Chapter 1
How Did It Come to This?
I barely managed to hold up my collapsing body with trembling arms. Sticky blood streamed from my torn forehead, blurring my vision. Dragged all the way to the underground prison, my skin—beaten and scraped raw—was split open in places, and waves of sharp, piercing pain followed.
It hurt terribly.
I could have writhed in the unfamiliar agony, but something else consumed my thoughts.
Something’s wrong… something…
Just ten days ago, I was the empire’s one and only princess.
Rhea Frieze.
The most precious and radiant jewel of the imperial family.
A cruel and cunning villainess.
A beautiful demon cloaked in gold.
All of those dreadful titles belonged to me.
The nobles despised me, yet they feared me.
Though I was a half-blood princess who did not even know her true parents, I had nothing to envy. The sun of this nation—the one and only Emperor—stood firmly on my side. I could have anything I wanted.
And yet… why?
“Princess Rhea Frieze shall be stripped of all authority and titles and confined to the underground prison for eternity.”
“Father… why would you make such a decision? You wouldn’t…”
Everyone except me cheered at the thunderous proclamation. As if they had been waiting for this very moment, the people spat curses and hurled stones.
“Don’t ever come back, you devil!”
“You filthy witch, go rot in hell!”
The damp, filthy floor I would never have set foot on before. The stench stabbing at my nose. Rats and insects crawling in the shadows.
None of it felt real.
“Why… why me…”
That was when I heard it.
From the entrance of the underground prison, faint footsteps echoed. They came closer and closer—then stopped before the bars.
I hurriedly crawled forward and grabbed them.
“…Father!”
“So, it has come to this.”
There was no trace of regret in his voice. If anything, he sounded relieved.
Why?
“Father, why are you doing this? There must be some mistake. I… there’s no reason for this…”
“Seems you still have strength left.”
“Father, why?!”
My grip tightened around the iron bars.
“I lived exactly as you wished. For the sake of the imperial family, I became a villainess. I made myself into an object of fear. Everything—everything was as you desired!”
A wet cough burst from my throat. It felt as though it were tearing apart.
“…It’s all a mistake, isn’t it? You have other plans, don’t you?”
I was necessary to the imperial family.
Whenever the empire needed to suppress dissent or force through policies that would incite backlash, the imperial house always put my name forward.
That was my value. I had never doubted it.
So Father could not possibly abandon me.
“I’m necessary, aren’t I?!”
I cried out desperately.
But something was strange.
Father only looked down at me coldly, as if observing an experiment.
“I know that far more blood than this has been shed for the imperial family.”
With trembling hands, I gathered the blood pooling on the floor. It was sticky. Dark. Red.
You made me into a noble princess who would never know her true parents.
Not out of affection—
But because only I possessed it.
The blood that could control unstable demonic power.
The Emperor slowly nodded.
“Yes. You and your blood have contributed greatly to this imperial family.”
“But then… why…?”
“Could it be helped? The people’s anger is boiling over, and the purity of the magic in your blood is gradually declining.”
For the first time, emotion flickered in his voice. In his wrinkled hand, a crimson magic stone clinked softly.
“Before you become completely useless, shouldn’t we secure more? Produce more magic stones?”
“…What?”
“You must fulfill your purpose—for the authority of this imperial family.”
Something inside me sank.
“Th-That’s a lie…”
So that was it.
He had cast me aside as a criminal—
All to extract as much blood as possible in one stroke.
The strength drained from my hands. My arms fell limply to my sides.
Deep down, I had always known.
From the very beginning, I was nothing more than a chess piece.
That one day, I might be discarded.
Even so, they were my only family.
That was why I wanted to be useful.
Even if I was never loved—
I wanted to have value.
“…Just one thing. Please answer me.”
I forced my head up and looked into his golden eyes—eyes that did not resemble mine in the slightest.
“Have you ever, even once, cherished me as your daughter? Even for a single moment…?”
My voice trembled.
“Though I may be half-blood… still, I…”
“…Daughter?”
His expression twisted.
He pressed his lips together, barely suppressing a crooked smile—then burst into laughter.
A shrill, tearing laugh echoed through the underground prison.
“Ahahaha! Foolish child!”
“…Father?”
“You think you’re my child? Who told you that?”
What was he saying?
