Previously
Cecilia recalls her previous life in Korea, which ended abruptly after a lonely night on Mapo Bridge following a breakup and rejection by her family. She realizes she has been reincarnated as the youngest princess of the Asuramasura Empire in the novel 'The Violet of the Duchy'.
“Oh my, it seems Her Highness likes the name.”
“Ah, ba!”
And why wouldn't I?
It seemed the hardships of my past life hadn't been in vain, given that I got to watch my favorite novel from a front-row, first-class seat!
In other words, an extra born with a diamond spoon in her mouth. That was the premise of my current life.
Even if I was just an extra, the baseline was entirely different from my previous life.
I recalled once more the voice I had heard upon being reborn.
‘It turns out I'm the one who truly found salvation!’
Life as the youngest princess, Cecilia… was truly a succession of warm and blissful days.
Merely breathing, lifting my head, rolling over, or crawling was enough to earn heaps of praise and adoring gazes.
“Have you arrived, Your Highnesses?”
“Yes. Is the little one awake?”
“What do you mean, ‘little one’? She has a lovely name, Cecilia.”
“Until now, I was always the one called the little one. I wanted to call someone that too.”
“All right, our little Theo.”
“Oh, Sister!”
I was lying in my crib, tracking the colorful hanging mobile with my eyes to train my vision, when lively young voices filled the room.
“Hello there, little one?”
“Cecil, your third sister and brother are here.”
Two round faces peeked over my crib. They belonged to my immediate older brother, Theodore, and Rebecca, who was a year older than him.
Though “immediate older brother” still meant he was twelve years my senior.
“Ooh, kyaha!”
“Are you happy that we came?”
Of course I'm happy!
Really… though Mother and Father—well into their forties—were stunning, all my siblings were exceptionally gorgeous boys and girls as well.
Whenever those lovely children stepped into my line of sight, each brimming with distinct charm, I couldn't help but laugh.
Here, take a free baby smile, haha!
“Ah, are all babies this cute…?”
That's my line, Brother.
As my vision gradually developed and I could discern faces clearly… I concluded that the imperial family's beauty contributed immensely to its harmony.
“Theo, I don't think you were ever this cute.”
“You're only a year older than me, how could you remember any of that?”
There was Theodore, his eyes sparkling beneath neatly trimmed bangs, and Rebecca, who looked as warm as her softly waved, cloud-like hair.
Though they were only twelve and thirteen, I had no doubt that they would soon grow into breathtaking beauties.
‘One look at Mother and Father is enough to know that good genes don't lie.’
I felt quite satisfied with my logical conclusion.
In fact, in the original novel, Theodore was one of high society's most prominent heartthrobs.
People even said later that he would succeed the male lead, Leoport, as the most handsome man around.
‘Hehe, then perhaps I have plenty to look forward to in this life as well.’
I chuckled aloud in sheer contentment, and Theodore and Rebecca turned to me with shimmering eyes.
“Ah, she's so adorable.”
“I feel like I'd never get tired of looking at her all day…”
“Theo, Becky! Did you wash up before coming in?”
At that moment, a crisp voice rang out. From that firm tone, it was undoubtedly my second sister, Roselia.
“Uh-oh!”
Theodore sniffed his collar, checking for the scent of sweat, before slowly backing away.
“Boo…”
It seemed the smell I hadn't noticed while busy admiring their faces was finally wafting over to me.
Still, you're supposed to become the most handsome man of your generation…
“Becky, don't use your Holy Power for things like this.”
“I was only writing in my room, Sister.”
“Babies are far more fragile than we are, so we must be extra careful.”
As I always found myself thinking, they possessed a remarkably high standard of hygiene. Perhaps because this was a Korean romance fantasy novel?
Left with no choice, Theodore and Rebecca were escorted to the side chamber by the maids.
“Cecil, have you been good? Your second sister is here.”
Roselia approached my now-quiet crib and gathered me up into her arms.
