Chapter 2
The Weight of the Crown
Watching the maid hop frivolously to the laundry room like the rabbit beastman she was, a silly grin on her face, the other beastmen whispered that she must have a screw loose.
Meanwhile, those still in the princess’s room, engaged in a heated debate over toys, were in an even worse state.
“What’s with this snake toy? Ugh, it’s gross!”
“…Excuse me, Lady Uni. I happen to be a snake beastman, so would you mind refraining from such comments? They’re quite hurtful.”
One of the royal guards in the room raised his hand slightly and protested.
*Thwack.*
Instead of a reply, a rubber snake toy came flying back at him.
The royal guard, Xaviet, barely managed to maintain a smile as he glared at the innocent face of the maid who had hit him squarely.
He shouldn’t be fooled by that face.
The maid, Uni, was a jaguar beastman.
It was so baffling to Xaviet that someone with the skill to hit him, a knight, would choose to work as a maid, that he felt a sense of injustice.
Xaviet peeled the rubber snake off his face and discreetly tossed it into the trash.
‘It certainly doesn’t suit our adorable White Tiger Princess.’
What if that long rubber snake were to wrap around Her Highness’s delicate neck? It was a dangerous toy.
The fuss made by those who had been enchanted into fools by the princess continued.
“Wait a moment. Our princess is a beastman, isn’t she? Here, look, Your Highness! How about this doll of a lovely little lady in a sparkly pink dress?”
“What about the one with the purple jeweled hairpin?”
“Calm down.”
Just then, the Head Maid, Sophie Langrasse, who had been watching, stepped forward to quell the commotion.
A young woman with a gentle demeanor, her light brown hair braided into a single plait, approached the White Tiger Princess.
“Your Highness.”
“Gyah. Gyah!”
The White Tiger Princess showed great affection for the head maid, and today was no exception, as she stood holding onto the cradle’s railing, acting cute to be picked up.
“Her Highness plays favorites…”
Seeing the small White Tiger Princess nestled in the head maid’s arms, the servants sighed, expressing their disappointment.
The Head Maid, Sophie Langrasse, smiled faintly, then gently placed Princess Jusielia, whom she had been holding, down on the soft, carpeted floor.
“I’ll put you down so you can take your time looking at the toys you want to play with. Some were bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor himself. They’re all of the highest quality.”
Jusielia looked at the tower of toys piled higher than she was tall, then slowly spun around, surveying her surroundings.
Everyone watched with pleased, slack-jawed expressions, thinking the cute little white tiger cub was struggling to choose from among the many toys.
But in reality…
‘What a pain.’
Jusielia grumbled inwardly, letting out a secret sigh.
Jusielia had a secret: she wasn’t mentally young enough to be crazy about such toys.
‘Because I’m a reincarnator!’
But she couldn’t ignore the expectant eyes staring at her.
So, from among the pile of toys, Jusielia carelessly picked out an ornate rattle made of gold and silver that caught her eye and picked it up with her mouth.
And with her toothless gums, she gnawed and chewed on it fiercely.
“Good heavens…! Isn’t that the Arpina gold rattle that His Majesty had the legendary raccoon beastman artisan brought in to create?”
“Our princess has such excellent taste!”
“Scribe. Please record this in detail so it can be reported to His Majesty later.”
At the solemn instruction of Head Maid Sophie Langrasse, the scribe, who had been waiting at a distant desk, began to write swiftly, his eyes gleaming.
He was in the middle of writing a long entry in the records about how carefully the White Tiger Princess had chosen that rattle.
Watching this, Jusielia was dumbfounded.
‘Ha. This is insane.’
Flopping onto her back, Jusielia held the gleaming gold and silver rattle with both paws and vented her stress by gnawing on it furiously.
Jusielia was the Penterin Imperial Family’s very cute and precious White Tiger cub princess, but she had another quality that was just as extraordinary.
The fact that she had been reincarnated.
As soon as she was born, she immediately realized this was her second life.
‘It’s suffocating. I want to get out.’
In her past life, Jusielia had been a massive, adult beastman. She had a tail, roamed freely through the world of beastmen, and ran swiftly on all fours.
She seemed to have spent more time in her beast form than her human one.
Her memory of what kind of beast she was, and how she had died, was faint.
