Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings

Chapter 98: The Throne

『Well done, well done. I didn’t quite catch the last part, but you did great.』

In the corner of his room, the blue fireball reincarnated person was comforting a tearful Abel.

『Not everyone carries over their memories… Though, I have to say, the pairing of Faratiana and Rofus was quite unexpected.』

“…”

When Abel didn’t respond, the blue fireball reincarnated person sighed and looked at the black-covered book on the desk.

It was a nonfiction (with the author’s personal interpretation) romance novel popular in the Litre territory, “The Dark Noble and the Sailor Girl.”

Riruka had given it to him, saying that if he wanted to know more about the situation with Faratiana, he should read this book.

Although it had fallen out of the spotlight for a while, rumors of a potential sequel had reignited its popularity.

Incidentally, although still in small numbers, it had started to circulate among the nobility in the royal capital as well.

『…I’m sorry.』

Hearing the blue fireball reincarnated person apologize, Abel quietly lifted his head.

“Why are you apologizing?”

『According to this book, the monster attacks in Rougvelt started earlier. Along with that, there were reports of kidnappings and looting. If I had gone to Rougvelt right after reincarnating instead of gathering magic items…』

“No one could have predicted that. In that situation, Rofus moved faster than anyone and saved Rougvelt. He punished the officials who were imposing bad governance and even rescued her childhood friend, whom we couldn’t save. Rofus saved everything about Faratiana.”

『…』

“Right now, I just feel frustrated with myself.”

『…If we had thought about it, we could have predicted that the world was changing when the Leopard King Ambre attacked. It was my fault for not realizing it.』

“If it was a fault, then it was mine for not realizing it either. It was our fault.”

Abel clenched his fists, determination burning in his eyes.

“This time, I made a lot of mistakes—but I won’t make them again. This time, I’ll ensure a happy ending. I’ve had enough of the world ending in ruin.”

Then, hesitatingly, Abel continued.

“But… I still can’t get over Faratiana and Rofus…”

『Well, she was your former wife, after all. It’s understandable.』

The blue fireball reincarnated person sat on Abel’s head, patting him comfortingly.

Abel allowed it for a while, then suddenly looked at the blue fireball reincarnated person.

“By the way, I’ve been wondering—”

『Hmm?』

“About your reaction to Rofus… Could it be that you—are you a woman?”

The blue fireball reincarnated person froze at Abel’s question.

『…Well, yes.』

After a long silence, Abel sighed at the affirmation.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

『Well, in my current state, I’m just a soul. Gender doesn’t really matter.』

“Of course it matters. My heart felt like it was going to explode when you got that excited in front of Rofus.”

『I wasn’t that excited! Anyone would react like that if such a handsome guy came close!』

“Please stop doing that with my body. Ever since we switched, my heart hasn’t stopped racing, probably because of your influence.”

『I can’t control it either, so there’s nothing I can do.』

“So, what does that mean? Am I going to have my heart race every time I’m in front of Rofus? Now that I think about it, even when we were talking about magic tools, my heart kept—”

『I couldn’t help it! From my perspective, Rofus was like a prince on a white horse who saved me from a life-threatening situation.』

“Rofus isn’t a prince, nor did he ride a white horse. If anything, a black dragon would suit him better.”

『That’s not what I meant! But you’re right, a black dragon does suit him…』

As they bantered back and forth, Abel’s previously gloomy mood began to lighten.

Afterwards, Abel contacted Riruka.

Their destination was the volcanic region, the peak of Mount Helas—the Fire God’s Shrine.

To receive the Fire God’s blessing.

＊

Rofus had been summoned by Asteria to the royal palace.

The pretext was to thank him for helping arrange the meeting between Raymond and Asteria.

However, Rofus seemed somewhat gloomy about his visit to the palace.

A summons from royalty, especially from the first princess, his classmate, was not something he could refuse without a good reason.

