*Leticia POV*

.....

Someone said regret comes when it is already too late.

I guess that was true in our current situation...

"""""............"""""

After knowing the truth...

That our existence is only part of the story, a story where tragedy comes to us just for the sake of the protagonist to shine on us...

No one...

No one wants to believe it.

This diary book that was left by the supposed our most hated person...

The said person who sacrifices his life for us because he loves us.

I thought, what a hypocrite he was, after what he have done to us. To me?

To my father?

But...

After knowing everything.

I have mixed feelings.

Hatred towards him and this forsaken world favored that protagonist.

Guilt and helplessness after what happened to him.

I want him to forgive me, and I want to say sorry, but what he has done to me keeps blocking it.

Also, he is not here anymore so what else should I do?

I stand up and picked up his now unusable sacred weapon.

As I picked up, that time is also the exact time that reinforcement came.

But...

Everything is already finished, done.

"Ladies! Are you okay!?"

Thinking about it.

He said that reinforcement will come.

But... It has been 30 minutes since we are just staring at the spot of a figure who we are supposed to hate the most.

Reinforcement should come earlier than most.

But...

They just came here without rush, was's more, despite how this person looks of concern.

I could feel he was confused.

"Heh."

I started to walk heading to my friend.

"Bianca, Bellatrix, Estelle, and Diana... Let's go."

All of them nodded without the strength to complain.

Who wouldn't?

"U-um, ladies, where will you go?"

"Does it concern you?"

Diana ask in a monotone voice and her expression was devoid of anything, giving the soldier a chill that made him tremble.

"A-apologies, I did not mean that, We just came here as we get a report that this place needed a reinforcement."

"...oh? And who might it be?"

"I-it was the hero, Lord Han sam"

After hearing his name, our blood boiled and the atmosphere now turn into killing intent, making the soldiers and its commander kneel due to the pressure.

The five of us calm down and faked a smile.

"Was that so, I'm glad, he did not forget us."

"Y-yes, will you go to him???"

"We would want to, however... Due to the battle... I'm afraid none of us has the strength to talk to him, we should rest first, is that right? Commander Oak?"

"O-of course! Rest assured lady Leticia, I will speak to Lord Han som about this!"

"Thank you."

I smile as I said that, but when I turn my back, the smile that was plastered on my face is gone and changed into a disgusting frown.

We would be happy if that were the case

But no.

After reading it...

After knowing the truth.

And our outcome...

I clenched my fist enough to tear my skin and blood started to come out.

My friends... These four girls who I already treated as a family died here... And my fate is worst than death.

Reinforcement? On him?

Don't make me laugh.

They probably did not comply with his order because of his past, it might be his miscalculation.

No, maybe he knew it, but he did it anyway.

Hoping for a hope that it does not guarantee.

Is that why he came here?

How foolish of you...

You... You should just leave us... Dying in our way.

You should be happy about that instead, right? After what we have done!?

I...

I was lost in thought that I did not realize that the five of us is already my own home.

We did not do anything, we just keep looking at the floor with blank faces.

How funny.

We should be happy that those foreigners are gone and he died as well.

But...

No.

It was the opposite.

.... How can you say sorry to a person who is already dead?

They would not hear it, even if you say sorry in their tomb, that doesn't change the fact that you were unable to do so.

"What now...?"

The short-tempered raven hair friend of mine said.

I look at Bella in her red blood eyes, I was... Dull to say the most.

Her vulgar tongue did not spit something awful, instead, it was helplessness.

"...say... Did we even deserve this...?"

Say our gentle Estelle... Yeah... Do we?

"...we hate him... In the past, even now but... I don't know... How can we answer it? How can we... Change our mind when our feelings are already at the top... I can't accept it... I... I don't know anymore..."

Said Bianca while she also covered her face and started to cry...

We hate him, loath him...

He is the cause of how our family met its doom.

But what would happen if we found out that he was forced to do so?

Does it justify what he has done?

Of course, we found out he was being forced but... Because of that, we can forgive him?

We are not a saint, even
Estelle could have a grudge against a person...

But... All of us imagine, if we are in his place, would we even do it?

Do we even have a chance to fight it?

That thinking sends a chill down our spine.

That's why... We are at loss.

But one thing we knew.

The diary... The revelation

Gave us hatred towards the man we were supposed to love.

Thinking about it, does our love for him also the force of this world?

Forcing us to love him because he is the center of it?

None of it is important now.

What we are feeling is deep hatred, and that won't be gone if the cause of our hatred is still alive.

But... Does any of us have the courage to get rid of it?

No. No one... Maybe there is, but... Not now.

....

.....

It is already been a month since that day, and that month, the center of the world, the person who I loved before that turned into da eep loathsome keeps courting me.

But I could only give him a reason for I'm busy at the moment.

It won't last long.

It has been a year, and the man has gotten used to me giving him a cold shoulder but he won't stop.

Alas, My hatred towards him gets bigger and bigger.

Another year, a year, then a year, and another year.

It has been five years and I am already in my 30s than same goes for my friend who becomes a hotshot all over the world.

That same goes for me, my dream of surpassing my father came to fruition but I held no joyness, a happiness that I should have felt.

Bellatrix becomes a master swordsman, Estelle becomes a famous astrologer, and her power increase to see the future. Diana... She suddenly vanishes... We are worried at first but a letter was sent to both of us and it was her writing saying she was okay and exploring the world.

Bianca becomes the queen of her country and is busy.

None of us has the time to contact each other.

Then another five years to come, Han's proposed for marriage proposal which I delayed giving a reasonable excuse.

He is getting impatient, and I can't stop him.

