The World Abandoned by the Regression Protagonist

The heroines of the regression novel, obsessed with me, kill the original protagonist.

I never meant for that to happen.

The imperial palace was burning. It was the end of the Arken Empire, and of a thousand years of history.

Leonhardt von Arken stared at the flames beyond the window.

What in the world have I done?

Now that the hour of ruin had come, regret devoured everything. He had cast aside the people he ought to have trusted, and given his strength only to those he never should have believed. Even as the empire crumbled, he had turned his face from reality. This was the result.

"Your Majesty. What do you intend to do now?"

Chancellor Veronica asked it coldly, her eyes fixed on him in a glare.

Leonhardt could not bring himself to meet that gaze. He bowed his head.

If only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had listened to her...

His wife, Empress Seraphina, was staring at him with open venom. Across the beauty hailed as the peerless first beauty of the continent burned a deep, unmistakable light of resentment. Ariane, his half-sister, held Seraphina's hand, and her own eyes were full of sorrow and resignation.

Everyone who had once told him only what he wanted to hear was gone. In the end, the only ones left were the people he had shut out.

If only I had realized it a little sooner...

He should have understood sooner who was truly on his side. He should have trusted the ones who stood beside him. If he had truly listened to them even once, it would never have come to this.

"All of you... I am sorry..."

Leonhardt clenched the medal he had taken from the imperial treasury, and with it in his fist he apologized to them.

"I will set everything right."

Light spilled from his hand. It was the medal that was shining.

"I swear it. This time, I will believe in you."

The light pouring from the medal wrapped itself around Leonhardt's body.

"This time, I will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠protect you. Without fail."

And so the light swallowed him. Within it, Leonhardt closed his eyes and vowed that he would set everything right.

That was how it went...

Kang Taeyoon stared at the spearpoint leveled at his throat.

The novel he had read had certainly begun that way. So why was he standing in the Arken Imperial Palace with soldiers holding him captive?

I was home just a moment ago...

He had dropped into an unfamiliar place without warning, and the soldiers had rushed him before he could even get to his feet. When he asked where he was, the answer came back: the Arken Imperial Palace. At first he thought he had misheard. But once he caught the talk passing between the soldiers, he could no longer pretend he did not understand.

"They still haven't found that emperor bastard."

"Didn't they say they caught the empress and the princess?"

"They even grabbed the lady chancellor, and Leonhardt's the only one missing. Looks like he ran off on his own."

Leonhardt von Arken.

There was no dismissing it as someone who merely shared the name. Beyond the soldiers, people lay collapsed and bleeding, and black smoke was climbing from the palace windows.

"What the hell are you?"

The soldier gripping Kang Taeyoon's arm bore down on him.

"I..."

"Strange clothes, too. Where were you, and what were you doing?"

The T-shirt and trousers he had been wearing were unchanged. Of course they would look bizarre to these men. Kang Taeyoon swallowed against a dry throat. He was not of this place, and nothing came to him—no words that might let him slip past their suspicion.

Then a translucent window appeared before his eyes.

What?

Kang Taeyoon's face went rigid as he read the three names. The empress, the imperial princess, and the chancellor. Every one of them was a name he knew. All three were major figures of the original story.

But why have these people been captured?

In the original, Leonhardt's regression had succeeded. Returned to his days as crown prince, he contracted with the imperial guardian spirit and gained power. He kept the treacherous ministers at a distance and raised capable retainers—Veronica, who would become chancellor, and his trusted knight, Cassian. In the end he even turned back the invasion of the Waltern Empire. His romance with Seraphina had continued well, and he and Ariane had become an affectionate brother and sister. That was the story. He was certain of it.

And yet, before his eyes, the imperial palace was being sacked. Leonhardt was gone, and the central figures of the original were prisoners.

Don't tell me the world from before the regression was left behind, exactly as it was?

Kang Taeyoon's gaze returned to the quest window. Death upon failure. He was being ordered to rescue three people while he himself was a captive.

Is this a joke? You didn't even give me a single perk!

Everything happening now was the aftermath of what Leonhardt had done before he regressed. That bastard had gone back to the past as if he were atoning, and was rising from success to success, while Taeyoon was about to die in the world the man had wrecked.

No—why the hell should I have to clean up after that son of a bitch in the first place!

It was infuriatingly unfair. He had never even left a malicious comment on this novel. He had only read the main story, and he had enjoyed it.

