“She’s a vixen!”
“That wench is oppressing our people!”
“Execute the criminal!”
“Kill her!!!”
In the public square of the Garland Kingdom’s royal capital, a crowd was roaring. The air was thick with excitement as everyone eagerly awaited the deaths of House Renard.
Someone pulled me along by the rope tied around my waist. I was clad in shabby linen clothing and bound in magical cuffs. The band around my ankle branded me as a criminal who could be given no escape. People used to extol my silver hair for resembling the moonlight, but it had been crudely cut short. The dreadfully strong spring wind tousled the messy strands as though to mock me. My violet eyes, which once had been praised for looking like a pair of amethysts, were soiled with dust and overflowing with tears.
My name was Lune Renard, and I was the crown princess of Garland. However, my kingdom was toppled by a revolution, and I, as a member of the royalty, was to be beheaded for oppressing the people. In bare feet I was forced to climb the steps to the guillotine.
It’s true, I did plead with the crown prince to bolster House Renard. But I had no idea it would cause the people to suffer!
As a child, I had been an orphan living on the northern outskirts of the kingdom in the Renard domain until House Renard—a marquis family—adopted me as their daughter. Then, at the crown prince’s insistence, I was married off to him and became the crown princess. My new station had felt so beyond me—after all, I was a mere orphaned commoner. However, I saw it as a chance to repay my debt to House Renard, so I committed myself to the role.
Since the Garland Kingdom’s founding, House Renard had always loyally served from the shadows. As the most venerable marquisate, its members guarded the kingdom’s remote region where criminals were exiled to. They received more secret orders from the royals than any other family, which was why they usually kept out of the central politics—though I only discovered that after being condemned.
Yet despite being known as the house of the royal family’s loyal retainers, House Renard was impoverished. Just entering the Renard domain meant crossing steep mountains infested with monsters. Worse yet, all the roads connecting it to the capital were too narrow for carriages to pass through. Without ample flatland, business couldn’t flourish. The domain had even come to be known as a backwater.
I had curried favor with the crown prince in hopes of getting him to facilitate its enrichment. Because of that, a large road was built leading to the Renard territory in celebration of our marriage. And during the construction, though the workers had to dig through a sacred mountain, they discovered a vein of magical ore inside. Things were finally looking up for the Renards.
But the tide soon turned. Displeased with the royal family’s despotism, the commoners revolted. The instigator had been a man known as the “Prince with the Prosthetic Leg.” He was the king’s illegitimate son, whom everyone had suspected the queen had gotten rid of. But apparently he’d survived, returning as the leader of the revolutionary army. Rumors said that the queen had sent assassins after him since his childhood, so he always wore full-body armor and a basinet when appearing in public. I’d never seen his face.
The revolutionaries had managed to overtake the palace and seize the royals, condemning them to death to set an example. As the crown princess, I too was sent to the guillotine, as were my adoptive father, Marquis Renard, and my brother, Liam.
They’re both so incredible... Even now, they hold themselves with dignity.
Members of House Renard were never to let their emotions show, so I couldn’t tell what those two truly felt at that moment. I’d always believed they loathed me, so I’d done all I could to be of use to them in hopes of earning their favor.
Marquis Renard had never had any interest in me. He hadn’t cared that I didn’t want to be married to the crown prince and sent me there as though he were selling me off. As for Liam, who was five years my senior, he’d scowl anytime I called him my brother. He didn’t even look at me, let alone speak with me.
I used to think it was only indifference, but they’d opposed everything I ever wanted to do. They didn’t let me enroll in an academy, and I never learned how to use magic despite being the daughter of a noble family. I wasn’t allowed to participate in high society, and I’d still been completely ignorant of the world when I became the crown princess. I’d always thought my misfortune was because I, a dim-witted orphan, was a disgrace to House Renard.
Yet in the end, Liam had done everything he could to try and help me flee the kingdom.
We’re not even related by blood. He should’ve just left a fool like me behind...
It was because of his attempt to help me that House Renard was abolished and its domain came under the direct control of the revolutionary army. I’d heard that the heartless mob had gained total control of the territory, and the estate and temple associated with House Renard had already been destroyed.
“Know thy sin,” the executioner whispered in my ear with a wicked grin.
“Please! My father and brother are innocent! I’m the guilty one!!!” I screamed with all my might, but my voice was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.
“Lune, you are supposed to be a Renard. Act like one,” my father scolded. Even at a time like this, he was so strict with me.
“Marquis Renard! You and your son are found guilty for the crime of falsifying an orphan’s identity, passing her off as nobility, and marrying her into the royal family. You are also guilty of attempting to assist her in fleeing the country. Your sentence is death by beheading!”
Two eerie sounds followed one after another. Just like that, my father and brother were decapitated. The Prince with the Prosthetic Leg didn’t even flinch at the sight. The only movement was the wind ruffling through the golden hair spilling out of his basinet.
No... They didn’t do anything wrong... I’m the only one at fault...
Tears of frustration spilled down my cheeks as I drowned in despair. I glared at the crowd, full of resentment. However, I noticed that some among them were crying—the citizens of House Renard’s domain. Their feudal lord had been branded a criminal; there was no doubt they now faced a bleak future. I was struck with guilt that overpowered my bitterness.
“I’m sorry...” I said to them.
A white cherry petal blew on the breeze and landed on my tear-stained cheek. The cherry flower represented House Renard’s domain.
“Crying won’t save you now. The people once called you the ‘Moonlit Goddess,’ but those days are over!” The executioner sneered, gripping me by the hair and placing my head on the guillotine block.
Magic could be used to grant a painless death, yet they’d chosen this barbaric method to make a spectacle of it. The crowd shrieked with glee. They all chanted in unison...
“Kill her!”
“This commoner is found guilty of deceiving the prince and casting the kingdom into ruin. Her punishment is death by beheading!”
Once my charges were read out, the guillotine blade was raised. My vision grew blurry.
I’m so sorry. Father, brother...forgive me. And our people... I just wanted to make things better for you.
In my last moments, I remembered Lord Reineke, the great fox spirit whose temple had brought me to House Renard. As a last resort, I had taken refuge in it after my biological parents had abandoned me. I once again implored the spirit who had saved my life.
Great Lord Reineke, I beg you! If it’s possible to go back in time, let me try again! I’ll do anything, so please save everyone!
I prayed, gazing up at the azure sky speckled by the fluttering blossoms...and then my breath ceased.