His smile widened slightly.

"...Looks like this regression won’t be boring after all."

The air around him suddenly became colder.

Darker. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Because behind Etherius’s calm expression—

Something monstrous stirred quietly.

Memories.

Hatred.

Rage buried beneath composure.

In his previous life—

He had died betrayed.

Not by enemies.

By the Empire itself.

Specifically—

The First Prince.

The beloved imperial heir.

The golden child of the Empire.

A man praised as a genius by the entire continent.

Etherius’s eyes darkened.

"...That bastard!"

Even now, fragments of those memories surfaced vividly.

The battlefield burning beneath crimson skies.

The accusations.

The forged evidence.

The declarations of treason.

The Empire turning against him overnight.

All because the First Prince feared him.

Feared the growing influence of the Sinclair family.

Feared Etherius himself.

And so—

He had framed him.

Manipulated the nobles.

Destroyed his reputation.

Turned allies into enemies.

By the time Etherius realized the truth—

It was too late.

The Empire had already decided he was a traitor.

Even his own family hesitated.

And in the end—

He died surrounded by enemies while the prince watched from above like a victorious hero.

Etherius’s fingers tightened slightly.

Dark mana leaked briefly from his body, causing nearby servants to pale before quickly lowering their heads.

"...This time will be different."

Unlike before—

He now knew everything.

The political movements.

The betrayals.

The hidden factions.

The future wars.

And most importantly—

The true face of the First Prince.

A cold smile appeared on Etherius’s face.

"...After regression..."

His voice lowered slightly.

"...I’ll finally take my revenge."

The dark mana surrounding him pulsed violently for a moment before stabilizing once again.

Yet strangely—

Instead of focusing purely on revenge—

His thoughts drifted back toward Eternia.

Toward the girl who should not have existed in his memories like this.

"...You changed too."

In his previous life, Eternia had never become important.

She had died early.

Forgotten.

Crushed by the family before ever rising.

Yet now?

She stood beside him naturally.

Matching him.

Challenging him.

For the first time since his regression—

Something unpredictable had appeared.

And Etherius realized something important.

This life was already diverging from the future he knew.

Slowly—

His smile widened.

"...Good."

Because a predictable world was boring.

And Etherius Sinclair hated boredom more than anything.