Prologue — The Day the Kingdom Fell
November 17, Year 509 of the Kingdom Calendar. The kingdom fell.
The primary contributor to this dry, single sentence destined to be written in future history books was none other than me, Ethan von Astrape. The representative of the Five Traitors of the Black Moon who played the greatest role in the kingdom's defeat and subjugation, and the worst traitor in history who, despite being a subject of the kingdom, shamelessly received the status of a first-class citizen of the Empire.
"Well, I believe that is enough explanation."
"Ugh..."
"Affix the Royal Seal, Princess."
The one waving the contract at the last princess of the kingdom—with the imperial army that had stormed the palace under my friendly guidance standing right behind her—was the First Princess of the Madonia Empire, Roseheim Lag Madonia. Having finally crushed the kingdom's desperate resistance to obtain this single sheet of paper, she seemed to have absolutely no intention of letting it go.
"Surely you won't make some absurd excuse like having misplaced the Royal Seal."
"W-We..."
"I did not personally grace this pathetic palace with my presence just to watch you waste my time."
When the princess, still far too young, looked on the verge of tears under the relentless pressure, the Imperial Princess pinched the bridge of her nose in sheer annoyance. Then, suddenly sensing the eyes of the room on her, she smirked and turned her head toward the assembly.
"I cannot comprehend why everyone looks so displeased."
The words that followed from her mouth were a sophistry so absurd it couldn't even be laughed off as a joke.
"It is merely your diplomatic rights. We are not swallowing your country whole; we are simply taking your diplomatic rights as a token of protection and cooperation. Why the long faces?"
Yet, no one in the room dared to refute her. Even a child could tell whom the ministers of a fallen nation had to flatter from now on.
"Sigh..."
Perhaps displeased even by this heavy silence, the Imperial Princess let out a soft sigh, and her gaze soon shifted to me.
"Ethan, you stamp it instead."
"..."
"Since you are currently the kingdom's Minister of Foreign Affairs, no one will complain if you do it."
It was a proposal that would normally get a man branded as a traitor and stoned to death, but just as she said, it didn't particularly matter to someone like me.
"What is the matter, Ethan? It is not as if selling out a country you have already sold out once before will change anything."
Indeed, stamping a single seal now wouldn't change a thing. If I had to find a difference, it was merely the transition from a regular traitor to the ultimate traitor reviled by all.
"So wipe that look off your face and go stamp it."
I smiled bitterly at the thought. As I took a step forward under the Imperial Princess's persistent urging, a few ministers of unyielding spirit finally lost their patience and began to scream.
"You bastard, Ethan!!!"
"Do you not fear the heavens?!"
"You thieving dog, lower than a beast... Ack!"
But that was the exact moment when the few remaining conscientious officials were powerlessly dragged away by the watchful imperial soldiers.
"Ethan von Astrape."
"..."
"We shall never forget your disloyalty."
Out of nowhere, the last princess of the kingdom muttered in a low voice, drawing something from her robes and aiming it at me.
Click...
And the moment I belatedly realized that it was the self-defense pistol she had been secretly carrying all this time—
Bang!
With a single gunshot, a bullet infused with her faint mana pierced straight through the center of my forehead.
Bzzzt...
And immediately after, the world began to turn upside down, spinning slowly like a vortex.
"Mmm."
How much time had passed since the splitting headache and dizziness finally subsided?
"...The Princess certainly has a fiery temper."
Checking the wristwatch familiarly strapped to my arm, I smiled bitterly upon confirming that I had, without fail, regressed back to this morning.
"Well, it works out."
In any case, from the moment the imperial army stormed the royal palace, I had been looking for the right timing to regress.
Seriously, regression triggered by death always comes with so many complications.
Especially in my case, where I can only regress if I am murdered by someone else.
Six hours left, then.
The spot between my eyebrows where the bullet had pierced still throbbed, but I couldn't afford to waste any more time.
If I wanted to evacuate the Princess before the imperial army invaded the palace in six hours, I had to hurry starting right now.
"Princess, it is time for your walk."
Of course, this would be rather difficult for someone whose public identity was a traitor, but what choice did I have?
If I didn't do this, even the slightest sliver of hope to rebuild my homeland would vanish.
"So, instead of staying cooped up in your room, please come out—"
"This is impossible!"
It was at that moment, as I burst into her bedroom without knocking to drag her out by force if necessary, that she cut me off.
"H-How are you alive, Ethan?!"
"Pardon?"
"Clearly, by Our own hands... just moments ago..."
The moment she saw me, Princess Irene, the last princess of the kingdom, turned pale and uttered words that were utterly impossible to believe.
"We put a bullet right between your eyes!"
My life as an infinite regressor, living as the worst traitor in history while secretly serving as the hidden leader of the Resistance.
What the fuck?
Even in this perilous life where I threw away my existence multiple times a day, an unprecedented, baffling event had suddenly begun.
How does she still have her memories from before the regression?