“Are you not willing to surrender, Sir Stefan?”
I wanted to show him mercy.
The palace was already in mine, and the place he was guarding was merely the last bastion, the Emperor’s room where Ray was hiding.
The other knights who could have helped Stefan had already died or surrendered to me.
Stefan was an excellent knight, but it was impossible to face hundreds of soldiers alone even for me.
“…”
“It would be better to answer wisely in this situation,” I smiled at Stefan, who still didn’t answer.
His stupid will to die for Ray when It could be avoided made me feel sorry for him. But I had no intention of showing compassion to him anymore.
“I really wanted to fight you, but now is not the time to follow such personal feelings,” I said, lifting my hand, and signaling the archers to come forward.
After all, Ray was still there.
And my fight with him was more important.
I knew very well that Ray was by no means an easy opponent. Therefore, I did not want to make the mistake of wasting time and energy on Stefan.
At least until then, I was a person who could make wise decisions in order to get what I wanted.
“May you have no regrets about your choice.”
As my final words fell, dozens of arrows flew toward Stefan. Since there was a limit to how much his sword could help him, multiple arrows ended up lodged in Stefan’s limbs.
In the narrow hallway, Stefan ran forward without dodging the arrows, and swung his sword at the archers.
“Ugh!”
“Aaaah!”
There was a flurry that opened the door of death, but Stefan, who was always silent, did not shed a single moan.
However, the blood on the corners of his tightly closed mouth betrayed his condition.
Still, with his indomitable will, Stefan persistently fought my soldiers.
And I didn’t like that.
There was annihilation at the end of that unbreakable will.
“Even if you stop me here, what will you do with your body that will not last long.”
Anyway, Stefan won’t stop me.
I grabbed my sword and clicked my tongue, before blocking Stefan’s sword that was coming at me.
I was a little surprised by the power that came from the body filled with arrows.
It wasn’t to the point of being overpowered, but it was stronger than what I expected.
I saw Stefan clenching his teeth tightly to the extent of breaking a tooth when I easily blocked his attacks.
Look, you already know you’re going to die.
I could read it in his eyes.
He was afraid. He wanted to run away from the pain of death.
The sharp arrowheads stuck in the arm holding the sword, and his legs stained red with blood were eating him up.
He looked just like an ordinary human who was afraid of succumbing to great power and wanting to avoid pain.
However, his courage and will were greater than his fear. Even though he was afraid of losing his life here, he had something more valuable he wanted to protect.
“It is… Nice to see.”
It’s better for one to be a roaring and exploding fire than a shabby, and extinguished ember in their final moments.
So, with great joy, I cut his body in half.
The sword cut through his wide chest, making blood spurt out, before he fell on his knees.
At that moment, Stefan looked up at me.
And those black eyes pierced my brain like thorns, making me feel an emotion I’ve never encountered before.
I tried to interpret what that gaze meant, but his eyes soon turned cold and stained with death.
Stefan knelt down like a stone statue.
“Is he dead?” someone asked.
Those around were wary of the great Stefan who was kneeling, his body standing upright, as if he was still alive.
His last gaze was so intense, I stared at his corpse for a long moment.
Those eyes contained neither fear, nor resentment, nor resignation.
I wanted to ask what he was trying to say, but alas he was already gone.
“Go,” I finally ordered, no longer worrying about Stefan.
I didn’t have the luxury to ponder on what his look really meant.There was no time to waste on foolish curiosity.
Because I still had one fight left.
I took the warmth of countless lives and headed to Raymond’s room with the heated sword.
* * *
And now, those eyes that wanted to leave an unspoken will were looking at me.
I stared into Stefan’s black eyes.
As expected, it wasn’t a good feeling to have a person who was once killed alive in front of me.
Can we get along well this time?
I was already worried.
Stefan’s character was already well known.
He was blunt enough to feel disrespectful, not talkative, and loyal.
And since he didn’t have a gentle appearance, even though he always kept his mouth shut, ordinary people would get scared when they saw him, and run away.
Still, I’m glad he doesn’t talk.
At least he wasn’t going to provoke me like Ray.
I approached Stefan.
I knew that he was tall, but seeing him while being in this nine-year-old body, I felt that he was taller.
