CFHE 12

After the storm-like day had passed, the next morning arrived.

The servants of the Silver Rose Palace found themselves watching the First Princess even more carefully than before—but for a completely different reason.

Yesterday, Amelia had shocked them by pouring out her emotions so violently.

Today, she had become far too lifeless.

The vivid memories of death had temporarily awakened feelings long buried within her. But as time passed, those violent emotions slowly sank back into the depths of her heart.

Her body was that of a sixteen-year-old girl.

But her mind belonged to a queen who had spent years imprisoned alone in a tower.

Years of Leonard’s mental and physical abuse.

Even after returning to the past, those painful memories continued to eat away at her spirit. She had become the same Amelia she had once been—completely exhausted, dried out like a desert.

“Princess Amelia…”

Mirabel looked sadly at the princess, who lay weakly on her bed without even the strength to sit up.

“Please don’t be so heartbroken. I’m sure there’s a way to fix it.”

“Hm?”

Amelia looked confused before realizing Mirabel had completely misunderstood the reason for her depression.

“It was your mother’s precious keepsake! How could they be so careless with it? I’ll give the maid responsible a proper scolding!”

She was talking about the necklace.

The necklace that had been found broken that morning.

It was a small white necklace that had belonged to her mother, carefully kept in a jewelry box since childhood. During her years in the tower, she had never once taken it off.

“Mirabel. Could you bring it to me?”

“…Really? Looking at it will only make you sad.”

“It’s alright. Please.”

Mirabel obediently followed her request.

Soon, the broken necklace, wrapped carefully in a clean handkerchief, was placed in Amelia’s hands.

She unfolded the cloth and examined the shattered pendant.

It’s strange that this broke.

The white gemstone had no name. It was just an ordinary gem.

Yet the maids responsible for the royal jewelry had often marveled that it seemed harder than a diamond.

After all, it had survived everything she endured in Rohan and remained around her neck until the very end.

And yet…

Now it had somehow split cleanly in two while sitting safely inside a jewelry box.

But… this is proof that I really returned to the past.

Amelia’s eyes turned cold.

I will never make the same mistake again.

Clutching the pendant inside the handkerchief, she repeated the vow over and over.

I’ll never let Leonard—that cursed bastard—deceive me again. Never!

But then…

What came after that?

If she never became involved with Leonard…

If she never went to Rohan…

Then what?

Would simply avoiding being used by him be enough?

Should she quietly remain hidden inside the Silver Rose Palace, living peacefully without becoming a burden to Morez or her father?

I don’t know…

Holding the handkerchief against her chest, Amelia curled deeper beneath the blankets.

Her heart was already far too exhausted to think about life… or what direction it should take.

The next morning came.

Mirabel was nearly at her breaking point.

“Princess, please eat something today! The royal physician said there’s nothing seriously wrong with you. How long are you going to keep skipping meals?”

Amelia slowly sat up, looking sleepy.

“Sorry… alright. Could you at least bring me some soup?”

“Oh, honestly! First you need to get up and wash your face! Here, let me brush your hair. What’s gotten into my proper little princess lately?”

As Mirabel vigorously brushed her hair, Amelia stared blankly ahead.

Ah, Mirabel…

Because all the problems are gone now.

Morez is still alive.

Father is alive too.

I won’t become a burden to either of them anymore.

Isn’t everything fine now?

Mirabel sighed above her head.

“Honestly, what is going on? That troublemaker prince got out of bed and immediately started exercising to rebuild his strength. And now our lovely princess wants to be the lazy one instead?”

A small spark returned to Amelia’s eyes.

“…Morez.”

She murmured absentmindedly,

“Maybe… I should visit the Pearl Palace.”

Normally, just hearing Morez’s name would have made Mirabel frown.

But today, for some reason, her face brightened as she happily rang the small handbell.

“That’s a wonderful idea! Then let’s have a light meal first, and afterward we’ll dress you up beautifully!”

Soon, the maids came rushing in carrying perfumes, bath supplies, dresses, and countless accessories.

