🐅 🐅 🐅
THAT’S third loop started shortly before facing off with Mion.
I’m back here again…
The young girl woke up in a less-than-lavish bed. As a bush warbler sang outside her small window, the scent and feel of her bed brought back a multitude of memories. The royal family of the Jinlong Empire resided within the Purple Forbidden Palace. In the northernmost section of the palace, a storehouse stood on the edge of the abandoned Big Dipper Garden. According to legend, a mad princess was once imprisoned in this storehouse.
The young girl’s buoyant, light pink hair—reminiscent of cotton candy—had tangled into a bird’s nest while she slept. Resignation unbecoming of a child filled her azure eyes, which shone with a rainbow-colored luster. This unusual rainbow light served as proof of her royal blood. Despite this, she wore a coat and pants made of unbleached burlap. These days, not even commoners wore such shabby garments.
Furthermore, the young girl had no true name. After her birth, Emperor Feilong Xin Lei regarded her with scorn. His hateful expression hadn’t befitted a father looking at his newborn daughter.
“I will now dispose of that,” he growled.
Feilong had been unable to forgive his newborn daughter for killing his beloved empress. However, Marfa had prostrated herself. As the crown prince’s wet nurse and the empress’s close associate, she’d begged him to spare the child. As a result, That hadn’t been harmed.
“I’m only allowing her to live,” Feilong had declared. “The next time I see her, I’ll kill her. Do not ask me for anything more.”
When asked his daughter’s name, the emperor responded, “That will suffice.” Thereafter, everyone referred to the princess by that moniker. Even she introduced herself as such.
Still in bed, That let out a soft sigh. She looked down at her right palm. Three white, almond-shaped imprints were on her skin. They resembled a flower, fanning out like radial lines from the center. However, because they were so faint, she doubted anyone else would notice them.
This must signify the start of the third loop, That thought, looking down at her palm with empty eyes.
The young girl had a secret—she’d relived her life multiple times. After a series of deaths and resurrections, she’d reached her third loop. In other words, this was her fourth life. During her first loop, one imprint appeared on her palm. During her second loop, another appeared. Now she had three. Presumably, the imprints represented the number of loops.
Throughout her first life, That had been abused for reasons she hadn’t understood. Then, at seventeen, she’d been dragged into a coup. Ultimately, one of the rebel soldiers killed her in a fit of battle rage.
Even though no one ever treated me like a princess, I was still murdered for being one, That thought, finding it ironic. How awful. Back then, I longed for a quick death, but I never imagined meeting such a terrible end. Life can be so absurd.
In her second life, That restarted at the age of fifteen. At seventeen, she’d taken advantage of the coup to escape from the palace. Afterward, she’d lived in the lower city while hiding her identity. Before long, the owners of a bar had taken her in. They’d treated her like family, allowing her to live and work at the establishment. In particular, their three-year-old daughter, Ming Ming, had latched onto That as an older sister. Starved of affection, That had also treated Ming Ming like a younger sister, constantly doting on her.
Life in the lower city had been modest. At the same time, That came to understand the full scope of her abuse. Years in the storehouse robbed her of emotion and expression. Down in the lower city, she’d regained these things and learned what it meant to be human.
Unfortunately, the empire had been in disarray after the rebellion. The coup had only succeeded because the rebels had received aid from the fiends. Mion had shrewdly positioned herself as the archfiend’s wife. In the end, the joint rule between humans and fiends ended after ten or so years. Not long afterward, the two races began slaughtering each other.
To restore order, the Xin Lei loyalists dubbed That as the surviving Phantom Princess. Thus, fiends began pursuing her to prevent her from becoming empress. In the end, she’d been found and killed by them at thirty.
Just when I could finally live as a human, That thought. How awful. And where did they get off calling me the Phantom Princess? I never received a royal education. What did they even expect from me? I just wanted to live a normal life and die a normal death.
During her third life, That had restarted as a thirteen-year-old. Thanks to the previous loop, she’d known the main culprit behind the coup and the tragic state of the empire after. As such, she’d studied obsessively to prevent the rebellion from happening. Having no instructors, she had to learn by herself.
Eventually, a man appeared and offered to teach her. He’d been kind, intelligent, and ten years older than That. She’d trusted him deeply. In fact, she’d even developed feelings for him. Driven by puppy love, she’d told him about the future coup and asked for his help to stop it. To her dismay, the man had been a supporter of the rebellion. He’d even wanted That to cooperate with him as a princess after the takeover.
Did he only ever see me as a tool? she’d wondered, stunned.
She’d fallen out of love with him instantly. By chance, fiends stumbled upon their argument and killed That. She’d barely been seventeen at the time of her third death.
This is so painful, That thought. Even though I knew the coup’s ringleaders and tried to stop them, did they still succeed? Was the lower city massacred again? Hopefully, nothing bad happened to Ming Ming or anyone else at the bar. I’m so powerless. If only I could stop the coup from happening…
She was now on her third loop. She closed her small, childlike hand into a fist and opened it again.
I was murdered, on top of being rejected. That sighed. Can’t I have some time to be sentimental?
In her first life, That had resigned herself to abuse. In her next two lives, she’d struggled to survive. Regardless, she’d died every time. She didn’t want to continue repeating this sort of life.
At that moment, she heard the latch being undone from outside, and the heavy, wooden door swung open. As That looked towards the door, fresh air and morning light filled her room.
“Are you awake, Princess?” a familiar voice asked.
A kindly-looking woman entered the storehouse, her familiar voice causing That’s chest to constrict. During That’s first life, this woman had looked after her until she was five. Marfa, the wet nurse, had a plump figure and a gentle voice. Her brown hair was tied into a tight bun.
After That’s birth, Marfa had pleaded for the girl’s life. She’d served as the empress’s handmaid for many years. Both Marfa and the empress hailed from the remote nation of Yule. Marfa had been the only one to accompany the empress from their homeland to the Purple Forbidden Palace. Before her death, the empress herself had ordered Marfa to take care of That as her wet nurse.
“Marfa…” That mumbled, her lips trembling.
She’s alive. She’s still here.
As That reached out her hand, her heart swelled with joy. Smiling, Marfa picked her up. That buried her face in the woman’s ample bosom.
“Were you having a bad dream?” Marfa asked, patting That on the back to console her. “It’s a day late, but we have something to celebrate. Happy third birthday, Princess.”
Upon learning about her recent birthday, That stiffened. As Marfa held her, she looked towards the door. Apart from Marfa, there was usually only one knight—who differed depending on the day—and two palace ladies. However, more servants than usual were present today. These included another elderly knight with a white beard, his young squire, and an unfamiliar palace maidservant.
Their group had gathered this morning to celebrate That’s birthday. No one but Marfa and her associates were attending this small party. The empress had died giving birth to That, and thus, the palace would grieve in remembrance of her today.