The Princess Wants to Live

She couldn’t bring herself to mention how many times he had hit his own neck. Craeyer didn’t seem to pay her much attention. He just looked at her. His eyes, piercing through the pitch-black night without the moon, were utterly unreadable. In past regressions, and even now…

 

“It seems like you need help.”

 

“I’m fine! And why are you still using formal language… No! Don’t go!”

 

Despite her desperate protests, Craeyer didn’t stop. Olivia’s instincts whispered to her. If she let him go now, she would be at his mercy in this life too. She wanted to live. So she resolved to use every means available to her. But she didn’t expect to grab his wrist so quickly.

 

“How much do you want?”

 

Ignoring her plea, Olivia grabbed Craeyer’s wrist, the cause of the continent-wide war, as he tried to leave the secret chamber.

However, Craeyer continued to move forward without hesitation, dragging Olivia along.

 

“Let go.”

 

“No way!”

 

Craeyer, who continued to stride towards the door with Olivia’s leg wrapped around him, looked down at her with determination not to let go.

 

“Let go.”

 

“I won’t! How much do you want? No, what do you need? What can I do to prevent the war from starting?”

 

Craeyer, who was reaching out to Olivia with a faint sigh, paused at her words.

 

“Slave! Even if I don’t know what the contract is, I will end it… Ugh!”

 

Before Olivia could finish her sentence, she was met with Craeyer’s eyes, which had become deep abysses. He leaned his head down to Olivia’s nose and growled.

 

“Who told you I’m a slave?”

 

“Duk… Duk… Duk…”

 

As the distance between them suddenly became almost zero, Olivia instinctively covered her mouth with both hands and her shoulders jerked at the unexpected hiccup. Craeyer looked deep into her eyes as if scrutinizing her, revealing his broad teeth.

 

“Who are you? You.”

 

“Dove of Peace!”

 

… Dove… Dove… Olivia’s voice echoed in the secret chamber like an echo. Craeyer stared at Olivia for a while with an indescribable expression. He then grabbed her arms and lifted her up.

 

“What did you just say?”

 

“P-Peace’s dove. Symbolizing peace…”

 

Craeyer swiftly moved forward, carrying her to the sofa, and held her arms to prevent her from escaping. He whispered.

 

“Alright. The Dove of Peace. Let me ask you again. Who gave you the information?”

 

“Y-You… It’s you! You! It’s you!”

 

Olivia desperately argued with him. Craeyer, who had been staring at her without blinking for a while, developed a crease between his eyebrows.

 

“It’s not a lie.”

 

“Why would it be a lie! I heard it directly from you!”

 

“I said it myself.”

 

“Yeah! I said I’m a slave and I have to do as I’m told. By you! From your mouth!”

 

Olivia spat out her words all at once, then gasped for breath, and added.

 

“It was in the past life.”

 

As the crease between his eyebrows deepened more than before, Olivia hurriedly continued.

 

“I’ll explain! I’ll explain.”

 

Olivia summarized and recounted everything she had experienced in her regression and past life in front of Craeyer.

 

“It may be hard to believe, but it happened anyway…”

 

Craeyer reached out towards Olivia, who was trailing off at the end of her sentence. Olivia, although startled, resigned herself to not avoiding his hand, displaying a sense of acceptance thickly coated with resignation. Craeyer, confirming her with his gaze as he lifted his hand towards her, eventually withdrew it.

 

“So, you’ve definitely experienced death.”

 

“I’m sure! I’ve died at your hands four times, after all.”

 

Olivia thrust out her chest and tapped it firmly, signaling for him to trust her, but then immediately lowered her head. It was too bleak of a reality to ask him to believe that he had killed her four times. Then, she hesitantly raised her head again. No! Just being this distant with this man gives me hope! With clenched fists and determined eyes, Olivia asked Craeyer.

 

“Have you done all the drumming and prancing around alone?”

 

“Uh… yeah.”

 

As Olivia awkwardly lowered her raised fist and meekly gathered her hands together, Craeyer chuckled.

 

“Your manner and behavior don’t match that of an empire’s princess. Moreover, for someone who has died and come back four times, you’re too casual.”

 

“You taught me that everyone is equal in the face of death, whether they’re a princess or not. I realized that fact unwillingly, four times. And I’ve felt it as I died and regressed.”

 

“Felt what?”

 

“That if I’m in a dire situation, I need to react and act lightly and quickly to avoid sinking deeper.”

 

Olivia stiffly cleared her throat.

 

“Well, I’ve already learned that no matter how dignified and elegant I act, it doesn’t mean a thing. It’s already ingrained into my whole being.”

 

“Indeed, it seems like you know me well.”

 

“I do. Very well.”

 

As Olivia’s eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a storm-tossed butterfly against a tempest, Craeyer’s resolute gaze met hers. Despite trying not to recall, memories from her regression vividly unfolded before her.

 

“Your Highness! You must avoid it!”

 

“Your… Highness!”

 

A peal of laughter erupted in front of Olivia’s face. Craeyer, who had slaughtered all the knights who were highly regarded in the empire with just a swing of his sword, reached out towards Olivia. He was smiling, like a famished predator finding its most desirable prey… Olivia shivered, shaking off the memories of the past, and blinked her eyes rapidly. He said he wouldn’t kill her now, but then said he could kill her anytime? What? He’s going to kill me, right? Olivia, struggling in the pit of confusion, was easily lifted out by Craeyer.

 

“I won’t kill you.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Olivia’s cheek blushed crimson like an apple at the reflexive expression of gratitude. Craeyer, nonchalantly brushing off her embarrassment, spoke up.

 

“So, I died and came back several times, experiencing the continental war in the process, and I even found out that I’m a slave.”