‘So cozy…’
Having two younger siblings herself, Roselia was thoroughly accustomed to holding me, her touch practiced and sure.
Besides, the weight of a zero-year-old infant was practically nothing to someone destined to become the commander of the Holy Knights.
“Did you have a good time with the nanny today? Did you eat well?”
“Ah, ba!”
I tried to answer, settling instead for a beaming smile.
“Nanny, Cecil always just smiles like this. Is that normal? Theo used to cry so much.”
“Her Highness the Fourth Princess has a calm temperament, and she seems to recognize Your Highnesses as well.”
“Just as I thought, Cecil really is clever.”
Beaming with pride at the nanny's gentle praise, Roselia rocked me softly and carried me toward the mirror hanging on the wall.
Roselia's short hair, trimmed neatly at ear-length, came into view, and right beside it was a baby's face with plump, tender cheeks and wide, sparkling eyes taking in everything.
“Look, it's Cecil's face!”
This was my favorite time. Getting to see my own reflection in this life, the face of baby Cecil, which I couldn't view on my own…
“Cecil, look, there's a baby here. Who could it be? Isn't she adorable, even to you?”
Roselia angled me toward the mirror, and I reached out without thinking, touching the baby's face reflected in the glass.
‘No matter how many times I look, it's astonishing.’
Beneath soft silver hair like cotton fuzz, emerald eyes shone with vibrant clarity.
Upon closer inspection, flecks of gold glimmered within the irises, adding a touch of mystique.
They said it was a hallmark of the imperial bloodline to have gold blended into the eyes alongside silver hair.
‘At this rate, I must be exceptionally pretty even by the standards of this world, right?’
Otherwise, everyone wouldn't adore me like this.
Pleased by that sound logic, I burst into laughter.
‘Ah, I'm drooling.’
“My goodness, Cecil really smiles so much.”
Roselia wiped my mouth with the edge of her sleeve.
She seemed to have come straight from training and a bath, as her casual indoor dress smelled delightfully crisp, like fabric softener.
I greedily inhaled the scent and buried my nose into her embrace without hesitation.
“Oh my, Cecil loves her sister so much, doesn't she?”
Yes, of course!
‘Because Roselia is the most important among my siblings!’
At seventeen, Roselia was already training in the Holy Knight Order and standing out for her sheer talent. She was virtually guaranteed to become the order's future commander.
Since the male lead, Leoport, would also become a Holy Knight, Roselia appeared throughout the novel as his superior—in his daily routine, on his missions, and all the way through the final battle.
‘When the heroine was kidnapped by the second male lead, Leoport completely lost his mind, and she willingly granted him leave. That was why she was so famous as a wonderful commander.’
Come to think of it, since this era was about twenty years before the original novel's plot began, most of the characters were already alive in this world.
‘Since Leoport was supposed to be my childhood friend according to the setting, he must already be born, right? And Emily was older, so she must have been born even earlier…’
At that moment, the reality that I was truly inside the world of ‘The Violet of the Duchy’ sank in completely.
‘When I grow up, I'll see it all with my own eyes. I can hardly wait.’
Hehe. Lost in private thoughts known only to myself, I wore a blissful smile…
‘Ah, the drool is dripping again.’
Oh, my human dignity.
Roselia dabbed at my mouth with her other sleeve and walked over toward the window.
“Cecil, shall we take a look outside?”
This window, looking out over the palace's sprawling gardens, was my favorite spot, since I wasn't yet allowed to leave the nursery.
In the afternoon, around the time my siblings came to visit, the slanted sunlight poured in warmly, painting a picturesque scene that filled the room with peace.
“Becky, hold Cecil for a moment. I'll open the window.”
Roselia handed me over to Rebecca, who had stepped up, then pushed the window open with her long arms.
‘Mmm… the scent of autumn.’
“Sister, did you win your spar today? You mentioned you'd be sparring with the squires who are becoming official knights next year.”
