Chapter 11
The duke’s mumbling faded, and Ar responded, his voice growing clearer the more I focused.
“Her Highness said she had no need for a puppet emperor’s throne.”
His voice held not a trace of wavering as he spoke to the duke.
“So you left her to die in this cold palace without even attempting to escape with her?” the duke asked.
“…It wasn’t just for that reason…”
A sneer flickered across Ar’s face. At the same moment, the duke’s voice trembled faintly as he spoke.
“Volter knows.”
“…?”
“The House of Croizen will soon fall as well. Ha! Branded a traitor for a rebellion I didn’t even commit… Who’s the real traitor here?”
The grinding of the duke’s teeth echoed sharply.
“As you requested, I ensured Her Highness’s body was handled so Volter couldn’t defile it. That wretch wouldn’t have stopped at killing her—he’d have torn her limbs apart to disgrace her.”
“Thank you.”
“But since the maids who witnessed her death confirmed it, he won’t go poking around to verify the body… Though he’ll be eager to take your head for spiriting it away.”
So, they didn’t show my poisoned body to my uncle?
The duke gazed into the distance, exhaling deeply.
“So, what will you do now? Flee to Sahaim with Lloyd?”
He extended the sword he held toward Ar. Ar stared at it for a long moment before speaking.
“…Kill me.”
“What?”
“A knight who lets his lord die and lives on is no knight. Kill me. Or would you rather I die by Volter’s hand?”
Even in the darkness, his eyes gleamed intensely.
Thump!
My heart sank.
The duke’s hand, gripping the sword, trembled.
“You’re right. Volter wouldn’t let you die easily.”
“Then kill me now. You came here knowing my answer, didn’t you? Telling me to take a single sword and flee to the Sahaim continent—words even a passing dog wouldn’t believe.”
Ar gestured with his chin toward the sword in the duke’s hand.
The duke raised the blade he’d offered, holding it horizontally before his chest. Slowly, he drew it from its sheath.
Shing.
The clear silver glinted, and a heavy metallic sound reverberated through the cramped space.
The air reeked of iron.
The duke’s hand rose slowly, lifting the sword.
“No!”
I lunged forward, arms outstretched, but no matter how I moved my hands and feet, I couldn’t close the distance between us.
It was as if I were watching a painting, trapped in a different world, growing ever more distant from them.
Ar…!
A silver arc sliced sharply through the air.
Splatter!
Red flooded my vision.
Then, like ashes scattering from a fire, Ar and the duke crumbled into dust and vanished before my eyes.
I was left alone in the hollow underground space.
Where Ar had stood, a white light flickered.
It looked familiar. That dagger. The same one from my previous dream.
The one with a blue gem at the hilt… No, the gem was gone, leaving only a hollow indentation, and the dagger gleamed with a cold, silver sheen.
It was as icy as the chill of the cold palace’s basement.
“Gasp!”
My breath caught in my throat. Clutching my chest, I opened my eyes to a familiar sight: the pattern of the canopy above my bed.
I’d forgotten for a while, but that dream again.
Relief washed over me as I realized it was just a dream. As the tension eased, a chill ran through me. My back was soaked with cold sweat, drying now and leaving me shivering.
Just then, Nanny, who’d been sleeping in the next room, must have heard me. She quietly opened the door and approached.
Her steps were careful, softly treading on the rug.
“Oh, dear, another nightmare? It’s alright. Children often have bad dreams. And then they grow tall.”
Nanny dismissed it lightly, patting my back gently. I hugged her tightly, burying my face in her comforting embrace and taking a deep breath.
Her warmth smelled faintly of toasted cornbread.
“Nanny… I was scared.”
“It’s okay. I’m here. I’ll stay until you fall back asleep.”
Five years after my regression, the future has changed significantly. Though I had to return Mintia to the Empress, it secured me the Lavender Palace, where I could live surrounded by traces of my late parents.
Grandpapa still wields absolute imperial authority, and Great-Aunt Eonel has solidified her position as Crown Princess under his protection. I’m eating well, playing well, and growing well.
Each time I realize the future has changed, or just before a major event that alters it, I have these dreams. Like premonitions.
At the end of each, that dagger, the one that pierced my neck, always appears.
I softly called to Nanny, who was still patting my back.
“Nanny.”
“Yes, dear?”
“What… what day is today?”
Dreaming this now means my subconscious is warning me that today is a day the future will shift. In my past life—my future—what happened on this day?
Nanny smiled gently and answered.
