Chapter 2
The guard roughly dragged Belita’s small body.
“With the assassin captured, the empire’s peace shall be eternal.”
Drusilla’s voice, brimming with joy, slowly faded away.
The punishment was carried out immediately.
A cauldron filled with boiling water was set up in the street. As an example to all, Belita had to die in front of everyone.
“What a vile creature!”
“She repaid grace with betrayal, even after being accepted as a mere mistress!”
“Kill her!”
“Make her die painfully!”
“Isn’t she completely insane?”
Belita slowly opened her eyes.
She wasn’t afraid. She didn’t feel pain.
She only burned with rage. It was too unjust to die like this.
She had endured so much. She had waited so long.
“You wretched thing!”
“Go to hell!”
The crowd clamored for her death.
Belita stood over the boiling cauldron.
There was no god. And if there was, he was not on her side.
“Heh… heh…”
A strange laugh escaped through the gag. As she endured the shattering of her heart, her mind seemed to snap.
Before she knew it, hot steam was soaking her head.
Drusilla, ensuring Belita was tightly bound with rope, approached the execution platform.
“Just die already. Disappear like your country, your husband, your baby. Exactly the same.”
Drusilla pushed Belita’s shoulder.
“You wicked wench!”
“Die!”
As Belita fell into the water, she heard the crowd’s endless shouting.
And she made a vow.
‘If there is a next life…’
‘You will all be my dogs.’
—
Belita de Wesley was a princess of the Kingdom of Gores. However, beside the small kingdom stood the Carnavan Empire, a nation with a territory dozens of times larger.
For years, the empire pressured and threatened the kingdom. They expanded their lands by draining Gores of its resources and wealth.
To avoid war, Gores complied with all of the empire’s demands. Though blood had not been shed, the master-servant relationship was already clear.
The grain in the fields grew scarce by the day. Commoners frequently went hungry, and in severe cases, they were even sold into slavery.
The nobility was the first to abandon the kingdom. They fled to distant lands or ingratiated themselves with the empire.
In the midst of this turmoil, Duke Wesley, Belita’s father, stood firm.
Belita, always maintaining the dignity of a princess, remained by his side. She was noble and elegant. Her shining silver hair and sharp purple eyes only added to her grace.
“Belita, it is during times like this that you must learn more. If you wait and endure, the time will come.”
Duke Wesley was a deeply patriotic man. He did not take Belita’s education lightly, teaching her history, philosophy, and more.
Belita grew up receiving the best education from the best teachers.
But the situation did not improve.
“I heard the Kingdom of Gores will soon disappear. Is that true?”
Belita asked with bright, curious eyes. Her governess, Marchioness Agatha, paled as she responded.
“Who told you such things?”
“I overheard the maids talking. They said we need to think about life after the fall.”
She constantly heard vulgar talk about needing to find an imperial man or bear his child to survive.
“That won’t happen. Even if it does…”
Marchioness Agatha bit her lip and held Belita’s hand tightly.
“You must do nothing, my lady. You must remain silent.”
“Shouldn’t we prepare?”
“No.”
“…Are you telling me to do nothing while our country falls?”
Belita asked, unable to comprehend.
“Yes.”
Marchioness Agatha nodded firmly.
“Father told me to wait for the right time.”
“Oh, my lady…”
The marchioness gently stroked Belita’s silver hair with a look of deep sorrow.
“I dare not go against the duke’s wishes… but… I truly hope you do nothing, my lady.”
‘Please.’
Marchioness Agatha forced a sad smile. Belita nodded, not fully understanding.
“I will try.”
“Thank you, my lady. Please… just remain still.”
The marchioness embraced Belita. Having no children of her own, she was like a daughter to her.
However, Duke Wesley, who had been waiting for the right time, died under mysterious circumstances, and Belita forgot Marchioness Agatha’s plea.
She wanted to protect the kingdom. Even when she couldn’t protect herself.
—
“Gasp!”
When she opened her eyes, oxygen rushed into her lungs. There was no boiling water.
“Are you awake?”
Someone held her hand.
“Ugh…”
Belita felt sharp pain in her left arm. But her anger burned stronger than the pain.
“I’ll kill them. I will definitely kill them.”
“You can do that later. For now, you need to survive, my lady.”
When she twisted her body, hands gently but firmly held her in place, begging her to stay still.
