The Seventh Life

The seventh life.

"Wait—wait, please calm down, sis!"

"If only you…!"

From Anne's waist came a palm-sized dagger, its blade coated in deadly poison. A single touch of the toxin—our family's own creation—brought agony beyond description. It had been layered on so thick that the poison dripped off in fat, glistening drops.

"If only you hadn't been born…!"

"I'm telling you—that isn't my fault…!"

I seized her wrist and fought with everything I had to keep the blade from finding me. Our strength locked against each other, both of us trembling.

Drip—

In that instant, a bead of poison fell from the tip of the blade. Of all places, it landed in my eye. A searing, burning pain tore through me.

"Gyaaaaah!!!"

"Die…! Trash like you…! Die—"

Blackout.

Then the lights came back on.

"Haa…."

Morning sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains as if urging me to get up, and washed over my face.

I'd failed again.

This regression phenomenon had started only a few days ago. Six repetitions meant six days, more or less.

Anne had come to my room at night. We'd shared a quiet cup of tea. Then, without warning, a binding spell locked me in place—and she cut off my head.

Huuurk…!

And then morning sunlight, again, through the curtains.

Knock, knock, knock—

The door opened with the knock, and I found myself face-to-face with Anne, wearing the gentlest expression in the world.

"Noah~"

I had already lived this exact moment six times.

So this is the seventh… I guess.

In the second life, I'd asked her from the start why she wanted me dead—and died for it. In the third, I'd told our parents, and she'd slaughtered the entire household. In the fourth, I'd fled the mansion at night, trying to reach the prestigious Sirloin Family Estate for protection, only to take a sword through the back before I got there. In the fifth, I'd ambushed Anne myself and been cut down instead. In the sixth, I'd faced her head-on and died on a poisoned blade.

"…Whew."

Even so, the fact that this chance hadn't run out yet drew a sigh of relief from me. My whole body was soaked in sweat, but still.

At least I'm getting better at this.

One silver lining: my survival time kept stretching a little longer with each loop. If I kept correcting my mistakes and planning more carefully, I might eventually slip free of Anne's grip.

The real problem was how to have her arrested. And I had no idea how many of these chances I had left. As a last resort… I might have to hurt her with my own hands. Whether I could actually do it was another question.

"Noah~"

"……."

That impossibly gentle knock came again. I stayed silent, and watched the door open.

"…Anne."

Red hair. Height roughly the same as mine. A slender, finely built frame. A woman who wore glasses because of her poor eyesight. And the same person who, mere moments ago, had been grinding her teeth and trying to kill me.

My older sister—Anne Irisstar.

"Did you sleep well? Oh my, look at you—you're covered in sweat. Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah. Seems that way. I don't really remember it, though."

She had tried to stab me with the dagger she kept at the small of her back—the one that bore the Irisstar crest. Ordinarily it wasn't poisoned. But she could coat it whenever she liked.

"Ugh…."

"Are you okay?!"

"Yeah. I'm fine…."

I forced my locked-up body to move, working through the crack of every joint until I could function again. It was the only way to loosen up enough to get out of bed.

"You're really all right…?"

"Yes… I'll go wash up. You go on ahead and take a seat."

"Okay. I'll wait for you."

She gave my shoulder a gentle pat and left the room.

"Kh… haa…."

The moment she was gone, I let out the breath I'd been holding and collapsed back onto the bed.

Why does she keep trying to kill me…?

I still didn't know the reason. The only thing I'd ever done wrong to Anne was, years ago, secretly eating the chocolate she liked. I'd been thoroughly scolded for it and never done it again.

I had a guess, of course… and that particular problem was something I could fix, if I got the chance. The issue was dying before I ever got that far.

What am I supposed to do…?

I was sick of this. No matter what I tried, Anne killed me before the day was over. Surviving past today felt impossible.

"Good morning, young master."

"Yeah. Morning."

The same exchange with the maid, word for word. I still didn't know why this cursed loop had begun. More accurately, I never had time to find out. I died before I could dig even a little.

Maybe I should prepare the antidote in advance.

Now that I knew she was willing to use poison, I needed to be ready. The Irisstar Family Antidote—and a setup that would let me take it the second I needed it.

"Noah~ You look all right. That's a relief~"

"Did something happen?"

"Well, he woke up this morning drenched in sweat from head to toe~"

"Oh dear. Should I call the family physician?"

"No, I'm fine. I just had a nightmare, that's all."

Mother fretted over me with her usual gentle warmth. Anne had conveniently supplied the excuse, which made things easier—though calling it a nightmare was generous. It had been real.

And next, without fail….

"Noah. Ready?"

"Yes. Whenever you are."

The daily sparring session between the heirs of the Irisstar family. There were only the two of us, but there had always been so much to learn from it that I'd genuinely loved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this hour—right up until I realized those attacks were meant to kill.

"Shall we, then~?"

"Yes."

Sword in hand, I waited to receive her. Anne leveled her rapier—already wreathed in magic—and set herself to charge.

"Hah!"

The distance between us ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vanished in a blink. I twisted my body just enough to the side and let the thrust slide past.

"Hup!"

Next came a wide horizontal cut. Pivoting on her right leg, she swept the blade in a broad arc that left almost no room to dodge. I'd seen this attack countless times. She had shown me every kind of strike over the years, but today's spar was the fifth time through this particular sequence—I had it memorized cold.

