Th-That is..."
"Your Highness, please step back."
Lloyd Agnac hesitated, unable to answer immediately, giving the crusader Sir Manon, who was part of the prince’s escort, the opportunity to butt in. Sir Manon moved in front of the prince, trying to distance him from his royal guard.
The prince frowned.
But what choice did he have? Bound by the countless rules of the Cross Church, he endured the rudeness of the aging crusader who seemed to be monitoring him and spoke calmly.
“It’s alright. If possible, I’d like to hear what Sir Lloyd and these others have to say.”
“These people are criminals! Your Highness has no reason to engage with them. And how did they know you would be here? Surely, Sir Lloyd must be in league with them. Leave this to me, Your Highness, and please retreat to ensure your safety.”
“But they haven’t even drawn their swords. This doesn’t seem to be something to overreact to, so I ask you to assess the situation, Sir Manon. And Sir Lloyd.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I have deeply trusted you as my royal guard and fencing instructor. Explain your connection to these people.”
“…I do not know them.”
“Sir Lloyd! You don’t need to worry about Count Simon’s retaliation! This man is a swordmaster and has agreed to help us!”
At Brian’s words, the prince, the crusader, and Lloyd all turned their gaze toward Rev. Rev cleared his throat and respectfully addressed the prince.
[Achievement: First Meeting with a Prince - Gained slight favor from all princes.]
[Achievement: Met Cleo de Frederick - Gained slight favor from all nobles serving the Frederick royal family. Gained slight favor from Cleo de Frederick.]
From there, everything proceeded smoothly.
Sir Lloyd revealed himself to be the last heir of the House of Agnac, and Brian detailed the past surrounding the Agnac Barony and the suspicious actions of the Cross ChurChapter The once resigned expression on the prince's face, with his lush red hair and green eyes, turned to one of excitement.
When Rev subtly mentioned Cardinal Michael, the prince could barely contain his smile.
“Your Highness! Do you truly believe the words of these criminals? They seek to drive a wedge between the church and the royal family. You must not be deceived by their lies; you must act wisely.”
At that moment, Sir Manon interrupted again. He was confident that the prince, who had always followed the church's rules without question, would respond predictably, but Prince Frederick surprised him.
“Silence.”
The prince dismissed the crusader’s words curtly.
“I know well how the church regards our royal family. I will not overlook this matter. Sir Manon, you may leave. No, I command you to leave.”
“H-How can Your Highness say such a thing? And according to the decree of Kranzar de Frederick I, the founder of the Holy Kingdom of Jerome, the prince must be guarded by a crusader…”
“Decree 13, Article 1! The Cross Church must not undermine the authority of the Frederick royal family.”
Cleo de Frederick spoke quickly, as if he had been waiting for this day.
“Decree 13, Article 1, Attachment 1. If the Cross Church’s external or internal activities cause a loss of authority to the Frederick royal family, members of the Frederick family may invoke a veto against the twelve preceding articles. Based on this, I reject the Cross Church’s assistance in royal protocol as stated in Article 6.”
“But, Your Highness, these are unproven claims! How can you declare that the royal family’s authority has been diminished based on the words of such people?”
“‘Such people’? Are you referring to me?”
Rev quickly intervened.
He emphasized his foreign status with a slow southern drawl, making it clear that he was a swordmaster, and questioning how the crusader could dismiss his testimony.
As Rev’s ten disciples glared menacingly, Sir Manon, outmatched in both strength and reason, fell silent.
His face flushed red as he turned to leave, and Rev and the prince shook hands.
“Thank you. I’m returning to the palace now. Would you like to accompany me? I plan to inform the king of this matter.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to meet the king, but I have urgent business to attend to. If you could allow us into the inner city, I’ll finish my task and then seek you out.”
“In that case, I’ll provide you with a residence. I’ll assign you a steward, so you can contact him when you’re ready to enter the palace. We’ll also look for a way to remove the holy mark.”
The prince spoke with meticulous care.
He was preemptively taking steps in case Rev didn’t follow through, but there was no reason to refuse, so Rev smiled and accepted.
How could everything be going so smoothly?
