Chapter 51 Spirit (2)
Spirit (2)
Arin's spirit talk continued for quite some time. Even Adel, who had been nodding along with interest, was beginning to show signs of fatigue.
Abel, knowing full well that the spirit enthusiast would talk endlessly once she started, had been handling documents in the meantime.
Even the spirit, which had been showing off its antics repeatedly, now seemed a bit tired, letting out what could only be described as a yawn.
Abel stamped the budget management documents and set them aside. Just as he was about to process the final sheet, he noticed her gaze fixed on him.
Arin, who had been chattering nonstop, also seemed to sense that gaze and closed her mouth.
"Was I a bit too much?" she muttered, scratching her cheek, which drew a stifled laugh from him.
Of course, Adel hadn't directed her gaze at him with that intention.
'Does she want to be alone with me?'
Having spent several months together, reading her intentions through her eyes wasn't particularly difficult.
Abel gestured to Arin to step out for a moment. The elf, who had been quietly gauging Adel's mood, nodded as if she had been waiting for this.
"I'll excuse myself first, Your Grace."
With a formal salute, she opened the office door and left.
Her composed demeanor made it hard to believe she was the same person who had been chattering away moments ago.
Her strict separation of professional and personal matters was almost admirable.
Adel silently watched as the door swung open and shut.
Only after confirming that Arin had completely left did she turn back to Abel.
"It seems you have something to say in private."
"Yes."
She nodded with a serious expression.
Normally, Adel rarely visited the office in person.
The fact that she had come despite the breach of etiquette meant this was something important.
Abel pushed aside the last document and met her eyes.
Her gaze carried a quiet determination.
"I... want to become stronger."
Adel clenched her fists as she declared it.
This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was the conclusion she had reached after days of agonizing over past events.
Ever since she had nearly died at the Emperor's hands, she had realized one crucial thing.
Just how complacent she had become, relying too comfortably on her regression ability.
Whether poisoned, assassinated, or killed in any other way, she had believed that as long as she had regression, she could undo it all.
Even if she died helplessly, she was certain she could always turn back time.
'How foolish.'
Even when she had possessed Adel's body and persuaded the clan's dependents, it had been the same.
Mistakes didn't matter because regression could erase them—so she used this ability without hesitation.
Through regression, she learned much about them and succeeded in tailoring her persuasion accordingly.
Thanks to that, she had gained allies like Lily.
The Crown Prince's assassins had also been easily dealt with using regression.
When she first met Abel, she had employed a similar method to secure their contract.
The same went for protecting Lily from the unidentified Knight at the auction house.
Even in the library, she had staked her life as a coin and succeeded in killing the Emperor's Hand.
But when she faced true death at the Ark, she finally realized one thing.
'I'm weak.'
Because she was weak, she had no choice but to suffer helplessly.
There had been times when she—and even Lily—had been lost to the Crown Prince's assassins.
In the library, she had barely managed to eliminate the Emperor's Hand after enduring the agony of death.
And then...
She had ultimately failed to save the old woman who had rescued her in the village.
Because she had been trapped in the arrogance of thinking regression would let her save her anytime.
Because she had grown complacent, believing that as long as she had regression, everything would be fine.
In the end, she had nearly died at the Emperor's hands. Had it not been for her contract with Abel, she likely would have perished then and there.
If he hadn't proposed renegotiating first, she would have died for certain in that place.
Grind.
Unconsciously, her teeth clenched.
"Regression—you should use it in moderation."
Just as Louie had advised. She couldn't blindly depend on this ability.
This wasn't just about the price she would pay.
How carelessly had she acted, believing that regression would always be there?
'That's why... I have to become stronger.'
At Adel's earnest declaration, Abel closed his eyes briefly. Setting down the pen in his hand, he leaned back in his chair.
She was different from the helpless woman he had seen during their first meeting.
Her lifeless eyes like those of a frozen rabbit, the trembling corners betraying fear, the resignation lurking behind her gaze—none of that remained now.