* * *

An unexpected spring breeze swept through the Pearl Palace’s training grounds.

The Goddess of Spring herself seemed to have descended upon them.

She wore a flowing pale yellow dress, her hair decorated with tiny white flowers.

After finishing two laps around the training grounds, Seongjin stopped to catch his breath.

His eyes widened.

“Wow… Sister. What brings you here?”

The female knight accompanying her was beautiful herself.

But Princess Amelia possessed a beauty that completely overshadowed everyone else.

She somehow managed to look both dazzlingly radiant and pure at the same time.

Amelia smiled shyly.

“I happened to be passing by and thought I’d stop in. I heard you’ve practically been living at the training grounds lately.”

She looked a little apologetic.

“I hope I’m not interrupting. Everyone seems to be training so hard…”

Following her gaze…

Sure enough.

The Pearl Palace’s resident knights were in one corner of the training grounds, shirtless and diligently training.

You bastards…

“Oh, we were taking a break anyway.”

Seongjin casually waved it off.

“They know what they’re doing. Don’t worry about them.”

As he stretched while catching his breath, Amelia watched him with quiet admiration.

He had only been training for a few days, yet he’d already lost a noticeable amount of weight.

His belly still jiggled whenever he moved.

But compared to the days when he practically rolled instead of walked…

It was incredible progress.

“You’ve really changed.”

“You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Seongjin gave a bitter smile.

“Heh. There’s no better way to lose weight than marching around carrying full military gear.”

Though the amount this body needs to lose is heavier than a full combat pack, Sister.

Naturally, Amelia had no idea what he meant and merely tilted her head.

Unexpectedly, Sir Masain hadn’t yet come rushing over.

Apparently transferring his official duties was taking longer than expected.

Judging by the situation, he intended to dump every bit of work onto his deputy before devoting himself entirely to teaching Seongjin.

As a result, Seongjin was still training alone.

Though only until today.

Since he needed to save some energy for today’s lesson—and because the sight before him wasn’t exactly good for his mental health—it was probably enough morning exercise.

“I’m about to have lunch.”

“If you haven’t eaten yet, would you like to join me?”

Those words would have been unimaginable between the two siblings before.

The female knight escorting Amelia visibly flinched.

Amelia, however, smiled happily.

“Alright.”

“Let’s do that, Morez.”

And so the brother and sister left the training grounds together…

Ignoring the desperate gazes of every resident knight behind them.

* * *

“Hmm… so this is really about finding a purpose in life?”

After taking a quick shower, Seongjin now sat across from Amelia at a modestly prepared lunch table.

Unexpectedly…

The two talked quite well together.

Normally shy, Amelia found herself secretly surprised.

She had been enjoying their meal far more than she’d expected.

Just that morning, she had barely had any appetite.

Yet now she was enthusiastically eating while chatting away.

Perhaps the emotional reunion two days earlier had broken down the wall between them.

“So… now that you’ve escaped the person who made your life miserable, everything feels empty, and you don’t know what you’re living for anymore?”

“If I had to summarize it… yes.”

Before she realized it, Amelia had begun discussing her recent worries with him.

Naturally, she couldn’t reveal that she had traveled back in time, so her explanation remained rather vague.

Seongjin tilted his head.

This conversation feels strangely familiar.

Ah… didn’t I tell the Holy Emperor recently that I wanted to know why people live?

Still…

Who could possibly make even a princess’s life so miserable that she’d lose her reason to live?

Who in the world could that be?

The Demon King answered calmly.

[You people. This is about your family.]

No way…

Frowning, Seongjin thought for a moment before speaking.

“Well, Sister.”

“This is just my personal opinion, so take it however you like.”

Amelia nodded earnestly.

“Okay.”

“So escaping that person… happened because someone else saved you, right?”

“You never even had the chance to do anything yourself.”

“Right.”

“And that bastard is still living comfortably somewhere?”

“…Yes.”

“Then what’s there to think about?”