Rev felt he was moving along the path the Lord God desired. He believed it would continue that way until…
“You bastard. I’ve been waiting for you.”
After descending the mountain with the prince and entering Lutetia, Rev sought out an inn. But as he arrived, a large young man charged at him and swung a punch without warning.
[Forced End: Lena’s Murder 2/3]
It was Leo Dexter, who, in a previous cycle, had witnessed the murder of Lena Ainar.
*
“When are we going back home?”
“A few more days of sightseeing, then we’ll go. Isn’t this place amazing?”
“Well, yes, but…”
Lena Ainar responded with a pout.
She wanted to return to Avril Castle as soon as possible, but she couldn’t bring herself to push Leo. The best she could do, now that she was no longer as assertive as before, was to trail off at the end of her sentence.
After all, her fiancé was the great swordmaster. Someone she could never hope to match…
A sharp pang of disappointment welled up in her chest, but Lena forced herself to smile.
Smile.
If you smile, you’ll feel better.
It was her little trick.
If she lifted the corners of her mouth high enough, it would automatically improve her mood.
“Fine! What’s a few more days? Besides, I like this inn.”
She spoke with a forced smile, but it wasn’t entirely a lie. The inn was quite expensive, with excellent facilities, good food, and especially comfortable beds.
That’s all she could share with Leo now. She thought about learning to cook… but honestly, she wasn’t confident.
Just then, Leo suddenly grabbed her arm. “Huh? What’s up?” she asked, but Leo’s response came a bit later.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
“Suddenly? Sure, a walk sounds nice. But you know, sometimes you’re really slow to respond. You just zone out… you didn’t used to be like this.”
Slap!
Lena playfully slapped the swordmaster’s back. Leo, who had started walking, didn’t react.
Whenever this happened, it made her heart ache.
It was a good thing that Leo finally cracked a joke, saying, “Ouch! That hurt,” albeit a bit late. Otherwise, their walk could have been suffocating.
Just then, Leo suddenly stopped. He stared blankly at the entrance far ahead, then abruptly turned around and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Huh? What’s wrong now?”
Leo's actions were sometimes unpredictable, but this time, it felt different.
His arms around her trembled. His breath grew ragged, causing his chest to rise and fall, and his jaw clenched tightly against the back of her neck.
Is he crying?
Though she couldn’t see, Lena felt that was the case. She began to push him away, intending to say something, but...
Clear eyes. A sharp gaze locked onto hers. He gently stroked her cheek, his face full of emotion.
“I love you.”
“What… What’s with you all of a sudden?”
“...”
Leo’s eyes were intense. So intense that they made her feel shy. So intense that it brought a smile to her lips.
She had heard those words countless times, but somehow, this time it felt like a genuine confession. Lena Ainar let out a bashful laugh and pulled Leo’s neck down.
“Do you want to go inside?”
“...Sure. But wait, you go ahead. I’ll be up in a bit.”
Though they had barely begun their walk, Lena headed back to their lodgings. Leo Dexter watched her walk away with a lighthearted bounce in her step and took a deep breath.
It was an attempt to calm his emotions.
But as he reflected on both his past and present cycles, the anger became unbearable. Slowly, memories of other scenarios began to surface, revealing the full context, but Leo had already turned around, searching for someone to vent his rage on.
“You bastard. I’ve got you now.”
Whoosh!
Leo Dexter's fist cut through the air. Rev narrowly dodged it, stepping back as he spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
Whoosh!
“I’m telling you, I wasn’t in my right mind back then. You know that...”
Whoosh!
“I said I’m sorry!”
Thud!
Finally, Leo's punch connected with Rev’s solar plexus. Although Rev was also a swordmaster and nearly unbeatable in a one-on-one fight, Leo Dexter was far stronger.
First of all, their physical differences were massive.
Rev would have to stand on his tiptoes just to reach Leo's chin, and Leo's shoulders were so broad that Rev, in comparison, was barely the size of a woman trying to hug a much larger man... It was an ego-crushing reality for Rev, but it was the truth.
Moreover, Rev was really just a simple boy from a remote mountain village.
His achievements had accumulated over time to bring him to this point, but he couldn’t compare to Leo Dexter’s natural talent and swordsmanship, honed over years of training. Even their achievement counters were different.
