Chapter 1
#1
“Wake up, Arsinoe.”
The sound of the door creaking open, along with a dry voice devoid of any emotion, roused Lucy from her slumber.
When had she fallen asleep?
As she lifted her heavy eyelids and wiggled her fingers, the clatter of chains brushed against her eardrums.
Even before she fully regained consciousness, a piercing pain struck her body in every corner.
It was a wonder she could even fall asleep after such brutal torture, and a hollow laugh escaped her lips involuntarily. Lucy stared intently at the chains wrapped tightly around her wrists before lifting her head to gaze straight ahead with burning eyes.
In the middle of the filthy prison, a black shadow stood tall, looking down at her.
The man, who had silently endured her gaze, spoke in a sarcastic tone.
“Still got that sharp look in your eyes. Seems you’re doing quite well, Crown Princess.”
“Spare me the nonsense, Your Highness.”
At her curt reply, the man let out a deep chuckle. It was a bright laugh that one wouldn't expect from a man who had thrown his own wife into prison.
Lucy, gnawing on her lip, spat out the words as if vomiting.
“What brings you to such a wretched place?”
“Ah, I have good news to deliver to you.”
Lucy frowned, looking up at the man intently.
She wanted to read his expression, but the light streaming in through the open door obscured her vision, making it impossible to discern the man's features.
But even without seeing, she knew. The man was smiling.
Lucy swallowed hard and opened her mouth with difficulty.
“I don’t need to hear it. Isn’t it the news that you’ve finally taken my homeland?”
The sentence, which began calmly, ended with a trembling tail, unable to contain the surging sorrow.
The man keenly noticed her emotions and let out a soft laugh.
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you for leaking the secrets. Entering through the royal family’s secret passage led straight to the residence of the royals. It was a bit of a struggle because of that damn General Heiberg, but we were able to wipe them out relatively easily.”
Unlike the man's relaxed demeanor, Lucy's complexion grew paler and paler. Finally, she squeezed out a question in a trembling voice.
“My… Mother, what happened to her…?”
“Whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate, your mother had already been murdered, leaving only her corpse behind. Since you’ll be heading to the afterlife soon, you’ll be able to reunite with her shortly.”
“……”
“Huh. Are you crying, by any chance?”
The man, who had been fiddling with his sleeve, continued with a sneer.
“I thought you were someone who didn’t have any emotions at all. So you’re sad to hear about your mother’s death?”
“…As if I would be.”
It was already foreseen, and now her mother's death was of no importance.
What Lucy was sad about now was a different matter.
“I’m just saddened by the fact that the same thing is happening again.”
Already three times.
Three times she had been deceived by the Crown Prince and lost her country. And soon, her third death would be waiting.
The first time, she was killed after turning her back on the Crown Prince who was trying to take her country. And the second time, she was killed trying to escape from him.
…The third time. Now.
She had flattered him in every way, volunteering as a spy, but she had ended up in this state again.
No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break the chain of life. In three lives, during that long, long time, Lucy had opposed him, cooperated with him, and succumbed to him, but she could not avoid death.
Pressing down the rising emotions into her throat, she tried to swallow her sobs, but there was no way to stop the tears spreading around her eyes. Along with the stench emanating from her body, the bitter smell of tears flowed into her nasal passages.
Leaving the tears to flow, she desperately bit her lip. Not making a sound was the only pride Lucy could maintain now.
“Are you going to kill me?”
There was no answer.
Lucy moved the hand that was chained and wiped away the tears. Then, she slowly bent down and prostrated herself at his feet.
“I beg you for one last favor, Your Highness… Please, have mercy on this lowly body and allow me to take my own life.”
A look of interest flickered in the man's eyes. Lucy continued in an even more earnest tone.
“A comfortable rest is too much for a woman who sold her country. Please, be generous and allow me to end this filthy life with the treasured sword I always carry… a relic of my homeland.”
The man, who had been watching Lucy intently, slowly bent down and knelt on one knee.
A long finger lifted Lucy's chin, and the refreshing scent of perfume, in contrast to her stench, brushed the tip of her nose.
“How pitiful. Even if I am a ruthless and cold-blooded man, I cannot deny my former wife such a small mercy.”
