The Man’s 101st Bad Ending

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Revenge, what I wanted was probably quite a dirty and sticky emotion. Even if it wasn’t something I felt from simply repeating the regression, my feelings towards Yuria could never be clean.

Why did it become twisted? I didn’t know the reason. Yuria’s heart had been twisted since birth, so from the beginning, the world she saw was close to being monochrome.

She did not distinguish between the blood shed by humans and the blood shed by animals, and if she thought she was right, she would simply push forward regardless of what was sacrificed.

Even when Mother passed away, I felt a momentary chill upon seeing Yuria’s expressionless face.

It would be foolish to harbor resentment towards such a person.

No matter how much I appealed to a woman who did not consider her own actions as sins, in the end, it would be no different from shouting at a wall with no one around.

Yuria Taylor was an obstacle to me.

The most awkward and long-faced opponent I would eventually clash with.

In what way should I get rid of her so that she would crumble and never be able to stand up on her own again, cowering forever?

The method that came to mind was quite simple.

Even if I couldn’t classify the method itself as simple, it was one of the things I had experienced before.

Just as the name Yuria Taylor was a nightmare to me, maybe I could make the name Robert Taylor feel like a nightmare to her.

Tap, tap.

I tapped the armrest of the chair, lost in thought.

As my thoughts became organized, I felt a sense of refreshment in my heart.

It was quite a strange feeling, considering I was looking forward to someone’s downfall.

***

Clop.

As the horse stopped, I soon realized I had arrived at the ducal estate. At a time close to midnight, Yuria had probably arrived earlier, as her carriage was already parked.

The light coming from inside would be hers.

I had pondered quite a bit to avoid running into her at the entrance like last time, but what greeted me was an empty hallway.

“You’re back.”

“Did the Young Lady say anything?”

When I asked if she had said anything about my actions, Renold shook his head and answered.

“She just came in, but she didn’t say anything in particular. Did something happen?”

“…No, it’s fine if not.”

She must have thought it would be a self-inflicted wound to mention the princess.

No matter how much she was the Young Lady of the Taylors, since Father had tacitly approved of my actions, it would be difficult for her to say anything about the imperial family and me.

I shook my head at Renold, who asked if I would return to my room.

It was better to face Yuria when her thoughts about me were complicated.

If she faced me in a confusing situation, it would be difficult for her to make a rational judgment.

When I said I should see the Young Lady, Renold hesitated for a moment and soon nodded, saying he understood.

Perhaps Yuria was not in her room, as Renold led the way to the dining area, where I saw Yuria drinking tea alone.

“You’ve seemed quite upset since earlier, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. There’s nothing to be upset about.”

Then, as I was about to move forward, I stopped for a moment and spoke again.

“Since the surroundings might become noisy, take measures to keep it quiet.”

“Understood.”

Even if he couldn’t create a barrier, he could at least silence the servants who heard strange things.

Renold disappeared, and I moved my steps inside again.

As the door swung open with a creak, Yuria raised her head.

Seeing me, she chuckled slightly, then quietly opened her mouth.

“You said you’d be together all day long, did you get stood up?”

“It’s not my taste. Were you jealo- oh my.”

Clang.

I quietly looked at the teacup that flew and hit the wall beside me, then turned my gaze to Yuria.

The face that had been smiling was now gone without a trace, leaving only cold and desolate eyes.

The dining table without a single light on, as even the precariously burning candle was extinguished, was covered in darkness where we could barely see each other’s eyes.

Yuria, who had thrown the teacup at me, continued as if nothing had happened.

As if regretting that it didn’t hit me, glancing at the fallen teacup.

“I never told you to avoid it.”

“You never told me to get hit either.”

“You’ve become quite bold lately. I guess you have someone to rely on? Robert Taylor.”

“Someone to rely on, huh.”

Shrugging my shoulders once, I grinned brazenly.

Right now, it was only Miragen, but I planned to create more in the future.

Moreover, wasn’t this a matter Father had tacitly approved of?

All Yuria could do to me was get angry like this.

No matter how many teacups she threw, nothing would change.

“Didn’t you see it earlier? The one I rely on.”

“Just because the princess takes your side doesn’t mean much will change. I wonder how long the support you gained by opposing this subjugation as a condition will last.”

“I think about a year.”

“What can you do with just a year? With just a year, do you think you can bring down my position as the heir that I have built up all this time?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

For a moment, Yuria’s brows furrowed deeply.

A year would be around next winter.

By then, I would probably be thinking about the false accusation of treason, so I had to have ownership of the Taylors.

That’s why I planned to make my move this winter.

I had to finish everything before next fall arrived.

Perhaps because there were no more teacups to grasp, Yuria’s hand trembled and shook in the air.

Exhaling through her clenched teeth, her eyes glaring at me as if to devour me were visible.

Yet the one who remained calm was still me.

Picking up a piece of the teacup that had fallen to the floor, I spoke like that.

“You said before. That there are things that cannot be reversed.”

It was a saying about trust, but now it had a slightly different meaning.

A broken teacup does not return.

Because Yuria herself threw it, even if it was put back together, it would not return to the teacup it once was.

Wouldn’t her fate be similar to this teacup?

Although it had not been thrown yet, by this time next year, it would surely be shattered miserably.

So it was a warning.

For her to have at least a little sense of caution, to be wary and afraid of me.

To monitor my every move, so that she herself would be bound by my movements.

