A stormy day passed and the next morning came.
The servants of the Silver Rose Labyrinth had to pay attention to the princess in a different way than yesterday. Because the princess, who surprised them by pouring out her emotions to the extreme, became excessively lethargic this time.
The intense memory of the death awakened her emotions, albeit temporarily, but as a little time passed, the intense agitation at that time gradually subsided inside.
Her body was a 16-year-old girl, but her mind was that of a queen confined to a tower alone for a long time.
Leonard’s mental and physical abuse over the years. Those painful memories continued to eat away at her mind even now, back in the past. She had returned to the Amelia of that time, completely exhausted and as dry as the desert.
“Miss Amelia……”
Mirabelle looked at the princess with pitiful eyes as she lay down on the bed, weak and slumped.
“Don’t be too heartbroken. There must be a way to fix it.”
“Huh?”
Amelia questioned incredulously, then realized that Mirabelle was looking for the cause of this melancholy in the wrong place.
“It was your mother’s precious keepsake, but how did they manage it… I’ll give the lady-in-waiting a good scolding!”
Necklace. It was the story of a necklace found broken in the morning.
A small white necklace that was carefully kept in a jewelry box as a keepsake from her mother when she was young. When she was in the tower, she hadn’t taken it off her body for even a moment.
“Mirabelle. Could you bring it to me?”
“Yes? But if you see it, it’ll hurt more……”
“I’m okay. Please.”
Mirabelle obediently obeyed her orders. Soon the broken necklace was wrapped in a clean handkerchief and passed into Amelia’s hands.
She unfolded the handkerchief and rolled the fragmented pendant.
It’s strange that this is broken.
The white jewel in the pendant was an unnamed miscellaneous jewel, and the ladies in charge of precious metals always admired it, saying that it was somehow harder than diamond.
As proof of that, wasn’t it still hanging around her neck until the end when she went through that hardship in Rohan?
But to hear it suddenly split in two in the jewelry box.
‘However, this is proof that I have returned to the past.’
Amelia’s eyes narrowed coldly.
‘Now I won’t make the same mistake again.’
She rolled up the pendant wrapped in a handkerchief and swore again and again.
‘Never again, Leonard, don’t be fooled by that motherfucker. Never!’
But what next?
If she doesn’t get involved with Leonard and doesn’t go to Rohan, then what?
Is it enough to not be taken advantage of by him?
If so, can she just hide in the Silver Rose Labyrinth and live quietly so as not to become a burden to Morres and Father?
‘I don’t know……’
Amelia clutched the handkerchief to her chest and burrowed into the bed.
Her mind was already too tired to think about life and its direction.
The next morning was bright. Mirabelle was on the verge of exploding.
“Princess, please eat something today. Alright? The imperial physician says there is no serious pain, but how long are you going to skip meals?”
Amelia sat up from her seat with a smile on her face.
“Sorry, okay. Could you bring me some simple soup?”
“Ah! You have to wake up and wash your face! Now, let me brush you. Why is our lady, the princess, acting like this these days!”
Amelia thought blankly, her hair bobbing back and forth from the emotional brushing.
Aah, Mirabelle. Because now all problems are solved.
Morres is still alive, and His Majesty Father is still alive and well. I will no longer be their burden. Are there any problems?
Mirabelle’s sighs could be heard overhead.
“Really, what is this? They said that as soon as he got up from the hospital bed, the foolish prince had gone to exercise in order to recover his stamina, but now our pretty princess wants to be lazy after that?
There was a momentary twinkle in Amelia’s eyes, and the light returned.
“Morres……”
The princess muttered blankly.
“Shall we go to the Pearl Palace……”
Mirabelle, who would normally have hated hearing the name of Morres, strangely, today, her whole face turned bright and she shook the bell with a jingle.
“Good idea! Now, after a simple meal, shall we dress up beautifully?”
Soon the maids gathered, carrying scented oil, bath products, and all kinds of dresses and accessories.
* * *
An unexpected spring breeze blew in the Pearl Palace gymnasium.
The goddess of spring, wearing a pale yellow dress and her hair decorated with small white flower decorations, has descended.
Seongjin, who had been taking a breather for a while after completing the two sets of runs at the gymnasium, widened his eyes.
“Whoa… Sister. What happened?”
The female knight who accompanied her as an escort was also quite beautiful, but Princess Amelia was a girl who truly boasted unrivaled beauty. She has an atmosphere that combines extreme brightness and neatness at the same time.
“Yeah, I stopped by after thinking about it on the way. I heard you live at the gymnasium these days?”
Amelia smiled shyly and continued as if a little apologetic.
“I don’t know if I’m interfering or not. Everyone is training so hard……”
He followed her gaze. The resident knights of the Pearl Palace are training hard in the corner of the gymnasium with their tops open. These bastards?
“Well, it was break time anyway. You don’t have to worry about it, as it’s well taken care of.”
Seongjin waved his hand.
Amelia looked at Seongjin with a bit of admiration as he stretched back and forth even while taking a breather. They said it had been a few days since he appeared at the gymnasium, and he looked like he had lost a lot of weight.
His stomach still jiggles whenever he moves, but it’s a huge improvement compared to the past when he was waddling and rolling.
“You really have changed. You have lost a lot of weight.”
Seongjin smiled bitterly.
“Fufufu. There is no diet as sure as marching with military gear on.”
The weight this body has to lose easily exceeds the weight of the full outfit, Sister.
Of course, Amelia, not understanding what he was saying, tilted her head.
Sir Marthain, who seemed to give up his duties immediately and come running, was unexpectedly taking time to hand over his duties. It seems that from now on, he will put off all work to his lieutenant and focus only on Seongjin’s lessons in earnest.
