Skylume11

"Is it pity?"

I asked, my nemesis.

“No, it’s interest,” you replied.

Your eyes, once bluer than the deepest lake in the Empire, were losing their light.

As an assassin, I have spilled much blood, but there was one person I never wanted to kill – you, Sion Belpast, the Grand Duke of the North, my master’s enemy. Yet, I destroyed everything about you, and now, charged with treason, you are dying before my eyes at the scaffold.

I mustn’t cry. I don’t even deserve to. The only man who ever defeated me in combat, the only one who treated me, the monster, as human, I confessed to you. 

“I respected you.”

“White butterfly, may your soul emerge from the darkness.”

With those words, you died. But I couldn’t harbor any doubts.

My master, the Duchess of the South, Medea, who took me in and raised me when I lost my memory, her bidding was always right. Tomorrow, my duchess will become the adopted granddaughter of the childless Emperor. The future Empress of the Empire.

But that night, as I announced the death of the Duke of the North, she stabbed me in the heart. She whispered in my ear:

“The real granddaughter of the Emperor is you. You are the lost princess from your childhood.”

My whole life was built on a lie. I died and returned to the past, where I met you again, Duke. In this life, I will keep you hidden and make you the Emperor’s successor, to atone for my past life. May I stay by your side in this life?

In This Life, I’ll Assist You

"The royal treasure. The sword Lucella, which proves the bloodline of the royal family."

Lucella is one of only two holy swords in the empire.

A sword that appears in the founding myth, remembering and proving the blood of the royal family.

If royal blood touches it, the silver blade turns to gold, according to the oracle.

Then, the young lady laughed brightly.

"Exactly. That's why I want to please the Emperor even more."

Lady Medea showed me the silver sword inside a clear gem box.

It was a dazzling sword to behold.

"Though my blood would never turn this sword golden, if it did, you'd be so happy you'd faint, wouldn't you?"

Occasionally cruel, but fundamentally pure-hearted, the young lady laughed at the impossible fantasy, despite it being utterly unattainable.

The Emperor, who had lost his only son, the Crown Prince, and then the granddaughter born of the prince.

All across the continent, those coveting the palace claimed to have found the lost granddaughter, but none of their imposters could change the color of this sword.

"I remember it clearly. When that lowly king of Roman presented his daughter, His Majesty wounded his noble self with this sword. 'This silver sword will surely not turn gold!' Everyone who doubted the sword's sanctity was silenced. Roman was destroyed by the Emperor's wrath."

The young lady slowly moved to a corner of the room and opened an old oak drawer.

"I've got a sword now, so I thought I'd gift you one too. What do you think of this sword?"

It was a sword slightly longer than a dagger, emitting a faint greenish light.

The hilt was made of an unknown blue mineral.

I was genuinely surprised and bowed deeply.

Then, the young lady, who had quietly approached me, gently lifted my chin with her long, beautiful fingers.

"Bella, actually, I've been meaning to give you this dagger for a long time. Sorry for the delay."

"Unsheathe the sword you're wearing now, take it far away, and come back."

Seeing the young lady's face bright with amusement, I knew she had come up with another whimsical prank. I readily complied.

"Sit as you were before. Oh, your mask is a bit loose. Let me fix it."

The young lady carefully adjusted the mask covering the unscathed half of my face.

"Don't be ashamed of your original, disfigured face, Bella. Be proud to show it. If anyone says anything, I'll scold them just like I did when we were children."

The young lady, holding the sacred sword Lucella, slowly approached me. I joked.

"Are you about to grant me a title, Your Highness?"

"No, something better than that. Don't move, Bella."

At that moment, she slightly pricked the disfigured side of my face with the dagger she had shown me earlier.

But within seconds, I felt the ground rise.

I was dizzy. Suddenly, she pierced my heart with Lucella.

The sword she plunged pierced my lung. She twisted the sword inside my body, smiling brightly.

"To tell you an incomparably great truth. Bella, the truth is, you're the real granddaughter of the Emperor."

The sound of air escaping my punctured lung filled my ears.

At the same time, I saw the silver blade of Lucella gradually turn gold, moving from the blade to the hilt.

Chap 3