After the Tyrant Died 3,300 Times

The moment the rebels captured the capital and dragged Rodney III, the most brutal king in history, to the executioner's platform,

fifteen-year-old Sandora cheered with all her might amid the surging crowd, clapping until her palms were red.

Watching the blood spray, she believed that brighter days were coming.

But three seconds later,

the world suddenly rewound to one minute before the tyrant's death.

She froze, watching his head fall once again.

This time, time retreated two minutes.

The third time, three minutes.

The fourth, the fifth...

At last, she understood: each time the tyrant died, time flowed backward by one minute.

Ten times, twenty, fifty, a hundred...

The endless cycle of executions drove her to the brink of collapse. She had prayed for light and even tried to take her own life, but nothing worked.

Until the hundredth time...

In the instant before the executioner's blade fell, her eyes met the tyrant's.

His bloodstained face was still breathtakingly handsome, and in the depths of his scarlet eyes swirled undisguised madness and ambition.

Then a thought struck Sandora:

Maybe, just maybe, she could save the king first, break the curse that made time rewind, and kill him afterward?

At last, she smiled.

The two-hundredth time, the three-hundredth time... the thousandth time.

After the three-thousand-three-hundredth execution and the three-thousand-three-hundredth rewind,

two days before destiny was due to strike,

she finally broke into the palace and took the young king away.

*

There are gods in this world.

Noel Rodney carries the blood of godslayers inherited from his mother's family.

The gods are merciful and allow this family to live in the world, but the High Priest of Light had already made a prophecy:

Rodney III is destined to become a ruthless, cold-blooded king. He will kill his father and brothers and be stained with the blood of his kin. He will be betrayed by his closest friend and ultimately die at the hands of his own people in a rebellion. His head will be severed from his body, and not even a grave will remain for him.

And Noel is the Rodney III of prophecy.

He is destined to die because of it.

And yet...

Two days before the rebels were to storm the palace, a girl appeared in his bedchamber without warning.

Her silver braid gleamed in the moonlight, as though even the gods had turned their gaze toward her.

She said, "Your Majesty Rodney, I once made you a promise, at a time of which you know nothing."

"Today, I have come to keep it."

Noel Rodney suddenly understood:

The person standing before him was a witch who could control time.

*

[Your Majesty Rodney, I have no love for you in saving you.]

[Please understand how I feel.]

[My rescue depends on killing you once and for all.]

[May you at last find eternal peace in your sleep.]

[Handwritten by the Silver Witch]

1. Growth-oriented, assertive heroine x cold, ruthless young tyrant

Theme: Cherish love.