I was a lurker, sure, but still...

Why he had been dropped here was a question for later. Right now, he had to live through this first.

"You bastard! Can't even answer when you're asked!"

The soldier's voice was a threat. Kang Taeyoon spun his thoughts and forced the words out.

"Leonhardt! I came to catch that bastard!"

"What? The emperor?"

"Yes! I meant to seize him and hand him over to the Waltern army!"

The soldiers stared at Kang Taeyoon the way one stares at a madman. Even he could tell his story carried no weight. But being taken for a lunatic was the better option, for now.

"But that son of a bitch disappeared! Goddamn it!"

Honest feeling tore its way out as rage.

Why me! Because of that bastard!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The more he thought about it, the hotter his anger burned, and because of that the fury was genuine.

"This guy... was he out of his mind?"

The soldier looked as if he could not believe what he was hearing. Kang Taeyoon was still grinding his teeth.

"If you ruin a country, you take responsibility for it! You think it's fine to just run away by yourself?!"

"Quiet!"

The spearpoint drew closer, and Kang Taeyoon shut his mouth.

A soldier who seemed to hold a somewhat higher rank looked his clothing over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once more.

"Lock him up for now. The clothes are suspicious, and he appears to know something about the emperor. We'll question him later."

"Yes, sir!"

Kang Taeyoon let the soldiers drag him off without a fight. He was still a captive, but the spearpoint that had been at his throat was gone.

I'm alive...

He had survived the immediate moment. What had not changed was this: if he failed to rescue the three of them, he would die.

Bang!

The door slammed shut. The place the soldiers had shoved him into was a small storeroom. His strange clothes had only made them want to confirm whether he might be someone worth keeping alive. They had spared him for that reason, but to the man left on watch, Kang Taeyoon was nothing but a nuisance.

"Stay put. You're not leaving here until we figure out what you are."

From outside came the sound of a bolt sliding home.

Kang Taeyoon looked around the storeroom. A few wooden crates and a worn chair were all it held. There was a window, but it was too small for even a head to pass through.

How am I supposed to get out of here?

Then voices drifted in from beyond the door.

"Never thought there'd be this many women in the palace."

"The palace maids are all daughters of noble houses, I guess. They look different from commoner women right from the start."

"I hear the capital nobles' mansions are packed with women to have fun with, too. Show up late and the good ones get snatched by other guys first."

"Me, I like young married women. Hehehe!"

"You bastard! Talk about having a type! Heh heh!"

The soldier guarding the door grumbled.

"Damn it. And I'm stuck watching some guy like this."

"Keep standing watch. We'll head out first."

"We'll give you the full story afterward, so look forward to it."

Their laughter faded down the corridor.

With the palace fallen, the Waltern soldiers had decided the war was over. Now was the hour of plunder. Once victory was certain, the discipline that had held through the fighting seemed to have come undone in a hurry.

If I'd at least been dropped into the body of a regular Waltern soldier, there'd be something I could do!

Kang Taeyoon looked at the quest window again.

If you're going to tell me to rescue them, you ought to at least tell me where they are.

The moment he touched Seraphina's name, new text appeared.

Red markers bloomed beyond the wall. Their positions were marked on something like a circular map as well.

If I can just get out, I can find them!

He possessed knowledge of the original story. If he went to Seraphina, there was hope. She did not know it, but she was holding the only hope there was.

Kang Taeyoon knocked on the door.

"Excuse me."

"What?"

"I... need to use the latrine."

"Hold it."

"It is truly urgent. Am I permitted to relieve myself in here?"

"Shit!"

The soldier spat the curse. But the order to keep Kang Taeyoon alive and unharmed left him no choice, and in the end he drew the bolt.

"You're a real pain. Follow me."

The guard led him to the latrine at the end of the corridor, pushed him inside, and waited at the door.

Then, from down the hall, another soldier called to the guard.

"Hey! That maid you set aside—some other guy's trying to take her!"

"What? I told you to leave her for me!"

"That's why I came to tell you! Hurry up!"

The guard cursed. He hammered on the latrine door and shouted.

"Don't come out until I get back!"

The sound of boots faded away.

Kang Taeyoon waited a moment, then opened the door. The corridor was empty.

This is my chance!

Light came into his eyes. He had never imagined an opening like this would actually come.