RTTE 02

Chapter 2

The day Lumiere was born—

her mother was executed for uttering an ominous prophecy while delirious from childbirth.

“On the day the black hawk of the North spreads its wings, a shadow shall fall across the sun.”

The black hawk symbolized the Grand Duchy of Winterheim.

In other words, Winterheim would one day cast a shadow over the sun of the Wizer Empire.

To the imperial family that held hegemony over the continent, it was an insult they could not tolerate.

And because of that, Lumiere had spent her entire life shut away in a corner of the imperial palace, treated worse than a commoner.

Even three years ago, when the former Emperor passed away and her half-brother ascended the throne, her circumstances had not improved.

No.

They had only become worse.

From then on, whenever a party was held, she was forcibly dragged out and made into an object of ridicule.

“This is driving me insane…”

Lumiere rubbed both hands over her face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

But no matter how many times she tried to wake herself up with the gesture, nothing changed.

She had truly returned to that dreadful, sickening imperial family.

After sitting there in a daze for a while, her eyes suddenly fell upon the invitation.

Wait. I just received this…

That meant the day she would leave the imperial palace was not far away.

In her previous life, she had been sold off to the North exactly one month after this.

Then I’ll be seeing him again soon.

Searching through distant memories, she thought of the man who would soon become her husband.

The ruler of the Grand Duchy that had guarded the border of the most dangerous land of monsters in the world for hundreds of years.

Axcid von Winterheim.

He was the man who had become Grand Duke after the death of the previous Grand Duke.

Yet she had very few memories of him from when she had been alive.

Anyone who carried the bloodline of the Grand Ducal House would die from a curse.

It was not merely a rumor.

It was common knowledge.

Every Grand Duchess throughout history had died without exception after giving birth to an heir.

Terrified of that curse, Lumiere had fainted the moment she first saw the Grand Duke. She had then locked herself inside her carriage throughout the entire journey north.

And on the very night she arrived at the Grand Ducal Castle—

she had taken her own life.

But she had spent ten years there.

For ten whole years after her death, she had remained bound to the Grand Ducal Castle, watching him.

Far from resenting the bride who had chosen death rather than marriage, he had lowered his head before the Emperor—the very man who had mocked him as a barbarian—and made a request.

Please allow the Princess’s body to be buried in the imperial family’s tomb.

To bury a Princess who had turned her back on the world because she could not accept this marriage in the Grand Duchy would be no different from killing her twice.

But the Emperor had refused without hesitation.

And so, in the end, the Grand Duke had no choice but to bury her in the sunniest spot within the castle grounds.

Every year, on the anniversary of her death, he remained before her gravestone until the sun set.

What had he been thinking as he stared at that cold stone?

Her violet eyes grew distant for a moment.

She did not know why she had returned to the past.

But there was one thing she knew with absolute certainty.

I want to repay the debt I owe him.

It was not a debt that could be repaid with just a few words.

Because she had chosen death, the world had become even more convinced that the Grand Ducal House was cursed.

People had regarded him as an even more ominous existence than before.

And besides—

he had been the only person who remembered the anniversary of her death every single year.

Even if those ten years had been erased by her return to the past, the comfort she had received during that time had not disappeared.

Whether it was repentance or gratitude, she could only repay him by remaining at his side.

And since she knew that the so-called curse was a lie, there was nothing for her to fear.

Lumiere looked at herself in the mirror once more.

Messy hair.

Dry, lifeless skin.

Dark circles beneath her eyes.

A body so thin that nothing but bones seemed to remain.

And a faded dress that had been washed so many times it had lost all its color and carried a sour, stale smell.

First, I need to recover my health.

If she went out looking like this, she would undoubtedly become an object of ridicule.

More importantly—

she did not want to look like a bride being sold off when she stood before the Grand Duke.

I should eat something first.

After wetting her dry throat with the water on the bedside table, she pulled the bell cord.

But even after some time had passed, no one came.

Well, I suppose that’s only natural.

