Scaring Away A Bear?

In her first life, Primrose had experienced three assassination attempts.

Two failed.

But the last one? The last one was successful.

The first attempt happened when a group of bandits ambushed her carriage while she was on her way to visit her father in Illvaris City, a territory within the Vellmoria Empire.

They had no interest in robbing her. No demands for gold. No threats to take her hostage.

They had come to kill her.

At that moment, she had nearly been killed until a group of Noctvaris soldiers appeared out of nowhere. Moving like shadows, they slaughtered the bandits within minutes.

It was strange, though. Primrose had already crossed the border into the Vellmoria Empire, meaning those soldiers had no reason to be there.

At the time, she thought it was just a coincidence. But now? She was certain that Edmund must have secretly ordered them to follow her to Vellmoria secretly.

The second attempt came in the form of a beautifully wrapped jewelry box. It was supposed to be a birthday gift, a harmless gift.

Until it exploded.

The only reason she survived was pure irony, her greedy maid had tried to steal from her and ended up opening the box first.

The blast tore through the air, shredding flesh and bone in an instant.

By the time the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of the maid but bloodied scraps of fabric.

And the last time … it was poison.

A slow, insidious poison that had been slipped into her meals every single day for months. By the time Primrose noticed something was off with her soup, it was already too late.

Her limbs had grown heavy. Her breath had turned shallow. The simplest tasks like lifting a spoon, sitting upright had became unbearable.

In the end, all she could do was lie there, helpless, waiting for death to claim her.

But this? A midnight intruder?

This was new.

[If someone as weak as her sits on the throne beside His Majesty, the Beast Kingdom will crumble.]

[A human queen? Hah! What a joke! Humans have always demonized us, so why should we trust them now?]

[This fragile little creature has to die tonight.]

Primrose felt paralyzed, her entire body frozen in place. 

Even her fingers refused to move. Her heart pounded wildly, becoming a frantic drumbeat in her chest as the assassin's footsteps grew closer.

For some reason, this felt far scarier than her previous deaths.

Maybe because this was her bedroom.

Her sanctuary.

Yet here he was, breaching her walls, invading her space, turning the one place she should have felt safe into a death trap.

[A dagger should be enough to kill her.]

A dagger? He was going to stab her with a fucking dagger?!

Oh, come on! At least use something stronger so it wouldn't hurt!

Wait—

She had just been reborn, and now she was about to die again?

Wasn't that a good thing?

At least she wouldn't have to deal with the headache of proving herself to the beasts.

She wouldn't have to fight for a place in a kingdom that never wanted her. She wouldn't have to pretend she belonged.

Maybe this was for the best.

Maybe this time, she'd finally get into heaven, like she always wanted.

But then, she wondered … Did she really want to die?

In her first life, she had embraced death like an old friend, convinced that no one would mourn her death.

That no one would miss her.

That no one had ever truly cared.

But now …

Now she could hear their thoughts and she had learned something surprising that not all of the beasts hated her.

Some had simply been afraid to approach her.

Because they had thought that she was the one who wanted nothing to do with monsters.

And what about Edmund?

Now that she knew he was nothing more than a pathetic, lovesick fool, would he actually cry if he saw her lifeless body?

The mighty Lycan King, shedding tears over her?

It sounded ridiculous and impossible.

… Or was it?

Primrose shouldn't care, but for some reason, she wanted to see his reaction.

She wanted to know what he would do when he found out someone had tried to take her life.

But to witness that moment, she had to survive first.

[Good bye, Your Majesty.]

The mysterious man stood beside her, raising his dagger high before swinging it down toward Primrose in a swift motion.

But before it could touch her, Primrose rolled to the edge of the bed before she tumbled onto the cold marble floor. 

The impact sent a sharp pain through her bones, but she didn't have the time to feel the pain. 

She had to hide—no, she had to run! 

Above her, the assassin let out a low growl of frustration. The dagger had pierced nothing but empty sheets.

His face was covered with a black mask, so Primrose couldn't recognize him.

[She's awake?! How the hell did she react so fast?!]

The assassin's steps were swift and silent as he closed in, but Primrose didn't waste a second. She staggered to her feet, ignoring the dizziness from her sudden movement, and lunged for the door.

"You're trying to run?" The assassin let out a low, mocking laugh. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but the door is locked."

Her heart pounded as she twisted the doorknob frantically, yanking and rattling it with all her strength. Locked. Completely sealed.

No, no, no—this couldn't be happening.

She slammed her fists against the heavy wooden surface, her voice breaking as she screamed, "Guards! There's an intruder! Someone's trying to kill me!"

Silence.

Had someone used something to put the soldiers to sleep, or were they simply ignoring her?

But she couldn't hear other people's thoughts, so maybe they didn't just ignore her.

"Such a shame," the assassin said, "No one is coming to save you."

Primrose pressed herself against the door, her breaths shallow and uneven. Her mind raced, her eyes scanning the room for an escape.

Her bedroom was on the fourth floor, jumping from the balcony meant a broken spine, if she didn't die instantly.

Hiding? Pointless. He'd rip through the wardrobe in seconds.

The fireplace? Absolutely not. Even if she managed to squeeze inside, the heat alone would roast her alive.

She was trapped.

"What now, Your Majesty?" The assassin took a slow, deliberate step forward. "Are you going to beg? Or should I make it quick?"

Primrose pressed herself into the corner of the room, trying to make herself as small as possible.

[She can't even fight, so what's the point of running away?]

Of course, she couldn't fight. Her goal in life was to take over her father's business, not to become a warrior!

But even if she couldn't fight, she still had one weapon left—

Her voice.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Her scream tore through the air, sharp and piercing, making the assassin before her jolted in surprise.

Her father had always told her she had an obnoxiously loud voice since she was little. 

He used to joke that if she ever ran into a wild bear in the forest, all she had to do was scream at the top of her lungs to scare it away.

Unfortunately, she wasn't facing a bear, she was facing a man.

Or … was he a bear? Who knew?

But that wasn't the point.

She wasn't trying to scare away a bear.

She was trying to summon a wolf with her scream.

"EDMUND!!! YOUR WIFE IS GOING TO DIEEEE!!"