In all those years, Diana came back with the same dull expression, Estelle and Bellatrix called me, Bianca finding a time to get a leave on her work... So we can bond with each other...

I walk and stared at the now rusty weapon of the man from the past.

What am I feeling right now?

I don't know, but I know I don't hate him like before, it is a neutral feeling.

No, I lied, I still feel guilty despite all of the things that happen, that probably did too to the girls. They just keep themselves busy not to get consumed by that feeling.

Tomorrow will be the day we will bond.

Another year comes by, I'm already 38

When I was 36 that man died.

The center of this world died.

And I just gazed into his eyes while dying.

He was killed by my two friends, Bellatrix and Diana.

And I did not do anything.

But after his death, the whole country was shocked, and I was a prime suspect.

But the government has no evidence or so.

None, even the time of his death is unknown.

Diana froze his body after killing him,  Estelle and Bianca did not know about this, but they also felt nothing.

'Leti! You will lose everything after my death!!!'

How Ironic... We won't lose everything when we already lost everything since that day.

After killing him, our hatred of him replenishes but... After that...

What now?

We don't know what to do anymore.

All of us felt empty.

"Sigh..."

It's been two years since his death and all of the people who Idolized him, already forget about him.

I snort as thinking it so.

'So much for a so-called hero that is loved by everyone huh...'

I gazed at my ceiling while resting alone on my bed.

I picked up the book that was still old.

It was this diary that change us.

I kept it hidden.

Think about it...

Are we even alive?

We are alive but also dead.

"Haha..."

I gave a shallow laugh as realizing everything.

If... If there is a chance that I could go back to the past... I... I will help him...

I will do everything for him, for Lucas...

I am his disgusting ex-fiance after all...

I will sacrifice my life for him...

If... I did turn back to the past... My life, my body, and soul, I will give it to him, I will pledge my loyalty to him... To the day I died... To the day he will throw me as I will deem useless.

I will belong to him and only his pawn ready to dispose of.

If it means I can have his forgiveness whether it would be direct or indirect...

I closed my eyes ready to sleep but I couldn't, a minute later, my phone rang.

Ring~! Ring,~! Ri-

"...hello?"

"Leti!"

"Estelle?"

The way she called me, her voice was trembling, it was an unknown feeling that even make my heart tremble.

My heart started to beat fastly.

"I-I will go there! Please wait-"

The phone call ended unbelievably.

I accidentally tapped the end call on the screen.

"How Nice..."

I lay on the bed and stared at the diary.

For some unknown reason, I heard the phone ring again however, my mind is focused on the diary.

As I was about to touch it, it started to glow blinding me, as the bright light disappeared, I look into it.

I saw the diary floating in the air as it started to flip the paper fastly.

Then it gets slow and slowly stopped.

I notice that everything that was written in the diary is now gone.

"What...?"

The paper flipped again to another page.

Now in the middle of a blank paper.

[Do you want to go back?]

"Huh?"

As if knowing my confusion, the diary turns to another page again.

[Do you want to go back to the past?]

My voice stuck in my throat, and I could not let anything that will come out of my mouth, but as if the diary knows my answer, it changes pages again.

[Your choice is yours, after going back, everything will be different, are you still willing to go?

Yes/No]

Without thinking, I let a word that came into my mouth.

"...Yes."

[ Are you sure? Everything will be different, and your choice will change everything, are you ready for the consequence?]

I chuckled at how ridiculous it was.

"You should know the answer."

[Knowing your answer, you are still willing to go just like the others.]

"What? Wha-"

Before I could finish my question, the diary started to speak again.

[Rewriting destiny... Rewriting fate....... Delivering consequences... The outcome...unknown... The choice will depend on that person... Rewriting world... Destroying the world system... Freeing all the supposed characters.... accepting...loading...karma...acceptable... Path creation....unknown....error...error...... Accepted...

Good luck.]

After delivering its rey, the book lost its glow and fell to the floor and I could only stare dumbfoundedly.

I quickly get up and picked up the book, however...

Before I could even touch it.

Something happens.

As if a fast-forward rewind.

That was happening to me, it was sickening everything is rewinding even myself, the moment we killed the protagonist, the moment we bonded with each other, and many more until I reach the scene where he died protecting us.

It keeps rewinding and also my body is changing, going to the youthful phase.

I could do nothing, I want to puke right now.

And so. I puke inside a bathroom.

"Bleeegch!!!!"

I puked nonstop due to what happened to me, after a few minutes that feels like an hour

"Ugh....haaa...huh...?"

What greeted my eyes is my youth, I turn back to when I was 17

Beautiful raven hair and my lavender eyes.

My face is full of sweat, and my body is still in perfect shape.

I look around at the familiar structure...

"No way...."

I turn back to the past... Or more like, did it rewind?

Because that's how it feels...

If... If it rewinds... Then everything will still happen...but the book says everything will change...

What change it was, I do not know.

"My lady, are you done?"

"...yes, why?"

"....... It is time for you to go to Sir Vermillion."

"Ah... Yes...."

Is it this day?

Then...this time.... This time for sure.... I will....

It will be different....

Suddenly.... The book appeared right in front of my eyes.

It open the first page and saw what was written.

[Book of Fate: The Vermillion Path

Processing....

Accepted...

Killing the voice of the world system towards Vermillion has been success.

Rewriting fate done, path creation done, rewriting destiny done. Lucas vermillion fate.......... Error...error, error.... Book of fate tried to find a solution....error error....success.

Lucas Vermillion has been freed.

Book of Fate: The Life of Vermillion

Started.]

"...huh?"