Rofus didn’t take this “thank you” summons at face value.

After all, he had just received what could be seen as a marriage proposal from the royal family.

Although Rudens had apparently declined on his behalf, they wouldn’t have brought it up if they were going to give up so easily.

They likely wanted to incorporate the hero black mage who suppressed the recent royal capital attack into their ranks.

Rofus had guessed as much.

In the kingdom, the throne typically went to a prince with a claim to the throne or the fiancé of a duchess chosen from the duke’s family.

Rofus never considered himself a candidate for the next king.

However, it was clear that he was getting entangled in a power struggle.

“…What kind of pretext are they using for this ‘thank you’?”

Or perhaps the second princess herself might be waiting for him, Rofus thought, steeling himself.

As he walked through the palace, escorted by a butler, he was saluted with utmost respect by the royal guards.

“This way,” said the butler, bowing deeply and opening the door.

Rofus entered the room and frowned.

＊

“—Welcome, Rofus. Sorry for calling you so suddenly. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

Asteria stood up to greet Rofus and guided him to a chair.

To conclude, the second princess was not present.

However, there were two other people seated in the room besides Asteria.

One was a woman with a mixture of white and black hair, dressed like a child.

The head of the magic corps—Meilin.

The other was a giant man with graying hair, clad in armor bearing the royal family’s sun crest.

Though Rofus had never met him before, he knew who this man was.

Indeed, no citizen of the kingdom wouldn’t know him.

“Oh, it’s the hero! It’s an honor to meet you. I’ve heard about your recent exploits!”

The giant in armor stood up to greet Rofus.

He was Ganard, the marshal of the kingdom’s army.

As the head of the kingdom’s military, he led the knights and the magic corps.

The leader of the kingdom’s military bowed without hesitation to Rofus.

Even Asteria and Meilin, who were present, visibly showed their surprise.

“M-Marshal, you shouldn’t bow so easily…”

Meilin cautiously admonished, but Ganard snorted in displeasure.

“What’s the problem? True, it might be inappropriate for the marshal, entrusted by His Majesty to command the army, to bow to a mere noble. Even if it is the renowned Light;ess family.”

However, Ganard continued.

“But is Lord Rofus just a mere noble? …No, he is not. He is the hero of the kingdom, indeed of all humanity, who defeated the ancient ‘Demon King.’ Bowing my head to him is a trivial matter, wouldn’t you agree, Lord Rofus?”

“…I wouldn’t know.”

Rofus bluntly responded to the sudden address.

Ganard laughed heartily at this.

“To not shrink back in the slightest before me. As expected of the hero, truly bold. My stern face usually scares people, especially young ones, making it difficult to have a proper conversation.”

After laughing for a while, Ganard composed himself and adopted a serious posture, giving Rofus a formal bow.

“Once again, I thank you, Lord Rofus. Without your efforts, the damage from the recent attack on the royal capital would have been much worse. Due to my position, I cannot easily lower my head in public, so I had Princess Asteria arrange this meeting.”

As Ganard bowed his head, Rofus gestured for him to stop.

“Words of thanks are sufficient.”

“Lord Rofus!”

While Ganard expressed his gratitude, Rofus’ response was notably cold.

Meilin raised her voice in reproach, and Asteria covered her face with her hand, exasperated.

Ignoring Meilin, Rofus glared at the bowing Ganard with a menacing intensity.

“Marshal, the response of the kingdom’s army—the knights and the magic corps—seemed rather sluggish. The attack on the royal capital by monsters was indeed an unexpected emergency. However, the initial response was far too slow.”

“…There is no excuse. It might sound like a poor excuse, but it is largely due to the lack of actual combat experience among the soldiers. Additionally, there is a shortage of capable commanders.”

“If you understand that, then don’t say it in front of an outsider like me. Keep silent and address the problem.”

“My, Lord Rofus is quite unbeatable.”

Ganard scratched his cheek and smiled wryly, while Rofus snorted.