In stark contrast, Adel's eyes now overflowed with vitality.
She was still gripped by fear—that much remained the same. But at least the emotion of surrender she'd shown back then was nowhere to be seen.
The transformation was so profound that one might doubt she was the same person. Before I realized it, a smile had formed on my lips.
"'I want to become stronger,' huh..."
When I first saw Adel, she had seemed like a fragile child—one who, despite being wounded from a fall off a cliff, still struggled to climb back up.
Even now, watching her gave me the same feeling as observing a child left by the water's edge.
It reminded me of my own childhood self, forced to walk a thorny path as the heir to a noble house, ignorant of the world.
Perhaps this sense of kinship came from knowing she, like me, was originally from modern times.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have felt this concerned for her.
'...Though she's different from how I was back then.'
Her answer was far better than the one I'd given in my youth. Back then, my response to the world had been to run away.
"Very well."
At my words, Adel's face brightened considerably.
Of course, this wasn't something to be purely happy about.
Becoming stronger wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. It would require giving her all, day after day, before she could truly grow.
She would likely have to walk a path of thorns every single day.
"Are you fully resolved?"
At my grave question, Adel gulped. As I'd said, it wouldn't be an easy road.
But it would still be a hundred times better than sitting idly by. Having steeled herself with that thought, she nodded firmly.
"Yes. Of course."
"Good."
Then, what must Adel do to become stronger?
Whenever I'd read The Villainess Turns Back Time Today in my past life, I'd always had the same thought:
If only Adel were stronger, most of the story's conflicts would resolve themselves easily.
But every time, one setting detail had stood in the way—
Adel's abysmal talent.
Her physique was far too frail to become a knight wielding aura. No matter how powerful her aura, it would be meaningless if the body containing it was weak.
The Crown Prince was the prime example. Drowning in luxury and drink, he'd neglected his training—which was why, in the original work, he'd lost every battle.
But it was already too late for her to train her body now. Aura itself was difficult to awaken unless cultivated from childhood.
'As for becoming a mage...'
The situation was the same.
While her mana reserves were decent, her most crucial talent—her sensitivity to mana—was pitiful.
She hadn't even felt the slightest dizziness when I'd unfolded the subspace during our re-contracting.
Even the original Adel had been painfully aware of her inferiority in this regard.
'But...'
The descendant of elves, wasn't it?
If so, then one path remained. A route I'd never considered before now surfaced in my mind.
"Arin."
At my call, Arin flung the door open and stepped inside. Startled by her sudden reappearance, Adel flinched.
"You called, Your Grace?"
I gave a slight nod before issuing my command.
"As the Spirit Knight, teach Adel the ways of Spirit Magic."
"Pardon? But..."
Arin frowned, questioning the order.
I knew what she was worried about.
Most of the spirits that had once lived in this world had long departed for the Spirit Realm, never to return.
Even Arin's own spirit spent most of its time there—such was the state of this ruined world.
But if we had that item Louie had given us as a gift, the story changed.
I opened my subspace and retrieved the music box.
A cylindrical wooden case, its most striking feature was the vintage-styled handle on its side.
The moment she saw it, Arin let out a short gasp—she must have understood my intent.
As a Spiritualist who had reached a considerable level of mastery, she would know exactly what this music box was.
"Can you do it?"
"Yes. It's entirely possible."
Arin nodded firmly in response to my question.
"I leave Adel in your care."
"I'll do my utmost."
She knelt on one knee as she spoke. Beside her, Adel was still tilting her head in confusion, unable to grasp the situation.
"So... I'm going to become a Spiritualist?"
I nodded at her question.
The Spiritualist route—one that hadn't existed in the original work.
If Louie hadn't handed over the music box... If I hadn't known Adel was a descendant of elves...
If I hadn't taken in Arin as a child in the first place... this would have been impossible.
'How strangely moving.'
To think my meddling with the original story would lead to this. Truly, no one can predict the path that lies ahead.