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?”