“Until you find another purpose in life…”

“Focus on making that bastard’s life miserable.”

“Make him repay every bit of damage—with interest.”

“And collect emotional compensation as a bonus.”

“Hmm…”

Amelia looked down.

“I’ve thought that too.”

“There was a time when revenge was all I wanted.”

When she first discovered Leonard’s true nature…

She had sworn countless times that she’d make him pay.

She would stake everything she had to destroy him.

But after years trapped inside the tower…

Unable to do anything…

Even that desire for revenge had slowly worn away.

Leonard.

He was the king of Rohan.

He possessed absolute power.

Amelia…

Was merely a powerless prisoner.

Besides…

Could everything truly be blamed on Leonard alone?

Countless people’s ambitions.

Political struggles.

Conspiracies.

She had simply been tossed around among them before finally being crushed.

The foolish queen, imprisoned for so many years…

Had never even managed to discover everyone she should have taken revenge on.

That realization had broken her spirit.

But Seongjin clicked his tongue.

“Wow…”

“You’re way too innocent, Sister.”

“Why make it so complicated?”

“When it comes to revenge…”

“You start by picking one bastard and beating the hell out of him.”

“…?”

“Listen carefully.”

“First, pick the one you hate most.”

“Then focus entirely on how you’re going to ruin that guy.”

“Nothing else matters.”

“Just chase that one bastard to the ends of the earth.”

At that moment…

Seongjin felt something like a half-burned piece of trash trembling inside his mind.

What’s wrong with him now?

He wasn’t nearly perceptive enough to realize the Demon King felt personally attacked.

“Once you start, everyone connected to him will eventually crawl out.”

“So beat them too.”

“If your main target happens to be the most powerful person around?”

“By the time you’re ready to deal with him, everyone else will already be dead.”

“See?”

“Revenge complete.”

“…That… actually makes sense.”

For some reason…

It sounded surprisingly simple.

Amelia tilted her head.

“Imagine that bastard kneeling before you with both nostrils bleeding, begging for mercy.”

“I guarantee you…”

“You won’t have time to feel depressed.”

“A purpose in life?”

“Sister.”

“What could possibly make your heart feel fuller than the satisfaction of revenge?”

“…”

The Demon King let out a deep sigh.

[No! You devil!]

“True revenge isn’t just patiently waiting for the final result.”

“Think about designing the perfect trap to make your enemy suffer.”

“Isn’t that beautiful?”

“And every single step toward making it happen…”

“Wouldn’t that be meaningful too?”

“…”

“And if you discover something else you want to do?”

“Then do that later.”

“Worried they’ll retaliate?”

“Why?”

“Your father is the strongest backing anyone could ask for.”

“I… see.”

Amelia felt the fog that had clouded her mind finally begin to clear.

“You’re right.”

“I do want revenge.”

Simply avoiding Leonard…

That could never satisfy her.

Why had she tried so hard to deny such an obvious truth?

Because she believed it was impossible.

Because she believed she lacked the power.

Because she thought unattainable goals should simply be abandoned.

Because she had tried to convince herself that dedicating her life to such a thing would be meaningless.

That was why she had become so empty.

Nothing but a shell remained.

“I always believed that revenge without success was meaningless.”

“But true revenge…”

“Isn’t fulfilled only by the result.”

“The journey itself can give life meaning.”

A dazzling smile bloomed across Amelia’s face.

She would no longer deny her true wish.

Yes.

I want to witness Leonard’s downfall.

Nothing else mattered anymore.

Perhaps…

That was the very reason she had been sent back to the past.

If she feared failure…

Then she would learn to cherish even the struggle itself.

If her exhausted soul could no longer find joy in ordinary life…

Then from now on…

Revenge would ignite her passion.

Revenge would bring her happiness.

Revenge would give meaning to her life.

Little by little…

Light returned to Amelia’s eyes.

A brilliant blue radiance that had never been there before.

Seongjin instinctively flinched and looked away.

Um… with all due respect, Sister…

The person you want revenge on…

It’s… not me, right?