《Surviving as an Illegitimate Princess》 Chapter 0 I opened my eyes in splitting pain and heard a familiar voice. ¡°I¡¯ll be back for you soon.¡± The voice of a woman who is beautiful and brilliant , but quivering like she¡¯s being chased by something. ¡®No, you don¡¯t have to come for me. I¡¯m going to die soon anyway!¡¯ I struggled to shout, but all I could make was a meaningless babble. ¡°Ohaao¡­oao!¡± ¡°Oh my god, everythings¡¯ happening so suddenly. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t have to pay for inter-party child support.¡± The woman handed over a small box that used to be under her arms. The other woman opened the box, and let out a surprised noise. I couldn¡¯t see what¡¯s inside the box, but I could see the greed in her eyes when she saw the things inside the box. ¡°Don¡¯t you have to pick her up? We¡¯re on the side of a brother who barely shows his presence.¡± The woman nodded quietly, and carefully handed me to the other woman. I struggled as hard as I could, but it was useless. ¡®Hey, you irresponsible woman! Don¡¯t go! Don¡¯t leave me in this hell again!¡¯ ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡± Leaving me crying behind, the woman quickly disappeared into the dark May forest. Not knowing the fate that will come for her some time later. And as soon as the door got closed, I was thrown right onto the hard chair. The sound of the family heading to the living room to take a look at the gold and jewels that they received from child support was overwhelming. I thought I was left alone. ¡®Oh¡­it¡¯s starting all over again. The same life.¡¯ Chapter 1 Chapter 1 I opened my eyes to a splitting pain in my head and heard a familiar voice. ¡°I¡¯ll be back to pick you up soon,¡± the woman whispered shakily. ¡®No! You won¡¯t be able to return and pick me up! I¡¯m going to die soon!¡¯ I struggled and tried to shout, but a meaningless babble is the only thing my mouth could produce. ¡°Wahh¡­ oooh!¡± ¡°Oh my, this is too sudden,¡± another voice exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the abruptness of it all,¡± the first woman told the other. I saw the woman holding my hand over a small box she had been carrying to the other woman. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to pay for the child support regularly.¡± The woman on the other side opened the box and breathed a small gasp. Although I couldn¡¯t see what was in the box, I could definitely see the greediness reflect off her eyes as she calculated all of the prices within the box. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll come to pick you up, okay?¡± The first woman vowed, caressing my small cheek with the knuckle of her finger. ¡°It¡¯s just that we¡¯re just barely making ends meet right now . . .¡± After holding me for a moment longer, I was handed off from one woman to the other. I struggled incessantly. ¡®Hey, you irresponsible woman! Don¡¯t go! Don¡¯t leave me in this hell again!¡¯ ¡°Wahhhh!¡± Despite my cries, the woman didn¡¯t turn back and quickly disappeared into the forest. That woman would never expect what fate would give her later. After she disappeared from view, the other woman took me into her home. As soon as the door behind us closed, I was tossed into a hard wooden chair. All I could hear was the woman and her family gathering in the living room to ogle at all of the gold and jewels they had received as a payment for my child support. As expected, I was left alone. * * * Three and a half years have passed since that day. The memory of that night is still glaringly vivid despite the passing of time. I am now a four-year-old girl who trips a lot. ¡°Ha! That¡¯s the most I¡¯ve ever done, right?¡± But despite my young age, these madmen who pose as my family, claim that they need help and use me to make money. ¡°I¡¯ve word all day long, without stopping¡­¡± I¡¯m currently picking up useful minerals and stones from an even larger pile of mixed stones. Even though I¡¯ve been working for an entire day, it was still hard to get a few minerals. When I presented what I had found today to my adoptive mother, she got angry, yelling, ¡°It¡¯s not worth your meal! Don¡¯t you think you should be earning your own living now? There¡¯s nothing to eat tomorrow right now!¡± My birth mother had given enough gold, silver, and treasurers to my adoptive family so that I would be able to eat comfortably for 10 years, yet this family was still so shameless. In fact, this family has torn apart. My adoptive father is obsessed with making money but doesn¡¯t get to work because it¡¯s hot in summer and cold in winter. The only son of this house often comes home after playing with other local boys all day long, while also saying that he will carry out knighthood in vain. My stepmother, meanwhile, is busy blaming the misfortune of the entire family. She calls me a cursed child. Mother, if you were going to leave me, you should have sent me to a more normal home. Even worse, I¡¯ve been through this ten times. I have experienced being reborn nine times. The beginning has always been the same. During the springtime, a woman whose face is completely covered up wraps me in a small sack and takes me to this terrible house. But the end of all of my lives have been different each time. One thing that is always consistent is that I have always died before I turned 12 years old. But I can barely recall the ways that I¡¯ve died. Not even my ninth life from before. ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re out of discipline! Discipline!¡± Andy yelled in response to my adoptive mothers¡¯ scolding as soon as I stepped foot into the house. ¡°You mean she can¡¯t even do her share? Where does she even get this laziness?¡± I walked away from my adoptive mother and slightly pushed against Andy as I began to rummage through the pile of stones once more. ¡°It¡¯s because of her real mother. Who else could it be from? It¡¯s all bloodlines and genetics!¡± I laughed silently. Genetics? As if your genetics are any better than mine. Just take a look at those ugly lips. ¡°What do you even want?¡± I replied, tightening my hand and raising my head. ¡°Why, are you upset that you¡¯re still being blamed for being left behind by your own mother? Do you still think she¡¯ll pick you up? Hey, it¡¯s already been over three years. She¡¯s never coming back.¡± He stomped his feet and grabbed the minerals I had picked. ¡°Even though my family is losing money and is going down because of you, we¡¯re still nice enough to keep taking care of you. But you¡¯re cursed! I¡¯m just going to kick you out. We don¡¯t need to be nice anymore. No person with grandma white hair like yours¡¯ would ever be able to live normally anyways,¡± he berated. ¡°Andy, are you grumpy?¡± I asked him sardonically. I¡¯ve already lived through this injustice ten times, there was no need to keep the cycle going. ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh. Even if you grow up okay, no one will be desperate enough to marry you, and you¡¯ll just have to work for the rest of your life with that shabby body. You¡¯re short, you don¡¯t have muscles, you¡¯re stupid, and you¡¯ve got a big head. You¡¯re never ever going to become the knight that you want to be.¡± ¡°. . . what?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you understand, stupid? You¡¯re a terrible knight. It takes a lot of training and focus to become a knight. But. You. Won¡¯t. Ever. Be. One!¡± ¡°That¡¯s just bullsh-!!¡± Enraged, Andy kicked hard at the stones I had sorted, and I tripped, falling right over another heap of stones. The sharp piece of rock I landed on made my back throb in pain. The stones I had sorted all day long were all mixed up and lying randomly on the ground. Looking at my hard work get ruined so easily was enough to make me cry. But I didn¡¯t. I wouldn¡¯t. Because today is that day. Tap, Tap, Stomp. Although it¡¯s faint, in the distance I could hear the clear horse hooves against the harsh dirt roads. ¡®It¡¯s about time you came¡­¡¯ Tap, stomp, clack. The sound grew louder and louder until everyone could hear it. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Andy asked, approaching the window and forgetting all about me and his previous anger. When he blew the dust from the window and wiped the rest of the residue with his sleeves, he could see a procession of horses across the dim forest road. It¡¯s hard for a horse to reach here, a deep mountain valley. But now there was not only one, but dozens of military horses quickly approaching our cabin, all while protecting an unusually long carriage between them. ¡°Andy, what do you see?¡± My adoptive father folded the newspaper and approached the window with him. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s the flag of the Knights!¡± Andy wiped his eyes with his grubby hands and bumped his face all the way up against the window until his nose was fully crushed. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that symbol was in the book about knighthood that Rudy showed me! They¡¯re coming this way, right? They¡¯re coming straight to our house! Oh my God! What¡¯s going on?¡± He exclaimed enthusiastically, smitten with joy and overwhelmed with a mirage of emotions, stretching out his hands, and ran to our mother. ¡°I took the test of knighthood last month! I¡¯m sure I passed it!! They¡¯re coming to get me! Mom, this is my hard work! It¡¯s the beginning of happiness!¡± All of his excitement was freaking me out, but I swallowed calmly. Even though I¡¯ve experienced it many times, I¡¯m still shaking from pure nervousness. He¡¯s finally coming. This life was especially hard because it seemed as if time was passing so slowly, but it has finally come to that day. ¡°Andy! Oh my God! Are you sure? Did you really take the test? Why didn¡¯t you tell me!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s because if I failed it, it would¡¯ve been embarrassing. So I was going to tell you if I succeeded and passed! But I didn¡¯t know a group of knights would come to pick me up! Oh my! Do you think I got first place on the test? That¡¯s why they¡¯re coming to pick me up especially? I need to change right now! Don¡¯t I have any decent clothes, Mom?! We can¡¯t greet the knights like this!¡± As they were jumping around in excitement, happiness, and pride, the carriage arrived in our front yard. The man with the biggest, most beautiful, silver horse that was riding in the lead of the procession of Knights jumped down from his horse and walked straight to the cabin. Boom! Boom! Andy popped out like a spring at the knock on the door. ¡°Oh¡­ hello? What business do you have here?¡± He greeted the visitor with a bright smile, but he hardened when he saw the man outside the door. The man was shockingly handsome. He had dazzling, vivid gold hair that reached to his shoulders. His smooth and slender face reminded me of those marble statues. He had perfect features and a noble and holy aura. But what seemed to make Andy freeze was his icy red eyes. His eyes looked down on us and made us want to lie down and beg for our lives, even though we didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Furthermore, his attire was also something to gawk at. He wore a white cape that was stained with a color similar to the vividness of his eyes. The smell of blood was not overwhelming, but it was definitely there. However, the color and the brightness of the red made it seem as if he had just stormed out of a bloody war. ¡°Uh¡­I¡¯m very pleased to meet you. I-I really am,¡± Andy stammered after a moment of silence under the intense pressure rising off from the man. ¡°Is this where the Windmill Family resides?¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s right! I¡¯m Andy Windmill¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the princess?¡± ¡°¡­Princess, you said?¡± Andy was dumbfounded by the man¡¯s words, but the strange man brushed past Andy and strode straight into the house and began to look around. He walked past the dusty thread of cobwebs, worn-out tables and chairs, and headed straight towards me standing in the corner. I didn¡¯t make a single noise. But I hoped in my heart. ¡®I hope that he sees me like this and feels sorry for me. I hope that your heart aches in compassion for me. I hope that you feel guilty for allowing your princess to live here for so long.¡¯ But no emotions were reflected in his red eyes. ¡°Here you are.¡± He came to me, knelt down, and saluted to me. Even when he knelt he was taller than me. I lifted my head to look at him in the eyes, and he also studied me. I had tangled, shaggy white hair, wobbly emerald eyes, a dirty face full of soot, and an overall shabby appearance while wearing a worn-out garment. I have been waiting all this time for someone who will come to save me. My heart was pounding so hard that it was stabbing me. ¡°Princess Anastasia, I¡¯m pleased to meet you. I am the Commander of the Knights of St. Veritas, Phaeon Parsiel.¡± Phaeon Parsiel is the war hero of Santra. He¡¯s achieved a lot from the last three years¡¯ war and is a man who has made a reputation in the Great Land of Tranquillum as the strongest knight. Only in this life would I later find out that he is my real father. ¡°Your name is Anastasia Entimoss,¡± he continued. He turned around to look at my adoptive family who were just staring without comprehending. ¡°She is the First Princess of Santra.¡± Chapter 1.1 #Episode 1. 10th birthday ¡°Assha! That¡¯s all you can ever do, huh?¡± Three and a half years have passed since that day. Yet the memory was still starkly etched into my mind. Now, I am a four-year-old girl who¡¯s still extremely careless. But despite my young age, these madmen who pose as my family would demand my help whenever they needed money. ¡°I¡¯ve worked non-stop all day long at the same place¡­¡± Now, I am stuck picking up various useful minerals from a large pile of stones. Even though I¡¯ve been working on it for an entire day, selecting a handful of minerals was still a tough and time-consuming process. Upon presenting what I had sorted out today, my adoptive mother got angry. Yelling at me, ¡°This is not worth your meal! Don¡¯t you think you should start earning your own living? Now there¡¯s nothing to eat tomorrow!¡± My birth mother had given enough gold, silver, and treasurers to my adoptive family so that I would be able to eat comfortably for 10 years, yet this family was still so shameless. This family has now been torn apart. My adoptive father is obsessed with making money but does not go to work as it is hot during summer and cold during winter. The only son of this house often comes home late after playing with other local boys all day long, while also saying that he will carry out knighthood in vain. My stepmother, meanwhile, is busy blaming the misfortune of the entire family on me, often calling me a cursed child. Mother, if you were going to leave me, you should have sent me to a more normal home. Moreover, I¡¯ve encountered this whole ordeal ten times as a result of having been reborn nine times. The beginning has always been the same. During Spring, a woman, whose face is completely covered up, would wrap me up in a small sack and take me to this terrible house. However, the way my life ends is different every time. One thing that is always consistent is the fact that I always died before I turned 12. Although having faced death countless times, I can always barely remember how I managed to die. Not even from my ninth life. ¡°It¡¯s because she¡¯s lacking discipline! Discipline!¡± Andy yelled, in response to my adoptive mother¡¯s scolding as soon as I stepped into the house. ¡°You¡¯re saying she can¡¯t even pull her own weight? Where does she even get such laziness from?¡± Walking away, I lightly shoved at Andy before I began to once again rummage through the pile of stones. ¡°It¡¯s because of her real mother. Who else could it be from? It¡¯s all bloodlines and genetics!¡± I laughed silently. Genetics? As if your genetics are any better than mine. Just take a look at those ugly lips. ¡°What¡¯s your problem? What do you even want?¡± I replied, clenching my hands into fists and raising my head. ¡°Why are you so upset? Is it because your mother left you behind? Do you still think that she¡¯ll pick you up someday? Wake up, it¡¯s already been three years. She¡¯s never coming back for you.¡± Stomping his feet, he grabbed the minerals that I had just sorted out. ¡°Even though you¡¯re a cursed child who is causing my family to lose money and go down, we¡¯re still nice enough to continue taking care of you. Now, I¡¯m just going to kick you out. After all, we don¡¯t need to be nice to you anymore. Nobody who has white hair like yours would ever be able to live normally anyways.¡± he yelled. ¡°Andy, are you feeling grumpy right now?¡± I asked him sarcastically. I have already lived through this nightmare ten times, there was no need to keep the cycle going. ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh. Even if you grow up okay, no one will be desperate enough to marry you, and you¡¯ll just have to work for the rest of your life with that shabby body. You¡¯re short, you don¡¯t have muscles, you¡¯re stupid, and you¡¯ve got a big head. You¡¯re never ever going to become the knight that you want to be.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh. Even if you were to grow up decently, there will be no one desperate enough to marry someone like you. You¡¯ll just have to work with that weak body of yours for the rest of your life. You¡¯re short, stupid, and you¡¯ve got a big head. You¡¯ll never become the knight that you dream to be.¡± ¡°¡­excuse me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so stupid! Don¡¯t you understand? You¡¯re a terrible knight. Becoming a knight takes a lot of training and handwork. So. You. Won¡¯t. Ever. Become. One!¡± ¡°That¡¯s just bullsh-!!¡± Enraged, Andy kicked the stones that I had just sorted. I tripped. Falling right over another heap of stones. The sharp piece of rock I landed on made my back throb in pain. The stones I had sorted all day long were all mixed up and were now scattered randomly on the ground. All my hard work, ruined in a matter of seconds. That was enough to make me cry. But I did not. I would not cry. Because today is that day. Tap, Tap, Stomp. From a distance, I could hear the faint sounds of horse hooves against the rough and uneven dirt roads. ¡®It¡¯s about time for them to come¡­¡¯ Tap, stomp, clack. Louder and louder the sound grew, before long, everyone could hear it. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Andy asked, walking towards the window, completely forgotten all about me and his previous anger. Blowing away the dust from the window and wiping it clean with his sleeves, he could see a group of horses across the dim forest road. Since this is a deep mountain valley, it is incredibly hard for a horse to reach here. Moreover, there was not only one, but dozens of military horses quickly approaching our cabin while protecting the unusually long carriage between them. ¡°Andy, what¡¯s outside?¡± My adoptive father asked, folding the newspaper and approached the window. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s the flag of the Knights!¡± Wiping his eyes with his grubby hands, Andy inched closer to the window, until his face was so pushed up against the window that his nose was fully crushed. ¡°Wait! I¡¯m pretty sure that symbol was in that book about knighthood that Rudy had shown me! They¡¯re coming this way, right? Right? They¡¯re heading towards our house! Oh my god! What¡¯s happening?¡± He exclaimed enthusiastically, smitten with joy and overwhelmed with a mirage of emotions, stretching out his hands, and ran towards our mother. ¡°I took the test of knighthood last month! I¡¯m must¡¯ve passed it with flying colour!! They¡¯re coming to get me! Mom, this is the result of my hard work! It¡¯s the beginning of happiness!¡± All of his excitement was freaking me out, but I swallowed calmly. Even though I¡¯ve experienced it many times, I¡¯m still shaking from pure nervousness. All of his excitement made me feel slightly terrified, but I swallowed calmly. Even though I¡¯ve already experienced it multiple times, I could not help but shake nervously. He¡¯s finally coming. This life was especially hard because it seemed as if time was passing very slowly, but it has finally come to that day. ¡°Andy! Oh my God! Are you certain? Did you really take the test? Why didn¡¯t you tell me!¡± ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s because if I were to fail, it would¡¯ve been very embarrassing. So I was going to tell you should I succeed and pass. But I didn¡¯t know a group of knights would come to pick me up! Oh my! Do you think I managed to get first place on the test? Maybe that¡¯s why they¡¯re coming to pick me up? Oh no! I¡¯ll need to quickly change right now! Do I not have any decent clothes, Mom?! We can¡¯t possibly greet the knights like this!