21. So, Are You Going to Give Up?

“Yeah. I don’t know which ancestor it was, but apparently someone had extremely delicate skin.”

“Ah, you must be talking about Ashily—the one whose hair and eye color changed into the typical Bolsheik traits after traveling through dimensions. I read about it recently.”

It seemed like he had been devouring Bolsheik history books lately. At this rate, he might end up knowing even more than she did.

“Was that so…? Anyway, I bruise easily, even from the slightest bump, and sometimes I bleed too. On top of that, I heal slowly.”

Olivia tapped her arm irritably. If the continent remained peaceful, having delicate skin wouldn’t have been a problem. After all, as a princess of the Empire, she wasn’t expected to get injured. But in war, everything changed. Her status as a princess wouldn’t protect her if her nation lost. Being a princess of a defeated empire… well, that could lead to some very ugly outcomes.

Still… she had been spared those fates by being swiftly beheaded. In a way, that was a mercy. Yes, in her third life, she had been killed cleanly before anything worse could happen.

“A princess, huh? What incredible luck.”

The man who had reached out toward Olivia with a face full of nauseating desire dropped dead in the next moment. Olivia, stepping back from the corpse, remained expressionless. She wasn’t fazed by such words or even by death right before her eyes anymore.

“A princess, huh.”

Ironically, the very man destined to kill her—Cryer—had been the one to save her. Of course, the same fate had followed afterward. But had he not shown up that day, what sort of fate would she have met at the hands of that disgusting man, drunk with greed and lust?

Olivia stared quietly at Cryer before shaking off the memories.

“Fine. Since we’ve come this far, let’s try guessing who’s coming from Norden.”

She stomped her foot like an angry rabbit.

“If it’s something related to the ancient god, I bet it wasn’t the wizard who noticed, but his daughter.”

“His daughter?”

“Yeah.”

“So the wizard’s daughter is also a wizard… ah, that makes sense.”

Olivia nodded at her own realization. Magic had all but disappeared in this age. Historically, it had always been a secretive art passed down through tight-knit groups or lone lineages. So if the wizard’s daughter was also a mage, it wasn’t surprising.

“The wizard may not know, but his daughter is even more exceptional.”

“Sometimes students surpass their teachers. Besides, magic is said to be heavily dependent on natural talent.”

Olivia nodded thoughtfully, but paused at Cryer’s next words.

“If it’s really related to the ancient god, then the daughter might come herself.”

“Hm…”

They had been trying to gather information about the wizard, so having his daughter come would be a great opportunity. But… wizards, huh. Olivia had died four times and was now living her fifth life, and not once had she ever met one. Would she even be able to extract information from such a person like she could from ordinary people?

“Princess.”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you look so suspiciously pleased?”

She was smiling vaguely, but the energy radiating from her upturned lips wasn’t very innocent. Olivia puffed out her chest shamelessly and answered.

“They say if you know your enemy and know yourself, you’ll win a hundred battles.”

Then she fluttered her lashes and shook her head slightly.

“To be honest, going to the ancient god and asking to remove the slave brand or trying to make a deal with it… that’s just way too hard. Even finding a method is—”

Before she could finish, Cryer laughed, baring his teeth.

“If the ancient god descends, the continent will end. It’ll all burn.”

Olivia clearly heard him but didn’t fully comprehend it at first. The continent… would burn?

“What?”

Only after chewing on his words a moment did she finally understand—and reacted with shock, a beat too late.

“The continent will burn? You mean… it’ll be destroyed?”

“Yeah. To be precise, all humans on this continent will be wiped out.”

“That’s nev—”

She didn’t finish. After all, in her four previous lives, she had always died right when the Empire collapsed. She had no idea what happened after that. And Cryer, spotting the uncertainty on her face, confirmed her fears.

“When the ancient god descends, drawn by the bloodshed of the continental war, it will burn everything to ‘purify’ the land. The wizard tried to hide it, but his daughter told me everything.”

It was such a clear, indisputable answer that Olivia didn’t even try to hide how dumbfounded she was.

“All of a sudden? The world’s ending just like that?”

“That was the ancient god’s purpose from the beginning. So it’s not exactly sudden.”

“Well, I think it’s sudden! I thought you were going to conquer the continent after bringing down the Empire!”

Isn’t the purpose of war usually domination? To defeat the enemy and rule over them?