With contempt, as if looking at something disposable, he stepped forward. Clang! His heavy boot struck the bars.
“Listen carefully.”
A thick hand shot between the bars and grabbed my chin. Silver hair like mine fell like a curtain.
“Grand Duke Carter.”
At that name, I froze.
“I only used you to wipe out that wretch.”
“…What… do you mean…?”
He let out a coarse laugh.
“Still don’t understand? Where do you think those peculiar red eyes of yours came from?”
He sneered.
“Tell me—how did it feel? Strangling your own father and brother with your own hands? Branding them traitors?”
The delight in his pale eyes gleamed like a serpent’s.
Carlos Carter. The Grand Duke.
The legitimate heir to the imperial bloodline.
The mastermind I crushed under the pretext of purifying magic stones.
Wasn’t it I who personally turned his only remaining successor into a criminal—
Severing the Carter ducal line with my own hands?
And yet…
“That… can’t be.”
They’re… my family?
“What a pitiful expression. Has your blood begun to stir?”
“No… no…”
“No, it’s true.”
Silence.
“I made it that way.”
I took you from your family
and raised you as a princess.
The Emperor smiled slowly, watching me as though I were nothing more than entertainment.
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do now. The Grand Duke is dead. Your brother is branded a traitor. And you’re locked in this prison.”
“But don’t worry. You won’t die here—yet. Your blood will be used thoroughly until the very end.”
Something snapped inside me.
He wouldn’t kill me here.
He would isolate me, brand me a villain, drain me slowly—and when it pleased him, plunge a blade into my heart.
“…Tainted blood can’t be used for magic stones. It would be troublesome if I died in this filthy place.”
“Oh? You understand well.”
“But perhaps this is better. Your impure bloodline will be erased. You’ll become a princess who sacrificed herself for the empire.”
He smiled crookedly.
“Of course, no one will ever know.”
There was no father left before me.
Only an emperor delighted by his enemy’s daughter’s downfall.
“Do you understand, Rhea?”
Rhea.
He had never once called me by name before.
How desperately I had longed to hear it.
And yet now, when it was finally spoken, it came at the moment my entire life was denied.
“You are a daughter I’m quite grateful for. To the very end, you’ve been a fine chess piece.”
The last of my strength drained away.
Then—
“Heh… heh…”
A laugh escaped me.
“…Have you finally gone mad?”
I stopped laughing and looked straight at him.
“…I understand your intention to use me. However.”
Whether tears or blood blurred my vision, I couldn’t tell.
“You should have been more thorough, Your Majesty.”
In an instant, I thrust my arm between the bars and seized the sword at his waist.
“Perhaps you forgot how weak your princess truly is.”
Before he could react, I drove the blade straight into his heart.
His eyes widened.
“No—!”
Thud.
“Ghk—!”
The sword pierced my heart as well. Agony exploded through my body. Blood filled my mouth.
“M-My blood…!”
Panic overtook his face as he tried to scoop up the spilling blood.
I looked at him steadily.
At the very end—
I would not grant his wish.
“…May ruin follow Your Majesty’s path.”
With that final curse, my body collapsed.
As my blood drained across the cold stone floor of the underground prison—
I smiled faintly.
“…Your Highness.”
“……”
“Are you alright?”
“…Princess?”
When I slowly opened my eyes, I was not in the damp prison—but beneath warm sunlight.
“…The scent of perfume…”
I frowned instinctively.
In the mirror, the maid—Haniya—flinched and bowed her head hurriedly.
“S-Sorry! I didn’t receive an answer!”
…What?
I died.
Unable to accept what I was seeing, I kept my head still and only moved my eyes.
Am I alive? No… something’s different.
This room was familiar—yet distant.
It was my bedroom from before my coming-of-age ceremony.
I looked into the mirror again.
The face staring back was young.
Thirteen… at most.
I grabbed my cheek and squeezed. Soft flesh pressed under my fingers.
“…Ah.”
It hurt.
Not like a sword through the heart—but it hurt.
“What year is it now?”
“Pardon?”
The maid hesitated, then answered carefully.
“I-It is the year 1043 of the Empire.”
Seven years ago.
When I was thirteen.
“…Ha.”
A hollow breath escaped me.
This isn’t survival.
I’ve returned.
To the past.
