7th Time Loop WN Vol. 6 Fan Translation

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The lady in the dress continued. "If I did that, I believed I could be free."

"That's..." Rishe was shocked. 

"I've been nothing more than a tool for my family since I was born, with no value other than marrying someone. It was decided that I should be obedient to my husband after becoming a wife...!"

Her delicate shoulders trembled as if they couldn't bear the burden she had carried.

"Because I was born into a noble family. I thought I should be grateful for being able to live a life where I never had to worry about what to eat. So, I decided I had to endure it, I worked hard...!"

"..."

As the wind across the canal blew, the flames roared. The fire between Rishe and her intensified, blowing black smoke.

(In this situation, forcibly pulling her away is impossible. Even if I were to knock her unconscious and carry her, the scattered fire around...!)

Behind her was the ship's railing, and it would be a big deal to jump from there. And on top of that, her words of despair squeezed Rishe's chest.

The woman continued hysterically. "I understand my naiveté now...! I thought I would be free, but I was wrong! You said we could all run away together... I didn't know it was a slaver's ship, I never thought it would come to this...!! Because, 'that person'..."

The woman slowly stepped back. Tears streamed from her eyes, and she murmured in a hollow voice.

"I thought that ship was my way to freedom..."

(...Yearning for a free life...)

Rishe understood that feeling all too well.

She had chosen it. Someone had exploited her strong desire, whispering sweet words of departure under the guise of setting sail.

(She didn't just capture lonely young ladies to trade, she didn't just kidnap. She concealed the fact that it was a slaver's ship and instilled hope for something desired in the future.)

And then, she betrayed them.

The despair of having her feelings of living as a tool trampled upon, the joy of finally obtaining freedom, Rishe remembered them all too well.

How much despair and self-blame for involving others had it caused her?

"In the end, I tried to escape from them like this. It's only natural that 'that person' didn't come here..."

(...Someone helped instigate her escape by boarding this ship...!)

Rishe needed more details to confirm, but now wasn't the time. First, she had to calm her down and get her off this burning ship.

"I'm sorry, Lady. Please don't make me! I can't get off this ship...!"

(This is confusion caused by guilt, fear, and panic over something irreparable. In this fire, it's exacerbated.)

"If we can't escape anywhere, then..."

With strength in her words that reached the woman's ears, Rishe calmly declared. "Then consider how we'll die here."

The woman's eyes widened.

But what Rishe wanted to convey wasn't really that she wanted them to die.

"Imagine. If you could go back to that day and relive your life until the worst day ever?" The flames crackled, but Rishe calmly, yet distinctly, continued. "Would you choose to make the same choices and repeat the same life as before?"

"...!"

The woman blinked repeatedly. Eventually, she awkwardly, yet distinctly, shook her head.

"No, I wouldn't." It was a small voice. She hugged herself tightly, digging her nails into her shoulders with such force.

"...If I could go back, I'd want to start over..."

"In that case," Feeling a definite resolve in her words, Rishe breathed a sigh of relief. "The turning point is not in the past, but in the present. Right here, right now, there is always a way to start over."

"...There shouldn't be such a thing..." the woman said dejectedly.

"Even if the choice of 'if only I had done this back then' wasn't visible to you in the past. It's visible to you now!"

"...!"

Tears streamed down the woman's face as she cried.

A conflicted expression, wanting to cling to Rishe's words, yet struggled to accept them.

"It might be difficult alone. At times like this, I'll think with you." Rishe told her.

"...It's irreparable. No one will forgive my mistake..."

"Keep thinking about it. You still have the freedom to choose the path you want to take from now on."

"...Freedom...?" the woman repeated.

"Please, don't stop in despair amidst the flames. Not getting on a ship someone prepared, not being taken somewhere..."  Believing in the courage within her, Rishe prayed. "Follow the path you truly want in the depths of your heart."

"―――!"

With trembling steps, she took one step towards Rishe.

There was a gap between the flames. If she came here, Rishe could take her hand. She felt relieved at that moment.

Then a voice interrupted loudly. 

"――What a lot of idle chatter."

Rishe instinctively turned around.

(...Who...?)

There stood a tall man. He wore a pitch-black robe and had his hood pulled low over his eyes. It was clear to Rishe that the fabric was fire-resistant.

"As expected, it seems you'll talk to much if I let you live." The man wore a polite smile as he dashed towards the woman.

(He has a dagger!)

Rishe understood his intention from the quiet yet deadly aura he exuded. She had to defend against the lethal blade, but there wasn't enough time to directly stop him from here. Rishe rushed instinctively to shield the woman, embracing her. In her mind, the image surfaced reflexively—the day she shielded a girl she once served, when a poisoned arrow grazed her neck.

(I don't want to see that face again.)

There was someone genuinely concerned about her life. Rishe abandoned all thoughts of counterattack and focused on assuming a defensive posture to minimize the chance of receiving a fatal blow.

But then, someone embraced Rishe. Realizing she was being protected, Rishe instinctively raised her head.

And then, she murmured the name of the person she saw before her, filled with disbelief.

"Arnold, Your Highness..."

"..."

Arnold turn to look at her, without changing his expression. A drop of blood started trickling down from his side.