¡± As they were jumping around in excitement, happiness, and pride, the carriage arrived in our front yard. A man with the largest, most beautiful, silver horse that was leading the group of knights jumped down from his horse and walked towards the cabin. Thump! Thump! Andy popped out like a spring at the knock on the door. Popping out from the door upon a knock, Andy greeted the visitor. ¡°Oh¡­ hello? What business do you have here?¡± Greeting the visitor with a bright smile, Andy hardened as he noticed the man standing outside the door. He was shockingly handsome. With dazzlingly vivid gold locks of hair that reached his shoulders, and a smooth, slender face which reminded me of marble statues. He had perfect features and was a noble surrounded with a holy aura. However, what made Andy freeze at his spot were his icy red eyes. Eyes that looked down on us and made us want to fall to our knees and beg for our lives even though we did not do anything wrong. Furthermore, his attire was also something to gawk at. He wore a white cape that was stained with a color similar to the vividness of his eyes. The smell of blood was not overwhelming, but it was definitely there. However, the color and the brightness of the red made it seem as if he had just stormed out of a bloody war. Furthermore, his outfit was eyecatching. Behind him was a white cape stained with a color similar to the vividness of his eyes. You could faintly smell the blood, but it was there. Moreover, the color and brightness of the red made it seem as though he had just stepped out from a bloody battlefield. ¡°Oh uh¡­I¡¯m very pleased to meet you. I-I really am,¡± Andy stammered after a moment of silence under the intense gaze from the man. ¡°Is this where the Windmill Family resides?¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s right! I¡¯m Andy Windmill¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the princess?¡± ¡°You said¡­ a Princess?¡± Andy was dumbfounded upon hearing the man¡¯s words. Brushing past Andy, the strange man strode straight into the cabin and began to search, Walking past the dusty, dense thread of cobwebs, worn-out tables and chairs, he headed straight towards the corner. Where I was standing. I could not make a sound. But I continuously prayed in my heart. ¡®I hope he feels sorry for me when he sees me in such a state. I hope his heart aches in compassion for me. I hope he feels guilty for allowing his princess to live in such a poor manner for a long time.¡¯ But in his red eyes were devoid of emotion. ¡°Here you are.¡± He walked towards me, knelt down, and saluted. Even when he was kneeling down, he was still taller than me. Lifting my head up to look him in the eyes, he too studied me. A head full of dishevelled, tangled, shaggy white hair, wobbly emerald eyes, a dirty face covered in soot. Overall, a pitiful appearance paired with tattered garments. I have been waiting all this time for someone who will come to save me. My heart was pounding so hard, it felt as if there was something stabbing me. ¡°Princess Anastasia, I¡¯m pleased to meet you. I am the Commander of the Knights of St. Veritas, Phaeon Parsiel.¡± Phaeon Parsiel is the war hero of Santra. He¡¯s achieved a lot from the last three years¡¯ war and is a man who gained a reputation in the Great Land of Tranquillum for being the strongest knight. It was only in this life would I, later on, find out that he is my biological father. ¡°Your name is Anastasia Entimoss,¡± he continued. He turned around, sparing a glance at my adoptive family, who were just standing there, mouths agape. ¡°The First Princess of Santra.¡± Chapter 2 #Episode 2 Royal Palace (1) Anastasia. A name only reserved for royalty which means ¡®revival¡¯ in the ancient language. But for me, it is a curse. The unfortunate meaning of resurrection must be causing this endless loophole. ¡°Prin¡­cess? Princess? The Princess? Anas¡­ What? Her name is Assha.¡± Andy muttered, unable to hide his bewilderment. ¡°No, wait, this must be some kind of a mistake.¡± Her adoptive mother was afraid so she stood far away as she opened her mouth. ¡°What? She¡¯s a princess? Ha! What nonsense are you blabbering on about?¡± The two of them were scared of Phaeton¡¯s cold eyes as he gazed at them, their faces now pale with their mouths closed. ¡°It was confirmed in Princess Beatrice¡¯s will. ¡¯I¡¯ve entrusted Princess Anastasia to the Windmill family¡¯, now, I¡¯ve come to ask for her back in the palace.¡± ¡°No way! The princess died a few months ago! She didn¡¯t even marry. How would she have given birth to a child?!¡± ¡°In accordance with Santra¡¯s law for an inheritance,¡± He warned in a cold voice. ¡°Princess Anastasia will inherit the throne of Princess Beatrice, the first princess. Even if you have acted disrespectfully for not knowing about her identity, please don¡¯t forget that you can be punished for contempt of the royal family from this moment on.¡± The three family members shuddered heavily, retreating back to the wall. Still, they continued to look at us, mouth wide open as if they could not believe it, but instinctively they seemed to have realized the extent of ¡°shut up.¡± ¡°Princess, we must leave right away. Do you have anything to pack?¡± There was nothing to pack. All she had was a bronze, cheap rocket necklace that is left from my family. ¡°¡­No. There isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡± Then, her adoptive mother, who was rolling her eyes and staring at us, cried out. ¡°Wait! What about child support?¡± There it was¡­ she has once again started with her flamboyant nonsense¡­ ¡°¡­Princess Beatrice didn¡¯t pay for the child support?¡± ¡°Well¡­ she did give it to us! But she¡¯s all grown up now! These days, it¡¯s really hard to raise a child¡­ Besides, we were at war.¡± ¡°If you were to send a request with the amount to the royal family, we will send you the settlement.¡± Turning his body, as if there was nothing more to see, his long white cloak fluttered, drawing a circle. Relief washed over her adoptive mother¡¯s face. Looked like a wolf which caught its prey. Before the age of four, I have always managed to escape this house. Out my nine lives, five of which I have gone to the royal palace. But what I have yet to do was something along the lines of revenge for those who have mistreated me all my life. The atmosphere of this knight was so fierce that I could not even speak to him at first, but I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. If not it would turn out the same as last time. However, now that I know you¡¯re my father, this life will be different. ¡°They¡¯ll bite you if you give them money.¡± I said, clasping at his cape. He looked at me with a slightly surprised expression. ¡°What is that supposed to mean? ¡°They¡¯ll bite you if you give them money. These people always make Assha work long hours, beat her, and leave her without food. They¡¯re bad people.¡± ¡°¡­Is what the princess said true?¡± ¡°Oh my God! Oh no, Princess! What are you talking about?! When did we ever do that?!¡± My adoptive mother rushed forward in a fit of confusion. Taking a step back, I lifted the hem of my loosely fitted and tattered shirt. ¡°Are you sure?¡± The knight¡¯s eyes grew a little bigger as she showed her bloodied bruises. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s because the princess fell while she was running around outside. She really loves to play around¡­ Haha, the princess must be upset with us. But we really did our best to make sure the princess is comfortable!¡± ¡°Please pass me those two there.¡± I have been pumping mana into the stone that I was holding on to for a while. Then a faint sound was heard as a subtle image started to form in the air. The people of Windmill family who saw the sight screamed at once. Of course, this would be the first time they have seen magic. Very few are able to use mana, most of whom are royal or aristocrats. Commoners, who rarely have a chance to encounter magic, may only be able to look at magic once in their lifetime. I knew from my first life that I could use mana, but I have had several deaths without a chance to learn how to use it effectively. After only a few sessions did I finally learn to cast vision magic on my own. It was relatively low-difficulty magic, and fortunately, while doing what my adoptive mother ordered me to sort stones, I was able to chance upon a mana stone that could be made into one that was able to produce images. Then, the air started to change, projecting various images. An image of me was shown, shaking, as the house was turned upside down with all sorts of verbal abuse, screams, and cries¡­ Their atrocities and brutality were so vivid as the video played. At last, the final sound of a voice came out. ¡°She¡¯s throwing away her own mother. Where would someone with her blood go?¡± Andy collapsed, with a pale face as his legs turned weak. Sitting on the floor, he rambled on like a madman. ¡°Oh, no¡­ I didn¡¯t know she was a princess. Damn it! That thing hid something that could use magic! That devilish girl! She must be a demon. She¡¯s been like a four-year-old girl for a long time too.¡± Flash! For a moment, there was an intense flash of light throughout the house as Andy fell down once again, foaming at his mouth. As if weighed down by invisible force, he struggled to get up. His parents screamed and approached him, but, they too, by an invisible force, fell to the ground. ¡°This is how divinity is used.¡± It gave me the chills to realise that this was the power of the most powerful knight on the continent. ¡°How dare you.¡± Phaeon spoke in a subdued voice. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re talking about child support after you¡¯ve done something like this.¡± I wondered if he was really upset, but it was hard to figure out because he had little change in his original expression. ¡°As soon as you arrive in the capital, you will be immediately taken to the Judithium.¡± Judithium is the largest dungeon in Santra, notorious for its high tensity. They were all shedding tears, their noses running as they pleaded for help. Andy seemed to have peed as well. ¡°That is, if you are able to make it out alive and get to the capital.¡± ? ? ? At the very end of the carriage, the three were bound tightly like sausages as they walked barefoot to the capital. Since it was midwinter and the ground was frozen solid, I thought they would die on the way to the capital. ¡®It¡¯s nothing compared to my decades of suffering.¡¯ I have decided to make up my mind. In this life, I won¡¯t live a tough life. As we went outside, the other knights glanced at us. I gave them a bow. Realizing that a child who manages to live for many years being well-mannered is not hated, I developed the habit of bowing to everyone I made eye contact with. ¡°Leader, is she really¡­ the one we¡¯ve been looking for?¡± Some quickly saluted me when they saw me like that, but most looked suspicious. Well, who would think that I am a princess? ¡°Don¡¯t waste our time and leave right away.¡± Phaeon ignored the question and ordered it. If I were a knight, I would hate to work under such a superior. ¡°Pardon me.¡± He lifted me up to put me in the carriage. Very carefully, as if lifting a glass statue. And I, ¡°Ouch!¡± I trembled with all my might. ¡°¡­.¡± He hugged me in a hurry, perhaps surprised. He was clumsy, as if he had never held a child in his arms before. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I touched your wound.¡± I hugged him with all my strength, not missing the moment where he slightly hugged me. ¡°It hurts¡­¡± I could hear him at a loss for words as I spoke, already in tears. Hugging me, he got into the carriage. ¡°I¡¯ll heal you right away. But¡­¡± As soon as he sat down, he took his hands off me. I¡¯m sitting on his lap. He glanced at me, and it seemed like he wanted to put me down. When you heal with divine power, one would feel really strange during the process¡­ I clung to him more tightly. For a moment he hesitated, sighing softly, he hugged me again. ¡°You may feel weird. It¡¯s divine power, so don¡¯t be too surprised.¡± Warm energy seemed to flow into my body. One day, when I was seriously injured in the royal family, the priests treated me with divine power. Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s been so long since I felt this warmth, or possibly the fact that he¡¯s very powerful, but tears seemed to pour down my face. ¡®No, why are you feeling this touched. He¡¯s just doing his duty. It¡¯s because I have such a wound near my eyes¡­¡¯ I held my heart to keep it from getting excited. In an instant, the throbbing of my whole body subsided. Now that treatment was over, he could have let me fall, but I was listening to his heartbeat in his arms, pretending not to notice. ¡®He has a heart, too.¡¯ He knew I was his daughter yet he left me alone for all of my life. Of course, he is the commander of the knights, and I know he does not have much to do with me. But even though the palace and the temple were attached, and we constantly encountered each other at meetings, dinners, banquets, prayer meetings, and other events, he never once even greeted me properly. My reputation in the royal court was the worst, and even though you knew that I was hated by everyone, you did not even blink an eye¡­ It was tantamount to abuse. And for that I will probably never forgive this man. How on earth did he fall in love with mother? He has a reputation for being the ¡°True Lux¡¯s Apostle.¡± One who lives solely for Lux, is not afraid to sacrifice his life for God¡¯s mission, and has laid down all physical and spiritual pleasures so as to not use God¡¯s power in the wrong place. On the other hand, he was also nicknamed, ¡°Lion of the cruel Lux,¡± containing heresays, which disturbs public sentiment, and has the ruthlessness to cut down fake prophets. Such a person took a vow with God that he protected fiercely as if it were his life? No one else could beat it, not even this country¡¯s princess? ¡®How unkind.¡¯ Maybe my mother was the first to notice and call out to me. Her face is so beautiful that it is too precious to be able to live such a long enough life for. However, she was a tyrant, that may have crossed boundaries and barriers such as inhumane characteristics and religion. But in that case, it is not convincing that this person did not resist the marriage. Or did both sides? I just don¡¯t understand this either. Anyway, I decided to bet on him, that he has a little human heart. ¡®Just once, I want to live a decent life.¡¯ Neither in the royal palace, which is embroiled in a struggle for succession and must live every day on edge for fear of death, nor the street where children have to wander aimlessly. My goal is to live comfortably, somewhere where no one will go after me. If¡­If this man is on my side. If he becomes a knight who protects me, at least I will have the power to protect myself. I looked up carefully and made eye contact with him. ¡°You¡¯re an angel, aren¡¯t you?¡± Chapter 3 - To the Palace (2) #Chapter 3- To the Palace (2) ¡°¡­I¡¯m just a human being. Lord Lux has just lent me his power,¡± Phaeon answered, avoiding my eyes. ¡°No, you must be an angel. I¡¯m always being scolded by adults, so I¡¯m kind of glad that I¡¯m hurt. But I feel much better now.¡± ¡°Still, I¡¯m not one¡­¡± He frowned and paused before explaining. ¡°The reason why they didn¡¯t get away with their bargain was because of the Princess¡¯s wits. But, how did you use magic? It should be impossible at your age.¡± ¡°I got this stone from the forest. It was so bright and pretty. Whenever mana is released, it is bound together as one piece so that magic is formed and becomes one with the stone.¡± I knew you¡¯d ask that question, so I had prepared an excuse. ¡°Even if the magic stone was randomly picked up, in order to use it, you need to infuse mana into it. At this age, you shouldn¡¯t be able to utilize mana, but you seem to have strong enough magic to use it unconsciously.¡± Of course. I had heard that Princess Beatrice was a prominent Royal Witch. Because of her, I also inherited a formidable amount of mana and resistance in my body. However, Beatrice had died because of her failure to learn defensive magic along with combat magic. Oh, I¡¯m going crazy thinking about it. She was born as the daughter of the continent¡¯s greatest knight and the Royal Witch, yet she died so easily. ¡°¡­You are her daughter.¡± He spoke to himself as if he could not believe it. Her daughter? Why do you sound like you¡¯re talking about someone else? I¡¯m also your daughter?! He is a man who makes a person¡¯s blood boil with every word. I decided to put up with it again, keeping my goal in mind. I laugh and nudge him innocently. ¡°Assha, can you use magic? ¡°After learning court etiquette and some basic knowledge, you will be able to test your mana¡¯s sensitivity and ask for a Royal Wizard to be your teacher.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll study hard. Assha is very good at reading books. I want to learn mana control and master it. Also, I read in books that people treat them nicely.¡± This was true. I always liked reading books. The library¡¯s books were the only friends of the royal family who always spoke the truth. It¡¯s frustrating to think about learning the basics again, but I need to pretend to be a genius and progress incredibly fast. Because there were not just one or two things I needed to learn. In order to achieve my goal¡­ All of a sudden, I became incredibly drowsy. I may have the mind of an adult, but my body was still that of a child. I was also warm thanks to Phaeon¡¯s divine power, so sleep came to me quickly. ¡°Princess? Prin¡­cess¡­?¡± The voice drew farther and farther away as I fell asleep in his arms. *** ¡°This is ridiculous. Father!¡± This is what was happening currently, in the royal palace of Santra. A girl about twelve years old, with big, reddish-brown, curly hair, and elegant, green eyes, is shouting at the King in front of me. Her name is Stella Michelle Entimos. She is the third princess of Santra and the aunt of Anastasia. ¡°How could you make an illegitimate child a princess?! The whole continent will laugh at us!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m happy about it.¡± The King¡¯s white hair and mustache made him appear loving, but his turquoise eyes looked dissatisfied with his brother-in-law as he stood up from his throne with a sigh. ¡°My sister cheated on us all. She made us think that she was fighting monsters near the border! She pretended to fight for her country, but really she met up with a man who didn¡¯t know where she came from, and secretly gave birth to a child¡­!¡± ¡°Even though you refuse to listen, I suggest you don¡¯t use such vulgar words, Stella.¡± A woman calmly spoke. Her hair was a dark reddish-brown but, unlike Stella¡¯s, was shiny and straight. This is Aquala Erica Entimos, the second Princess of Santra. ¡°We are royalty.¡± ¡°Sister Aquala! Why aren¡¯t you angry?! We might have to give our succession to the throne to a four year old kid!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry because it was never mine to begin with, but I¡¯m worried about the future of Santra.¡± She looked at her father with a sharp glance. ¡°You really don¡¯t know who the father of this child is?¡± ¡°The Will only states that he was a mercenary from Calisa whom she met near the border. It is almost impossible to find him with such little information.¡± ¡°Hah! Calisa! She went to Calisa for wantonly but, in the end, she had a relationship with a person, which is a commoner! And then died in the hands of the King of Calisa. I suppose she really is Tris¡¯ sister¡­ ¡°Stella!¡± Aquala gave her a look to make her stop talking. ¡°Your Majesty, you must consider this very carefully. The foundations of Santra¡¯s society could be shaken.¡± She continued with a calm, but firm voice. ¡°If she is recognized as a Princess, she will inherit the succession rights according to the Absolute Eldest Inheritance Law. Then, for the first time in the history of Santra, an illegitimate Queen will take place.¡± ¡°Never! Let¡¯s just stop this right here. Shut everyone¡¯s mouth who knows about this and let her live in a corner.¡± ¡°As for that¨C¡± Suddenly, a young man in a white priest¡¯s uniform entered the room and opened his mouth. His light brown hair and his monocle make him look soft and benevolent. ¡°You may want to save your judgement until after hearing the prophecy that was made yesterday.¡± ¡°High Minister of Belus¡­!¡± ¡°I see the skies of Santra.