Next would be the kick, if I remembered right.

"Kh…!"

I caught the seamless kick on my forearm and shoved myself back out of range. Even knowing it was coming, the technique was so clean and free of waste that it still left me winded. How she could load magic into an attack that polished, I still didn't fully understand. Truly worthy of the person I'd always respected—if you ignored the part where she was trying to murder me.

"What's this, Noah? You never used to just sit there and block."

"You're not leaving me any openings, sis."

Not this time. Not the time before. I'd hunted for gaps and found none—nothing but dirty tricks, and even those barely counted. But when your life is on the line, does "dirty" even matter?

"Don't just—block!"

"…!"

Another thrust came in. I deflected it just enough and, this time, swept my longsword up from below. Anne spun lightly out of the way—and I took that opening.

Now!

I poured magic into the strike and drove my elbow into her as she twisted aside.

"Ugh?!"

The hit connected. Anne went down hard and rolled across the ground.

"Haa… not bad."

"All thanks to training with you, sis."

I'd lived this far already. And I'd learned something important: winning wasn't always the better outcome. There were consequences to casually overpowering your teacher.

In this spar, I had to lose. Narrowly. Or I would die.

"Phase two."

"…Kh."

Anne released the magic of her rapier—Flamingo. Crimson light rippled out and wrapped around her. Then the thrusts came even faster.

"Hah!"

Twisting alone wouldn't cut it anymore. I had to meet them with the blade.

"Then I'll match you."

"I was hoping you would!"

I released the magic of my longsword—Rinne. A blue aura coiled along the blade and settled over my body.

"Hah!"

This time I was the one who charged, swinging hard for Anne.

"Not a chance!"

She dropped flat to the ground, slipped under the cut, and went for my legs.

"Hup!"

"Ugh?!"

I drove Rinne into the dirt and blocked the strike before it landed. Anne, already committed to the kick, lost her balance and toppled over.

Damn it—I was supposed to lose…!

Instinct had taken over the second my life felt threatened. And of course, that meant—

"……."

I quietly leveled the longsword at her. A declaration of victory. Proof that her life was in my hands. If I hesitated here out of some half-hearted mercy, her inferiority complex would explode at the idea that I'd gone easy on her. So I declared it cleanly.

Honestly, that competitive streak of hers was the real problem—

"Sis—ugh?!"

From the ground, Anne snared the blade between her legs. She twisted her whole body as she rose, wrenching the sword out of my grip.

"Kh…!"

The kick that followed sent me sprawling. When I looked up, the tip of Anne's rapier was aimed straight at my face.

"That's enough!"

"You can't let your guard down until the very end, Noah."

"Is that really something you should be doing from the ground…."

"It is. Why—where else would I do it?"

"Well done, Anne."

Footsteps approached. Our father—Cain Irisstar. The long hair suited him remarkably well. I still remembered the time I'd grown mine out to match his, only to have it forcibly shaved off with a lecture about what a soldier heading to the front lines thought he was doing.

Whew….

Anyway, I was glad I'd lost. If I'd won, who knew what would have happened. She probably wouldn't kill me right here in front of Father… probably.

"Father!"

"Your improvisation has improved, but this time your brother simply froze and failed to respond. Against any other swordsman, the moment you threw that kick, your head would have left your shoulders."

"But…."

"I've told you before. Treat every match as if it were real combat."

"…I'll keep that in—"

"No, Father."

"Hm?"

I cut in on advice I would never normally dare interrupt—because I knew exactly how Anne's face would twist if this kept going. It was already starting to.

"The mistake was mine. I thought I'd won and let my guard down. If I'd stayed properly alert, I never would have lost the match in the first place."

"True. By your own account, Noah, that mistake already made you a dead man."

"Yes. Exactly. So—"

"Knowing that, why didn't you counter when Anne struck back?"

"……."

The moment her foot came up, my hands had been empty. But a person doesn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need a weapon in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their grip to still have one. I still had both hands. More than enough to stop her attack.

"Because I didn't see it. By the time I did, it was already…."

"Is that so. With your talent, I would have expected you to catch it."

"I think you overestimate me, Father."

"Very well. Apply yourself further."

"Yes, sir."

Father left. Only Anne and I remained on the sparring ground.

"…Noah."

"Yes…?"

"Did you see it?"

"See what…?"

"What Father said. The kick. Did you see it coming?"

"I saw it when it was already too late to dodge."

"No. Before that."

"…!"

Anne glared at me from inches away. That look was genuinely terrifying.

"I didn't… see it. Like I said."

"Really?"

"Yes. What would I even gain by lying to you, sis?"

"……."

She kept staring for a long moment. Then, at last, her expression eased.

"…Fine. Sorry for snapping at you for no reason."

"……No. I understand how you feel."

The reason my sister wanted me dead.

—If only you hadn't been born…!

It was almost certainly about the position of family head. From early on she had declared she would become the head, endured every brutal lesson and every merciless training regimen, and forged the combat strength she had now. But Father barely looked at her. He favored me to a degree that bordered on the unnatural. Whether that was the whole of it or not, the idea of competing for succession had become almost meaningless—public opinion already treated me as the next head of the Irisstar family.

"Thanks, Noah~ I feel so much better now~"

"……I'm glad."

The family headship… she could have it. Gladly.

Anything was better than dying.