CHAPTER 1
AN UNFAMILIAR WORLD
When she woke up, the first thing Leticiel saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. Glancing around, she saw that she was in an unfamiliar room, lying in an unfamiliar canopy bed.
Where on earth was she? Hadn’t she taken her own life after the enemy soldiers had invaded and taken everything from her? Leticiel was confused.
Sitting up shakily, she looked at her chest. The sword and wound in her memories were gone, leaving only a frilly, white nightgown and skin as smooth and flawless as porcelain.
She knew her memories weren’t mistaken. She could still clearly recall the feeling of her life spilling from her. There was no doubt that she had died. She was dead…at least, she was supposed to be.
The worst-case scenario crossed her mind. Did the neighboring country have sorcerers skilled enough to heal her despite the state she’d been in? Had they somehow kept her alive?
The thought instantly made her blood run cold. If her prediction was correct, then she had been saved by her hated enemies, the ones who had destroyed everything she held dear. Leticiel had given up her life so she wouldn’t follow in her loved ones’ footsteps, so that she wouldn’t give the enemy what they desired most. But in the end, she had played right into their hands.
The emotions that controlled her now were not sadness, despair, or hatred, but rather intense anger toward the enemy and even toward herself, for being unable to die.
Pushing aside the covers, Leticiel got out of bed. If she didn’t do something, she would be used as a tool by the neighboring country. Leticiel’s pride would not allow such a thing. Getting revenge would be an easy enough feat, but doing so would never bring back what was lost and would only leave her feeling empty.
She searched the room for a murder weapon, but obviously they hadn’t left her anything that could be used to commit suicide.
As she was gradually growing impatient, her eyes fell on a glass vial on top of a desk. Without a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed it and smashed it on the floor, the glass vial breaking into pieces with the impact. Not caring that it would hurt her hand, Leticiel grabbed the largest shard and pointed its sharp tip toward her neck.
“Is something the matter, Mi…” A young man in a black tailcoat rushed into the room at the sound of the shattered glass, entering just as Leticiel was about to bring the shard down on her throat. “Wh… What are you doing?!” he shouted, color draining from his face the instant he caught sight of her. He came running, and unlike the throne room, this room was small. The man reached her and grabbed her from behind before the shard could pierce her throat. “Please stop! Let go of that right now!” he cried.
“Unhand me! I won’t be yours to do with as you please! If you try to stop me, I’ll bite my tongue!”
“My lady, please don’t be hasty! Miss Drossell!”
Leticiel’s movements froze at his desperate cry. It wasn’t as though his pleas had gotten through to her, but the unfamiliar word he’d said had.
“Miss…Drossell?”
Who was he talking about? After all, she was Leticiel, the princess of a remote country.
The man took the shard of glass away from her while she was thinking, but Leticiel paid him no mind because when she had looked down, long hair of a beautiful, transparent silvery white color fluttered lightly in the corner of her eye. Leticiel had never seen hair that color before. After all, her own hair was a dark gold.
Looking up, she saw a small mirror that was propped up right next to where the glass vial had been. She hadn’t even noticed it earlier.
Reflected in the mirror was the face of a girl she had never seen before. She had translucent and shiny silver hair, pale skin as smooth as porcelain, and long, narrow eyes that were two different colors, framed by long eyelashes. Overall, she was a beautiful girl with a dignified face. Leticiel couldn’t tell exactly how old she was, but though she seemed young, she looked mature, and her expressionless face gave off a slightly cold impression.
Who am I, and where am I now? Leticiel’s eyelids covered both her red left eye and blue right eye when she blinked. There was no doubt that she was the unfamiliar girl being reflected in the mirror.
The realization shocked her. Leticiel’s hair was dark gold and both of her eyes were lavender-colored. Her facial features were less mature than these, more on the cute side.
She should have died from being pierced by that sword. When she woke up and found no wounds, she assumed she had been captured by the enemy, but now she had become someone she didn’t even recognize.