¡± High Minister Belus bowed to the King. ¡°A prophecy? There hasn¡¯t been a prophecy made in the past 100 years.¡± ¡°The red jewels of Santra, the Oracle said, ¡®The one who will bring light to Santra¡¯ has come down.¡± ¡°The prophecy has always been a bit vague,¡± Belus replies with a gentle smile. ¡°Since the Oracle came down, she is now a ¡®Child of God¡¯. That means¡­¡± The King listened to his words with a grim face. ¡°Even though the royal family doesn¡¯t want to acknowledge her, you can¡¯t get rid of her.¡± ¡°What?!¡± the two women simultaneously shouted in surprise. ¡°Is that true? Can we really trust him? Or, was there a mistake¡­¡± Stella was restless, but stayed silent. ¡°What does the light mean? It may not necessarily be referring to the throne.¡± Even though Aquala coldly pointed that out, they still couldn¡¯t avoid feeling agitated. *** Thanks to the great Oracle¡¯s prophecy of ¡®the one who will bring light to Santra,¡¯ I have been protected by the royal family for a while, but I was still living a lie. The royal housekeeping is managed by Princess Aquala, who gave me the minimum amount of supplies that was only enough to keep me alive. The maid who was assigned to me quit after half a year of work, and the other maids avoided me because they are wary of Aquala. I had to do chores like washing and cleaning all by myself, and could only look at delicious food, but never eat it. It was nothing compared to the time in one of my lives in which I lived in the forest, but the only hard part for that was the painful contempt and coldness. It is really lonely, sad, and miserable to live in such a large palace and be treated as ¡®nonexistent¡¯ amongst so many people. ¡®The Oracle must have been lying.¡¯ Far from bringing light to Santra, my life has never seen light. I was starting to question whether God really existed. If it did, then God must have been a demon. ¡°Princess, we have arrived at the Capital. You must be tired after being in the carriage for so long.¡± The image of the Capital unfolded outside the window that Phaeon was looking through. For a moment, I was impressed by the view that I hadn¡¯t seen in so long. I hadn¡¯t been outside the palace much, but I liked the view of the Capital. Red-roofed and colorful buildings stand in neat lines and beyond, one could see a grand palace with a golden roof. ¡°Angel, this was your request,¡± I said as I looked out the window. ¡°¡­Why do you keep calling me that¡­.Huh, wait. What are you saying?¡± ¡°A prayer to God Lux of the Temple to show him gratitude for sending an angel to Assha.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I was hesitant to speak, it would be difficult to continue my prayer because he is ¡®the true apostle of God Lux¡¯. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll take you to the Temple instead,¡± he said worriedly. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Okay, it¡¯s all going as planned, you can¡¯t go straight to the Palace like this. After a while, the carriage rattled and stopped. He carried me to drop me off the wagon. When I opened the door in the warm wagon, the cold winter air from outside came in. After a while, the carriage rattled to a stop. Phaeon lifted me up to exit the carriage. When I opened the door from the warmth of the carriage, the cold winter air from outside came in. ¡°Brr¡­¡± As I trembled, he stopped trying to place me on the ground. ¡°You need to get down¡­Assha, you¡¯re heavy.¡± The eyes of several knights who are standing outside the wagon turn to him. They gave him a critical glance that seemed to say, ¡®No matter how much she weighs, how can the Captain call that child heavy?¡¯ As if he can feel their disapproving stares, Phaeon hugged and wrapped me in his robe. ¡°I should have brought something like a cloak, but I was in a hurry and didn¡¯t even bring an attendant. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, the angel¡¯s body is warm.¡± ¡°An¡­gel?¡± The black-haired knight looked at me in fear. ¡°I¡¯m not wrong now, am I?¡± ¡°Angel¡­¡± ¡°The Captain is an angel¡­¡± One knight¡¯s mouth opened in shock and another knight¡¯s hand covered his mouth as he laughed. What is the Captain¡¯s reputation amongst the Templars of the Alternative Castle¡­ When he stared at the knights, all of them quickly turned their heads to look away from him. ¡°On second thought, I¡¯ve decided to stop by first to deliver a message to His Majesty.¡± One of the knights runed ahead to the Royal Palace and, after walking for a while, we arrived at a new, white building that looked very sacred. Phaeon passed through the main gate and headed straight to the ¡®Casket of Prayer¡¯. As we got there, everyone, regardless of age or sex, came out and hid behind a standing pillar, glancing at us. The shoutings ended. I waved my hand to be put down at the entrance of the magnificent prayer coffin. ¡°¡­Can I be excused?¡± When I nodded a little, he stepped outside. ¡°I will be waiting at the door.¡± I walked alone to the center of the prayer coffin. The ceiling was filled with colorful frescoes and numerous statues surrounded the dome-shaped coffin. Under the white, stone path leading to the central altar was a fountain spewing emerald-colored holy water into a huge river. Surrounded by a bluish fog and the refreshing sound of water, a mysterious atmosphere was created. I arrived at the front of the altar and slump to my knees. I then put my hands together and began to pray. ¡®God, I finally found out who my real father is. He¡¯s the one you cherish and love so much.¡¯ I closed my eyes and said in my head, ¡®So am I being punished instead?! Because he betrayed you?¡¯ I poured out all the anger I have accumulated. ¡®I¡­I have been burned, frozen to death, beaten to death, and bitten by beasts. I think I¡¯ve been punished enough now.¡¯ At a very early age, I repeatedly went through painful deaths and lost the curse of life. In some lives I committed suicide. But to no avail. Does God intend not to end this punishment until I go through Hell on my own? ¡®I think this is the last time.¡¯ I clasped my hands together as hard as I can and approached the edge of the marble path. ¡®Please, this time.¡¯ I closed my eyes tightly. ¡®Please let me survive.¡¯ Plop! Then, I fell into the emerald river. Chapter 4 - To the Palace (3) Chapter 4 ¨C To the Palace (3) Plop! It wasn¡¯t possible to see how deep it was, but it seemed quite deep to her. When she saw the endless pit, she held her breath in hopes to not swallow the water. However she eventually reached her limit not long after. But why aren¡¯t you saving me?! Do you not know I¡¯m drowning? You said you¡¯d be right at the door! Can¡¯t you hear me from there? Due to lack of air, she couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and opened her mouth. Ah, I¡¯m dying. This wasn¡¯t my intention. I didn¡¯t mean to go back as soon as my tenth life began. ¡°Princess!¡± She heard his voice faintly. Hurry up, you fool. *** ¡°Princess!¡± When she came back to her senses, she saw Phaeon¡¯s face right in front of hers, his golden hair was tickling her face. ¡°Princess, are you all right?!¡± As I was forced to turn my head, I saw several priestesses surrounding me. I couldn¡¯t believe I fainted at a moment like that. There was nothing I could do because of my weak little body. But my condition was better than I thought. Even though I had no energy, there wasn¡¯t any soreness across my body even after swallowing too much water. I nodded to indicate that I was alright. ¡°Sir Parsiel, you can stop now.¡± One of the retainers said to Phaeon. He must have been using his sacred power on me. His face was as white as a sheet. Was he¡­ worried about me? No, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because he was just surprised. He would have to show the king, the princess¡¯s lifeless body, if I died. He was also the one who led me to the temple. ¡°My¡­ my feet slipped.¡± He got up and said, ¡°Please take the princess to her room. We will stay here for today and leave tomorrow.¡± Then he left through the door without looking back as his wet clothes were dripping with water. As expected, you were just surprised. You¡¯re such a heartless man¡­ ¡°Princess, since you are already wet, you¡¯d better wash up with warm water. We¡¯ll bring you there.¡± Three women caressed me affectionately and took me to the bathroom that¡¯s located in the temple¡¯s inner quarters. ¡°Our names are Sierra, Yuzu and Rosa. I¡¯m a second-class priestess. Yuzu and Rosa are third-class priestesses.¡± Sierra had light hair and appeared to be in her mid-20s, Rosa had cute freckles sprinkled on her cheeks and in her early 20s, and Yuzu had black hair, which was in pigtails, and she looked to be in her late teens. The atmosphere wasn¡¯t the best, but the three looked bright and cheerful. I was glad nice people were assigned to me. They stripped me out of my wet clothes and covered their mouths as soon as they saw my scarred body. ¡°Who on earth did these¡­¡± Old scars never fade away, even with divine powers. They¡¯d probably last forever. In fact, I didn¡¯t really care since there were no scars that were shown, but I guess that wasn¡¯t the case for them. Yuzu even cried. They looked at my body with resentment before they put me in a white marble bath and washed me clean with soft foam that smelled like rosemary. ¡°I¡¯ll apply a special oil that will make your hair look nice and soft.¡± Rosa said while holding a small bottle with rose decorations. I appreciated the thought, but my disheveled and frayed hair that I¡¯ve never cared much about before was the ugliest part of my body. Would it even be possible to fix? After the bath, they dressed me in a priest uniform. Children¡¯s uniform was in the form of a white silk dress, long enough to cover the knees, and a gold embroidered stole, which was quite cute since the stoles floated and looked like rabbit ears every time the children moved. I always thought it was cute when I saw the children from the temple wearing them, so it felt weird to wear one now. ¡°We apologize. We don¡¯t have anything else for you to wear, so you¡¯ll have to wear this for now.¡± After Sierra¡¯s words, I shook my head and thanked her. ¡°No, I have never worn anything like this before. It¡¯s very smooth and not so tight.¡± ¡°Princess¡­¡± Yuzu¡¯s nose was red again. I got taken to the guest room and while Yuzu went to get dinner, Sierra and Rosa started combing my hair and put cream on my face. ¡°Princess, look in the mirror. Don¡¯t you look completely different from before?¡± I looked in the mirror. My hair was still messy but it was much better. The soot on my face was now gone so my large emerald eyes stood out more on my white skin. Suddenly, I realized I didn¡¯t resemble my father at all. ¡®I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t look like him.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t understand in my past nine lives, but; ¡®Was he so indifferent to me just because I didn¡¯t resemble him?¡¯ There was a saying that parents only love their children if they look just like them. Well, anyone would be suspicious if they saw me and my father. Not even a single part of us looked alike. What¡¯s the point of thinking about this? If he¡¯d brought me to the palace with this appearance, he would have made the worst impression on the king, so he brought me here instead. In my past lives, the king never called for me separately after our first encounter, even if my appearance was acceptable or not. Just in time, Yuzu handed me a bowl of warm potato soup, full of thick bacon. ¡®Tasty!¡¯ How long has it been since I last ate? I only ate the bread Phaeon gave me in the carriage so I felt like crying after finally being able to have a proper meal. ¡°Is it that good?¡± Sierra asked happily, seeing me eat up the food without even blowing on it. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s so good!¡± I shook my head violently and mumbled. ¡°You¡¯ll have a better meal than this from now on. The royal palace food is much better than the temple¡¯s.¡± It didn¡¯t matter¡­ The royal cook that Aquala assigned for me was the worst. They used to cook me eel pie and haggis (a dish that is steamed with oatmeal and spices in sheep¡¯s bladder). On days like that, I starved. ¡°Thank you, again. All of you are angels.¡± Rosa laughed when she heard me. ¡°I heard you called Sir Parsiel an angel as well.¡± ¡°He will be disappointed when he hears you called us one, too.¡± ¡°What to do? All of you are angels.¡± The three of them laughed at my words. ¡°You¡¯re so cute.¡± ¡°If you eat a lot and sleep well, you can be like that angel, too.¡± Yuzu stroked my cheek with a face full of pity. ¡°Like who¡­?¡± ¡°Sir Parsiel. He is the strongest and greatest holy knight on the continent!¡± The three started to praise Phaeon at the same time. ¡°He joined the Veritas at a very young age and became the leader in the shortest time. Perhaps because Lux favors him, but he has strong divine power, and neither a strong demon nor an evil wizard can go against him.¡± ¡°To add to that, he has excellent swordsmanship skills and excellent healing power. The people in this temple always look at him with respect. But, um¡­¡± Sierra¡¯s expression suddenly became dark. ¡°He¡¯s usually indifferent, but he has been brutal for the last few months. He was in a terrible war.¡± ¡°Siera was transferred to the front line as a backup.¡± ¡°Yes, I was able to see him on the battlefield, he rushed to the enemy camp. It was so unlike him to give out reckless orders yet he managed to bring the devil on its knees. Kalisa was devastated, it was to avenge the princess- Oops!¡± She was speaking rapidly but covered her mouth in surprise as she mentioned something wrong. ¡°Princess?¡± I knew my mother was killed by King Pereus, ¡®the King of the Devils¡¯, somewhere near Kalisa, but I didn¡¯t know the whole story. It is because no one tried to tell me about her since it is considered taboo and the subject is too recent to be written in the history books. Sierra was sweating and glancing at her colleagues. Her colleagues glanced back at her as if they were saying, ¡®That mouth of yours¡­¡¯. ¡°Princess?¡­ Are you talking about Assha¡¯s mother? My mom?¡± I was so curious that I couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Princess Beatrice¡­¡± Yuzu, who kept silent until now, said with a sad expression. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when I get a chance. But now you must be very tired.¡± ¡°Okay, princess, time to go to bed. You must have had a hard time traveling in a carriage for so long and being in an accident as soon as you had arrived. I¡¯ll bring some warm milk.¡± Now that they mentioned it, my eyelids were closing. Haaa, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help it. But I will definitely listen to it later. I thought about what it would feel like as I sat on a fluffy bed I hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. ¡®¡­How did he fight?¡¯ It made me feel a little strange to think of him fighting with the demon who killed my mother. Did he feel sad or mad¡­ I couldn¡¯t sympathize with him. *** ¡°My niece, you are braver than I thought. To think that you came here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me niece. It¡¯s creepy! I¡¯m not your family!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry but he won¡¯t love you. No matter how many times you say that you¡¯re his beloved daughter.¡± Hah! At dawn, I woke up from a nightmare, soaked with cold sweat. ¡®¡­Don¡¯t be weak. You¡¯ve already been through this.¡¯ After breathing in and out, I calmed down a little. I felt like a fool for sympathizing with Phaeon before I went to bed. He¡¯ll never know the pain I¡¯ve been through. ¡®Cheer up. The future can be changed. This time, I will definitely change it.¡± In the morning, three priestesses helped me get ready as best as they could since I was going to meet the king. ¡°Oh, princess, you look like a white rabbit. I just want to hug you tightly.¡± Rosa groaned softly. ¡°How disrespectful to the princess.¡± Sierra said with an angry look. ¡°Anna thinks like that too. Assha is so huggable.¡± When I hugged Rosa, she let out a low scream with excitement. Then Sierra and Yuzu snapped and begged, ¡°Princess, me too!¡± At that moment, I heard footsteps, so I turned my head and saw Phaeon with some other knights approaching. ¡°The angel!¡± I shouted as I hopped on him. The three priestesses laughed when they heard what I said. I really like the three of them. He looked quite embarrassed with his new title and sent a disapproving gaze to the three priestesses. With a rough voice, he spoke. ¡°Are you feeling well?¡± ¡°Yes! Totally fine.¡± Even though I had a bad dream. After I said those words, he briefly replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± So fast¡­ ¡°Then I¡¯ll be on my way, see you angels.¡± ¡°Princess, cheer up! Goodbye!¡± With their help, I put on my shoes. ¡°¡­will his Majesty care for Assha?¡± ¡°Of course. You are such a lovely girl.¡± Yuzu said with a big smile. I can¡¯t believe she said this to a girl who she only knew for half a day. She might have said the words since she is a nice person, but I was touched by the words I heard for the first time in my life. My courage, which had been reduced because of the nightmare, sprang up again. All right, let¡¯s go to the enemy camp! (TL/N: she is talking about meeting the Emperor.) Chapter 5 When I entered the large hall, I saw a familiar red carpet and a golden throne. There were four people on the podium, the king, the high priest, and¡­ Aquila and Stella. I made eye contact with Aquila. Beautiful elegant-looking red-brown hair and sparkling green eyes. For a moment, the old memories came to mind. In my first life, I was accused of heresy by that woman and burned at the stake. Starting with that, a tough relationship with that woman continued and I tried my best to escape from my fate, but I never made it. I remembered all the pain I had suffered so far when dying, and it made my whole body tremble, so I hid Phaeon¡¯s legs to avoid her gaze. ¡®¡­ I said I wouldn¡¯t do this.¡¯ Even after coming back to life, I cannot avoid the pain and trauma that is deeply embedded into my mind. As I clasped his robe with my trembling hand, Phaeon turned around and said nothing. ¡°I see the sky of Santra.¡± He bowed to the king. ¡°Good to see you, Sir Parciel. You must have had a hard time because you couldn¡¯t rest as soon as the war was over and had to take up another mission. I¡¯ll hold a victory party as soon as things have calmed down and become stable and I¡¯ll invite you to give you to celebrate your achievements.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need. I just did what I had to do for Lux and Santra.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re so consistent.¡± This person¡­ He doesn¡¯t seem to have a good social life. At times like this, you just have to say thank you and accept it right away! While I was beating my chest inside and feeling frustrated, the king tilted his head to look for something. ¡°But where is my granddaughter?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± He looked back in confusion. I took a deep breath, let go of his robe and stepped forward. ¡°¡­¡­ Asha is here.¡± I wanted to do my greeting according to court etiquette, but I thought it would sound too strange to have learned it from a book. As soon as the king saw me, he was stunned for a moment. It was the first time seeing this reaction in all my lives. He had always frowned and turned his head away. ¡®Did dressing up work?¡¯ ¡°You look just like your mother, no need for verification.¡± When he came to his senses, he let out a soft sigh. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It feels like I¡¯m seeing Princess Beatrice when she was a child. Although you¡¯re a lot thinner than she was¡±, responded Bellus. ¡°That ugly girl is Tris¡¯ daughter?¡± As Stella grunted, Aquila said with a faint smile: ¡°It really feels like my sister, who went to heaven, is back.¡± Ugh! I really feel like throwing up. I hate both of them, but if I had to decide, I hated Aquila more. I rather she would hate me openly. Aquila¡¯s methods were sunning and dirty, so I couldn¡¯t handle her when I was still young. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±, asked the king and stared at me. I wondered why he asked such a question, but I decided to show off my tearful acting skills that I had practiced in preparation for times like this: ¡°¡­grandpa, right? ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°you hair and eyes are the same color as Asha¡¯s.¡± In fact, he is a handsome old man with gray hair and turquoise eyes like me. Now that I look at him, my eyes looked the same. ¡°You ¡­ you¡¯re Asha¡¯s grandfather?