Side Story 1: The End of the Fairy Tales and the Leaders of History
IT was just before Laetitia’s wedding was set to start.
Claude left the room after congratulating his sister, the bride. He was reflecting on that cheerful, yet lonely feeling inside of him.
Letty’s always been so cute, ever since she was little.
He nodded as he thought of his dear sister. Claude was used to getting exasperated looks from Clementine, the Gardener Cat on his shoulder. It didn’t matter to him, as Laetitia had always been adorable, and there was simply no changing that.
Laetitia was five years younger than Claude. Ever since she was little, she adored her big brother, always looking at him with those purple eyes so full of light.
Claude could still remember all those times when he read her picture books on rainy days or the two pretended to be explorers inside the mansion. They were similar people who both marched to the beat of their own drums. It was why they got along so well and were always together.
Unsurprisingly, Claude was therefore the first one to witness Laetitia’s unique trait—the way she revealed occasional knowledge from her past life.
I was surprised at first, but Letty is who she is because of that past life.
She was still Claude’s little sister, even with those unique experiences. He felt grateful for and fascinated by the past life that created the Laetitia he knew and loved so much. It never once made him uneasy.
Fortunately, King Glenreed seems to feel the same way.
Laetitia had been trying to hide her past life memories ever since she recovered the majority of them. She was probably afraid of being rejected by others, but her fears proved unfounded when it came to Glenreed. That was why Claude was able to happily attend his little sister’s wedding with pleasant feelings in his heart.
How many years has it been since I felt so at peace?
Claude was born with an intelligent mind and an insatiable curiosity. That was how, at a young age, he came to learn many things.
When he was ten years old, he finished reading all the books in their library and sought new material to absorb. He then discovered secret records from the dukes of previous generations—records that taught him about the Wing Chord and the Renewal.
These records made Claude develop a distaste for his country and the royal family.
Though Claude seemed to be a mature child, he despised the idea of obeying those he didn’t like, even more than his older brothers did. His rebellious nature meant he lost all feelings of loyalty after learning about the Renewal.
I was so wound up about it, I ended up frightening Letty when we watched the honeybees together.
Claude spent his early teen years trying to come up with his own, unique way of living.
He respected his father and brothers, proud nobles who dedicated themselves to their country, but Claude was never able to develop the desire to imitate them. However, people expected great things from the brilliant boy, and he understood that both the encouragement and the scoldings from his father and brothers were proof of how much they cared about him. It was a painful thing to think about, so he spent his days absorbed in his books as an escape.
It was something that deeply troubled Claude, even if it was a common dilemma for teenage boys. But all of that faded away thanks to a simple, offhand comment from Laetitia.
“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You should do the things you love, Big Brother Claude. I like that side of you more.”
It came so nonchalantly in the middle of their chitchat—even Laetitia herself had forgotten she ever said it. But those words had a dramatic effect on Claude’s life.
Someone had told him to live for his own desires, not to spend his life using his talents for the good of the country.
It was like she’d lifted a burden from his shoulders.
The things Claude loved the most were reading for hours and being lazy. While they weren’t desirable traits to anyone else, Laetitia said she loved her brother for it anyway.
That was how Claude decided he was going to live life at his own pace. His father and brothers complained he was wasting his talents, but as he continued to carve out his own path of shamelessness, they began to accept that Claude was just that kind of person—though it was a reluctant acceptance.
By the time he was in his late teens, he’d learned to keep his abilities hidden, made a few friends and reading buddies he actually got along with, and had the same, adorable little sister as always. He planned to end up with a leisurely job someday and live a lazy, yet fulfilling life. But then…
I was seventeen, and it was autumn when I learned Letty was going to die in less than ten years…
Wondering if there could be other people out there with past life memories like Laetitia, Claude began to research the subject more thoroughly.
He let his curiosity take him to ancient texts. There he learned about the existence of curses and how they’d been wiped from public records many years ago.
He also learned the devastating fate of anyone who regained their past life memories.
The likelihood of recalling more memories increased as a person’s body grew. Almost every reincarnated person would regain their full memories by the age of twenty, experience a collapse of the ego, and pass away.
Horrified by the fate that awaited Laetitia, Claude recalled the pain he felt when their mother passed away.
I won’t lose someone else I love. Claude made the choice to give up on that leisurely life and devote himself to saving her. But he made sure to act like nothing about him had changed.
He couldn’t let anyone, not even Laetitia, figure out what was actually going on.
Claude had learned how the cruel fate awaiting Laetitia could harm the people around her too. He was certain that his kind-hearted sister would choose death over hurting the father and brothers she so adored.
The longer I tried to find a solution, the more problems and opponents showed up to get in my way…
Ishnad, the powerful and mighty emperor, was casting curses. He too held memories of his past lives, and the lover he was searching for had been reborn as Laetitia.
Kings who ruled with the Wing Chord were reincarnations of the first-generation kings. They killed anyone they came across bearing past life memories.
Regardless of who gained power on the continent, be it Ishnad or the kings with their Wing Chords, Laetitia’s future was already doomed.
That was why Claude began to pay close attention to the power structures across the continent. He engaged in various areas of secret work to guarantee neither side overpowered the other. For example, Claude arranged for the empire’s schematics for their new crest tool weapon, something Laetitia called a “gun,” to make their way into Wolfvartian hands. He had other plots up his sleeve as well, desperate to craft a situation where no one could reach Laetitia.