“It was very close, but I unfortunately lost. True, they are knights destined to protect the imperial family and shouldn't be bested by someone like me, but once it happened, it fired up my competitive spirit.”
‘Wow, talent really does come with a fierce drive to win.’
Once their day drew to a close, my siblings would come to my room to visit and chat about how their day went—a habit that had turned into their daily routine.
Even though my nursery was situated right beside Mother's quarters in the main palace, while my siblings resided in the Freesia Palace reserved for the imperial children, they never missed a day.
As expected, their close bond remained unchanged.
‘Perhaps because they're all so good-looking, they have no reason to fight.’
Especially when compared to the frosty relationship I had with my siblings in my previous life.
‘My siblings back then wouldn't even pretend to be nice unless I handed them pocket money…’
Just as those bitter memories flared up, an early-autumn chill swept in through the open window, making my tiny frame shiver involuntarily.
“Oh, are you cold, Cecil?”
“Bwa…”
I wanted to say that I was fine, but only drool escaped.
Just when would I be able to move this tongue the way I wanted?
‘At any rate, it's as if I already know how to talk. Once my vocal cords develop, words will flow out of me like water.’
While I was busy dreaming of becoming an articulate speaker, suddenly— warmth spread out from Rebecca's hand supporting my back.
“Isn't that warm?”
“Hah…”
I craned my neck up to gaze at Rebecca, my mouth dangling wide open.
‘Ah, drooling again.’
“Yes, Becky. If you're going to use your Holy Power, use it for Cecil's sake.”
“You know this much is nothing for me.”
Ah, so this was Holy Power.
‘Right, even during summer, Rebecca dropped by often to cool me down.’
Rebecca, born with an immense reservoir of Holy Power, was destined to become a leading candidate for the Papacy twenty years down the line in the original novel.
Since she was still too young to undergo official training, she seemed to have picked up simple techniques on her own, like bodily purification and temperature control.
Come to think of it, everyone in this world was supposedly born with Holy Power.
‘Does that mean even I won't have to suffer from the heat later on? In my past life, I couldn't even turn on the air conditioner because of the electric bill…!’
Picturing a rosy future where I wouldn't have to suffer through sweltering summers even without Rebecca's help, I beamed once more.
‘Truly, I hit the jackpot in this reincarnation!’
“Her Highness the Fourth Princess must possess tremendous Holy Power as well, wouldn't you say?”
“The prosperity of the imperial house signifies that fortune favors and protects the empire.”
“Indeed, His Majesty's reign is exceptionally prosperous.”
Interest in Holy Power seemed to swell with each passing day.
Perhaps because they assumed I couldn't understand human speech, the nanny and maids spoke freely in front of me, allowing me to overhear quite a lot.
‘Even in ‘The Violet of the Duchy,’ Holy Power was a vital element.’
People referred to this era as the “Age of Sanctity,” because every single person was born with Holy Power, whether great or small.
Centuries ago, an ancient continent-wide civilization had suddenly been wiped out by an invasion from the demon realm, and only those who wielded Holy Power managed to survive.
Then, five hundred years ago, the founding emperor defeated the demon realm's hordes with his formidable Holy Power and established the empire.
‘And so the Empire of Asura… or whatever this empire's name was, came to be. Even heroes can have terrible taste in names.’
For that reason, the immense Holy Power manifest in the imperial lineage served as a potent symbol of authority and legitimacy.
Holy Power carried great weight among commoners as well. The higher one's social status, the greater one's innate Holy Power tended to be, and the greater it was, the higher one's chances of rising through the ranks—whether by joining the priesthood or becoming a Holy Knight.
In such an atmosphere, it was hardly surprising that they doted on me, already hailing me as a little angel descended upon the world.
‘Hehe, especially since I look like an angel too.’
And so, when I turned one year old—
“Your Highness, today is a very important day.”
“Ooh (important)?”
I asked with wide, round eyes and an open mouth in response to the nanny's words.
Though of course, she had no idea what I was trying to say…