¡± When I spoke with tears in my eyes, the king flinched. ¡°Well, yeah¡­ I¡¯m your grandfather¡­¡± He seemed a little perplexed and was speechless for a moment. ¡°I am Ferdinand Ordo Entimos, the king of this country. And you¡¯re the daughter of the princess of this country, Beatrice Sierenum Entimos. In other words, you¡¯re going to become a princess of this country.¡± I¡®m not a princess yet, am I? Stella muttered discontentedly as if she wanted me to hear it, but I ignored her. ¡°Asha can¡¯t believe that what Lord Lux told Asha is actually true¡­¡± ¡°What did Lux say to you?¡±, asked he in surprise. ¡°He visited me in a dream a week ago.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± As if curious, the eyes of the High Priest sparkled through his glasses. ¡°Lord Lux showed up unexpected¡± God killed me nine times, so at least I should be able to use him. ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised, little child who will bring the light, I will use you dearly. An angle of mine will come to pick you up¡±, recited I god¡¯s word, which I made up to sound as holy as possible, after I took a deep breath.Everyone in the hall held their breath. The king jumped up from the throne and shouted: ¡°Have you ever told anyone about the oracle, High PriestBelus? That kid said ¡®the child who will bring the light¡¯ to Santra.¡± ¡°¡­No, I only told the three of you yesterday and I didn¡¯t tell anyone else. It¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°The revelation in your dream happened earlier than the oracle!¡±, the king descended from the platform and approached me with an emotional look on his face, ¡°Lux didn¡¯t abandon Santra.¡± Then he added in a trembling voice: ¡°Huh, did he say anything else besides that?!¡± ¡°Only that his most cherished angel will protect Asha¡±, said I while looking at Phaeon with big eyes. ¡°That means Sir Parciel! He¡¯s the one, who is loved the most by Lux. Isn¡¯t that right, Sir Parciel?!¡± ¡°¡­that¡­¡± Phaeon was almost lost in thought. ¡°That¡¯s right! The angel punished the bad ones who beat Asha! And he took Asha out of that house and treated Asha. And yesterday¡­ he saved Asha from drowning!¡± ¡°Punished the ones who beat you? What is this all about, Sir Parciel?!¡± ¡°¡­the commoner who lived with the princess abused her. I confirmed it and sent them to the capital. They were brought to Judithium,¡± ¡°How dare they abuse this King¡®s granddaughter and the child of God! I will tear them to pieces and dry them¡±, the king cried out even before Phaeon could finish. ¡°Also, what do you mean drowning? What happened! Didn¡¯t she just come a day later because she was tired?¡± ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t report about it because I was afraid you might be worried. When the Princess prayed at the temple, she tripped and fell into a waterway. I saved her right away, so she didn¡¯t suffer much.¡± ¡°Still, you should have reported such a big incident right away!¡± The king was outraged. King Ferdinand was a religious men and the number of temples increased significantly after he ascended the throne. The quarterly mass, was also changed to monthly. Nevertheless, I could not fully trust the oracle due to the misunderstanding that my father might be a mercenary from the enemy country. I didn¡¯t expect the King to get this angry though, but I think things worked out better than I expected them to. ¡°This won¡¯t do. For the time being, Sir Parciel will escort the princess.¡± ¡°That¡­!¡±, he stopped talking and frowned, and soon returned to his emotionless expression and answered coldly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t do that¡¯ This this guy for real? ¡°I¡¯m a a member of the temple and as such, I have my duties to carry out. The Escort of the Princess is under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Family. ¡± Why are you like this after I laid all the groundwork? I forgot to keep my act up and just stared at him in anger, but he didn¡¯t even look at me. ¡°But didn¡¯t you just hear about the oracle? It¡¯s the first oracle in 100 years!¡± ¡°¡­maybe it¡¯s a coincidence.¡± Coincidence? A coincidence? I almost cursed at him. ¡°Huh! Where in the world would there be such a coincidence?! I thought you were more faithful than anyone else. I¡¯m disappointed!¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s not a coincidence, I don¡¯t think it necessarily needs to be me.¡± He was a stubborn man. T hen Aquila, who was quietly watching us, said: ¡°I agree with him, Your Majesty. This is a matter for the Royal Knights. Sir Parciel has already a lot of duties as well. I¡¯ll assign a competent knight to the princess.¡± The king clicked his tongue regretfully, but he no longer forced Phaeon. He began to discuss with Aquila the matter of my security and my life as part of the Imperial Family. Meanwhile stared Stella at me ¨C she was amazed by the completely unexpected flow of things. I kept staring at Phaeon, too, but he didn¡¯t look at me until the end. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? ¡°Priest Belus, are you sure you haven¡¯t told anyone about the oracle? I know that the child spent the night at the temple yesterday¡± , asked Aquila, who was left alone with Belarus, in the hallway of the Latio Palace. ¡°Do you think I told Princess Anastasia about the oracle and told her to lie about having a revelation in the form of a dreams?¡± ¡°¡­Well, only God knows.¡± ¡°I am a messenger of God.¡± ¡°I believe in God. But¡±, said Aquila in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t trust people unconditionally.¡± She turned around and walked out. Belus looked at her back, sighed and shook his head. ¡°The princess must be having a hard.¡± ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? ¡°I, Conrad Mikhailov, a Knight of the 2nd Royal Knight Division, greet Princess Anastasia. From today onward, I will be escorting the princess for the time being.¡± In the reception room of the Icarus Palace, the smallest of the Santra palaces, a dark-brown-haired knight with a chubby build spoke slowly to me.. ¡°Princess, I¡¯ll be on my way then¡±, greeted Phaeon me goodbye heartlessly and tried to leave. I grabbed his robe as hard as I could. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± ¡°¡­? ¡°Let me talk for a minute.¡± When I was in tears, the new escort stepped aside, feeling embarrassed. Phaeon spoke col¡®dly to me, who looked so sad in the room alone: ¡°Princess, only powerful people get to join the Royal Knights, not just anyone. Even if it¡¯s not me, they¡¯ll do their best to protect you, your Highness.¡± ¡°But Angel won¡¯t be here¡­ I would be very lonely¡­¡± Apparently, it was unreasonable to have Phaeon as my escort knight immediately. He was more stubborn than I thought. But no pater whom they pick of the damn Imperial Knights, they all will be useless! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯d like you to stop calling me that.¡± ¡°¡­why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an angel, so being called so is disrespectful to Lux.¡± ¡­I didn¡¯t know that he still had a conscience after all the blasphemous things he had done. ¡°Sure, but Asha¡­ Asha forgot Angel¡¯s name.¡± ¡°¡­I am Phaeon Parciel. Just call me Sir Parciel.¡± ¡°Par¡­ssssui¡­parsui¡­sssi¡­pa¡­ ¡± It is true that because of I wasn¡¯t able to eat enough, my growth was very slow and I couldn¡¯t control my tongue well yet. But I stammered more on purpose. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard (difficult)!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you call me, so call me however you want. Except for angel.¡± Really? Are you sure? I delivered the long-awaited blow to his heart: ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ll call you Papa then.¡± ¡°!¡± Chapter 6 Phaeon¡¯s eyes widened. I¡¯ve never seen him so surprised. H wasn¡¯t this surprised when I mentioned the fake revelation earlier. Do you think that there¡¯s a hole in his ant-sized conscience? ¡°Angel, do you like ¡®papa¡® too?¡±, asked I with a natural twinkle in my eyes. ¡°That¡­¡± He cleared his throat for a long time, but could not hide his trembling. ¡°That name doesn¡¯t work either.¡± ¡°Why? Why not this one? It¡¯s not angel, just like you said!¡± ?It¡¯s against the law.¡° [T/N: not sure what that hast to do with the law, but it probably means that he isn¡¯t allowed to be called that by a member of the royal family. So he could receive punishment.] ¡°That, only rarely then¡­ Only if it¡¯s just between us two¡­ Is it okay if I use it as a nickname then?¡± He slumped down in front of me, grabbed my little body and said in a hurry: ¡°Princess, we won¡¯t see each other much in the future. We will be in different places, and I have a lot of duties to take care of.¡± You don¡¯t have to hold me that strongly! I¡®m going to get bruised! How many times have you ever dealt with a child? ¡°So never!¡± You can¡¯t call me by that name anytime, anywhere.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Thud. Tears welled up because of the physiological pain that came from my tightly grabbed forearms and the resentment for this man who was trying to push me away: ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°sniff, Angel-nim is too cold to Asha! Angel ¡­ Angel-nim is too ¡­ to Asha¡­¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ Princess.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ Uwaeeee!¡±, I shook my head and wept. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The escort who had left the room before burst in. Phaeon let go of my body in embarrassment, but it was too late to stop my tears. I was out of control now. ¡°Angel-nim¡­! Asha¡­ Asha called him Papa and he said¡­ Asha won¡¯t see him again. Sniff¡­ with Asha¡­ Angel doesn¡¯t want to play with Asha¡­ I calles him by a nickname, but¡­ but he got angry¡­ so scary¡­ sniff.¡± When I confessed the truth with tears dripping like chicken poo, the escort knight looked at Phaeon as if he was criticizing him. [T/N: that¡¯s a funny way to put it lol] ¡°Oh, Lord Parciel! You¡¯re overreacting to that nickname. The Princess still a small child, and you shouldn¡¯t be as rough with her as when you¡¯re dealing with adults.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry. I went too far.¡± He apologized to me reluctantly. A restless glance went to my forearm where a red handprint was visible. But he quickly turned his head away as if he had seen something he couldn¡¯t bare to see. I cried even more sadly at that sight: ¡°Sniff¡­ Asha ¡­ Asha is so jealous of you calling other with a nickname. because¡­ You¡¯re my first¡­ angel. You¡¯re my first friend¡­ so I called you by a nickname.¡± ¡°Friend¡­¡±? When he asked back flabbergasted, Conrad, the royal knight, was on my side: ¡°If the princess is crying like that, just listen to her. Isn¡¯t it an honor for a knight to be called by a nickname from the princess?¡± As if there was anything to refute, he alternated between Conrad and me with his eyes shaking anxiously. Then he lowered his head and sighed for a long time: ¡°¡­do as you please, Princess.¡± After saying so, he ended up running away without saying goodbye. Even though I shouted in a tearful voice, ¡°Then can I call you Papa?¡±, he didn¡¯t even look back. ¡°A-hyu, that jerk¡­ ah.¡± Conrad began to appease me after swearing at his disappearing back: ¡°Relax, princess. He¡¯s famous for having neither blood, nor tears or a heart. Frankly, it¡¯s questionable why he¡®s loved by God. He mush have never calles someone else by a nickname his entire life, forget about being called by one.¡± When I stared at the door where Phaeon left without answering, he continued, as if he thought I was deeply hurt. ¡°Hehe, princess. Why don¡¯t you call me by a nickname instead? The princess doing so would make me very happy!¡± Your past few years of incompetence aren¡¯t forgiven even after talking badly about Phaeon. This pig! ¡°Asha is a exhausted. I want to be alone.¡± My cold eyes surprised him a little. ¡°Uh¡­ well, rest well. Soon the maids will come to pick up your highness.¡± He hurriedly left through the door. ¡°What¡¯s with the child¡¯s eyes?¡±, heard I him murmurring. Left alone, I climbed up the guest chair and calmly organized my thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t love you. Even when you¡¯re the child of the daughter I cherished¡±, is what the kind should have told me today originally. When I first heard that in my first life, I was deeply hurt by it. The fact that I am the princess of this country and my grandfather is the king was so unrealistic that it didn¡¯t hit me at first. But how high were my expectation for my first ¡®real¡¯ family? I thought that they wouldn¡¯t be like Windmills at least ¡­ but instead I was greeted with the curse of ¡°I can¡¯t love you.¡± By repeating it in my second and third life, the pain became dull, but the deep cut I received from it remained as a scar and I became increasingly more obsessed with the idea that nobody would be able to love me. But at least today, one big thing has changed. That the king has come to like me in this life time. His trust in me has deepened due to the trust in the oracle about ¡°god¡¯s child.¡± ¡°Princess, we are temporary maids from the Palace of Olentia (the palace in which Aquilla and Stella lived).¡± The temporary maids came rushing in. ¡°I¡¯m Lawrence, a temporary maid. We will serve the princess with all our heart until the official maids and ladiesfort the princess come.¡± So formal. I¡¯m going to be a socially ill-adjusted princess who can¡¯t take a step out of her room because she¡¯s stuck in a room where all these people come in and out. ¡°First, let¡¯s take off the priest¡¯s uniform for now. I¡¯ll change you into this nightgown. I haven¡¯t been able to find a dress for someone of your age yet¡­¡± It¡¯s a shame you can¡¯t find one. I only wore nightgowns until I got five! Just because of the ridiculous excuse that children grow up fast! Of course, I have no intention to stay in Aquila¡¯s palm like this. ¡®I¡¯ll have to disrupt her plans myself in a few days.¡¯ ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? Three days later. King Ferdinand woke up at 4 a.m. that day as well. Despite being tired of the mountain of documents concerning nation affairs every day, he had no intention of skipping the sacred ceremony. ¡°Your Majesty, the air is cold today. Since you worked so hard yesterday, even if you skip a day of your early morning prayer¡­¡± ¡°How dare you say that! Lux is listening to us right now! Laziness is the first sin that leads to hell¡°, groaned he. ?Then I¡¯ll take you to the temple.¡± A familiar chapel that he visits every day. But, somehow, an unfamiliar sound was heard. His escort rushed ahead to confirm the source first, but the king pulled him back and took his finger to his mouth: ¡°Shhh! Stay still.¡± This is the personal prayer room of the king, which is only available to him. Whowould have set foot in this sacred place? Surprisingly, the king¡¯s turquois eyes reflected a small back and head. It looked so small that you could hold it with one hand. The wisper was so small, it was hard to figure out what it was about. Surprisingly, its owner was the king¡®sgranddaughter, Anastasia, whom he first met a few days ago. ¡°¡­!¡± The girl, who prayed earnestly with only three or four candles on to light up the dark room because the sun had not risen yet, looked more sacred than a baby angel. The king stared blankly at the scene for a moment, then came to his senses and coughed. Anastasia looked back in surprise: ¡°Your¡­ Your Majesty?¡± ¡°¡­what do you mean, Your Majesty? Didn¡¯t you call me differently last time?¡± ¡°¡­father¡­ grandather?¡± He coughed in satisfaction, ¡°Where¡¯s your escort knight? Are you here alone?¡± ¡°The escort wasn¡¯t there when Asha woke up, so Asha came alone. It¡¯s a nuisance to wake up the escort.¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s been only a few days since he became an escort knight! I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s already this lazy!¡±, cried the king out in shock and when Anastasia seemed startled by it, he asked again in a soft voice: ¡°How did you find this place?¡± ¡°I just¡­ woke up and I felt like I could hear Lux¡® voice somewhere. So I just walked around¡­ and when I noticed, it was here already. Did Asha do anything wrong? Are you going to scold the escort? Don¡¯t get mad.¡± The king¡¯s face was filled with emotion. ¡°No, no¡­ I won¡¯t scold him if you don¡¯t want me to. By the way, what were you praying so hard for?¡± ¡°I was begging for forgiveness. Asha is¡­ a sinner.¡± ¡°What do you mean a sinner? How could a small child like you have sinned?¡± ¡°Asha¡­ had never gone to the temple to pray before I came here. There was no other way because Asha wasn¡¯t allowed to go¡­ but it¡¯s still a sin.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Santra¡¯s people were obliged to visit and pray in a temple close to the ¡°Day of Prayer¡± once every 10 days. Although it was not legally enforced, it was a natural duty for the Santra people, and if it was not followed, itwould be worthy of being pointed out publicly. However, his granddaughter wasn¡¯t able to go to the temple. Her adoptive parents, who were worse than the devil, couldn¡¯t be saved anymore! ¡°No, Lux will not consider you a sinner! You don¡¯t have to beg for anything like that!¡±, tried the king to lessen her guilt after he sighted, but she shook her head slightly. ¡°No¡­ if Lux won¡®t forgive Asha, her heart will burn of guilt. I¡¯¡­ I can¡¯t continue staying in the palace as a sinner!¡± ¡°What do you mean? It wasn¡¯t your fault, so you deserve everything you were able to enjoyed till now.¡± Anastasia shook her head and clung to the king¡¯s leg: ¡°No, Asha is not worthy. Grandfather, let Asha stay at the temple, please.¡± ¡°What? At the temple?¡± ¡°Then I can be with Lux every day and pray as much as I wasn¡¯t able to in the past.¡± ¡°You can go to the temple to pray every day, my dear. It¡¯s right next to the palace, so you can go any time! Why should you stay at the temple, princess?¡° ¡°I don¡¯t want to do it while enjoying everything I can enjow now. I¡¯m going to serve at the temple. Only as long as I haven¡¯t been to the temple.¡± The king couldn¡¯t believe what he had heard and his voice became higher: ¡°What a thoughtful child you are! I¡¯m so old that I don¡¯t feel the least bit uncomfortable enjoying myself! You must be¡­ You must be a child of God. Your soul couldn¡¯t be this pure otherwise!¡± ?It¡¯s a soul, that¡¯s already worn-out though¡­¡¯, thought Anastasia, but decided to let him keep his delusion for now. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? That afternoon, I was walking toward the temple, holding Rosa¡¯s hand in my left hand and Yuzu¡¯s hand tightly in my right hand. ¡°I can¡¯t believe the Princess is staying at the temple!¡±, said Sierra with a flushed face. ¡°Really. I thought I¡¯d be able to look from a distance at best.¡± ¡°By the way, is it okay? Someone as precious as the princess stays in the temple¡­?¡± ¡°Woong! Aisha can do the laundry and fold it. I can even clean.¡± ¡°Oh, my princess! You don¡¯t have to do that. We¡¯ll take turns looking after the princess. Even so, we can¡¯t do as much as a maid or even a maid of honor.¡± ¡°Yes, and now please call our names comfortably.¡± Far away, I could see Phaeon. He looked at me and hardened like a stone on the spot. The face that says, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Oh, it¡¯s thrilling. ¡°Papa!¡± I ran to him with a big smile. Please take care of me while we stay under the same roof from now on, Papa. Chapter 7 ¡°Guys! I- I- I saw the princess! I mean, the new princess. I met her while coming here!¡± ¡°What?! I want to see her too!¡± ¡°She¡¯s over there. She¡¯s going to the dining room in the arms of Sister Rosa.¡± ¡°I only saw her back. Her hair is white and fluffy!¡± ¡°How did she look like? Tell me more!¡± ¡°She¡¯s like a doll. The Princess has round eyes and is so cute.¡± ¡°But why is she here? She¡¯s wearing a priest¡¯s uniform.¡± ¡°Is it possible that the royal family didn¡¯t accept her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s said, that they don¡¯t know who her father is?¡± ¡°Shh!¡± Murmuring. In a temple where the same routines are repeated every single day, my appearance seems to have become a pretty hot topic. The people of the temple dine in the large dining room, regardless of gender and age. I too went out to have breakfast with Yuzu and Rosa, who carried me in her arms. ¡°Sister Sierra has been out since early morning because she is volunteering outside the temple grounds today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Today¡¯s menu is pancakes.