“It’s the day of the capital’s hunting festival.”
Right. The hunting festival…
Before winter sets in, hunting festivals are held across the Empire. The first of the season is hosted by the imperial family, followed by nobles holding their own in their territories. These events continue for nearly a month without pause.
The reason is that when the mountains turn barren in winter, monsters descend to villages, preying on livestock and people. While this doesn’t happen in the capital, many rural estates still face frequent monster attacks.
The imperial family’s event in the capital is largely ceremonial, meant to raise awareness among the Empire’s citizens about the threat of monsters.
By imperial law, all territories bordering monster habitats are required to hold these festivals.
The hunting festival…
I strained to recall what happened during this year’s festival in my past life, but little came to mind. Memories of hunting festivals before I was ten are jumbled, barely coherent.
Was there a lycan among the trophies, and its hide was used to make my coat…? No, that was when I was nine. And it wasn’t Grandpapa who caught it—knights from the Croizen family brought it.
Wait. When I was nine, Grandpapa…
He was already gone. He passed away when I was eight.
The hunting festival when I was eight…
“Oh! Ohhh!”
Good heavens! How could I forget?
My sudden exclamation startled Nanny even more than me.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
“No, no, I just forgot it’s the hunting festival today.”
“Oh, Your Highness, you just need to sit in the tent and enjoy yourself.”
I nodded obediently. Nanny laid me back in bed and kissed my forehead lightly.
Smack.
“Sleep now. I’ll be right here.”
“It’s okay. I can sleep alone. You should rest too, Nanny.”
“Alright.”
As she returned to the next room, the quiet space filled with the loud thudding of my heart.
If today goes as planned, Grandpapa will die due to a wyvern attack during the hunt. He’ll encounter a pack of wyverns, get injured, and linger in illness for a month before passing away.
I can’t let Grandpapa go to the hunting grounds today. I have to stop him, no matter what.
“Ugh…”
Tossing and turning, the rustle of my blankets echoed in the now-silent room.
I spent the night worrying but couldn’t devise a plan. By morning, my eyes refused to open.
“Time to wake up!”
The maids’ voices stirred me, and I struggled to move my limbs in my groggy state. My body felt immovable.
In my past life, I could stay up all night without issue, but since regressing, missing sleep left me unable to function the next day. I was keenly aware of my eight-year-old body’s limits.
Floundering in my blankets, I was finally pulled upright by Nanny and sat unsteadily. Even then, I hung limply on her arm, head lolling back.
Soon, the maids brought a small basin of cool water.
“Washing your face with cold water will help wake you up,” Jeanne said, wiping my face with a chilled cloth. The cold touch finally snapped me awake. I managed to stand on my own and plunged my face into the basin.
“Pfft!”
Ah, I’m starting to feel alive.
I need to wake up if I’m going to save Grandpapa. I gripped my fading consciousness tightly.
After breakfast, I dressed and had my hair combed, then headed straight to the festival grounds.
Most of the nobles were already there, gathered in groups of three or four around large outdoor braziers. As I arrived, they began offering greetings one by one.
Grandpapa, the Emperor, and Great-Aunt Eonel, the Crown Princess, hadn’t yet arrived. Instead, Duke Croizen (not the one from five years ago—he’s off traveling the continent fishing) appeared with his eldest and second sons, Lord Croizen and Lloyd.
“I greet Your Highness,” said the duke.
“Your Highness,” echoed the eldest son.
“Good morning, Duke. And young lord,” I replied.
After exchanging greetings with the duke and his eldest son, Lloyd gave me a gentle, charming smile.
“It’s been a while. I missed you.”
Huh? Missed what? This guy always slips in a jab when you least expect it.
In my past life, I’d have been flustered by his provocative yet casual “I missed you,” mulling it over later with a blush.
But not now. I’ve had enough of those delusions in my past life. I was the one who dragged countless starry-eyed young ladies, caught up in their own fantasies over his sweet words, back to reality by the hair.
Besides, I’m eight now, and Lloyd’s fifteen. There’s no way his “I missed you” is meant to seduce me! If it was, that’d be seriously dangerous.
It’s just a habitual greeting from his free-spirited nature.
I responded nonchalantly.
“Did you?”
Unfazed by my cool reply, Lloyd grinned confidently and said, “Yes.”
He was truly a man who never missed a beat.
Just then, an attendant announced the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor and Her Highness the Crown Princess. I seized the chance to slip away—or tried to.
Grandpapa, why are you coming this way…? Now I can’t escape naturally! Sob.