“I told you—I’m a slave.”

“Exactly! So I expected something like the ancient god conquering the continent and becoming the one true god! Something more… typical! But the end of the world?!”

Before Cryer could say anything more, Olivia shouted again.

“And ‘purification’? Are you calling the people of this continent pests or something?! What kind of bullshit is that?!”

She had long since abandoned her imperial dignity around Cryer, but this was the first time she’d ever cursed so harshly. If she could, she would’ve gone even further. Still huffing in frustration, Olivia eventually slumped.

“So if the ancient god descends, it’s over. I knew it—we can’t negotiate with something like that.”

It was the first time in her fifth life she had even tried to stop Cryer, only to find that the real villain was far too massive. As Olivia sank into despair, Cryer reached out and gently lifted her chin.

“So, are you going to give up?”

There was something oddly seductive in the way he whispered it, and Olivia immediately shook her head.

“Of course not. You said it yourself—if you say something, you have to take responsibility for it.”

Her icy-blue Bolsheik eyes burned like blue flames, piercing straight through Cryer’s red eyes—the mark of a slave who served the ancient god.

“So roast the wizard or fry her or whatever, get yourself free, and I’ll protect world peace—or rather, prevent the end of the world.”

Olivia didn’t waver. No—she was shaken, badly—but her determination to survive never broke. Burning with resolve, ready to drag someone by the collar if necessary, she turned abruptly and pulled out a letter from a mountain of documents.

“On that note, take a look at this. The letter alone doesn’t say who from Norden is coming, but maybe you can figure it out.”

She handed Cryer a letter from the Kingdom of Norden.

“That’s it. There was nothing else.”

Skipping the unnecessary pleasantries, Cryer read through the letter and spoke.

“When will the person from Norden arrive?”

“Soon.”

Olivia counted on her fingers but then furrowed her brows.

“Wait a minute.”

She kept opening and closing her fingers, recalling the timeline across her four lives. Eventually, she sighed.

“Will we make it in time?”

“In time for what?”

“It won’t take too long for the person from Norden to arrive and help identify the culprit, but…”

Clenching her fists, Olivia looked out toward the outskirts of the capital.

“There’s not much time left before the real culprit turns up as a burnt corpse.”

Meanwhile…

Angbeuh examined her appearance with a grave, serious face. She’d been to the family’s trade district countless times, but today she was going to uncover a case.

“Maybe I should’ve worn something more comfortable.”

Though she’d dressed down by her family’s standards, she was still a Taren. Angbeuh might be kind and innocent, but she wasn’t naive. She knew the Taren family’s version of “simple” was far from normal.

“This might be a bit much…”

Tap. As she brushed off the fine pearl dust scattered over her hem, someone gently tapped her shoulder. She turned reflexively to greet them—and froze awkwardly.

“Young Lady. Let’s go.”

The voice didn’t belong to the imperial princess. It came from a stranger, a woman whose bangs covered half her face. Olivia, who had been striding confidently ahead, paused. Turning back, she waved at Angbeuh, who still stood frozen. Eventually, Olivia walked back and spoke.

“Young Lady? What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

Finally, Angbeuh opened her mouth.

“W-who are you?”

“Oh, right. You didn’t recognize me because I’m in disguise.”

Olivia swept up her messy bangs, revealing her face and those unmistakable Bolsheik blue eyes. Angbeuh nearly dropped to her knees in panic but stopped—Olivia was in disguise to not be recognized. Smart enough to catch on, Angbeuh straightened and bowed lightly instead. Olivia waved her forward.

“Let’s go.”

Cryer wasn’t with her—he was keeping himself hidden for now. A few minutes earlier…

‘You don’t need a disguise.’

‘Aren’t we sneaking around together?’ Cryer asked.

Olivia shook her head.

‘Yes, we’re sneaking around. Yes, we’re together. But no, we’re not going together.’

When Cryer tilted his head at her cryptic wordplay, Olivia explained:

‘Even with a disguise, what if Lady Taren recognizes you? We might end up triggering another epic love story.’

‘Didn’t I already say that wasn’t true?’

Olivia shook her head again.

‘You did then. But if she sees you walking with me today, she might change her mind again. After all…’

She clicked her tongue dramatically.

‘Tsk. You and I walking around together is exactly the kind of cliché you see in fairytales, novels, plays, or bard songs.’

‘A cliché?’