Prologue

It was despair.

There was no other emotion to express how she was feeling. It was the feeling of despair that took over her whole body.

“Why?”

Short height.

“Why?”

Chubby limbs.

“I didn’t want this.”

A very young face.

“I finally managed to get through everything!”

She slammed the full-length mirror with both hands. The mirror only vibrated slightly, but both of her hands were already swollen red. A young and weak body. 

She looked at her trembling hands before staring back at herself in the mirror. Those grey eyes were unfamiliar. That was not her body. Her eye level should have been much higher, her limbs should have been adult sized, and her long and silvery hair should have been cut to the point of showing her neck. 

There should have been a 30 year old woman standing in front of that mirror, not a child who was likely to have been just barely over 10.

Maybe it was a dream.

When she first opened her eyes, she thought it was a dream. An unnecessarily vivid dream, but it could have been possible. It was all over, and she had won, so it could have just been a dream. She thought it was a dream to express the generosity for the winner. 

It was strange that the faces of the nanny and the servants were so clear, but it was understandable. Maybe she remembered their faces unconsciously. It didn’t matter, anyway. Furthermore, she thought it added to the fun.

After a while, she thought it was time to wake up…

But she couldn’t wake up.

A few hours of excitement were enough. Looking back at the distant scenery of twenty years ago was fun. That was what she thought, but she still couldn’t wake up. She was confused. She made herself bleed to wake up from that dream, but the only thing that she got was pain. That wasn’t it. It shouldn’t have been like this. She was lost in thought in the presence of those who cared for her.

She had a lot of work to do. There were mountains of documents to approve on her desk, which won the political battle. Outside the mansion, there were swarms of bees who wanted to be noticed, even if they bowed at her feet. The prison was filled with the losers awaiting interrogation and judgement. 

She still remembered the joy of the day when she confirmed victory, the day when her most troubled enemy crawled back to her on their knees with bloodshot eyes. 

It was a horrible life. In order to survive, inevitably, she sharpened her teeth, cut her long hair, and led the family without blood or tears. She managed to put everything at her feet and the victory fanfare was heard.

She won.

“Why? At the moment when I’ve accomplished everything,”

She had won.

“Why, of all times!”

It was a long way to go again.