「It hurt.
A sudden, burning pain sliced through my chest.
When I looked down, I saw the tip of a sword sticking out.
Who was it?
Who ended my life?
Before my thoughts could go any further, everything went dark.
—You’ve paid for your sins.
I heard the voice of the person who stabbed my chest.
Who is it?
It was a voice I didn’t know.
But it also felt like I had heard it somewhere before….
There was no time to think deeply.
I was dying fast, and the magic inside me began to run wild.
—No….
I barely managed to gather my magic.
If my magic overflowed like this, the world would be destroyed.
It had been a hard life.
At every moment, I made the wrong choices, and when I tried to fix them, I only repeated even worse ones.
I earned the hatred of the whole world, lost everything, and in the end, I was cornered and killed.
The world had been cruel to me.
Even so, I didn’t want it to be destroyed.
I loved this world.
What should I have done?
What could I have done to escape this tragedy and protect this world?」
The life story of Princess Ellia ended there.
Luden closed the book.
“Yeah. What could she have done to protect that world?”
Luden muttered to himself.
Even Luden, the genius archmage, didn’t know the answer.
Closing the book, Luden quietly walked into the study. There was still much research left to do.
*****
“Your Highness is the one and only princess of Nerendis, first in line to the throne, Princess Ellia Ridden Bjort Nerendis.”
No matter how many times she asked, she got the same answer every time.
Now she had accepted it.
I’ve become Princess Ellia!
The moment Ellie accepted that fact, she felt despair.
She had wanted to be a princess at least once. Wear pretty dresses, eat delicious food, dance with a cool prince at a fancy ball!
But Princess Ellia is cheating!
Princess Ellia started off happy, but her life became harsher and harsher. In the end, the magic inside her went wild and caused the destruction of the world.
And she was only twenty-seven.
To think she was the main character of a novel that ends in tragedy.
Reincarnation-in-a-book stories are always like that!
Either a tragic character who dies early or someone with no presence at all.
That’s why the protagonists of those “in-a-book” stories were always so frustrated.
First, I have to live as Princess Ellia.
Ellie knew that saying something like, “I’m Ellie! I’m someone else who possessed her body!” would be useless.
And… if I’m going to live, I should live well!
Princess Ellia became queen at seven and, fifteen years later, at twenty-two, was kicked off the throne by a rebellion. After that, she wandered around the world for five years as a beggar until her magical power suddenly awakened. She couldn’t control it, it went berserk, and she was killed by someone. But by then the magic had already swallowed the world, and everything was destroyed.
I can stop it.
First, she would stop the world from being destroyed. Then she could think about the rest.
And until her brother came to find her, she had to stay well.
My brother said he would come.
This was another world inside a book, but her brother would be able to find her.
Because her brother was a genius archmage.
When she thought of the hope that her brother would come someday, her gloomy heart slowly began to brighten.
“Princess, your memory will come back little by little. So please don’t worry too much.”
It was the lady who had been crying loudly beside her the moment she opened her eyes.
Finishing her thoughts, Ellie took her first step toward adapting to reality.
“Who are you?”
“Oh dear, Princess, do you not remember me either?”
The lady’s eyes reddened.
“I am your exclusive caretaker maid, the Baroness Laval. I have been with you since you were a newborn.”
Oh! Baroness Laval!
A name she knew, just like Kirian.
A very important character who appeared constantly in the book from beginning to end.
It made sense she was stuck to the princess like glue.
Baroness Laval stayed by Princess Ellia’s side in place of the late king and queen, right up until Ellia was kicked off the throne.
Before that, she accepted every complaint and bit of whining from the princess and cared for her with all her heart.
But because of that, Princess Ellia grew up to be a crybaby, stubborn, and spoiled. It was one of the reasons she ended up losing the throne.
A thankful but dangerous person!
Without Baroness Laval, Princess Ellia’s heart would have been desolate and full of loneliness.
She was a good person, and Ellie was grateful to her… but…
Keep a proper distance!
That was something that always came up when she discussed things with her brother.
The conclusion was that she should simply be grateful for the love that came from caring too much.
“You must be very confused and scared, with no memories at all.”