‘I think I was pretty strong, though. Probably a predator?’
But she vaguely recalled that the moment of her death had been horrific.
The final moments of her past life, when she had drawn her last breath amidst excruciating pain that felt like her entire body was burning whenever she inhaled.
Whenever she tried to recall more, her mind would quickly grow hazy, as if a fog had rolled in, so she gave up.
‘Was it a life not worth remembering? They say beastmen normally forget their past lives when they’re reborn. Why am I the only one who remembers vaguely, suffering like this?’
“Grrr. Mrow, rawr!”
Furious that she alone had not received the grace of oblivion, Jusielia took her anger out on the rattle, gnawing on it and batting it hard with her front paws.
But no matter how fiercely she acted, it only looked like she was adorably sucking on the toy and squirming.
As everyone squealed about how cute and lovely even that was, Jusielia shook her head.
When she saw her reflection in a mirror, she had to admit she was a rather cute white tiger.
However, the fanatical reactions continued, as if they were all on something, and Jusielia grew weary of it.
‘Should I run away?’
It was a pathetic plan.
Jusielia could never leave this room. She was still young, and a precious White Tiger Princess.
The people around her might look like giggling fools, but they were ferocious, fast, and strong predator beastmen, making it impossible.
Of course, Jusielia liked that they adored and loved her.
But Jusielia’s hearing was extremely sensitive, and she could hear sounds from far away.
Whether because of that or her general sensitivity, she found it a bit draining whenever they made a fuss.
If only she could speak, she would tell them to be quiet.
‘Is this the weight of the crown? I’m tired, you guys.’
No one could have imagined that the young cub princess was having such world-weary thoughts.
Of course, Jusielia wanted to let them know.
That she had memories of a past life and wasn’t just some dazed cub!
‘So don’t treat me like such a baby.’
But for now, she had no way to express it.
All she could do was…
“Gyaah-! Grrr-ah!”
Overwhelmed with stress, Jusielia snatched the expensive rattle like prey and vented her frustration by shaking it violently, as if trying to knock it unconscious.
*Jingle, jingle~*
Contrary to her intentions, however, only the innocent *jingle, jingle* of the cute bell echoed through the room.
“Thanks to Her Highness, I’m rediscovering the love for beastmen I lost when I was ten and found out there was no such thing as a red-nosed reindeer beastman…”
“Oh, congratulations.”
The largest royal guard in the princess’s palace, a gorilla beastman, sniffled as he confided in the knight beside him, Xaviet.
The staff of the princess’s palace, already collectively smitten with the lovely white tiger cub, had seriously lost their minds.
At least, that’s how it looked to Jusielia, who was so dumbfounded that she dropped the rattle from her mouth.
‘I give up.’
Jusielia, who had been trying to remember the past life that surfaced the moment she was born, had decided to forget her first life upon realizing she was a precious princess of the Penterin Imperial Family.
It was true she had expected it to be much more comfortable and better than her past life.
There had been a few problems at first, but in any case, this place was abundant in everything and safe.
She believed that, at the very least, living as a precious princess meant she wouldn’t have to face a painful death like in her past life.
The Penterin Empire.
It was an unfamiliar country. A vast nation that ruled over most of the lands where beastmen lived.
Jusielia couldn’t quite remember if she had lived in this empire in her past life.
It was an unknown country with an unfamiliar name, but just by looking around her room in the palace, she could tell how wealthy the Penterin Empire was.
She could also guess that the imperial authority was immense.
So she had intended to live comfortably, treated as a young cub—and a precious White Tiger Princess at that.
But there were too many inconveniences.
“Whine! Hmph!”
Jusielia whimpered, trying to rub off the hat she was wearing with her front paws.
The head maid had put a hat on her, saying the weather had suddenly turned chilly, but it was uncomfortable and stuffy.
At that, Sophie rushed over like the wind from across the room and gently caught Jusielia’s front paws.
“Oh, Your Highness. You must wear your hat because it’s cold. We can’t have you catching a cold.”
“Kyahh…”
Jusielia had a soft spot for Sophie.
Sophie soothed the now-docile Jusielia, carefully placed the pink bonnet on her head, and neatly tied the ribbon.
“Oh, how pretty.”