 

“That… yes.”

 

Olivia felt a strange sensation as her life’s struggles were summarized in a few words by the man who ended her life.

 

“For now, just trust me. There are contracts that aren’t worth a dime, and there are also times when you die and come back… Oh, well.”

 

Before Craeyer could finish his sentence, Olivia’s body suddenly went limp, and he quickly caught her before she collapsed forward. Although her face was pressed against his firm chest, giving it a bizarre shape, Olivia just chuckled. What should she say? Did it feel like passing a milestone? Like grabbing onto a sturdy lifeline after wandering through an endless sea? But that feeling didn’t last long.

 

“You mentioned freeing me from the contract earlier.”

 

Anyone would think Olivia was crazy for saying such things. Craeyer’s willingness to accept her story, despite it sounding insane, was because her mention of “freedom” was to use Olivia, the empire’s princess, for his own ends. If he could free himself from this damn slave contract and use her, the more, the better. When he asked, Olivia opened her rabbit-like eyes, but only wheezed through her parted lips. She was just desperate to stop him from leaving. She didn’t even know what slave contract he had made, so what did freedom matter?

 

“I can hear your eyeballs rolling from here.”

 

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

 

“I didn’t ask you to free me right now.”

 

“That’s a relief… I mean… Um… Let me know what contract it is, and I’ll try my best to find out. What does ‘it’s good to be a princess’ mean? It’s about wielding power in times like this.”

 

With her head nodding in preparation to listen, Olivia’s ears perked up as Craeyer gave a vague response.

 

“Well…”

 

“Well, what?”

 

“I’m saying it might not be that simple.”

 

“Well, of course, it won’t be easy, but…”

 

“Can we gather all the magic-related information available now, practically as if it’s a real operation, using that princess’s power or whatever it is?”

 

“Well, we might be able to gather people, but magic-related? No way.”

 

“Every time.”

 

“Magic… related to a slave contract?”

 

When Craeyer first revealed himself before the regression, he had described it as a very bad dream or something magical… and it turned out to be true. It was really related to magic.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“It… It must be very difficult.”

 

Despite wanting to say “ridiculous,” Olivia barely managed to change her words. Craeyer didn’t miss her immature response. With their breaths almost touching, Craeyer stared straight into Olivia’s eyes and whispered.

 

“Once spoken, words must be taken responsibility for. Princess.”

 

* * *

 

While Olivia and Craeyer were discussing in the secret chamber, desperately pleading and revealing some interest, along with some absurd realities, the conference room was ablaze with two main topics.

 

“World peace. Pffft.”

 

“No way.”

 

“Oh, come on, don’t even say that. Don’t you know the saying, ‘Words have power’?”

 

“Well, that’s true, but…”

 

The person trailing off had a heavy frown on their face.

 

“War.”

 

“Don’t even mention it!”

 

“Whether it’s words or seeds, that’s the problem. The topic of the international continental conference being world peace is brought forward months in advance.”

 

“World peace is a principle that must always be upheld. Don’t make such leaps…”

 

“It’s not a leap; it’s about making plans.”

 

“So even the preparation of such countermeasures could turn out to be an unnecessary fuss.”

 

“It’s better than just sitting around stupidly and being caught off guard…”

 

“Caught off guard? That’s talking about a big deal. It’s about world peace. World peace!”

 

While the leaders of each country spoke different words and refused to bend to each other’s will, their concerns were all the same. The Empire’s conquest war. As the only empire on the continent, this massive country, unnamed even in name, was positioned atop the continent’s core, revealing ambitions to dominate even more. Fortunately, thanks to the continental conference acting as a kind of bridge, there hadn’t been a large-scale war yet, but local conflicts were still happening in several places. If the empire were to start a war, then all other countries would have to unite to stand against it. Forming an alliance and responding well could somehow prevent the empire’s invasion, or even push it back a bit. But what couldn’t be helped was… the leaders of each country watched each other’s moves. If they were to gauge whether they could join forces with them, it would definitely be a no. Even if everyone joined forces, someone would inevitably end up being the small beans, or rather, the giant slab of meat being swallowed up alongside the empire.

 

“Until we can get the empire to show some stance, there’s nothing certain, even about preparing countermeasures.”

 

“For now, let’s try our best to maintain the status quo at this meeting.”

 

As the discussions of these individuals, each hiding their own intentions and thoughts, matured. Elsewhere, another group was having an intense discussion about a different topic. No, it was more like a silent struggle over who would take Olivia’s seat.

 

“If we’re going to discuss this alone, then of course.”

 

“Exactly. Wouldn’t the princess have spotted that knight at first sight?”

 

“No way. The knight’s appearance might have seemed plausible, but the princess, just because of appearance…”

 

“Love is originally unreasonable.”

 

“Watch your words. Love, you say. Hmph.”

 

“If you’re going to become the empire’s consort, at least…”

 

“No, no. Above all, the princess must like…”

 

“Suitable for a future with the empire…”

 

Despite each saying what they wanted, the conversation somehow progressed with a thin layer of dialogue, as the break time was almost over.

 

“Sorry to interrupt!”

 

The servant who almost rolled into the conference room shouted loudly.

 

“N-No… The King of Norden!”

 

Despite the servant’s exclamation of contemplation, the leaders didn’t even blink. Just because one servant shouted and stomped their feet didn’t mean they would show any signs of agitation. However, they couldn’t maintain their composure at the subsequent servant’s cry.

 

“He has passed away!”

 

“What?”

 

“What?”

 

“What did you say?”

 

“The King of Norden has just passed away!”

 

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Translator Note:

Two more chapters comming!!

 

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