¡± Pancakes? It¡¯s a sweet word I haven¡¯t heard in a while. As I drooled imagining the fluffy texture, I came back to my senses. ¡®This is not the right time for this.¡¯ I quickly looked inside the dining room. Fortunately, I was being held in Rosa¡¯s arms, so the problem of not being able to look around and see the other people¡¯s faces due to my short stature was avoided. And I found him right away! His appearance was so striking that he could be recognized from a thousand feet away. It was the first time I saw Phaeon wear a white outfit. He was dressed in a white tunic with prettily embroidered seams. It was quite a refreshing sight, because I¡¯ve always only seen him dressed in his uniforms before. But ¡­ no one was sitting at his table. ¡®¡­Is it because of bullying?¡¯ [T/N: as in, ¡®is he sitting alone because the other people bully him?¡¯] If you look around, at most six or at least two people are eating together¡­ Sitting alone at that big table, he looked a bit lonely. Well, I wouldn¡¯t eat with my superior as well. I got my food from the back and quickly walked to the table where he sat. Yuzu and Rosa hesitated and began to panick. ¡°I, Prin¡­ Princess! Let¡¯s just¡­ Let¡¯s sit somewhere nearby¡­¡±, Rosa was speechless and hesitant, but I didn¡¯t care, walked over to his table and set down my plate on the table. ¡°Good morning Papa.¡± He opened the newspaper without knowing anything and raised his head in surprise: ¡°W- what¡­ ¡± I could feel the people around me buzzing behind my back. ¡°Pa- Sir Parciel. May Lux-sama¡¯s light dwell today as well. Good morning.¡± Only reluctantly did Rosa and Yuzu follow me and sat down next to me to greet him. Unnies, I¡¯m sorry for making you suffer¡­ ¡°¡­ May Lux-sama¡¯s light dwell.¡± They greeted each other bluntly. I quickly offered a pre-dinner prayer and glanced at his plate: ¡°Huh? Papa doesn¡¯t have hotcakes.¡± He seemed to have brought only vegetable soup and coffee. Well, I can¡¯t imagine he¡¯d cut a hotcake and eat it, but still¡­ ¡°Aigoo, would you like to have a bite from Asha?¡± I quickly sliced ??the pancake and handed it to him. ¡°No need. I don¡¯t like sweets¡±, he frowned and avoided my fork. ¡°okay? But ¡­ this honey looks like papa¡¯s hair color. It looks like sweets.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yuzu and Rosa¡¯s facial muscles trembled, as if they were unsure whether to laugh or not. If I were to stumble, the table would be enveloped in terrible silence, so I kept talking: ¡°Does Papa drink anything? It¡¯s black water huh.¡± ¡°¡­the princess cannot drink this yet.¡± ¡°Is it okay if I try only a small sip?¡± Rosa couldn¡¯t stand it and let out a gasp. Meanwhile, he raised his eyebrows as if in shock. ¡°Only a small sip¡±, as I begged with fervent eyes, he reluctantly handed me his cup. ¡°¡­just one sip.¡± I took the cup from him and drank the coffee inside it. Ummm, it¡¯s bitte¡­¡­ bitter. So bitter! You drink it like it¡¯s honey. He is able to always stay awake all by his own, so why is he drinking this? ¡°¡­ take it back.¡± When I got fed up, Yuzu looked at me as if she didn¡¯t know what to do because she saw something cute. ¡°The princess still needs to drink milk. Now, I¡¯ll add honey to it. With this it will taste even better.¡± I was excited and enjoyed my breakfast, regardless of how much milk covered my lips. ¡°My angels and I are all eating together like this, I like it. It¡¯s very moving.¡± Rosa and Yuzu both said: ¡°Me too.¡± They agreed kindly, but Phaeon stopped eating without a word and got up from his seat: I¡¯ll have to go. Have a nice meal.¡± I stopped him from lifting the plate and said solemnly: ¡°Papa, you left some food on your place. If you don¡¯t eat up, Lux will punish you.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡± His face turned a little red. Yuzu and Rosa looked at me in embarrassment, but they didn¡¯t really stop me. ¡°Eat everything. Asha will watch over you.¡± He stood still, noticing hundreds of eyes staring at him, and sat down again. His face was visibly red. I thought he knew the shame, so I was a little startled, but I pretended not to know, took his spoon and handed it to him: ¡°Papa is such a kindhearted person.¡± He eventually ate the rest of the soup, and I finished the rest of the meal leisurely, enjoying the joy of victory. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? What had happened that morning immediately spread beyond the temple into the royal palace. They said that the new princess seized ¡®that¡¯ Sir Parciel, gave him instructions and that Sir Parciel couldn¡¯t keep up in front of a little girl. There were even speculations that Sir Parciel was the king¡¯s illegitimate son, all because of the princess ¡­ ¡°No, didn¡¯t he go too far for something like that?¡± Stella cheered: ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s disrespectful. Sending her completely to the temple even though she didn¡¯t possess the dignity or anything else that a princess should have. God, what was father thinking?!¡± ¡°It sounds like a pretty good strategy¡±, spoke Aquila softly after taking a sip of the tea. ¡°A strategy? Whose strategy is that?¡± ¡°Who is there but the high priest.¡± ¡°Be¡­ Belus-nim?¡± Stella leaned close to Aquila and whispered carefully: ¡°After all, you don¡¯t believe in her oracle, do you?¡± ¡°So. Rather than believing in that, I believe in the gods of some distant eastern continent.¡± ¡°Ha¡­ But what if that kid is really a ¡®child of God¡¯? To be honest, she is a child and it looks like she isn¡¯t that religious.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about the extent of what education can provide. But¡­¡±, Aquila¡¯s deep green eyes gleamed sharply, ¡°I heard a very strange story from Judithium.¡± ¡°Juditium? The dungeon on the outskirts of the capital?¡± ¡°Yeah. The kid¡¯s adoptive parents and their son were brought there. They said she knew how to use magic!¡± ¡°What? She¡¯s only four years old?! Even Triss, who used to be the genius of the century, only developed mana sensitivity at the age of seven¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, she used the image stone to prove that she was abused. However, before the image stone can record by infusing it with mana, the stone must first be turned into a magic tool. That¡¯s something that no great genius of any century would be able to do at this age. ¡° ¡°¡­Then what is it?¡± ¡°Is it the work of the high priest? First, he obtained a sympathy vote to win father¡¯s favor, and then pushed him out with fake oracles and pietism to put him under the full control of the temple. Now that he knows how to use magic, he spreads it. He¡¯s going to solidify his position!¡± ¡°Then you mean he¡¯s working together with Sir Parciel? After all, he too belongs to the temple¡­¡± Aquila said firmly: ¡°Anyway, I can¡¯t wait to see their attempts to make the royal family their puppet. Their power has already grown so much because of our father¡­ Once the balance is broken, it takes only a moment for them to gain full control.¡± Stella¡¯s expression became serious. In the last few days, her stress has reached its peak. She admires her clever older sister, who has the same hair color and eye color as herself. Finally, she got close to the place she deserves, but a stone rolled in and is now trying to get in her way. Not only that, but now Stella realized that the stone was the seed of a great disaster that could even overthrow the Santra dynasty. ¡°It can¡¯t be. Older sister often says she¡¯s not interested in succession, but no one can deny that she¡¯s the best fit for the position! There will be no one in this kingdom, who can beat my beloved sister¡¯s right for the thrown of the country, she cares so deeply about!¡± ¡°Thank you for saying that, Stella. But I¡¯m not really greedy for it¡±, said Aquila while grinning. ¡°Still, it¡¯s hard for this aunt to see her poor niece playing in their hands.¡± What¡¯s this about that bastard sissy? As Aquila heard Stella¡¯s disgruntled murmurs, she puts down her teacup: ¡°First of all, we should put to rest the nonsense about her being a child of God.¡± ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? After that morning, as expected, Phaeon stopped going to the dining room. ¡®H would rather starve than meet me!¡¯ Sierra comforted me as I repeated that every day when I looked for him in the dining room and was depressed to find out he wasn¡¯t there: ¡°Princess, don¡¯t be so upset. Sir Parciel ¡­ um he¡­ he¡¯s busy and can¡¯t come.¡± ¡°No. Papa ¡­ doesn¡¯t like Asha.¡± thud! The three priests¡¯ faces turned pale at the bombshell1 remark. ¡°Oh, Princess! Hating you¡­? Is there anyone who doesn¡¯t like the Princess?¡± ¡°You¡¯re implying that Asha is a sinner.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a sinner!¡± ¡°Papa knows that Asha is in the temple, so he¡¯s avoiding Asha because he doesn¡¯t like me.¡± As I mumbled sadly, the three priests left the room and discussed quietly: ¡°Sierra unnie, please. You are the closest to him¡­¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I only spoke a word or two with him during the war¡­!¡±, Sierra was upset and protested. But after a few more words, Sierra eventually turned her back on them. ¡®Can Sierra do it?¡¯ ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? ¡°Lord Parciel, it¡¯s not difficult.¡± ¡°Again, no¡±, despite Sierra¡¯s earnest request, Phaeon remained stubborn, ¡°It¡¯s so difficult to eat together at least one meal a day¡­¡± Sierra sighed and added: ¡°What is it about the princess? It¡¯s clear that she has imprinted on Sir Parciel. It¡¯s like a duckling thinking that the first person they see is their parent. You were the one who saved the princess from that terrible situation, Sir Parciel. You are serving Lord Lux so eagerly, so, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable, can¡¯t you just be a little more careful?¡± ¡°Then we have to keep away from each other even more. If that condition lasts for a long time, it¡¯s not good for either of us.¡± At his brick-and-mortar-like persistence, Sierra heated up and uttered words she would have never said normally: ¡°¡­ In fact, are you ashamed of getting mad at the princess?¡± ¡°!¡± Phaeon¡¯s face turned a little red, but he quickly regained his composure. ¡°If there is nothing more to say, I will leave.¡± At that moment, a young knight in a white knight uniform hurried towards them: ¡°I¡­ Commander, did you hear about the rumors?¡± Chapter 8 In the past few days, rumors have spread in the royal palace and temples. The story was that I was the child of a Kalisa mercenary, who had killed countless people of Santra, and that the temple and the royal family hid the terrible truth and accepted me as a royal. It goes without saying who spread it. ¡®Maybe because I¡¯m staying at the temple, Aquila is in a hurry!¡® In my life before this regression, these were the bad news that only emerged four years after I came to the palace. Of course, even after having experienced it before, I don¡¯t have any countermeasures against it. Until my ninth life, I also believed the rumors to be as true as steel, and I resented the world who brought me this despair. I was the only stain and shame of the royal family. And how long I felt sorry for my mother whose face I didn¡¯t even know. My mother certainly didn¡¯t want to give birth to me, and in conclusion, I thought I was a child that no one in the world wanted to be born. For this reason, it was understandable that my mother left me, a tiny newborn, to a family that she didn¡¯t even know well. However, the new truth that I only came across in my last life has lifted the burden of my mind. At least my mother didn¡¯t give birth to me against her will. The same goes for Phaeon. It¡¯s still a mystery why he behaves like that, but the fact alone was of great comfort to me. ¡°How can such a rumor spread like that? The royal family hasn¡¯t announced anything about the princess yet!¡±, raised the three priestesses their voices in a rage. Sierra had explained the whole story as soon as she came to the room, but she was so angry that she forgot that I was here. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a trick to undermine the princess. But do you know what Lord Parciel said when he heard this?¡± Sierra poured out everything that had happened, without taking a breath. ¡°How was it? He must have been angry, right?¡± ¡°No! He was just like, ¡®It¡¯s only a rumor!¡¯ I¡¯m just going to spill these few words and leave! So he grabbed him and asked him if he would stay still. And he said, ¡®I don¡¯t know why I have to keep up with rumors¡¯!¡± Apart from the content, Sierra¡¯s impersonation was so funny that I almost laughed. His dull tone of voice didn¡¯t match Sierra¡¯s voice like a nightingale. ¡°How fast those dirty rumors spread. The temple needs to take action. Lord Parciel is one of the few people who saw Princess Beatrice¡¯s will. I wish he¡¯d come forward¡±, Rosa was genuinely worried. ¡°That can¡¯t be true. He¡¯s really¡­!¡±, Sierra shook her head, looked at the bed covered with a thin veil and stiffened in surprise then, ¡°Oh, I forgot that the princess was here. I must have been crazy!¡±, she shut her mouth and had started to whisper, but it was too late already. ¡°Oh no¡­ It¡¯s not Sierra¡¯s fault this time. I should¡¯ve thought of it!¡± ¡°The princess is so smart. I¡¯m sure she understood everything I said¡­¡± Yuzu and Rosa muttered in desperate voices. ¡°But maybe she¡¯s sleeping. Let¡¯s go and check.¡± Yuzu crept up to the bed and lifted the veil. Phew. Relieved at the sight of me with my eyes closed tightly she breathed out, and as soon as she did so, I opened my eyes, which sparkled with excitement. ¡°Whaa! Pr-¡­ princess! Were you awake?!¡± I nodded a little. The two priestesses ran over and pushed their heads into the veil. ¡°D¡­ did you hear us?¡± As I watched them quietly, feeling restless and contemplating on what to say to them, I carefully raised my body and opened my mouth: ¡°Asha is the daughter of a villain¡­¡± The faces of the priestesses hardened instantly. I felt guilty about breaking the hearts of these kindhearted people, but I continued: ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my unnies, but Aisha won¡¯t go anymore to the big dining room starting tomorrow. Please bring something to eat to Asha¡­¡° ¡°Princess! But you really like eating in the diningroom.¡± As Rosa said, I liked the big diningroom. Although I couldn¡¯t meet Phaeon, it was really nice to get a hot meal right away and eat it together with everyone in a noisy place. Of course, the many curious eyes were burdensome, but it was great practice for me, who was afraid of crowded places. ¡°Now everyone knows that Asha is the daughter of a villain ¡­ so let¡¯s continue going¡­¡± As I bowed my head and muttered, the three pristesses made eye contact with each other as if they were determined. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? ¡°Asha can¡¯t go to the big dining room!¡±, cried I out and made up a look of horror, but Rosa didn¡¯t stop changing my pajamas. ¡°Princess, Sir Parciel is coming today.¡± ¡°¡­ Really? Do you really think Papa is coming today?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve always wanted to see him. Let¡¯s go see him!¡± The three priestesses took turns to influence the princess¡¯ emotional development, they always say ¡°The Princess grows slower than her peers, so she needs to get enough nutrients,¡± and ¡°The Princess has trouble digesting food after eating alone in her room,¡± and Phaeon eventually raised his hands and feet due to endless anti-threats. But while on my way to the big dining room, I could feel my curiosity turn into hostility. There was no goodwill in the way he looked at me. The three-year long war has left Santra devastated beyond comparison and a lot of people have lost their loved ones by the forces of Kalisa. The people of the temple people were no exception. Having lost their family, colleagues, teachers, and disciples, it is no wonder that the hostility towards Kalisa will skyrocket. ¡°I¡¯ll get the Princess¡¯ food, so please have a seat¡±, said Yuzu as I entered the dining room. ¡°No, Asha will do it herself.¡± I¡¯ve been trying to be treated the same as the people here, but now I think being treated like a princess would only worsen the rumors. Despite all the the stinging gazes stabbing the back of my head, I was waiting in line to receive my food but when the waiter served me the food mercilessly, the hot hot soup splashed on my hands. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s hot!¡± Nevertheless, the waiter did not apologize but instead looked at me annoyingly. Only a few days ago, he had kindly accepted my greeting, but now his attitude had changed 180 degrees. Then, Phaeon¡¯s cold voice of came from the side: ¡°What are you doing?¡± The waiter looked at him in surprise, but it was actually me who was more surprised. ¡°I asked what you are doing.¡± ¡°I ¡­ Sir, I¡¯m sorry. It was a mistake.¡± He spoke in a crawling voice: ¡°You should apologize to the Princess, not me.¡± The waiter¡¯s face quickly turned white due to his high-pressure tone, that seemed to cool down the surrounding area and even cause thin ice to form in the air. He threw away the ladle, came forward and fell down before my feet. ¡°Pa- pardon me all to hell! Princess!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay¡±, answered I in a hurry because of how embarrassed I was, but he didn¡¯t seem to want to get up. Phaeon was staring at him. I grabbed him by the hem of his robe and pulled him closer to whisper: ¡°Papa, let¡¯s go¡­ Asha is hungry¡± Only then did Phaeon tell the waiter to stand up while still having a disapproving look on his face, but the waiter was no longer in a condition to serve the food, so someone else rushed to replace him. The three priestesses, who were watching us with their mouths wide open, stopped walking to the table and thanked Phaeon at the same time as he approached. ¡°I just did what I had to do¡±, answered he in a businesslike tone while sitting down at the table and quietly began to pray before the meal. I also sat down and pretended to pray silently, but I couldn¡¯t stop thinking. His unexpected action made my heart pound and I didn¡¯t know how to calm down. He stood up for me in public! I had to put my praying hands over my mouth to hide the smile that was about to escape. The three priestesses also started eating with a lighter expression compared to before when we entered the dining room with a gloomy mood. I didn¡¯t miss this momentum and chattered: ¡°Papa, Sierra brought me the royal genealogy yesterday. Asha memorized everything!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know how clever the Princess is! I really think she¡¯s a genius. How else would it make sense to be able to memorize everything from the first king to the 16th and even the names of countless members of the royal family in only two days, right? Even adults can¡¯t do this!¡± He seemed a little surprised, but he didn¡¯t say anything in particular. ¡°But, Asha is curious about one thing. ¡° ¡°What is it, Princess?¡± ¡°All the people in the genealogy have middle names¡­ Why does Aisha have no middle name?¡± As soon as Rosa heard me, she spit out the juice she was drinking. Usually, within one month after birth, the royals hold a grand ceremony at the temple to receive the middle name of the new family member. It¡¯s some kind of magic book. But I didn¡¯t receive a middle name because I was born without anyone¡¯s knowledge. A name that I¡¯ve never received in all my previous lives, this even dragging on until I turned 12. Even when I insisted that I should receive it from the temple, I was often defeated by the royal family¡¯s answer that it was not the right time yet. ¡°¡­¡­does Asha not get a middle name because she is the daughter of a villain?¡± At that moment, Phaeon stopped moving his hand that held his spoon. He looked upset. I wish I know what is going on in his head. ¡°We¡¯ll make a suggestion. So that you can get it right away.¡± Sierra said with a glowing eyes: ¡°Sir Parciel, will you help us?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Will. You. Help. Us?¡±, asked Sierra again. Phaeon, who had hesitated to answer, answered quietly: ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be accepted if I say it, but I¡¯ll try.¡± Of course I thought he would refuse, but this is really a great development. I even felt a little grateful for the rumors that I had always resent. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? After we finished the meal, I called him over just before we parted from him at the back door of the dining room: ¡°Papa, sit down for a second.