The hand that caressed her torn lips was very gentle and affectionate. The man stroked Lucy's cheek and gestured with his chin at the guard standing beside him, indicating something.
With a clatter, a dirty sword was thrown to the floor. The man, who had risen from his seat, dusted off his hands and glanced at the dagger that had fallen beside him.
“That dirty antique that you always cherished. Then farewell, Arsinoe.”
The man, who turned around without hesitation, left the prison, leaving only the sound of small footsteps behind. At the same time, the guards who had been guarding her unlocked Lucy's chains and kicked her limp body.
“You traitor, you ask for too much. How vulgar.”
With the words not to defile the prison, even the guards left the prison. Lucy, left alone, took a deep breath for a long time before picking up the dagger with trembling hands.
A dagger that was too small to be used for self-defense and too crude to be used for decoration. As the man said, it was a dagger with an unremarkable appearance that seemed like it would be sold cheaply at a cheap antique shop.
The man often scolded Lucy, asking why she always carried such a dirty thing. But Lucy knew the true value of the dagger.
Perhaps, she was the only one in this vast continent who knew the power of the dagger.
After removing the faded scabbard, she carefully stroked the blade with her finger. The rusted and infinitely dull sword seemed to reflect her own reason.
“You foolish girl.”
A laugh burst out at the self-mockery that leaked out without her knowing. All that remained in her blurred vision was the dagger, which was sickening to even look at.
Even though she had been with the man for so long, she had not been able to conquer him, let alone keep her life. Even though she prided herself on being smart, the end was always a catastrophe.
She closed her eyelids tightly and shed tears.
Tears welled up again as soon as they flowed down, but Lucy didn't care and lifted the dagger.
“Really… Really, this is the last time.”
If repeating life again would only repeat the same hell as now, it would be meaningless.
This was really the last time.
If the same life continued for the fourth time, then she would throw away the dagger and gain eternal rest in the man's hands.
She closed her eyes. She gripped the hand holding the dagger tightly.
Letting out a moan that was hard to tell whether it was a sob or a laugh, Lucy plunged the sword into her chest.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Arsinoe was born as the fifth princess of the Parnassus Kingdom.
In fact, the word princess was a misnomer. King Parnassus already had eight sons and four daughters, and all the children except Lucy were born to the queens, so they proudly received the title of princess and prince with the afterglow of their mothers on their backs.
But Lucy's mother was from a foreign slave who was offered to the king. Because of this, Lucy grew up being treated as a dependent attached to a concubine who was neither a princess nor anything else.
However, such treatment did not make Lucy's childhood gloomy. Under the care of her affectionate mother, Lucy spent a peaceful childhood.
Her life went awry after more than half of her siblings died one after another from an epidemic.
Five sons and four daughters all passed away, leaving Lucy as the only daughter in the royal family.
And ridiculously, as if waiting, a letter arrived from the empire.
[Amidst the increasingly chaotic political situation, we would like to propose a marriage to promote friendship between your country and our empire.]
Under the guise of friendship, the empire demanded a princess to become the Crown Prince's third wife.
Parnassus, a small country, had no justification to reject the empire's proposal. Thus, Arsinoe was sold to the empire in the name of a princess of Parnassus.
At first, she was excited. From a humble concubine's daughter, she suddenly became a princess, and then became the Crown Prince's woman, so this was a rise in status like no other.
Although she was only the third Crown Princess, Lucy in her first life lived a relatively happy life, soaked in the title of Crown Princess until just before her death.
However, as the same life was repeated, she became dulled to happiness.
Crown Princess or whatever, to Lucy, who opened her eyes for the fourth time, that series of events only felt like a shackle to escape from.
So for the fourth time.
She returns to the same place again, breathing heavily.
“Am I… now…”
Was she alive without dying?
Lucy, who was lying on the bed and blinking blankly, slowly raised her hand and looked at her hand.
Short fingers that had not yet finished growing came into view. And a particularly clear vision and a body that felt as light as if it would fly away.
Lucy, who was trembling as she spread out her hand, stammered and moved her lips.
“I’m back… I’m back again…!”
The voice of a young child full of youthful energy spread out over the bed like a ripple.
