The Man’s 101st Bad Ending

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How can one describe the feeling of realizing the tower you meticulously built is made of sand?

Honor, power, the stability you sought through any means necessary…it all crumbled in an instant. There had been no warning, just as before.

Once again, his life began to unravel for the same reason.

Treason.

He had been falsely accused, yet the Taylor family offered no defense. He knew how this played out now.

No matter how hard he struggled, his death was predetermined.

Not by divine intervention, but by a conspiracy between Kaitel and the Taylor family.

“…Why me?”

“You still haven’t accepted reality? You still have the strength to talk after all that?”

He didn’t know how much time had passed. His body was broken, beyond repair.

The Crown Prince, who had visited him during a sleepless night, had offered a simple proposition, leave Miragen and the child unharmed, and surrender.

He knew then that it was over. He had failed again. He had struggled, but he hadn’t reached his goal.

What had gone wrong?

Even as he writhed in pain, his mind raced, searching for the missing piece.

He had to try a different approach in the next iteration, and the next. But could he exclude Miragen?

He couldn’t give her up.

She had become a part of him. He wondered if he would love her the same way in his next life. He probably wouldn’t.

Unless he loved her even more.

“You’re not answering. Have you finally given up?”

“…I suppose so. I knew from the beginning that this was predetermined.”

He had been suspicious.

When he was accused of treason, the Taylor family should have been ruined as well. But they remained untouched.

His life, his death, it didn’t matter. The Taylor family remained unscathed.

He had initially thought they had sacrificed him to preserve their status, offering something in exchange for his life. But he knew now that he was more valuable than that.

He held significant power within the Taylor family. How could they remain unaffected by the accusations against him?

“What did you give them to make them sacrifice me? We didn’t want for anything.”

“I don’t have to tell you that. Do I? I’m talking to a traitor.”

Thump, thump.

Kaitel patted his shoulder, chuckling, then sighed and rubbed his face as their eyes met.

He had lost all sensation in his body, except for his eyes. All his remaining mana burned within them, resonating with something within Kaitel.

His eyes flickered red.

“…Tsk. Pointless words.”

Kaitel stepped back from the cell bars.

He shook his head as if his head was hurting, then pressed his hand against his forehead and continued.

Had the red glint in his eyes been a trick of the light? His golden eyes, restored to their normal color, seemed colder now.

“I thought you would have figured it out by now. You’d be a fool not to. I thought you suspected something when I started dealing with the North… Was I wrong?”

“You were rather obvious. I was prepared, but I guess I was wrong.”

“If you wanted to manipulate someone, you should have chosen me, not Miragen or the Taylor’s. It’s dangerous to infiltrate the imperial family and build your own power base.”

“…You knew I wouldn’t be a threat.”

“I’m sorry.”

Kaitel grinned cruelly, leaning closer to the bars. He reached out and touched Robert’s hair.

“I don’t trust anyone but myself. Not even Father, not even Miragen. I’ll discard anyone I don’t need.”

“Miragen, you say?”

He couldn’t hide his concern for Miragen.

Kaitel chuckled, shrugging.

“Don’t worry. I have no reason to harm my own sister if you’re dead. It wouldn’t make sense for a brother to harm his family. We’re not on bad terms, and she’ll be devastated when you’re gone.”

He didn’t care if he died. He didn’t care if he was tortured, if the pain lingered into his next life. But Miragen…if she suffered, his purpose would change.

He would kill Kaitel, no matter the cost. If Miragen died…

…his reason for regressing would change. But he couldn’t show his anger. It would only provoke Kaitel.

He could be as subservient as necessary.

He suppressed his emotions and stared at Kaitel, who pulled away from the bars and looked at him intently.

“I was planning to break her anyway. Don’t you have a more interesting offer? For example…”

A red glint flickered in his eyes again.

Was it a manifestation of Kaitel’s madness?

The Crown Prince, always praised for his composure, was broken inside. No one would consider him sane.

He chuckled softly, then met Kaitel’s gaze, a shiver running down his spine.

Was this really Kaitel? When had the Crown Prince become so twisted?

“Beg like a dog, and I might spare your life.”

“Like a dog?”

“Beg, and I’ll spare Miragen. I promise you, on my name as Crown Prince.”

Beg? The princess’s consort, the son of the prestigious Taylor family?

He should be killed, not humiliated. But Kaitel seemed to relish the thought.

He hesitated.

Would begging increase Miragen’s chances of survival?

He had to try. He had to do everything he could to ensure Miragen’s safety after his death.

His parched lips parted, and a pathetic sound escaped.

“…Woof, woof.”

He didn’t feel ashamed. He would crawl on his severed limbs if that’s what it took.

His pathetic attempt at imitating a dog echoed through the dungeon.

Kaitel’s laughter followed, echoing through the palace.

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He didn’t see Miragen until the day of his execution. That was the condition for her survival.

He was given one meal a day and barely any water. His throat bled whenever he tried to speak.

He had lost his legs, and his arms were useless.

His empty sockets stared into nothingness. He could only see through one remaining eye.

He wondered what Miragen would think if she saw him like this.

If it weren’t for Yuria’s previous torture, he wouldn’t even have the mental capacity to think of Miragen.

He was subjected to verbal abuse. He was used to Yuria’s insults, but his father’s words stung.

He didn’t understand what was so important about the family name. At least he knew Miragen was safe.

He could still speak then, and he had told her he would see her again, hoping she wouldn’t realize he was about to die.

“…I won’t have a child next time.”

He wasn’t sure if it would be the same child, even if they had another.

He had already given their unborn child a name, grown attached, and now…he wouldn’t even see its face.

Would things be different if they had met sooner, had the child earlier? No, he would probably continue to die for a while.

He might escape this cycle of regressions sooner if he severed his ties with Miragen and found another way, but…he was too foolish to abandon her.

He would meet Miragen in every life. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He didn’t know how long these feelings would last, but she had become more important to him than anything else.

There were so many places he hadn’t been, so many words he hadn’t said.

Would he be able to express everything when they met again? No, that would be difficult.

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He would die many more times.

Could he ensure Miragen wouldn’t grieve, even as he suffered? He would try.

He would strive for a future where he and Miragen could find happiness.

When a small light touched his eye, he knew it was his last day.

What would he say to her when they met again in his next life? And the next? And finally, when the regressions ended, what would he say?

He hadn’t found the answer by the time the executioner’s blade touched his neck, his eyes meeting Miragen’s.

He died countless more times, until he finally reached his thirty-fifth iteration.

He started his new life, still unable to express everything he wanted to tell her.

“What will I do this time?”

As always, he woke up in his bed on a summer day, twenty years old, a strange sensation washing over him.

Perhaps it was a warning of the future to come. He had to be careful.

He hoped she wouldn’t grieve, even when this story reached its end.

It was difficult to speak of this with a smile.

It was, after all, a tragic past.

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[Translator Notes]

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