Chapter 211
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: Liana Lumenhark (1)
[...I had formed a partnership with Liana.]
Some might think of a sex partner first when they hear "partner," but...
Here, partner didn't mean that. It meant the person I trusted the most, just like Lucia right now.
Me, of all people, trusting Liana Lumenhark.
It was so unbelievable that a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
Yet in the dream world, I trusted Liana deeply—there was no denying it, no matter how hard I tried.
'...That's what twisted all my assumptions.'
I leaned back in my chair and gazed up at the ceiling.
Until now, I'd thought the reason "Resurrected Corruption" had taken on my first-round self's form was leftover data from playing Academy's Tamer.
But...
The fact that I'd partnered with Liana turned my hypothesis into trash.
I can state it unequivocally: every time I played Academy's Tamer, Liana killed me whenever we met.
After dying a few gruesome deaths, I tried all sorts of ways to avoid it, but nothing worked.
In fact, I'd gotten caught scheming pointlessly and killed even faster than usual a few times.
We weren't even close to partners—we could barely hold a proper conversation.
That was my relationship with Liana.
'Except for that one exception...'
But just once.
I'd faced her head-on and survived. Hell, I'd even earned her goodwill.
...Right here in this world.
In this world alone, Liana had shown me favor.
I didn't think it was because of my actions.
Right after reincarnating, my behavior hadn't changed much from Eugene Calliope's in the Academy's Tamer days.
Back then, I feared the butterfly effect and believed sticking closest to the original story gave me the best shot at survival.
Yet despite my actions mirroring those days, Liana's reactions were completely different.
If I'd approached her without fear...
Our relationship might have turned out vastly different, or so it seemed.
'...But all those assumptions only hold if Liana doesn't treat me as an enemy.'
So, what was the biggest difference between Academy's Tamer and this world?
Surprisingly simple.
I'd reincarnated into this world as myself.
The condition for Liana not antagonizing Eugene Calliope was my reincarnation into him.
'...Then what the hell was the world where Liana and I became partners?'
The more I thought about it, the more my head spun.
It felt like wandering an endless maze with no exit.
Every hypothesis felt far-fetched, but nothing else explained the situation.
I let out a long sigh and gave up trying to reach a conclusion.
'...What matters now isn't how I became partners with Liana.'
What matters is the choices I make going forward.
Until now, I'd planned to delay Liana's scheme and minimize civil war casualties.
I'd taken it for granted that Liana was evil—never even dreamed of doubting it.
'If I hadn't seen those dream world scenes, I'd still think that way...'
But now that I'd confirmed the truth, I couldn't go through with it.
I lowered my head and stared at my palm.
A pristine white hand overlapped with one drenched in blood.
—Hee hee hee... Now... Eugene... will never... forget me...♪
Those words I'd heard when I stabbed Liana's heart during our deal.
Her dying words hadn't faded even after the world changed—they were etched deep inside me.
To the me in the dream world, Liana's death had held immense meaning.
If I hadn't dreamed it, I wouldn't even have to agonize over this.
The thought flickered briefly, but it was foolish.
If the "me" from the dream world was truly me, he'd have tried to convey this story somehow.
Even if it meant handing his body over to "Resurrected Corruption."
'...This is ridiculous.'
I couldn't hold back a bitter chuckle.
I just couldn't believe that everything had happened because of my choices.
'...I acted all high and mighty as a regressor, but I knew nothing.'
I'd thought Liana betraying humanity and sparking civil war was just for fun.
That's the kind of character the princess was.
I'd jumped to simplistic conclusions and never questioned her motives.
But what was the reality?
Liana hadn't betrayed the empire.
She'd shouldered the stigma of traitor and died to unite it.
'...For centuries, the Lumenhark Empire had been too peaceful.'
There were scarcely any nations worthy of being called enemies.
At best, the Ain tribes' lands and the Aslan Empire—but the Ain king never stirred, and Aslan was like a brother nation in closeness.
Endless peace was fine, but...
Like stagnant water rotting, with no external foes, the empire's internal darkness grew unchecked in the shadows.
The trigger for those shadows to emerge was the civil war Liana ignited.
Forces that might have stayed silent under other nobles' rebellions saw the imperial blood in Liana flipping against the empire and thought this chance wouldn't come again.
Thus, reactionary factions scattered across the empire rallied under Liana, and when their power peaked...
...Liana chose death.
'Looking back, I should have suspected it...'
After her death, everything suspiciously fell into place.
The faction that lost their brilliant princess fell into chaos, and the imperial family seized the opening.
With their shadowy shield gone, the reactionaries were crushed in one fell swoop, uniting the empire however briefly—and gaining the strength to face the final boss.
"...That's the story of the Academy's Tamer world."
Plus, in the dream world, I'd earned massive soldier support for personally dealing with Liana, rising to commander-in-chief.
Her death had cleared the path to the final boss in one stroke.
'The princess's actions now match the dream world almost perfectly.'
Aside from me not being her partner, Liana's moves were identical to what I'd seen.
No need to forcibly oppose her—just let her "suicide," and I'd naturally get my shot at the final boss.
If I hadn't seen the dream world.
Even knowing the truth, I might have looked away from her death.
She wanted to die, and to use that death most effectively— who was I to stop her?
But.
The night before I pierced her heart.
One sentence she'd uttered while gazing at the night sky stopped me cold.
—Still, I don't want to die after all.
She'd immediately joked it off afterward, but Liana's wish not to die was genuine.
...Yet she'd chosen suicide anyway.
As if she had no other choice.
Liana Lumenhark wasn't the type to choose death from threats or coercion.
So her suicide meant there had to be a compelling reason.
'...The problem is, I can't figure out what it was.'
Frustrated, I chewed my lip.
In the dream world, I'd partnered with her because I'd heard the reason.
Because of it, I'd pitied her, felt compassion,
....and tried not to love her.
I knew it instinctively.
This reason held the key to everything.
'...Should I just ask Liana directly?'
The thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head.
I couldn't get confused.
This wasn't the dream world.
She did favor me, but we hadn't built the same bond as there.
Asking suddenly about her deepest secret? Her reaction was unpredictable.
I stood and walked to the window, looking up at the night sky.
Which was truly right?
The dream world's me believed Liana's plan was correct and lived as her partner.
As a result, he'd watched countless innocents die in the civil war.
I knew it.
This was wrong.
But without civil war, the empire wouldn't unite.
Facing the great war ahead, individuals would prioritize self-interest, checking each other, and the darkness would exploit the gaps.
'...If that happens.'
I'd lose even the chance to fight the final boss, dooming the world to a bad end.
I had to choose.
Knowing countless would die and suffer, let Liana's suicide slide to gain a shot at the final boss?
Or stand against her, even if it meant failing to unite the empire?
Liana's life and this world's future hung in my hands.