“I have to kill Drusilla…”
“Drusilla? And who might that be? Was she the one who shot you, my lady?”
“Gerard, do you think the lady would know the names of the imperial soldiers? Drusilla is the new empress of the Carnavan Empire.”
Rode? Gerard?
Hearing voices she hadn’t heard in a long time, Belita finally looked around.
The pain in her left arm was sharp, but her mind was clear.
“Please! Don’t move. I need to remove the bullet.”
Rode cried out desperately. Gerard, who was trying to stop the bleeding, replied with a troubled tone.
“I told you, we can’t remove the bullet here!”
Belita turned her head to see blood streaming from her left arm.
The same spot. The same pain. And the ruined building.
“What… is this…?”
“You were shot by an imperial soldier. But we managed to shake them off. They won’t find us here.”
As Rode spoke, Belita slowly grasped the situation.
Rode was holding her right hand tightly, and beside him, Gerard stared at her with a fearful expression.
“Just in case, we minimized our numbers. Everyone else has scattered.”
“Ha…”
Belita, drenched in cold sweat, quickly assessed the situation. If her calculations were correct, this was the same situation she had experienced seven years ago.
Her body burned with the accumulated rage, as if it might explode.
If she had truly returned to the past, then her deceased husband, Noah, might still be alive. The Kingdom of Gores might not have fallen yet.
But she couldn’t afford to feel relieved.
Very soon, the Kingdom of Gores would be brutally destroyed.
Belita had to hold back the tears threatening to burst forth.
‘Get a hold of yourself. Are you going to throw away this second chance?’
Belita focused on her anger rather than her grief. If she allowed herself to cry now, she might lose consciousness.
“Are you all right, my lady? Are you in a lot of pain?”
Rode asked with concern.
“No.”
How could this mere pain hurt her?
She had endured far worse.
“Take out the bullet.”
Belita slowly sat up and gave an order to Gerard, the doctor she had discreetly called.
“B-but my lady, I’ve never removed a bullet before!”
“It doesn’t matter. Just find it and pull it out.”
“That’s easier said than done!”
Though called a doctor, Gerard was actually just a medical student. But his skills were exceptional, and Belita had always trusted him.
All the other doctors at the royal hospital were under the control of the imperial army. Gerard had only stayed out of the hospital because he despised the situation.
“Do it quickly.”
“But it will be excruciating. You could… you could die…”
“I won’t die.”
Though Belita felt dizzy from blood loss, she knew this wound wasn’t enough to kill her.
Having lived through this past once before, she was certain.
“B-but…”
Gerard cast a desperate look at Rode for help.
“My lady…”
Rode also looked at Belita with trembling eyes.
“We don’t have much time. If we don’t leave quickly, we’ll draw suspicion.”
“…”
“If we delay any longer, our identities will be exposed.”
Rode shut his eyes tightly. Belita was right.
They had been working for a long time to protect the Kingdom of Gores under the guise of nobles.
Their mission was simple.
To protect their only homeland, Gores, and the people who lived there.
In a crumbling kingdom, there was little they could do.
The soldiers of the Carnavan Empire plundered relentlessly. When there was nothing left to steal, they captured the people and sold them as slaves.
Today, Belita and the nobles who shared her cause had rescued people destined for slavery. Naturally, it came with immense risk.
“Hurry and remove it. If our identities are exposed, it’ll be even more dangerous.”
Belita’s stern gaze made Gerard swallow hard.
“A-all right…”
His hands trembled as he cut into Belita’s raw flesh, searching for the bullet within.
The eerie sound filled the silence, but Belita didn’t make a single sound of pain. Rode wiped away the blood and held her hand tightly.
Belita closed her eyes slightly, feeling the blade carve through her own flesh.
In the past, Gerard had also removed the bullet from her arm.
However, back then, he had wasted time arguing about finding an anesthetic. In the end, he couldn’t get it, and Belita endured the full pain of the procedure.
Moreover, because of the delay, they couldn’t completely erase all traces of their presence at this location.
The imperial soldiers discovered that someone had been treated here and captured all nearby medical practitioners for interrogation.
They demanded to know who had been treated and which traitor had killed their soldiers.
Gerard had kept his mouth shut until the end…
And died.
It was a miserable death, his body left beyond recovery.