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± As he knelt down in front of me, I spread my arms and hugged his neck tightly. He tried to pull himself off with great agitation, but soon calmed down. ¡°Thank you for today¡­ Asha thought Papa hated Asha.¡± I was curious about his expression, but I couldn¡¯t see it because I was hugging him. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t hate anyone. Having any particular feelings for a person is¡­ That¡¯s not something a servant of God should do.¡± Is it just my delusion? His emotionless voice sounded as if he was in. After a short hug, as I looked at his back, which disappeared at a quick pace, I thought: ¡®Don¡¯t get attached to him.¡¯ Even if he is on my side now, I must never forgive him. ¡®Don¡¯t be too happy because he is on my side for now.¡± ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? I¡¯m not sure if he made an active suggestion, but the proposal about me receiving a middle name was accepted. However, the king was worried about the rumors spreading about me and was deliberating how to conduct the ceremony. In the end, rather than doing it separately, it was decided to do it together when both the royal family and the nobles gathered at the end of the year to hold a public prayer ceremony. That was enough, so I wrote a letter of gratitude to the king and handed it over. He praised me in an emotional voice for how perfect my sentences were and for how elegant my handwriting was. Just like Princess Beatrice¡¯s handwriting. Time has flown by fast as we closed the days till the last day of the year. The day of the year-end-prayer ceremony dawned. Chapter 9 Hundreds of colorful wagons entered the large plaza behind the temple. Since it had not been held for three years due to the war, even small and medium-ranking noble families of the region were gathering. ¡°Lady OOO1, long time no see. How long has it been? How is your father OOO? ¡°Oh my, OOO. My father is of good health. He¡¯s on a short trip to the South right now for recuperation. I heard you¡¯ve started a perfume business lately. How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still hard to judge, as the war has ended only recently, but I don¡¯t think the earnings will be low once we gain momentum. If you¡¯re interested, I¡¯ll give you a tester.¡± For the first time in a long time, the sound of smiling and chatting while praising each other for their beautifully decorations of the nobles and knights filled the temple grounds, which was usually quiet. At 3 pm, when the bell rang ten times to announce the start of the prayer ceremony, the people who were chatting entered the hall quickly. I was sitting in one of the seats for royal family on the right side of the altar. Yeah, right next to Aquila and Stella! I was wearing a white dress with jewels that Sierra had worked hard on for several days, and with my hair covered in perfume and decorated with a white lace ribbon, I looked like a little lady of noble status. However, because I was used to the loose apprentice priest uniform, it was very uncomfortable to wear. No, the biggest reason why I feel uncomfortable is because of these people next to me. Stella had her glance lowered with her hands on her knees while wearing a cold expression on her face, and Aquila formally asked me how the temple life was and if there were any difficulties, but soon closed her mouth. Well, for me, it was much more comfortable to watch people than to continue awkward conversations with the enemies of my past lives. It was easy to observe people because the seats were placed on a high platform. In the center of the hall, a blue magical flame, which symbolized Lux¡¯s protection and which does not extinguish throughout the prayer ceremony, was burning on a large holy torch, and numerous seats were lined up on both sides of it. The further in the front one sits, the higher their rank as a noble is. The front row was made up of very honorable seats, where the Knights protecting Santra and the heads of the royal wizards were sitting. Phaeon was easy to spot, and he was dressed in a splendid white robe decorated with golden embroidery and all kinds of medals on his chest. He was staring at the statue of God Lux with his mouth closed, as if he were not very close to the people sitting next to him. ¡°We will start the opening ceremony now. Everyone who is seated, please stand up.¡± High priest Bellus came up to the podium. Seeing how his voice resonated, he must have used sound extension magic. The opening ceremony ended after a lively beat of music was played by the orchestra on the right side of the altar, and the people sang the hymns of the nation of Santra and the god Lux. ¡°Before the main ceremony¡±, Bellus turned his head to where Phaeon was seated, ¡°the King will take a moment to honor the brilliant hero of Santra who has made a remarkable contribution to this war. First, Lord Phaeon Parciel, as the Knight Commander of the Knights of St. Veritas, please come out as their representative.¡± He strode up to the podium and offered the king the greeting of a knight. ¡°Sir Parciel has been fighting on the front lines for the past three years and defended the frontline to protect the capital Salus and defeating the enemy in the Battle of Nigel Plains, bringing victory to Santra. I commend him for his contribution.¡± When the king put a new medal on his chest, a thunderous applause and shouts rose. Most aristocratic women were looking at him with a dreamy look on their faces. Indeed, his graceful and beautiful face as if scarved by God himself and the solid and slim muscular body, that stands out even with a stylish robe on, deserved to shake the hearts of many women. But I was surprised to see a considerable number of nobles looking at him with hostile eyes. I didn¡¯t know because I didn¡¯t watch him carefully before tis return, but there were some nobles who were so blatantly hostile towards him? ¡®I¡¯m going to shoot them with mana from my eyes, too. ¡® In particular, the people of the Marquises, of whom there were only four in Santra, and several men of the rank of a count were frowning as if they were seeing something unpleasant. Of course, they didn¡¯t even applaud. ¡°How did he get so hated?¡± Although the nobility often feuded with the temple¡­ The medal ceremony passed while I was speculating whether he had been rude in front of such a great aristocrat. ¡°Next, let¡¯s take a moment to pay silent tribute to the souls who were sacrificed for Santra.¡± There was quiet music playing and weeping could be heard from every corner. Since many aristocrats were sent to war as knights and assistant wizards, the victim¡¯s families and acquaintances may not yet be able to escape the sorrow of losing their precious loved ones. ¡°We were able to win the war thanks to Lux¡¯s protection, but the damage was not small. The royal family and the temple will make every effort to restore the postwar era for the time being. If we join forces here, we, the ¡®chosen people¡¯, will enjoy greater prosperity than ever before¡±, spoke the king in a firm tone. ¡°The royal family lost Princess Beatrice during the war¡±, the voice of the king, who had lost his most cherished child, was filled with grief, ¡°But the princess left us with a new life. I am delighted to introduce her daughter to you here.¡± The auditorium was in a great uproar. The royal family is finally presenting the well-hidden princess, which had only been rumored about. Belus came up to escort me. I stood up holding his hand and walked to the center of the podium. ¡°Let me introduce Princess Anastasia.¡± My whole body stiffened and my heart was beating like it would explode any second. In my past life, I could not avoid criticism and contempt whenever I went to such a crowded place. No one spoke to me and I used to lament why there was still no magic to make my body transparent. ¡°From now on, we will hold a ceremony to receive the blessed name for Princess Anastasia by Lux.¡± Belus took my hand and we began to move toward the central torch. I felt the stinging gazes, but I didn¡¯t look around and walked straight forward. I didn¡¯t want to look down to them. When we arrived at the holy torch, Belus lit a gold torch from it and handed it to me. I picked it up, although it was quite heavy, and carefully turned back to the podium. In the center of the podium is a vessel filled with many small wooden boards with ancient names written on them. After lighting these nameplates on fire with the magical light on the torch, the ritual will be over when the high priest pours holy water on it. And the cleanest nameplate in the vessel will becomes my middle name. This ritual was originally supposed to be done by my mother, but my mother is no longer here to do it, so I will do it myself. I climbed onto the platform and carefully tilted the torch toward the vessel. But then¡­ Whoo! The magical fire of of the torch, which had been burning normally till now, suddenly went out. ¡°¡­!¡± There were gasps here and there and the crowd watching me murmured. Until now, the fire had never been extinguished during the ceremony. ¡®¡­ It¡¯s magic.¡¯ I was so nervous that I didn¡¯t realize it till now, but I felt the light traces of mana from the torch. It was clear that Aquila had her hands in this. ¡°It a bad omen!¡± It came from somewhere in the audience. The voice was loud enough to be heard by me. Since then, it has become full of uncontrollable murmurs. Belus was surprised, too, and was at a loss at what to do. I had no choice but to go back to the holy fire to light the torch, but it was obvious that I would have to suffer the humiliation of enduring the murmur throughout the way. ¡®I have to choose!¡¯ I have the knowledge and experience of lives prior to this regression, but I don¡¯t know how the future will change if I move differently from my previous lives. ¡®I wanted to live quiet until I was at least eight years old¡­¡® Aquila only started to make her moves earnestly after I turned eight. If you were to sincerely persecute a four-year-old child, the eyes of the public may not look favorably at you, so you must lay low until then. Aquila is still more wary of the temple than of me, so she tried to hide my strength as much as she could till I turned eight years old. ¡®¡­ But I can¡¯t help it if something like this happens.¡¯ For a few seconds I felt like a coward. I whispered the spell, concentrating on the flow of the mana in my body to make it flow to my fingertips: ¡°Igni¨¢rius.¡± A blue flame flared up again on the tourch. The murmur quickly turned into shouts of admiration and wonder. ¡°The torch was lit on fire again all of a sudden!¡± ¡°Is it a miracle?! Is it Lux¡¯s miracle?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s magic. I clearly saw the princess citing the spell!¡± ¡°No way¡­ being able to use elemental magic at that age. A miracle would make more sense, Drake!¡± The ominousness was covered with surprise. Even the king couldn¡¯t take his eyes off me with his mouth wide open, and Stella was jumping off of her seat. Aquila also held on to the handle of the chair so tightly, that her hands turned white while her face hardened. ¡°Everyone, please be quiet. Let¡¯s continue with the ceremony¡±, shouted Belarus out loud to clear up the situation as it became too noisy. ¡± ¡­ I¡¯ve heard before that the Princess knows how to use magic, but it¡¯s still hard to believe after witnessing it with my own eyes¡±, whispered Belus quietly. I only smiled faintly and took the torch to the fireplace. The fire spread quickly to the wooden nameplates and some time later, Belarus poured holy water over it. Then he picked out a clean nameplate from among the burned ones. ¡°¡­the blessed name for the Princess is¡­¡± Gulp, It must be a good one. ¡°It¡¯s Lumir¨¨re.¡± As soon as Belarus read the words on the nameplate, the audience became noisy again. ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s Lumir¨¨re?¡± ¡°That¡¯s too much. It¡¯s disrespectful to say such a word in the first place!¡± Lumir¨¨re is one of the other names for the god Lux. In ancient times, there were several words referring to the God. ¡®I didn¡¯t expect this much either¡­ ¡® I¡¯m still unsure whether this is a good or a bad thing for me yet. ¡°Your name is Anastasia Lumir¨¨re Entomos3 from now on. I¡¯ll pray for your wellbeing.¡± ¡°Wait a minute¡±, interrupted someone Belus and shouted. Interrupting during the ceremony was a great disservice, so people reacted to the sound with astonishment. ¡°¡­ I apologize for my rudeness in the sacred place. But I, head of house Orl¨¦ans and a Minister of Santra, Einstein Orl¨¦ans4, cannot accept this ceremony¡±, the owner of the interruption that interfered with the ceremony rose from his seat. He, an old, silvery-haired man, is the Marquis of Orl¨¦ans, a notable figure that I should be wary of. Because he was one of Aquila¡¯s men. ¡°¡­May I ask why, Marquis Orl¨¦ans?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard the royal family¡¯s official statement regarding the Princess¡¯ father yet¡±, continued he in a cold voice, ¡°Is it true that the princess¡¯ father is a mercenary of Kalisa?¡± X1: OOO standing for any name, similar to y/n X3: The authors used ¡®?vtulos¡¯ here originally, but let¡¯s be real: what the heck is that? Google doen¡¯t have any search results for it an¡äd my closest guess is that it¡¯s supposed be latin, but there is no such latin word? So I just went with the way the author wrote it before. X4: ???? ???? ¡ú ???? is the propper way to say Einstein in Korean. It¡¯s hilarious how the author gave him this name Chapter 10 The hall was dead silent. Everyone was staring blankly at the Marquis of Orl¨¦ans, unable to breathe. The Marquis presented the question that they were all curious about but did not dare to aks. He must have felt the pressure as he cleared his throat. ¡°If, as the rumor has it, her father is a mercenary of Karissa¡±, when Belarus did not answer, he continued, ¡°The birth of Princess Anastasia may have been caused by coercion. The fact that Princess Beatrice colluded with the Kalisa of her free will¡­ Your Majesty the King and the high priest must know what this means, right?¡± This implies the possibility that Princess Beatrice may have committed treason when getting in contact with the enemy unless it was a forced relationship. Either way, the princess¡¯s reputation will be shattered. I couldn¡¯t understand why my mother wrote such a lie in her will in the first place. How twisted my life became because of it! When I first learned the truth, I could not resist the rising anger and almost died because of it. I looked at Phaeon, the original culprit. He was staring at the marquis with a pale face. What the Marquis said is very insulting¡­ but there¡¯s nothing he can do about it. ¡°The day before Princess Anastasia came to the palace¡±, Belus, who was standing silently, opened his mouth, ¡°we were bestowed with an oracle.¡± People murmured in great agitation. ¡°Bestowed with an oracle?¡± ¡°But the oracle¡­ from a long time ago¡­¡± ¡°Princess Anastasia was called ¡®The One Who Will Bring Light to Santra¡¯ in the oracle.¡± Crazy, that they end up announcing this here! This oracle was also announced by the temple to protect me after I was attacked so many times by people around me after I¡¯ve gotten older¡­ ¡°Given the name mentioned in the oracle and the princess¡¯ blessing, it is certain that Lux cares about the Princess¡±, Belus smiled softly, but spoke so strongly that it never looked shallow, ¡°The will of the princess says that a mercenary of Kalisa is the Princess¡¯ father, but she is four years old now. Considering that the war with Kalisa only broke out three years ago¡­ It¡¯s hard to say that it was treason.¡± ¡°Even if it was before the war, Kalisa was still our enemy!¡± ¡± Duke of Orl¨¦ans¡±, the king, who had been watching so far, stood up and stopped the Marquis with a cold voice, ¡°There is nothing that can be said for sure based on a will alone. But the royal family and the temple decided to accept the princess.¡± There was anger in his voice: ¡°I hope you will stop insulting my daughter who has died while fighting for Santa.¡± Feeling that the Marquis had crossed a line, he did not protest anymore and sat down in his seat with a frown on his face. ¡°As of today, Princess Anastasia is a member of the royal family.¡± The hall was silenced by the king¡¯s firm declaration. The ladies covered their faces with fans and whispered in each other¡¯s ears. Some looked at me curiously and tilted their heads. But most of them had defiant faces that they could never recognize me as a princess. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? ¡°When did you learn magic?¡± After the brutal prayer ceromony, I was tormented by Sierra, Rosa, and Yuzu for several days. ¡°Well, I saw it in the book that Sierra brought me.¡± A few days before the prayer meeting, I asked Sierra to bring me a basic magic book, so damn it, I almost couldn¡¯t find an excuse to explain. ¡°I just brought it to you because I thought you might be interested in it¡­ I never dreamed you¡¯d learn it right away! You¡¯ll really become an archmage that will exceed Princess Beatrice!¡± ¡°Asha¡¯s mother was also really good at magic, right?¡± ¡°Yes, she was a great talent in many ways. She was born a genius, but she worked hard nonetheless.¡± I can¡¯t believe that someone who used to shine like that has become a person, whom people are reluctant to even mention. Losing her, it must have been a great tragedy. The contents of the oracle announced by the high priest Belus at the regular prayer ceremony quickly spread to the temple and aristocratic society. Even so, it was prohibited to speak to the general public to protect the main character of the oracle. As long as high priest officially recognized me, the people of the temple did not openly show hostility towards me. But when I showed up, they hurriedly avoided looking at me. As soon as the New Year¡¯s holiday ended, the three priestesses became stressed. This is because they have been put into a full-fledged missions to restore the damages caused by the war. I could barely see one of them in a day, so I ended up spending more time alone. It¡¯s not bad to roll around in the room and read the magic book, but I was very happy when Yuzu asked me to go out to have tea in the greenhouse garden of the royal palace. ¡°Sierra and Rosa are upset¡±, Yuzu smiled as she put a basket full of desserts on a white lace tablecloth, ¡°but you¡¯re still out on a date with me!¡± She came up to me and whispered: ¡°Princess, who do you like the most out of the three of us?¡± ¡°Asha likes¡­ I like Yuzu the most!¡±, whispered I back to her. ¡°Will you keep it a secret from Sierra and Rosa?¡± ¡°Of course. Oh, our Princess¡­ is the cutest one in the world!¡± Yuzu stroked my cheek with a very happy expression on her face. I¡¯ve gained some weight lately, and my cheeks are soft and fluffy. It made me want to touch it over and over again, but the adults seemed to do it more than me. ¡°Princess, would you like to take a look around the garden for a while? I¡¯ll be making tea. It¡¯ll only take a minute.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± I jumped out of my chair and toddled along. There were many flowers in the greenhouse. Pansies, hyacinths, crocuses, irises¡­ The beautifully garden was magically maintained throughout the four seasons without withering. I¡¯ve only been here twice in my past life, but I couldn¡¯t even take a proper walk because I was nervous and anxious about the possibility of running into Aquila or Stella. But this time around, I should relax and enjoy the scent of these flowers! I hobbled around the garden excitedly and looked at the flowers. The tree is shaped like a rabbit?! There were also Rose bushes carved by the gardener in various forms and shapes visible. As I walked for a long time holding back the urge to turn around and look everywhere, I reached the end of the garden. But through the open back door, I could feel a faint wave of mana. ¡®What is this? It¡¯s not magic in the garden.¡¯ I followed the energy and went out of the garden. It was an energy I had never felt before. As I kept walking along the unknown road, I came so far that I couldn¡¯t see the garden anymore. ¡®What is that?¡¯ As soon as I woke up and raised my head, there was a small tower in front of me. It was the first tower I had ever seen. The energy of mana I was drawn to began to strengthen. ¡°Ugh¡­¡±! Suddenly, my head felt like it was about to break. I could see a vision in front of my eyes. People running here and there, screaming, breaking buildings and outdoor decorations, and¡­ black hair¡­ ¡°Princess!