“I plan to be away for a long time in the winter. I need to prepare to become the family head in my own way, don’t I?”

“…Ha.”

“In the north with Adele Igrit, and in the south with Saint Adriana.”

Yuria’s complexion, which had been laughing in disbelief, briefly turned cold.

As if trying to see if what I had said was a bluff, her eyes that had been staring at me intently soon narrowed.

“It would be better not to utter such words even as a joke.”

“Who knows? You’ll soon find out whether it’s a joke or not. Aren’t you always watching me?”

“Watching you? You’re really good at saying things I’ve never heard of. Are you perhaps delusional?”

“Delusional, huh.”

Fiddling with the piece of teacup I had picked up, I then threw it towards the curtain.

With a brief swoosh, the piece of teacup that cut through the air soon hit something and stuck.

It was not the sound of hitting a wall.

The sound of penetrating something soft, so as I quietly looked that way, the maid who had been hiding finally revealed herself.

“Yo- Young Lady…”

The maid, who covered the piece stuck in her arm, opened her mouth.

It was a familiar face.

She was the maid who always brought me tea or snacks when Renold was not around, so I knew well from the beginning that she was watching me.

So I paid a little attention when I was outside.

I deliberately went to crowded places and tried to shake off the tail whenever possible.

So she probably didn’t know I had gone to the Moon Tower.

If she had known, she wouldn’t have doubted my friendship with the saint.

Seeing the maid who had revealed herself, I began to speak again.

“I pretended not to know about those who had been by my side all this time for the sake of the Young Lady. Isn’t it embarrassing to be caught like this? Ignoring me like that, yet keeping an eye on me.”

Yuria did not even answer.

She merely stared at me coldly, silently listening to what I was saying. But the emotion she harbored would be close to humiliation.

She must have been a little flustered, as she had never expected me to be aware of such things.

I approached Yuria, who couldn’t say a word.

Step by step, much closer than when she threw the teacup at me, now at a distance where we could fully see each other’s faces.

Deftly lighting the candle, I placed the broken teacup piece in front of her and opened my mouth.

Smiling softly, as if whispering.

“…Were you perhaps afraid of me?”

“Robert Taylor!”

Yuria, who had jumped up from her seat, grabbed my collar, but that was all.

Her wrist, trembling and shaking without any strength, fell off as I tapped it lightly.

Brushing off her hand, I continued as I tidied my clothes.

“If you weren’t, you could have just said so. There was no need for you to act so rough.”

“…I have never been afraid of you. I have always considered you pathetic, relying on Mother and unable to do anything on your own. I have only despised you.”

As if she couldn’t believe it, Yuria chuckled and glared at me roughly.

“Become the family head? Try all you want. Whether you go to the north and gain the support of the Grand Duchess, or go to the south and gain the support of the saint, nothing will change.”

“Is that so?”

“I am Yuria Taylor. The Young Lady of the Taylors, and the one who has sought to become the family head before you could even speak properly. You, you can’t do anything. Robert.”

Looking at Yuria, who made eye contact with me, a strange feeling blossomed.

Even looking at Yuria Taylor, I no longer felt any emotion, just an empty feeling as if looking at someone else.

Yes, just like when I looked at Theresa.

In the past, I was afraid.

When I first started this run, I tried to become indifferent to Yuria, and later, I harbored hatred for a while.

But now, I didn’t feel anything at all.

A woman who couldn’t control her immediate anger and confusion and had lost her senses, I was convinced she could no longer be my match.

“Then we’ll find out after the winter passes. Whether I’m qualified to become the family head or not.”

“You… can’t become it, Robert.”

“No, I will become it.”

Gaining the support of Adele, the support of the church. And gaining the support of the imperial family to make the Taylors mine.

In the process, I planned to create my own forces to prepare for the future, and to regain my own realm to a certain level.

When winter passed, when the bitter cold melted away and only warmth remained in the spring.

Would I still call Yuria the Young Lady then?

Smirking at Yuria, who had clenched her teeth, I slightly distanced myself and politely bowed my head.

It was an etiquette I had never shown before, fully observing the rules.

Yuria stared at me at the greeting.

“Before, you asked me if I was confident.”

It must have been what she said before I went to the palace. It was something I said to provoke her.

Wondering if she still remembered, as I looked at her, Yuria drew a dagger and cut her palm.

Pressing her bleeding hand tightly, she glared at me and moved her lips again.

“…I will definitely become the family head. And I will make you take responsibility for what you said.”

Responsibility, I knew well what that word meant.

How many times had I died entangled in that responsibility? But I was not afraid.

I had long ago made up my mind to choose where I would die in this life.

I had not lived carelessly enough to die by Yuria’s hands.

As such, there was no need to even harbor fear.

“Is that so?”

But her wish would not be able to continue.

Because I had made up my mind to become the family head, Yuria, who had only lived once, could not defeat Robert, who had lived 100 times.

It was a predetermined story.

In this fated play where the script, lines, and even the ending were set. The fate she would face was only one.

Tragedy.

Muttering softly as I recalled that word.

My expression was now simply serene, as if I had nothing more to say.

“Then let’s try it. When we meet next time, we’ll roughly have that answer.”

When I turned my back and left the dining room, the sound of something breaking loudly echoed from behind.

For a long time, the sound that seemed to shatter everything inside finally stopped.

Instead, only the roar of a woman screaming in agony remained.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