System vs Rebirth

Noel was sitting next to Anna, who was sleeping on the bed. Even though the situation had been handled, he still needed to wait Anna to wake up to get their rewards.

He looked at Anna's sleeping face. She looked so weak and defenseless that he could kill her easily with a single swing.

However, this wasn't the revenge he wanted. He still remembered the despair, fear, and anguish that he experienced when he saw his parents' heads were severed by the guillotine.

He wanted Anna to fall into despair first before dying. He wanted to destroy her family first so that she could understand the feeling of losing a family. He wanted to break everything around her so that she could feel the helplessness from it.

A life worse than death. Only when she had nothing that he would kill her.

'To do that, I need to wait. Even right now, she's already that strong. What about her family? The royal family? I still need to become stronger and stronger. When I'm strong enough, I'll crush everyone so they would know the true pain.' Noel bit his lips.

However, he couldn't help but remember when Anna cut the rope at the last moment, sacrificing herself to buy some time.

'What was your thought when you asked the execution of my parents? What was your thought when you came here to bully me? What was your thought when you cut that rope to help me?' Noel looked at this innocent face that he couldn't believe was the cause of his despair.

He bit his lips and asked, "Why?"

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Anna was thinking about what to do in her dream. She wanted to apologize to Noel and ended up talking in her sleep.

"Noel… I'm… sorry…"

Her expression showed remorse and her tone was sad as if she wanted to repent.

That statement shocked him to the core. All the bad memories about the execution as well as the good memories about his life with his parents flashed in his mind.

'Sorry? After everything you've done, you're saying sorry now? In that case, why did you steal everything from me? If you're sorry, then you shouldn't have done it. Why? After everything happened… Why did you say 'Sorry'? Are you just toying with me even in your sleep?'

Noel couldn't help but rise from his seat while pointing his sword at Anna, wanting to kill her right away.

However, he hesitated. He wanted to make her experience the same pain first before killing her. A revenge that he desired.

Even if everyone told him it was foolish, even if they told him that his parents wouldn't come back to live even if he kill her, he still wanted to do it.

'If I don't let you suffer the same thing, my revenge will never be done. Even if I kill you right now, my heart can't move on!' Noel gritted his teeth, restraining himself from killing her.

And it was at this time that Anna gradually opened her eyes.

"Eh?" Anna widened her eyes in shock. The sleepiness was gone as her eyes focused on the sword.

When she was about to act like the usual her, she remembered everything in her dream vividly.

Her heart calmed down as she closed her eyes again with a smile this time. She said with a gentle tone as if she had given up. "Go on. If I know about you correctly, you want me to suffer before dying. So, dying in your hand peacefully sure feels nicer."

Noel gritted his teeth and glared at her. Ultimately, he retracted his sword and unsheathed it again.

*Creak!*

Suddenly, the door was opened as Evan had returned from the outside, looking at this bizarre scene.

"Hey, you two. I don't care about your relationship, but my infirmary is a place to save lives, not to take it away." Evan narrowed his eyes. "Noel. If you do it, then do it. However, I won't heal your wounds or allow you to go to the library again."

"…" Noel paused for a moment before retracting his sword and unsheathing it. He then walked away while saying with killing intent. "You won't die a peaceful death."

Anna looked at Noel's back before calling him out loud. "Wait Noel, I'm—"

*Bang!*

Noel didn't wait for her. He slammed the door and left.

'There goes my chance… Well, I have a long time ahead. I can do it at another time…' Anna sighed before checking her body condition. "My wounds are closed and other than my stamina, everything has recovered."

"Of course, I was the one who treated you after all."

"Ah." Anna looked at Evan for a second, stunned. She then politely bowed her head and said in an awkward tone. "Doctor… Thank… Thank you."

This time, she thanked him from the bottom of her heart. She had decided to be a bit more sincere in this second life to fix all her mistakes. Still, this might be the first time she said something genuinely. There was no her, only gratitude to Evan.

"Mhm?" Evan widened his eyes in surprise. "So awkward."

"Sorry…" Anna looked down, feeling embarrassed.

"But well…" Evan made a small smile. "You're welcome."

Anna looked at his smile and opened her mouth in shock. This was the first time she felt something from someone's smile. Even though the smile wasn't as bright or big as she imagined, the smile warmed her heart.

A tear couldn't help but come out of the corner of her eyes.

"What's wrong with you? You're crying now of all times? Seriously? I am not here to babysit someone like you. Leave this place right away…" Evan paused for a moment. "But at least, lie down for another hour to make sure that everything is alright. After that, you can leave… no, you should leave."

"Yes." Anna nodded furiously as Evan hurriedly walked away to his desk.

'Ah… Why didn't I realize something so simple this whole time? If you can't even be sincere to others, there's no way others can do the same.' She made a big smile as if she had just won something big.