Baroness Laval teared up every time their eyes met, as if she couldn’t bear how pitiful Ellie seemed.
But Ellie answered clearly.
“I’m confused, but I’m okay.”
“Oh my, when did our princess become so grown-up?”
Even that blunt answer seemed touching to Baroness Laval, and she cupped her cheeks with both hands.
Her eyes seemed to say:
Oh no, oh no, how cute. What do I do.
…Even now.
Sometimes her brother would give her a look that said, “You little one, sometimes you’re quite cute.” But this intense, adoring look was new and honestly overwhelming.
Ellie awkwardly turned her head away.
“Tell me more about myself. How old am I?”
“Oh, yes. Princess, you are seven years old right now.”
Seven…?
Then this was the very beginning of the book.
Ellie recalled the first part.
The story started like this.
“The world flipped over. Everything spun wildly, and I felt my mom and dad’s arms holding me tight. When I opened my eyes again, I was alone. ‘Their Majesties have passed away.’ I had become an orphan.”
The carriage accident involving the king and queen.
Ellie asked urgently.
“What about my mom and dad?!”
“Ah…”
Baroness Laval looked flustered and hesitated.
Seeing her reaction, Ellie already knew the answer.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness… There was a terrible carriage accident. When they were found, Their Majesties were already… Thankfully, the princess was unharmed because they had been holding you tightly.”
“…I see…”
She had wondered if she could stop it.
If her parents had lived, it would’ve been much easier to live as Princess Ellia.
But it was already too late.
“When did it happen?”
“Three days ago.”
“Three days ago?”
It really was the very first page of the novel.
Then…
What was the first thing Princess Ellia did after waking up?
Ellie remembered easily.
“When is the funeral?”
“Oh my, how does our princess know about that?”
Baroness Laval asked in surprise.
“I read it in a book.”
“But, Princess, you don’t read books.”
Ellie froze.
Of course—Ellie, raised by her genius archmage brother, was much smarter and more knowledgeable than a normal seven-year-old.
She had no peers to compare with, so she didn’t really feel it, but according to her brother she was a “genius.” And he wasn’t someone who exaggerated, so it was probably true.
But Princess Ellia was different—she liked dresses more than books, tea parties more than studying.
“Kids grow fast!”
Ellie desperately added an excuse.
“People change all the time!”
Baroness Laval looked so shocked her eyes might pop out.
Our princess has changed!
Princess Ellia, who until now couldn’t even go to the bathroom without Baroness Laval, had suddenly transformed.
Even her way of speaking sounded like a scholar.
“I suppose losing your memories affected your personality as well.”
Baroness Laval interpreted the unbelievable sight that way.
“In any case, Their Majesties’ funeral has already ended.”
“I see.”
Just like in the book.
“While Your Highness was unconscious for three days, all the funeral rites were completed, and now we must go give our final farewell.”
Baroness Laval watched Ellie carefully as she said words like “funeral” and “final,” but Ellie accepted it calmly.
…it was natural.
She had never seen these parents before, so she didn’t feel sadness. They weren’t really her parents, and she already knew this from reading the book, so it wasn’t shocking.
“When do we go?”
“As soon as Your Highness is feeling better.”
“I want to go now.”
In the book, Princess Ellia ran straight to the funeral hall as soon as she woke up. That meant her body was fine right now too.
Since she had to live as Princess Ellia from now on, she wanted to at least properly greet her parents one last time.
Ellie got out of bed.
Then the maids rushed in.
“We’ll help you wash your face first.”
“What flavor toothpaste would you like? Strawberry? Melon? We also have kiwi.”
“For your hands, should we use a fragrance-free cream since it’s a funeral?”
The maids surrounded Ellie instantly.
“Uh—uhh—uhhh…”
Ellie couldn’t think straight.
Why were washing her face, brushing her teeth, and putting on hand cream things other people had to do?!
She knew that was how princesses lived, but experiencing it firsthand wasn’t pleasant.
“Everyone, wait!”
“Yes?”
“Yes, Princess?”
The maids froze at Ellie’s shout.
Taking a deep breath, Ellie made a declaration to the group waiting for her command.
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