¡± Someone caught me as I collapsed. When he held me in his arms, the white light flashed and the headache disappeared in an instant. I barely opened my eyes and looked at my opponent. ¡°ItIt!¡± ¡°What the hell were you doing here?¡±, Phaeon was angry. ¡°I came to get to drink tea¡­ I got lost while looking around the garden¡­¡±, I hesitated to make an excuse. For some reason, I realized that it would sound absurd to answer honestly why I was here. He sighed and put me back on the ground: ¡°You must never come here recklessly.¡± He said, glaring at the tower with keen eyes: ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll take you back to your place. Follow me.¡± Where is this place? I followed him filled with curiosity. The tower which emits a strong wave of mana¡­ Is it the tower of wizards? But I heard that it¡¯s separate¡­ It can¡¯t be such a small tower, can it? And¡­ what the hell was that? Am I hallucinating in this life? A ne thing to worry about has appeared. Yuzu was crying and frantically looking for me. When Phaeon brought me back, she sat down and breathed a sigh of relief: ¡°Sir Parciel, thank you very much. It¡¯s from the royal family, but please have a cup of tea as a thank you.¡± ¡°No problem. I have to go to the training grounds.¡± ¡°You have enough time for a cup of tea. It would make me feel uncomfortable if I just send you off like this. I¡¯ll get it ready quickly.¡± He sat down reluctantly in front of the table. Yuzu smiled happily as if she was fortunate and heated the cold tea: ¡°I really wanted to serve you a drink. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the only tee that Sir Parciel, who avoids any luxury, enjoys is this Lisus tea.¡± As his face hardened, Yuzu added timidly with a startled look on her face: ¡°I was too arrogant, wasn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s true that I often drink that tea.¡± Lisus tea is a very precious tea in Santra, and it is brewed with lisus petals that can only be found in some areas in the north of Santra. It leaves a deep aroma and a unique aftertaste. It was also called Laughter Tea because it makes you laugh when you drink it. ¡®Isn¡¯t it surprising that you have such luxurious taste?¡¯ I watched him drink the tea after being handed a cup by Yuzu. He took a sip and stared blankly at the cup as if he were lost in thought. It was not a gaze directed at the tea cup, but a gaze that seemed to be looking somewhere far away. I asked aloud to bring him back to his senses: ¡°Papa! If Asha says she wants to go to see the training grounds, will you take me?¡± He suddenly came to his senses and answered ruthlessly: ¡°It¡¯s not a place for the princess to visit. There¡¯s not much fun to watch.¡± ¡°But¡­ I want to watch at the knights¡­ It¡¯s my wish¡­¡± ¡°Sir Parciel, I¡¯m sorry, but can you please grant the Princess¡¯ wish? I have to go on a mission soon, so the Princess would have to stay alone in her room by herself.¡± Yuzu helped me as if she had been waiting for this. ¡°How lonely and bored would you be by yourself?¡± ¡°No, Asha¡­ Asha is good at being on her own¡­ I have always been on my own when I still lived in the cabin. The family often went to the nearby village without me¡­¡± I said somberly and flicked the cake with a fork. After a moment of dead silence, he sighed and touched his forehead: ¡°¡­haaa, I see. It¡¯s only for half a day.¡± The guilt attacks achieved doubled their effect. ¡°It¡¯s quite a distance to the training grounds¡±, He looked at me as if he wanted me to give up because of the distance. ¡°Papa can just carry me there.¡± I jumped off my seat and spread my arms wide at him. He crumpled his brows slightly, but picked me up carefully. Huhu, I think you¡¯ve gotten a little better. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? Cling, clang, clung! The vast training ground was full of sharp metallic and the dull sounds of wooden swords swinging around. Since the Holy Knights of the temple and the Royal Knights often practice together, the training ground was so large that the other end couldn¡¯t be seen. As soon as I and Phaeon reached the entrance, a loud noise was heard from one side of the training ground. Crush! A boy fell heavily. He looked about twelve years old. The knight, who appeared to be his instructor, yelled at him: ¡°Regen! I can¡¯t believe you can¡¯t even hit him. Is that what you call an attack?¡± The fallen boy lifted his head weakly. He had large blue eyes, that were slightly drooping, and soft brown curly hair. He was like a baby angel in a religious painting. Oh, I¡¯ve never seen such a pretty boy. But Regen? Where did I hear that name? Chapter 11 ¡°Captain! You¡¯re here?¡±, cried the knight, who had knocked the boy down. She was a tall, short-haired beauty with eyes similar to a cat. She looked a little older than Phaeon. The boy called Regen jumped up as soon as he heard the sound. And when he found Phaeon, his face flushed red like a beet. Huh? Look at this oppa. ¡°But the little lady you¡¯re holding¡­!¡± I bowed in his arms. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Asha.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the princess everyone is talking about! My name is Shellman Piart, the vice-captain of Veritas. What are you doing here?¡± Oh, she¡¯s the vice-captain? She must be really strong then. ¡°I begged papa. The training ground is so far away. There are so many knights here, it makes me excited.¡± While we were talking, the knights stopped practicing and surrounded us in a circle. ¡°Papa? Hahaha!¡±, she laughed as if she had heard the funniest thing in the world. ¡°So what did I say, vice-captain? She really calls him Papa. I won the bet, so please give me the 10 tiums (a currency).¡± A big black-haired knight approached and spoke vigorously: ¡°Oh my, thanks to you, I lost my money. I thought my men were trying to beat me¡­ Papa! Why are you calling him that, Princess?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nickname I gave him. We¡¯re friends. And Parushi (Parciel) is too hard to say.¡± When I spoke bluntly, she opened her eyes wide in bewilderment, and laughed frantically again: ¡°Hahaha, boss! Be nice to the princess. When will the captain ever be called Papa again?¡± Phaeon flinched at the sudden attack of someone, who didn¡¯t know the truth. He glared at her for a moment and then dropped me on the ground: ¡°Go to the edge over there. Just in case, don¡¯t come too close. Sometimes the wooden sword will bounces off and fly around.¡± ¡°Woong, woong! Aratto!¡± I nodded quickly when a strange groan came from one side: ¡°Hui, so cute¡­¡±, ¡°Is that a doll or a real person?¡± These guys¡­ are fools¡­? Well, they don¡¯t seem too bad. ¡°Come to think of it, the princess doesn¡¯t know the true skills of our captain yet. Wanna take this opportunity to have a match against me? Show her your skills in action!¡±, said Shellman cheerfully. Oh, I like that unnie. They don¡¯t know, but I wanted to watch him in the first place. ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense. A match is no joke¡­¡± ¡°Want to watch, Asha wants to watch, want to watch, want to watch, want to watch! Please do it¡±, as I clasped my hands and spoke earnestly, the surroundings became noisy. ¡°Yes, sir! Please show us!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re refusing a match in front of the princess, are you? It¡¯s against chivalry!¡± After that Phaeon sighed and pointed to the center of the training grounds with his sword. Shellman ran excitedly to the direction he pointed to. It was a match without the usage of divine power, purely relying on their swordsmanship. The match of knights was very exciting at first sight. The two stood at a slight distance in the middle of the training grounds and politely saluted. ¡°Attack first¡±, said Phaeon while pulling out his sword. Shellman grinned and quickly pulled out her sword and stormed into Phaeon. Before he could have been surprised by what had happened in the blink of an eye, Phaeon dodged the attack by twisting his body to the right without moving his feet. At the same time, he aimed at Shellman¡¯s left flank with the sword in his right hand, but she quickly turned around and attacked him instead. The light metallic sound could be heard, and I could feel the strong vibrations even where I was standing and watching. It was amazing to have this kind of momentum without even using divine power. Cling, clang clung. The swords hit dozens of times at such a fast pace that it was hard to follow with ones eyes alone. At first glance, I could feel Shellman was struggling because of how much stronger Phaeon was. Nevertheless, the fact that she countered his sword so many times showed that her skills were also great. Clang! She was pushed back one step when she was hit with an attack so strong that it made her sword tremble. Phaeon did not miss the moment when Shellman¡¯s sword stayed in the air and inserted it in a straight line. In an instant his sword touched her chest. People around me exclaimed excitedly: ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got much stronger compared to before.¡± ¡°Haha! You didn¡¯t try seriously, did you? To save me the embarrassment in front of the princess.¡± ¡°¡­ don¡¯t be rude and return to your work now.¡± Phaeon inserted the sword into its sheath. I jumped and clapped while I glanced sideways, but Regen was so engrossed in Phaeon, that he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off him. That face with this sparkling eyes¡­ even a sigh of admiration! Certainly, that boy was absolutely infatuated with Phaeon. I meanit in the sense of awe and worship. ¡°Papa, Shellman! That was so cool! Thank you so much for showing it to Asha.¡± ¡°Princess, I¡¯m glad you had fun watching!¡± ¡°Shellman, Asha wants tolearn how to use sword. Yeah? Can sha learn swordmanship?¡± Shellman smiled and pointed to Regen, who was still deep in thoughts of admiration: ¡°Take care of the princess today, Regen. The princess would be perfect for your skill level!¡± At Shellman¡¯s words, Regen came to his senses and bowed his head. Huh¡­ Isn¡¯t that¡¯s too much? I liked her cheerful personality, but her rude remarks are no joke. He¡¯s going to get hurt and become all depressed! ¡°Princess, let¡¯s go over there!¡± He got a small toy swoard from somewhere and took me to the corner of the training grounds. I looked closely at his side profile and quickly remembered where I heard his name. He was Regen Tigris, who will became Phaeon¡¯s best pupil eight years later, and be called the ¡® Lux¡¯ Hawk ¡®, because he roamed the battlefield like a bird! His outstanding horsemanship, the speed at which he rushed at his enemies like a hawk, and the great hawk-shaped divine beast he summons will become the legend of Santra. But I didn¡¯t recognize him at first because he looked so different compared to his appearance eight years later. That soft little boy will be nearly four cubits (about two meters) tall? Starting today, he would have to grow by one arc (about three centimeters) every day. As I was looking at him frantically, he stopped and said quietly: ¡°Princess, please do not come here after today.¡± Ehh? ¡°This is not a suitable place for the princess to visit. To be honest¡­ it¡¯s a nuisance.¡± His angelic face turned cold. Oh, my God. Why are you taking it out on me when you got scolded? I have to keep coming here and stick to Phaeon! How dare someone who doesn¡¯t help me survive try to block my way?! In addition, the training grounds looked perfect for practicing magic. In a small room, practicing magic is limited to certain things only. But the training ground is incredibly spacious and there are many large, beautiful trees around it, so it seemed that you could try various magic without getting found out. I was furious, but I managed to keep my temper. The opponent is a twelve-year-old boy after all. ¡°Regen, you¡¯re angry that Shellman left Asha to Regen, right? Shellman has no clue. You¡¯re not that bad, you know?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to take my side. The vice-captain is a very good person. I¡¯m being scolded because I¡¯m¡­ hopeless.¡± What are you talking about? ¡°What do you mean, hopeless? No! Regen is still young.¡± ¡°Among my peers, there are already many colleagues who are able to use swords excellently and even divine power. I cannot do either of it and my basic skills are just so bad.¡± It broke my heart to see him calmly evaluate his skills. His self-esteem seemed to have decreased drastically. ¡°¡­ But Regen is here at Veritas. Veritas is an apprenticeship and not a place where just anyone can come and join! It¡¯s a big deal!¡± ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯ll be kicked out soon.¡± W- why are you saying terrifying things like that? ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s amazing that I¡¯m still there. But I¡¯m still curious. Sir Parciel¡­ why did he bring me here?¡° ¡°Papa brought Regen?!¡±, asked I in surprise. He¡¯s Phaeon¡¯s pick?! So that¡¯s why he will become a great knight. There is no way he¡¯s unable to get recognized by the grown-ups. But why is he unable to use his abilities now? I¡¯m almost going crazy because I want to give him a spoiler concerning his future life¡­ Then, from somewhere, a boy with burning red hair and gray eyes appeared. He was smiling mischievously, but he looked like a young lord of a noble family. Unlike Veritas¡¯s white uniform for their apprentice knights, he wore a black uniform embroidered with a gold thread ¨C so he must be an apprentice of the Royal Knights Dignita. ¡°Hahaha! Regen, finally Veritas gave up on you. Now you¡¯re practicing with a little girl like that! Are you looking for a place to hire you as a nanny?¡± ¡°¡­ don¡¯t be mean! This is the princess¡±, answered Regen with a stiff face at his sarcastic remarks. They looked like old friends. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the princess who came to the royal family last month. It¡¯s a great pleasure to meet you. I¡¯m Ark Eleanor, the eldest son of the Count Eleanor.¡± Eleanor? I¡¯m sure I have heard this somewhere before. ¡°I understand now why they left the princess to you. You¡¯re perfect as a playmate. You should have been a maid, not a knight. To be honest, I think Veritas has no eye for people.¡± Ark¡¯s provocation made Regen turn white. He shivered all over and lifted his sword. ¡°How dare you insult our captain! I can¡¯t forgive you!¡± ¡°Ha! Are you going to cut me with that? You¡¯re still practicing swinging?¡±, Ark was obviously sarcastic, ¡°And don¡¯t talk down to me. You¡¯re a commoner, aren¡¯t you?¡± The members of the temple, to which the Holy Knights belong, tend to have various statuses in comparison to the Royal Knights, who are almost all nobles. However, no matter how low their status was, they were bound to be treated with courtesy once they belong to the Holy Knights Veritas. It¡¯s not like the people do not ignore curtesy behind their backs¡­ but it¡¯s really rude to do so right in front of them. Regen was furious and tried to jump at Ark, so I had to grab his leg and hang on. ¡°Don¡¯t fall for such a childish provocation, Regen! If the knights fight, Papa will be angry!¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know what will happen if you, you who can¡¯t even use divine power, attacks me. You¡¯re gonna have to keep your face down for a few days.¡± ¡°I¡­ I can use divine power!¡±, cried Regen while blushing. You just told me you can¡¯t use it, Regen! I understand that you don¡¯t want to lose against him, but I was worried about whether you should bluff like that. ¡°Ha! Then compete with me. If you can really use your divine power, you¡¯ll be able to defend my aura!¡±, Ark raised his sword with a sneer. As a member of the 1st knight division, the Royal Knights, it¡¯s a given that you can use aura. The Royal Knights Dignitas are a group of knights who know how to use an ¡°Aura¡±, which is their mana wrapped around their sword. Even the apprentices are able to do so. ¡°¡­deal, it¡¯s a duel.¡± Wait a minute, you punks! What do you mean, a duel at your age? What if you get hurt?! Ignoring my stamping, the two quickly started their duel. Even before he could make a few moves, Ark swung his sword gleaming with black aura and made a cut on Regen¡¯s leg. Blood gushed from the spot. ¡°Ugh!¡± ¡°Damn! You¡¯re bleeding! I¡¯ll call Papa!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±, Regen caught me, who was trying to run. He frowned because of the pain. ¡°You can¡¯t even heal your own wounds, so what kind of divine power is that supposed to be? Haha! Is everyone in Veritas a liar? Veritas means ¡® truth ¡®!¡± I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, so I clenched my fist and shot at him with scorching eyes: ¡°Ignis1.¡± ¡°What¡­ what was that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called Ignis!¡± Chapter 12 ¡°Princess, no matter whether you¡¯re a princess or not, your making big statements. I am the eldest son of a count! Please be polite¡±, huffed Ark. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s the first time he has heard this from someone else. ¡°It¡¯s a knight¡¯s honor to respect his opponent no matter who he fights with. Ark didn¡¯t keep his honor!¡± When I spoke as firmly as I could with my pronunciation as clear as I could, both Ark and Regen were surprised and round-eyed. I spread my legs, crossed my arms, and spat out at the Ark without hesitation: ¡°The name of the first Knight division is Dignitas, which means ¡®honor¡¯, but you¡¯re more like a local bully! Why don¡¯t you just scare the commoners on the streets and steal their money? Ah, that would fit you very well!¡± ¡°Well, how can you¡­¡±, Ark¡¯s face turned pale. He couldn¡¯t figure out what to answer back, and looked around anxiously, then turned around and tried to get away. I didn¡¯t intend to let you go just like that. I put my hands on the tree in front of me, and recited the intermediate magic I had memorized and trained he for the last days. ¡°Tr?mor!¡± Then, the tree shook and the pine cones hanging on the tree poured down on his head. ¡°Argh!¡±, he was struck by a stinging pine cone and ran away in a panic. ¡°Hmph! Coward! Dignitas are the ones with a defective eyesight!¡± Regen asked me with his mouth wide open, as if he had forgotten the pain he was in: ¡°Princess, are you really only 4 years old?¡± I felt his prickling gaze on me. ¡°Ye- Yes. Asha is three years! I¡¯ll be four soon!¡± ¡°The princess doesn¡¯t seem like that. My brother is three years old, and he could never talk like the princess does.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s because Asha is quick to learn! But Regen, you need to get a treatment for the wound on your leg!¡±, I quickly evaded his suspicions and pulled him along. Phaeon was already approaching this way. ¡°ItIt!¡± Regen blushed again and tried to hide his injury in a hurry. However, it was not enough to cover the long cut starting below the knee. ¡°How did you get hurt?¡± ¡°I- I made a mistake. I¡¯ll wait until it gets better.¡± ¡°Please explain, Regen¡±, said Phaeon sternly. However, Regen shut his mouth and mumbled only with tears in his eyes: ¡°We had an argument with an apprentice of Dignitas. I¡­ I wanted to protect Veritas¡¯ honor.¡± Phaeon looked down at him quietly, and then reached out his hand and put it to his head. A warm white light enveloped Regen and the wound on his leg disappeared in an instant. ¡°¡­make sure to win next time¡±, he patted Regen on the head. Regen¡¯s face was redder than the color itself. ¡®What? Why are you so considerate?¡¯ I felt a sudden surge of irritation. ¡®This¡­ this feeling is absolutely not jealousy. You¡¯re so cold to your own child, but it¡¯s annoying when you¡¯re so nice to someone else¡¯s child.¡¯ ¡°Asha as well!¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Asha as well! Pet my head!¡± He stared at me for a moment and said bluntly: ¡°The only person who can stroke the princess¡¯ head here in Santra will be His Majesty.¡± Then he went off to coach the other knights. ¡°Uh¡­ !¡± I held back the tears that welled up in my anger. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? That afternoon in the Mansion of Count Eleanor. The red-haired young lord Ark was circling in his room. ¡°That little kid used magic¡­ magic that I didn¡¯t know.¡± Ark clenched his fists and trembled. The bump on his head throbbed. ¡®I¡¯m the one who will inherit the title of Count Eleanor, but I was defeated by a four-year-old girl!¡¯ He recalled the little girl who was talking to him with a stern look, and felt a strange feeling, of he was unsure whether it was shame or his hurt pride. ¡®That imitating aura¡­ Is it because she¡¯s a royal?