Meilin watched the exchange anxiously.

At this point, Asteria cleared her throat.

“May I say something?”

As she drew the three’s attention, Asteria gave Ganard a half-lidded look.

“If this is going to take a while, can I go ahead with my matter first, Marshal Ganard?”

Receiving Asteria’s gaze, Ganard shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, my apologies. My business was secondary to the princess’s. I’ll sit quietly for now.”

Ganard bowed courteously and took his seat.

Frowning slightly, wondering if there was more to this than just gratitude, Rofus turned to Asteria.

“Once again, I’m sorry for calling you here so suddenly. Ideally, I should have come to see you, but with the recent chaos, I haven’t had much freedom to move.”

“…If it’s a summons from the princess, I’ll come running anywhere, anytime.”

Asteria gave a wry smile at Rofus’ 100% formal response.

“You don’t need to say things you don’t mean. And you don’t need to be so formal. I no longer have a claim to the throne.”

“Princess…! That matter is still…”

Meilin stood up, flustered by Asteria’s sudden bombshell.

Asteria’s loss of her claim to the throne was still undisclosed information.

Rofus narrowed his eyes, and Ganard stroked his chin.

“…Is that true, Princess Asteria?”

Ganard asked quietly, and Asteria nodded confidently.

“It’s true. The announcement hasn’t been made yet.”

“What…”

Ganard couldn’t hide his surprise.

In contrast, Rofus remained unfazed and listened silently.

“Is it because of the recent incident with Lord Raymond…”

As Ganard began to speak, Rofus shot him a sharp glare.

Ganard, startled, fell silent, and Asteria shook her head calmly.

“It wasn’t Raymond who caused the trouble. That was stated in the official announcement.”

“Y-Yes, that’s true. That was a slip of the tongue.”

Ganard corrected himself immediately, and Asteria sighed.

As the marshal entrusted with the kingdom’s army, Ganard was a man of considerable skill.

During the recent chaos, he was dealing with the monsters attacking the palace and sensed the magic waves from the battle above.

The clashing black and white magic that rained down—Rofus’ and Raymond’s magic.

Moreover, due to his position, a lot of information came to Ganard.

Reports of the white-winged demon, Raymond, and the summoned beasts bathed in Raymond’s magic.

The discrepancies between the information released by the king and the church and the facts he knew naturally raised doubts.

But he never voiced those doubts.

As the marshal, the supreme commander of the kingdom’s army, Ganard was the king’s sword.

It was not his place to question the king’s decisions.

Ganard coughed lightly to cover up his mistake.

“…”

Rofus, on the other hand, quietly pondered.

The possibility of Asteria losing her claim to the throne was something he had considered.

Raymond, the fiancé of the first princess Asteria and the primary candidate for the next king.

With his talent and abilities, he was practically assured the position.

But Raymond had been removed from the candidacy due to the recent incident, and Asteria, who still held the claim, was infatuated with the commoner Abel.

In the story, Abel had risen to prominence with numerous achievements and became king—but this time, Abel had no visible accomplishments.

There was no resurrection of the Demon King or invasion by the Four Demon Beasts, so there was no opportunity to prove himself.

A commoner with no accomplishments wouldn’t easily become king just because he was the first princess’s lover.

Frankly, Rofus didn’t care who the next king would be.

But whoever became the next king would greatly impact the power dynamics among the nobility.

To stay informed about future developments, he needed to know the leading candidates.

As he thought this far, Rofus suddenly realized something.

With the first princess Asteria’s claim removed, the next in line for the throne was King Alexei’s second child—second princess Aria Roa Sinterio.

And Aria was the one recently proposed as Rofus’ marriage prospect by the king.

The king personally recommending the top heir for marriage—the implication, the true intention.

Sensing the king’s motive, Rofus felt a cold sweat run down his forehead.

“Rofus…? You don’t look well, are you alright?”