Thanks to that, Seongjin was still training alone at the training ground. Well, that is until today.
In order to leave a little bit of energy for class, the scene unfolding right in front of him is not very good for mental health, so let’s do some training in the morning.
“I’m going to have lunch now, would you like to have it before dinner?”
It is unimaginable between the two before. The escort knight winced and looked at Amelia, but she smiled happily and nodded her head.
“Yes, let’s do that. Morres.”
And the brother and sister left the gymnasium, ignoring the earnest eyes of the resident knights.
* * *
“Hmm… You say this is the purpose of life?”
Seongjin had just finished taking a shower and was sitting face to face with Amelia at a modestly set table.
Unexpectedly, the two talked well, but Amelia, who was normally shy, was surprised inside. She said it was because her meal time with him was more enjoyable than she thought.
Even until morning, she had no appetite at all, but before she knew it, she was emptying the food and making a lot of noise. Perhaps the unprecedentedly intense greeting two days ago played a role in breaking down the wall between each other.
“So you’re saying you don’t know what the purpose of living in vain is after you’ve gotten away from the guy who bothers you?”
“To sum it up, that’s it.”
Somehow, Amelia was consulting with him about her recent worries. Of course, she couldn’t tell him that she had regressed, so it was a vague story somewhere.
Seongjin tilted his head.
I felt that this kind of conversation was not very unfamiliar. Oh, didn’t he tell the Holy Emperor that he wanted to know why a person lives?
But could there be someone who could make the life of someone such as the princess so painful? Enough to lose the purpose of life? Who is that?
The demon king nodded in a calm tone.
[Yours. It’s your story.]
‘No way… Right?’
Seongjin frowned and pondered for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Hmm, sister. This is purely my opinion, just take note.”
Amelia nodded eagerly.
“Okay.”
“So you’re saying it’s all thanks to someone else that you got away from him? It means that you didn’t even have a chance to do anything yourself.”
“Yeah.”
“And he’s still living a fine life?”
“Yeah.”
“So, is there anything to worry about? Until you have another purpose in life, focus on tormenting him. You have to pay back the damage with interest, and get compensation for the psychological damage as a bonus.”
“Hmm……”
Amelia’s face darkened.
“I think I should too. At one time, my resentment was so great that I only thought of revenge.”
In the first few years after learning Leonard’s true feelings, Amelia also gnashed her teeth and vowed revenge on him. She would risk everything and pay back with all her might.
However, while she was confined for a long time and spent a painful time, her vengeance gradually wore off without doing anything.
Leonard.
He was the king with all the power of Rohan.
Amelia, on the other hand, was just a powerless prisoner.
Besides, can it be said that he alone is solely responsible for Amelia’s downfall and death?
Many people’s ambitions, struggles for interests, and conspiracies. She was just helplessly tossed and trampled in it.
The foolish queen, who had only been imprisoned for so many years, did not even know who she had to avenge.
It was so sad, and in the end it made her shrink herself.
However, Seongjin clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Wow, this sister is so naive again. What do you think is so complicated? Sister. Revenge, first of all, starts with taking only one guy and beating him up.”
“……?”
“Listen, sister. First of all, take a picture of the one that bothers you the most! And only care about how to temper that bastard. You don’t need anything else. You’re going to follow that one bastard to the end of the world.”
For a moment, he felt a piece of garbage tremble in Seongjin’s head. Why is he shaking again?
Seongjin wasn’t a delicate person enough to realize that it wasn’t like someone else’s story.
“Then, the officials will come out one after another, right? Then lose again. What if that bastard is the most powerful? By the time you kill that bastard, everyone else must be dead, right? What? Is your revenge over?”
Huh? That’s true, but……
Somehow it sounds like a very simple thing.
Amelia tilted her head.
“Imagine him begging to sister with a double nosebleed. I assure you, there is absolutely no time to be depressed. Purpose of life? Sister, is there anything in this world that fills the heart as much as the pleasure of revenge?”
“……”
The demon king sighed.
[No, you demon!]
“True revenge, sister. It’s not just a process you have to persevere to see results. Think of the perfect trap you design to taffy your opponents. How beautiful is it? How precious and rewarding must each of the steps taken to execute this be?”
“……”
“Then what if there is something you want to do? then you can do something else. Retaliation from the other side? What are you worried about? The strongest backing in the country is our father.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Amelia felt that her mind, which had been complicated until now, became much clearer.
“Yes, you are right. I definitely want revenge.”
Could she ever be satisfied with just avoiding getting involved with him? Why did she try to ignore that fact until now?
It was because she thought it would be beyond her power. Because she felt that if a goal was unattainable, she would have to give up. She tried to console herself that it was not right to waste her life on such things.
So she became helpless. Only her empty shell remained.
“I thought revenge that didn’t reach the end was just futile. But true revenge is something that enriches life not only in the result but also in the process itself.”
A bright smile bloomed on Amelia’s face.
Let’s not turn away from her true desires anymore.
That’s right. I want to see the ruin of Leonard.
There was nothing left but that longing. Maybe she went back to the past for that.
If you fear not succeeding, you will love even the process of failure.
If the already exhausted mind says that no life can sing, from now on revenge will ignite her desire, give her joy, and make her life shine.
Little by little, the light returned to Amelia’s eyes. It was a blue light that had never been seen before.
Seongjin was startled for a moment and avoided her gaze.
That, excuse me sister.
I’m not the target… Am I?
T/N:
Seongjin is a chaotic enabler like how did he come to that conclusion LMAO. Even the demon king has more common sense than him… Anyway we’ll be seeing our beloved emperor father next chapter ^_^