Who would sincerely attend to a Princess who possessed neither power nor the ability to grant even the smallest reward?

Lumiere forced her body upright. Every movement felt as though her joints were rusted hinges.

She stepped outside.

Clouds of dust covered every corner, and the surroundings were old and silent.

She quietly walked through the shabby corridor, which was far too miserable for a Princess’s residence, before frowning at the sight of the empty sitting room.

Servants, supposedly maids, abandoning their posts instead of immediately answering their mistress’s call?

She was about to let out an incredulous laugh and walk away when a familiar voice drifted from deeper within the rear garden.

“…Honestly, people like her are always ridiculously hard to kill.”

“Isn’t it obvious she was only pretending? She’s still breathing, isn’t she?”

“Well, if she had really wanted to die, would she have stopped after taking only a few handfuls of medicine? Not a chance.”

“She’s going to die once she gets married anyway. She should’ve just stayed quiet and left peacefully. Honestly, I don’t understand why she causes so much trouble.”

Pretending to die.

A quiet sigh escaped Lumiere as memories of everything they had done to her came flooding back.

The dust-covered residence.

The wrinkled, foul-smelling dresses.

Those things were nothing.

They had forced her to eat leftovers.

Whenever she returned from a party she had been dragged to, they would applaud and congratulate her for becoming a “flower on the wall,” mocking her all the while.

And on the day she had tried to kill herself—

“Your Highness, there is no need to be so devastated just because Duke Trovitan did not choose you.”

“That’s right. His Majesty the Emperor must care for Your Highness so deeply that he personally found you a marriage partner.”

“He may be a foul-smelling barbarian, but I hear he’s exceptionally skilled with his body. I’m sure Your Highness will have plenty of fun every night.”

After daring to say such things and ridicule her—

how dare they speak now?

She had already had no intention of leaving quietly.

But this?

This was practically them begging to be punished.

Perhaps this is for the best.

They had handed her the perfect excuse themselves.

With a faint sneer on her lips, Lumiere deliberately made her presence known.

“I’m sorry my life is so stubbornly difficult to get rid of.”

“Eek—!”

The three women, who had been gossiping to their hearts’ content, jolted in surprise.

“I should have died quickly instead of causing you all such trouble, shouldn’t I?”

As Lumiere calmly folded her arms, one of the maids cleared her throat.

“…Ahem. If Your Highness had regained consciousness, you should have called for us. To come all the way here after being confined to your sickbed just to eavesdrop on the words of your inferiors… Your conduct leaves much to be desired.”

Well, look at this.

Where did she get off treating her like some kind of sneaky rat?

“If you had come immediately when I called for you, I wouldn’t have needed to come here.”

“Is that so? Your Highness has so little presence that we must not have realized you were calling for us.”

The three women twisted their lips and giggled.

“…Since none of you came no matter how many times I called, I thought perhaps you had all lost your arms and legs. But now I see that you simply don’t know your place.”

“If Your Highness had possessed the dignity expected of royalty, we might have rushed over immediately.”

Lumiere let out a small laugh.

They truly were shameless.

And yet their tongues worked so smoothly.

It seemed that the years she had spent tolerating everything had allowed their arrogance to grow completely out of control.

Perhaps it was time to shatter that complacency right here and now.

“As it happens, I was just thinking of establishing the dignity of the imperial family.”

The three maids snickered as though she had said something utterly ridiculous.

Naturally.

What could possibly be frightening about a Princess in name only trying to assert her authority?

But how long would they be able to remain so relaxed?

Lumiere looked at them meaningfully.

“Which one of you will come with me?”

“Come with you? Where?”

Their eyes widened in confusion.

They looked as though they could not understand what a woman who had only just risen from her sickbed was suddenly talking about.

But then—

“Where else would a Princess who is about to be married be going?”

“……!”

The faces of the three women, who had been lounging around and sneering at her until moments ago, instantly stiffened.

Because what Lumiere meant was simple.

She was going to take them with her—

to the land of the barbarian they feared so much.