¡± Then, a small knock was heard: ¡°Young Master, the lord is calling for you.¡± He left the room helplessly and headed to the study on the second floor, where his father waited for him. Bertrand Eleanor did not take his eyes off the document even though his son came in, but after a long time he finally raised his head. The father of Ark and one of the three counts in Santra, was also the vice-commander of the Dignitas knight division. Eleanor has produced many outstanding knights from generation to generation that made their mark in the history books of Santra. The current count Eleanor is also proud of his family and has taught his son mercilessly since childhood to prepare him for inheriting his family¡¯s honor. ¡°Did you call me, father?¡± ¡°You¡¯re here, Ark. You¡¯ve been training hard today, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes, of course¡±, answered Ark and swallowed his saliva. He thought it¡¯s a relief that one cannot see the hump on his head. ¡°You will be able to see how hard you have worked during Ars Conpero in a month.¡± Ars Conpero is the day on which the Holy Knights and the Magic Knights compete with each other every year. It¡¯s like a game in which the two knight divisions compete as fiercely as if they were fighting an actual war. Victory or defeat is determined by the winning rate of each knighthood, and if you win first place among the apprentice knights, you will receive the honor of becoming an official knight right away without having to take a promotion test. ¡°If- if I were to lose to a commoner¡­¡° While looking at his son with a sharp gaze, the Count said: ¡°It would be better not think about coming home defeated.¡± The Ark trembled inwardly. He wasn¡¯t without confidence. He was the strongest among the apprentices of the Dignitas knights. Most of them had manifested their aura, but their technique using them has yet to be perfected. However, because Veritas has some promising apprentices who could defend against his attacks, he needed to improve as soon as possible. Ark carefully opened his mouth: ¡°I-¡­ father. Maybe¡­ could I learn some other magic spells?¡± The count wriggled his eyebrows: ¡°What kind of magic do you want to learn?¡± ¡°For example, vibration magic¡­¡± If he could learn the magic that the princess tried earlier, he would be able to make a surprise attack while the opponent stumbles or falls because of the vibrating ground. Then definitely¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a spell of the weak Royal Wizards! Where did you hear about it?¡± As the count slammed his hand on the desk in anger, Ark was surprised and hesitated to make an excuse: ¡°I happened to see it¡­ and I thought it would be pretty useful.¡± ¡°Do you think you can perform magic on a horse while holding a shield and a sword?! To do that, you would have to throw away the sword! If a knight throws away his sword on the battlefield, it means death!¡± The count was furious. His face was filled with contempt. ¡°You can¡¯t even manifest the Flama Gladius yet. Can you afford to be distracted by that?! I succeeded at the age of 11!¡± The Flama Gladius. The Eleanor family gained the title of Fire Knight from generation to generation because of their ultimate sword technique. By developing aura into elemental magic, it had the terrifying power to devour not only the enemy in front of you, but also more than 100 nearby enemies with its flames. ¡°¡­ I had a moment of vain thoughts. I will devote myself to honing my swordsmanship¡±, replied Ark in a firm voice and bowed. However, even until he left the room, he couldn¡¯t get the princess who scolded him and used magic proudly out of his mind. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? ¡°Princess, your posture is wrong. That¡¯s not how you do Ochs (basic posture of swordmanship).¡± ¡°Um¡­ but Asha¡¯s arm won¡¯t go up to there.¡± ¡°Hahaha, Regen! You look like an teacher!¡±, teased the senior knights, who were on their way to the drinking fountain, Regen, who was teaching me. These days, it has become my daily routine to visit the training grounds every day, and as a result, I have become acquainted with other knights besides Regen. Now that they became a little more friendly with me, they lough and talk to me. ¡°Seeing the princess is my only source of healing these days.¡± ¡°Whenever we run our laps on the trainings as a warm-up exercise, it¡¯s so cute to see how the princess is running along¡­¡± ¡°You look a little tired, Sir.¡± Paeon was extremely nervous because he had to jump up and run to me to use his divine power whenever I stumbled or fell while running. ¡°How long do you intend to let the princess stay here? His Majesty will hit you when he finds out!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry, Sir Parciel. Once spring comes along, we¡¯ll all be able to take a breather. Until then, please take care of her for us.¡± ¡°And the princess loves to come here¡­ she even talks in her sleep about it.¡± In fact, the three priestesses tried to find someone else to take care of me, but I refused. Thanks to this, Phaeon took care of me from morning to evening. Still, I spent most of my time with Regen. His hostility towards me has melted away. All of a sudden, he went so far as to teach me the sword enthusiastically. ¡®You must have fallen for my charms.¡¯ Well, there¡¯s no harm in learning swordmanship. If I learn swordsmanship in my spare time while studying magic until I turn 111, won¡¯t I be able to defeat any adult Magic swordman? While I was grinning deep in thoughts, Regen was defeated by vice-comander Shellman again, and walked away in a depressed manner. ¡°Haaa¡­¡±, he sighed deeply and slid down against the beautiful tree. ¡°Regen, do you not know how to train?¡± When I asked cautiously, he buried his face in his lap and said in a hoarse voice: ¡°I just can¡¯t use my divine power. I can¡¯t feel it at all.¡± If magic is to reverse the laws of nature by using mana, divine power is the life force of nature given by god, that is, the power to take and give life force. Unlike mana, which is mostly passed down to a child by their parents, divine power manifests itself 100% by itself. So the fact that Phaeon was the one who made Regen an apprentice means that he had seen him use divine power before¡­ ¡°Regen, how did Papa bring Regen here?¡± ¡°¡­When our village was attacked by demons and destroyed, he miraculously appeared up with the knights. My father died and I had to protect my mother and little sister all alone, and he was the one who saved me!¡±, Regen looked dreamy as he recalled the past, He¡¯s my¡­ my one and only hero. However, I won¡¯t even be able to compete in the upcoming Conpero. It¡¯s like throwing an egg in his face.¡± He was clearly depressed. I don¡¯t know all the principles of divine power, but I learned that the source of divine power is different, although not a lot, to mana. Both mana and divine power depend greatly on ones mind. If you are under serious pressure and stress, you cannot express your strength well. I also learned magic in my first life and was framed under the context of heresy, which caused me in my second life to become afraid of using magic. So I was unable to use magic well even though I didn¡¯t suppress my strength myself. Regen feels the same frustration and helplessness that I felt at that time. ¡°Regen, start with something very small. Here, let¡¯s start with making the grass fresh and green again. Let¡¯s just try!¡± He smiled faintly as I patted the grass, which became dry because of the current season of winter. He looks pretty when he smiles! While Regen closed his eyes and groaned to convey the divine power to the grass, I encouraged him by saying ¡°It¡¯s a little revived!¡± and ¡°It¡¯s green now!¡± Phew, I hope this helps. However, I felt a presence behind the beautiful tree. Oh? That red hair¡­ He ran away as soon as I noticed him. ¡°Why the hell is he peeping at us? That¡¯s unpleasant.¡± Regen stopped concentrating for a second and got angry. At that moment, information about Arc Eleanor suddenly came to mind. It was a conversation of the maids, that I have overheard when I was seven. ¡°Did you hear that? The eldest son of Count Eleanor¡­ ¡­is dead!¡± ¡°Oh, you mean Princess Stella¡¯s fianc¨¦? He¡¯s still too young. Did he die in the current monster subjugation mission?¡± ¡°But since I have a second son¡­ I¡¯m glad there¡¯s no problem with succession, well.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess he fell off a cliff and fell into a valley. How devastated the count must be¡­¡± The conversation that I had overheard wasn¡¯t very important to me then. Ark will die three years later, at the age of 14. Chapter 13 ¡¯It doesn¡¯t matter whether that idiot dies or not!¡¯ I looked through the spell book, trying to forget about the future that has bothered me for the past few days. ¡¯He deserves it. God is punishing him for being so cheeky.¡® And he¡¯s Stella¡¯s fianc¨¦ to boot it off! They¡¯re a well-matched couple. Although they won¡¯t last forever. By the way, I don¡¯t know why, but Ark has been training alone ever since that day closely to the place where Regen is training. We were training in a space far away from the center of the training ground, where both the Holy Knights and the Royal Knights had a joint practice, so his behavior was questionable. ¡®¡­¡­ How can you not care about it?¡® Regen is the type of person who constantly feels a lot of pressure on him, but now he was always on edge because Ark kept hanging around. Once, I asked Ark why he was training here, but I was speechless when he answered back: ¡°Did the princess rent this place? It¡¯s a shared place.¡± ¡®Oh, yes. Do as you please¡­¡¯ Today, I decided to practice fog magic. It is not too difficult to create fog around me by using elemental magic, but it was highly ineffective at my current level. If you learn this magic properly, it will be very useful to distract the people following me by limiting their sight when I will run away. ¡°Cal¨ªgo.¡± As I tried to organize the spells that I have learned so far in my head and cited the spell, a faint fog soon bloomed around me. ¡°Wow! Princess, what did you do?¡±, Regen, who was practicing swinging his sword, looked at me in surprise. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me, Regen. I have to concentrate.¡± Once the mana gets disturbed, the fog will disappear quickly, so I was concentrating with all my might, but Regen came to me and touched the fog by waving with his hands. ¡°Wow, if you could use this magic more efficiently, it would be useful during the war. The enemy wouldn¡¯t be able to see us!¡± ¡°One needs a lot of mana to do that. It¡¯s manageable when used against only a few because it won¡¯t take a lot of mana, but when used against many opponents it consumes toon much mana compared to its duration. So it¡¯s not useful to use in war!¡± I was irritated by his over-excited interruption. ¡°It¡¯s amazing, though. Oh, how about you use this spell to help me train? Attacking an invisible enemy! Don¡¯t you think it would help awaken all my senses?¡± Looking at the glistening eyes of Regen, I thoughts he¡¯s a knight through and through, too. All he can think of is war and fighting. ¡°¡­okay, but first I have to practice until I¡¯m proficient at it!¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t disturb you anymore¡±, he smiled and went back to practice. Does he know I¡¯m weak against his smile? Honestly, his smile is so pretty! I also tried to memorize the spell again and focus on making fog, but this time the back of my head stung. ¡°What is it?¡±, when I turned around, Ark was staring at me, ¡°Why do you keep looking at me? This space may be open to everyone, but if you keep staring at me, I¡¯ll make sure you loose your permission to be here!¡± When I screamed, Ark was startled and his face turned as red as his hair. He hesitated to say something, then turned around, and continued his personal training. ¡®What the hell is wrong with him?¡¯ Are you mad because you¡¯re not allowed to pick a fight? The doubts did not go away, but I decided to leave it alone. After all I knew that he was going to face a tragic fate soon. Only a few days later the incident took place. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t see you anymore, princess¡±, said Regen while struggling to see me, who was right in front of him. After a few days of hard work, I was able to fully master the spell. Although after using it once, I¡¯ll be exhausted for the full day and fall asleep instantly in the evening¡­ I sneaked up behind him and slapped him on the back with a wooden sword. ¡°Huhu, but I can see Regen.¡± I smiled as I dispelled the fog spell, and he smiled at me with a huge grin. However, his expression soon darkened and he lamented in a melancholy voice: ¡°The princess is so young and learns the spells so fast¡­ Meanwhile I¡¯m much older than her but even training for a long time, I haven¡¯t made any progress at all¡­¡± ¡®No, you¡¯re trying to cause trouble again!¡¯ As Ars Conpero, the competition between the knight divisions, approached, his condition was constantly worsening. I¡¯ve been watching him lately, which is why I found out that Shellman paid special attention to him, whose swordsmanship is the strongest among the current apprentices. That¡¯s why Shellman seems to be rather strict with him, but she doesn¡¯t seem to know that her training method is like poison for Regen, who has a weak mind, so I seriously considered to give him a hint. However, no matter how good his swordsmanship was, he had to be able to use divine power to counter Dignitas, who are able to use magic. Knowing that, he gradually became unable to concentrate while practicing swordsmanship. As I approached him to patted him, I heard a sharp scream from the side: ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!¡± ¡°?!¡± At the same time, I turned my head to the place where I heard the sound from, and Ark was in great pain while holding his sword. ¡°Ahhh¡­ Woahhhh!¡± The black blue flame around the cling of his sword was about to spread to his hands. ¡®It¡¯s Flama Gladius!¡¯ It is a flame technique that only a very small amount of magic swordman are able to wield. If used well, it would have a great impact in the war, but it was the most important to learn the skill properly so that it won¡¯t affect you. But he didn¡¯t seem mastered the basics of it yet and thus had no real control over it. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± I ran over to Ark quickly. He was trying to let go of the sword, but his already burned hand was stuck to the sword and could not be easily removed. Seeing the fire burn more and more dark blue, it was clear that he couldn¡¯t control his mana. At this rate, he will quickly run out of the mana saved up in his body and fall into the irreversible state of mana depletion. ¡°Regen, call Papa here! Quickly!¡± ,shouted I to Regen, who was currently hesitating whether to go to Ark or to where the Knights were gathered. As I ran to Ark, I quickly thought about which of the spells I had memorized would be helpful right now, but I couldn¡¯t think of the right one. The water element magic I¡¯m able to use now won¡¯t be enough to extinguish that fire. I need a stronger opposing spell¡­. No, magic won¡¯t be enough. We have to use the divine power here! But can Phaeon arrive on time? At that time, Ark swung his sword in agony and part of its flame fell off and flew into my direction. In the moment when I thought about having to avoid it, the huge flames were already right in front of me. ¡®No, will this the end of this life?¡¯ While I felt its heat, my life flashes before my eyes. I opened my eyes. The intense light surrounded me so that I couldn¡¯t open my eyes completely at first. I collapsed in the light. After a few tense seconds, the surroundings became quiet. I put my face on the ground while trembling and stopped breathing to hear anything. I couldn¡¯t even raise my head up. Actually, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m dead or alive. ¡®If I reincarnated again after death, I would have a headache, but I guess that¡¯s not the case!¡¯ I looked up carefully, feeling no pain. And I saw a really amazing sight: Regen stood there holding Ark¡¯s sword with his bare hands. The blue flame, which enveloped Ark¡¯s sword, disappeared and was replaced by white light instead. Regen slowly took his hand off the sword and moved it to Ark¡¯s burned hand. Ark was shivering and shedding tears in pain. As Regen wrapped his hands around his, the white light appeared and his wound began to heal. ¡°Regen¡­ ¡­is using divine power¡±, murmured I blankly. When Regen pulled his hands away from Ark, Ark dropped the sword and slumped down as if his legs had had given up. ¡°Regen! Regen was using divine power!¡± With a bright smile, I jumped up and tried to run to Regen, but when I found something scary, I hardened like a stone: ¡°Papa¡­¡± Phaeon stood there with a terrified expression on his face: ¡°What¡¯s all this about?¡± He tried to suppress it, but his voice was full of anger. The pressure was so terrifying that we were all frozen in place and couldn¡¯t say a word. The legendary Medusa seemed to appear behind him. ¡°It is prohibited by apprentices to use the highest level magic without at least someone of the vice-captain¡¯s level or higher present. Ark Eleanor, wouldn¡¯t you have known about that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ark was still shocked about what had just happened and only shed tears. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve done this, there will be now complaints about you being permanently expelled from the Royal Knights¡±, said Phaeon coldly. What do you mean permanent expelled? I don¡¯t know whether his fate to die as a knight would be be better than this. Wouldn¡¯t it be better not to be a knight forever than to die in vain as one? But seeing him crying as if the world had collapsed¡­ ¡°Ah¡­ No, Papa¡±, my mouth was moving on its own, ¡°I asked him to show me.¡± Phaeon looked at me with disbelief. Shellman, who came late, opened her mouth and looked at me: ¡°Pr- princess!¡± Regen shouted as if I was saying some kind of crap, but I didn¡¯t look at him and said clearly: ¡°Don¡¯t expel him.¡± Ark probably got nervous when I, who was much younger than him, used the magic he couldn¡¯t. That¡¯s why he did such a stupid thing. I now know shouldn¡¯t have used magic on him in our first meeting¡­ but still, he was too young to be expelled for this. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯ve done?¡±, said Phaeon with his teeth clenched, ¡°You could have died!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I bowed my head without answering. Even though I was sad, I couldn¡¯t take back the words I had already said. ¡°From today onwards, the princess will be banned from entering the training grounds¡±, he returned to his usual emotionless voice, barely genuine, ¡°You don¡¯t have any objection, do you?¡± I nodded helplessly. ?©~©~©~©~©~©~©~? Where on earth could I train now? ¡­I spent a week lying down doing nothing. Honestly, it¡¯s a lie saying that I don¡¯t regret it. In fact, I was under the illusion that I became a little close to Phaeon, so I thought I could change his mind after a while. But he must have been very angry, which is why he didn¡¯t even come to the dining room after that day. It¡¯s no different from the beginning! ¡°Princess, you have a guest¡±, said Rosa outside the door. A guest? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s someone who would come to see me. I jumped out of bed. ¡°Princess!¡±, as soon as the door opened, Regen came running with a bright smile on his face. ¡°Regen! How are you?¡± ¡°Great! I can use divine power now. It still doesn¡¯t work when I¡¯m nervous, but I¡¯ve already succeeded several times since!¡± ¡°Regen, you¡¯re doing really well. Congratulations! But¡­¡± Someone was standing behind Regen, hesitating to come out. ¡°¡­huh?¡± ¡°Princess!¡±, Ark knelt before me suddenly and stuttered, ¡°I¡­ I wanted to ask the princess officially to teach me magic. But the words didn¡¯t come out of my mouth and then¡­ then ¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t speak properly as if he was choked up and trembled beneath me. ¡°The princess saved my life. If I had been permanently expelled from the Knights, I would have died at my father¡¯s hands. I don¡¯t know how to repay this favor¡­¡± I looked at him still for a moment. I have no intention of being a savior. It¡¯s too much to protect my body, but who saved whom? There will be no end to it. ¡®¡­I¡¯m the last one to meddle in someone else¡¯s fate.¡¯ I spoke quietly: ¡°Make sure you swear an oath of obedience to Asha.¡±