No one is with Selena? How is that possible?
From what I remember, shouldn't she be setting a wedding date by now?
This is completely different from the story I know.
"What about Schlieffen?"
"That guy? Rejected. At the beginning of second year."
"Then Wilhelm?"
"Rejected in the second semester of second year."
"Alexander?"
"He got rejected before summer break in third year."
"...Joachim?"
"He was the last one. Shortly after the start of the first semester of fourth year."
What the hell is going on? They were all rejected?
Schlieffen, Wilhelm, Alexander, and even Joachim. They're all male leads!
The Academy is almost over, and not one of them ended up with Selena?
Not even one?
This definitely wasn't in the story. It wasn't even in any of the side stories.
"Is there perhaps another man by Selena's side?"
"No. How many times do I have to say it? She rejected them all."
Etbin's words only deepen my confusion.
Every answer he gives just makes the situation more absurd.
What's going on? Why did things turn out this way? Where did it go wrong?
Is this butterfly effect from my confession? Did I ruin the timeline just by existing?
No… no way. Right?
"But, Leon. Why are you getting so serious about this?"
"Huh?"
"What does it matter if Selena rejected other guys? She probably just didn't like them romantically."
"…"
He says it so casually, but my brain is spinning.
If she rejected every single male lead…
If none of the original couples formed…
Then what happened to the romance plot of this world?
And more importantly—
why is Selena still alone?
'No! Wait a minute!'
That's right. Come to think of it, this isn't my concern at all.
Why am I panicking over someone else's love life?
It's not like the world will end if the male and female leads don't end up together.
There's no divine punishment waiting for me if the romance plot derails.
It's not like I'll die if the story doesn't follow its original course.
I'm not the guardian of fate. I don't get paid for keeping the story on track.
I can stop caring. I just need to live my own life well.
Focus on survival, peace, and maybe learning to enjoy academy life for once.
The male leads' lives are theirs, and the female lead's life is hers.
They can figure out their love triangle—or square—on their own.
"Hey, Leon. Could it be?"
"What?"
"You still haven't gotten over Selena?"
"Are you out of your mind?"
Where did he even get that idea?
Don't treat my past self and current self as the same person!
"Stop talking nonsense, Etbin."
"But you keep asking about Selena."
"I'm just asking. Just. No reason at all."
I said it with certainty, forcing confidence into my voice.
Really, I have no reason or personal interest.
Why would someone who's already been rejected still have lingering feelings?
No way. Absolutely not.
That version of me died on the day I enlisted as a private out of shame.
----
'...That bastard.'
Yes, I definitely said that.
sip
So why am I sitting in a café at the Academy?
And why is Selena sitting across from me?!
Of all people… why her?
"I heard you returned to school, Leon."
"Oh, yeah."
In the past, I would squirm with embarrassment just from Selena speaking to me.
And now, I'm squirming with embarrassment because of my past self.
This is uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable. I just want to run away.
But if I did that, it would create quite an awkward situation, so I couldn't.
Running would basically be me reenacting my old humiliation in high definition.
"What have you been up to?"
"...I enlisted voluntarily."
"As an officer? That must have been tough."
I just nodded, not bothering to mention I enlisted as a private.
Honestly, a nobleman going as a private soldier sounds even more pathetic.
It feels like admitting I threw my title into a latrine pit.
"My brother was also an officer."
"Oh, yeah."
"He even participated in the recent war with Luzens."
What's this? Why is everything in past tense? Don't tell me…
My stomach dropped for a second.
"He's been discharged now."
Phew, you scared me.
I almost imagined another funeral scene there.
"Were you in that war too?"
"I was."
As a private.
"It must have been terrible."
"It was very terrible."
"My brother said it was truly horrific. People died almost every day."
"..."
"At first, he thought heroes were those who fought well, but he realized that wasn't true. He said heroes are those who send as many people as possible back home."
Your brother is right. From the perspective of the higher-ups, good fighters might be the best.
But for me and other ordinary soldiers grinding it out at the bottom, the ones who saved our lives were the best.
The ones who pulled bleeding comrades back. The ones who dragged bodies out of fire and ice.
Those were the real heroes.
"Your brother is right."
"My brother was saved by someone too. Though we don't know who it was."
sip
Selena takes a sip of coffee and continues.
The sound is soft, calm—completely at odds with the awkward tension sitting between us.
"I'd like to go on as if nothing happened. What happened back then is an awkward memory for both of us."
"Very awkward."
I answer a bit too quickly, almost instinctively, and she gives a small, awkward smile of her own.
"Right. So... um, can we still get along as classmates?"
She seems to think I was deeply hurt. In fact, that's true.
Anyone would think so, considering I took a leave and disappeared right after being rejected.
From her perspective, I must look like someone who fled because his heart couldn't take it.
Though for me now, that wound has become a thing of the past.
Time, war, and two lifetimes will do that to a man.
"Please, I'd like that. I'm dying to forget what happened that day."
And I mean every word. If I could erase the memory with magic, I would.
"Then why did you suddenly confess in the first place?"
Ah.
There it is.
The question I hoped would never surface again, dropped on the table like a live grenade.
Why did I suddenly confess?
Why did past me, armed with one month of academy life and zero common sense, decide that was a good idea?
Why did I, an idiot noble with too much pride and too little experience, stand up in public and—
I force a tight smile.
Of all questions… why that one?