Chapter 8 Loop 3-1
「!!」
I breathed in as hard as I could, and I choked from the sudden intake
of air.
My heart was thumping wildly as beads of sweat drenched my
forehead.
Ugh, it hurts so much…
What was that? Why was I suddenly feeling suffocated? My throat and
eyes were burning; I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was going to
die. Moreover, that “shing” sound I heard and then I felt
something hit back hard from behind. I was killed…
「My lady! That’s enough!」
Suddenly hearing Theresa’s voice immediately snapped me back to my
senses.
There was a pillar in front of me; one that I was clinging onto before
I knew it.
When I turned around, I saw Theresa and the three maids assigned to me
trying to pull me off the pillar——it was a familiar scene.
It was not a dream. I was really——
「Just give it up! It is your important wedding night that’s coming up
soon…」
「I-I understand. I’ll be good so you can all let go of me.」
The maids exchanged looks with one another before reluctantly letting
go of me. I slowly moved away from the pillar, taking care not
to incite their wariness of me. Then I looked around at the
faces of Theresa and the three maids.
「Is everyone alright? Is there anyone who is hurt?」
「Eh? No, we’re alright, but if I had to say, my arms are all sore
from trying to pull you from the pillar, Lady Katrea.」
I didn’t observe any abnormalities or wounds on Theresa as she
casually replied to me with a sarcastic remark. The other three didn’t
appear particularly pale either.
(lilies: katrea is like so damn chill)
「That’s great…」
I heaved a sigh of relief.
Then, I staggered over to the vanity and sat down on the chair placed
before it. Anyway, I just needed to sit down, calm myself down
and gather my thoughts.
…This time I’m sure. I’m caught in a loop of this night. This is the
third time.
The first time, I was taken to the master bedroom and thrown in by
Brother Tris, which ended with someone stabbing me in my chest and
abdomen. The second time, I inhaled some poisonous gas which put me in
a lot of pain, causing me to collapse onto the ground and I was
(probably) stabbed in the back.
Even though the process by which the series of events unfolded was
different, the beginning and the end were the same——the loop starts
with me clinging onto the pillar and finally ends with me dying and
the next loop starts.
Why is this happening? Is it some kind of curse? Or maybe magic?
I had no idea what the cause of this situation was, but at least, I
can confirm that this wasn’t a dream of vision.
The feeling of being stabbed, the pain; they were all real. And I’ve
already died twice.
「What’s the matter with you? You abruptly kicked up a fuss and now
you’re suddenly all quiet.」
Theresa had a worried expression on her face as she put a hand on my
shoulder. The warmth from her hand made my heart clench.
「You’re completely drenched in sweat and you look so pale… Are you
unwell?」
「No, it’s nothing, I’m fine. I just need a rest.」
I must look really terrible. Even though I’ve settled down and was no
longer causing a racket, the three maids watched me silently.
I’m caught in a terrible situation. It’s already bad enough that
there’s someone out to kill me in this castle, but worst still,
there’s this mysterious phenomenon where time would rewind when I
die.
There’s nothing strange about the surroundings. I'm probably the
only one who has the memory of being rewound.
I wonder who that murderer is. His face was hidden behind a black
cloth so I couldn’t see who it was, but I could tell from his physique
that he was definitely a man. I could tell from his skilful
swordsmanship and decisive strikes that he was quite an expert at the
sword.
However, he must have been a devious and persistent person seeing how
he also made use of poison.
The most suspicious person was, of course, the owner of the master
bedroom, Duke Crusseld Vrag. He’s known to be a highly skilled
swordsman and he’s the only person who could be patiently waiting for
me in that room.
If the murderer was another, they’d run the risk of bumping into the
Duke in his room.
I’m fairly certain the Duke hated the idea of marrying me so much he
wanted to turn me into a corpse. No, I had in fact become a
lifeless body.
If that’s truly the case, then I would be so enraged. This marriage
only happened because it was the Duke’s household that asked for the
union. Even so, wasn’t it too selfish of him to kill me, his bride,
because he got disappointed when he saw me in person and I wasn’t as
he had expected? And I wasn’t the only one, he even laid his hands on
Theresa and the maids…!
Alright, so the prime suspect is confirmed to be the Duke. I’m
absolutely going to make that man cry.
As for the other question of just what the hell this death loop
was——I’ve decided to just stop thinking about it despite it swirling
around my head. It’s not like I’ll be able to figure out the cause
even if I racked my brain over it. For now, my main focus would just
be on surviving.
Well then, this castle is the stronghold of our prime suspect. The
only people I can trust here are Theresa and Brother Tris.
As for the maids who were only assigned to me today, I’ve removed them
from my list of suspects since they did become collateral damage
because of me. However, I couldn’t fully trust them.
At any rate, if I want to get some help, the only person I can ask is
Brother Tris who could fight.
「Theresa, where is Brother Tris now?」
「Huh? Hmm… I think he should be… in the guest room…」
「Alright. Let’s go there.」
I quickly sprung up onto my feet but one of the maids, Harie, stood in
front of the door.
「Lady Katrea, you aren’t planning on running away, are you?」
Urk.
Harie was the most powerful, or should I say intimidating, of
the three maids. Feeling threatened by her blank expression, I
faltered a little.
But despite my wavering heart, I answered slowly.
「I’m not running away. Starting today, aren’t I already a part of the
Duke’s family? I just want to say hello to my brother.」
「…」
「I’ll go to the master bedroom after speaking to my brother; I
promise.」
Harie stared at me for quite a while, seemingly still suspicious of
me.
Well, it’s not her fault. Towards a woman who was clinging onto the
pillar expressing her utter disdain for her marriage just a moment ago
suddenly becoming all quiet and obedient——anyone who would easily
believe someone like that must have a screw or two loose.
「Alright… but only after you’ve finished getting ready.」
As she said that, Harie stepped away from the door.
Although I really wanted to go to my brother immediately, I did as she
said and sat down in front of the vanity. It was better to
cooperate with them and get ready quickly rather than to rashly
against them here.
In fact, because I was so tame now, the preparations were done in no
time under the cooperation of the maids. Perhaps it was because my
complexion wasn’t too good and I looked rather pale, unlike the second
loop, they applied blush to my cheeks.
「Now then Ines, please bring the Madam to her family’s room and then
escort her to the master bedroom.」
「Yes.」
「Harie, what do you plan on doing after I leave?」
Taken aback by my unexpected question, Harie raised her brows
slightly.
「I plan on briefly cleaning up the room before leaving to take my
rest when Ines returns… If you have any further orders, I'm at your
service.」
「Oh no, no, I don’t have any orders for you… Ah, just one
thing…」
I almost forgot to give her the important instructions.
「Do not let anyone enter the room until Ines comes back; be it the
Duke, Lady Serenia, or the head butler Faro——absolutely no one. And
after Ines is back, don’t stay around for too long and disperse
immediately, okay?」
「…I understand.」
Although I guess she agreed to do as I said, having received such
strange instructions, Harie had a sceptical expression on her face
even as she nodded her head.
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or
terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my
interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading
experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
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Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~