Leo Dexter still had his original count of three achievements, while Rev had two remaining after using two in the “Beggar Siblings” cycle and gaining one from defeating Oantahu. The gap between them had widened.
The outcome was evident.
Perhaps if they had been fighting with swords, the situation might have been different, but Rev couldn’t dodge the lightning-fast punch.
After being hit in the solar plexus, Rev stumbled back, clutching his chest in pain as he fell to the ground, while Leo seethed with anger.
The reason for Leo Dexter’s outburst was...
“You dare kill Lena? I told you I’d avenge her.”
“...You did.”
“Grgh… Y-You bastard. I-I’ll kill you. I’ll have my revenge, no matter what...”
It happened in the 13th cycle, the “Childhood Friends” scenario.
Rev, having become an apostle of Barbatos, had killed both Lena Ainar and Leo Dexter, which had altered the 11th scenario where they had been engaged. The next engagement scenario, the 14th cycle, was a blur due to Minseo losing focus, leaving it unremembered.
There was a missing piece.
Thus, the memory that Leo Dexter, now a swordmaster in this 17th cycle, retained from his “previous cycle” was the 11th one, where he was killed by Barbatos’s apostle.
Naturally, this filled him with rage.
After going through the motions and meeting Rev, he had just regained his senses, so the memories of the previous cycle were still vivid.
Moreover, things hadn’t gone well in this current (engagement) cycle either.
While he had become a swordmaster, Lena had given up on her dreams and had fallen into a deep depression, which led them both to this place. Leo had been comforting her mechanically, without any real emotion.
Leo spoke gruffly.
“Do you think saying sorry is enough? Do you think just saying sorry will bring someone back to life?”
“...But she did come back.”
“Do you really want to die?”
So, what do you want me to do? Yes, I was wrong, but was it just me? And that was ages ago. This bastard only thinks about his own cycle.
Rev felt a surge of anger but swallowed it down, not wanting to provoke the already irate Leo. He stifled the sigh that was about to escape and apologized again.
Maybe it was the punch he had landed, or perhaps as memories of other cycles slowly returned, and Leo realized just how sorry Rev truly was, but Leo began to calm down. However, his anger wasn’t fully gone, so he issued a warning.
“I know why you’re here, and I know why I’m here, but I don’t want to see your face right now. Come back tomorrow.”
“...Alright. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Rev dusted himself off and stood up. But he had one last thing to say and called out to Leo just as he turned away.
“By the way, you should be careful. In the previous cycle, Lena was pregnant. On the way back to Avril Castle.”
“...What?”
“She might already be pregnant. Let’s keep an eye on it. Based on the timing, it was around this time that she got pregnant, so you should start thinking about...”
“Shut your mouth.”
Leo Dexter spun around, his eyes filled with cold fury.
“I know you know everything, but watch your mouth. It pisses me off. I’m the one in a relationship with Lena, not you or Minseo. And if you want to bring that up, I’ve been married to Lena too.”
“...That’s not what I meant.”
“I get it. I know what you’re trying to say, but... damn it.”
Leo Dexter gritted his teeth and walked away. Rev stood there for a moment, staring after him.
The “Leos” who awaken shortly after a scenario begins are usually like that. Emotional, filled with resentment, and carrying a heavy sense of victimhood.
Leo Dexter was particularly bad in this regard. His personality played a part, but the fact that his scenario involved an engagement with Lena had a significant impact.
At least, the fact that “Lenas” initiate conversation at the start of each cycle is a blessing... If Leo Dexter had woken up when Lena Ainar wasn’t around, things wouldn’t have ended with just a punch.
Rev clutched his aching chest and headed back to the estate Prince Cleo de Frederick had lent him. He couldn’t help but think how different Leo Dexter was from Lean de Yeriel.
Well, after all, that one was a brother.
A truly beautiful little brother, someone we could care for without any ulterior motives...
The little brother who suddenly came to mind was in the southeast. Lean de Yeriel had been traveling slowly for some reason and had only recently arrived in Lutetia.

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Chapter 238: Childhood Friend - Reunion