Was he 7 feet?
Due to his height and size, Stefan appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties. But the 18-year-old had probably just begun to establish himself in the Knight’s order.
He came to me during the time he still had to build up his skills and climb up the social ladder.
Still, if he was to be my escort, it would feel like settling.
I felt a little sorry for him.
Technically, being a princess’ escorts knight would look good on a resume, but it was quite dissatisfying for a knight to come all the way down to this distant province to guard a nine-year-old princess.
The town where the detached palace was located was a peaceful one, which meant no incidents to help one improve their skills, and no publicity.
“Thank you.”
I offered him my hand, expressing my deepest condolences for his career.
Well, I guess because of the height difference, it would be more accurate to say that I raised my hand in his direction.
“….”
Stefan stood there staring at me indifferently, even though I obviously asked for a handshake.
Yep, this was his biggest problem.
That’s why we didn’t get along.
That’s why he could only reach the vice president’s position with that character.
Even though he came from nothing, he had the best skills among knights. But because of his cold, and blunt character, there was a limit to his advancements.
Even the positions of the head and the generals, appointed by the state above the vice-president.
Even though he had the ability to go up further, he couldn’t go further than the vice president until the day I killed him at the age of 20.
“Knight, shake her hand…” Clara, who was watching from the side, said to Stefan very carefully.
She looked frightened by Stephan’s tall stature, broad shoulders, and scarred face.
At Clara’s words, Stefan looked down at me again, and stretched out his hand.
Still not holding my hand.
Did I ask for a high-five?
It seemed like he really didn’t want to touch my hand.
Still so arrogant, really.
‘It’s a cancellation that I’m glad I didn’t say anything.’
Contrary to Ray, staying with Stefan wasn’t so frustrating it made me want to explode.
* * *
I sat at my desk and held a quill.
I bit my lip and wrote a few letters at top of the paper.
Then I looked at the paper for a long time with an unsure expression.
[Bucket list to live a good life.]
I tried it once, but I thought it was a little too much, so I fluttered the tip of the quill pen with my small hand.
The reason I decided to write this embarrassing list was that, contrary to my vow to be good, life didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.
Every time I bumped into Ray, I became the bad Dorothea all over again, and every time I met Theon, my determination broke down.
But now there was no Ray, no Theon, and no damn Carnan in sight.
Wouldn’t it be possible to actually live that good life in this quiet, and detached palace?
Yeah. Now, I need to make a list that would help me achieve my goals.
Even in my previous life, I used to write down things I needed to achieve the goals I had.
I straightened the pen again.
But… How does one live a good life?
I must know that before I can put it in action….
I frowned and glared at the empty paper.
No one ever taught me how to be kind.
Kind…..what’s kindness anyway?
“Princess, what are you doing?” Clara asked, looking at me who wasn’t writing anything with the pen.
“Clara, what should I do if I want to live a good life?”
Really, what should I do? Are you a good person if you just don’t kill people?
“If you want to live a good life, you must first listen to your parents.” Clara smiled as she gave me this extremely useless advice.
Listen to my parents? Those words didn’t belong in my dictionary!
“Not that,” I replied, sternly
Seeing that I was serious, Clara got closer to me.
“What are you doing? “Bucket list to live a good life?” She read out loud.
Clara burst into laughter when she saw what exactly I was working on.
Then Stefan, curious, sneaked up behind me to peek at the list.
“Wh….why are you laughing?” I stammered, feeling ashamed for no reason, and trying to cover what I wrote with my small hand.
My face was hot and burning red.
I knew that I decided to live a good life, but the word “good” felt somehow embarrassing to write.
“It’s cute to live a good life. Why are you making that list, Princess?”
Why are you asking the obvious? It’s because I want to live a good life!
Besides, it’s not cute, so why don’t you make it cute with something like this?
It’s something I’ve heard often ever since I was a child, but no matter how much I heard it, I couldn’t get used to it.
This is because, unlike the words pretty or beautiful, the word “cute” felt too cheesy.
That kind of tickling and clunky feeling didn’t suit me. So, I always felt extremely weird towards the word cute and hated it.
“Well, how about something like this?
“Give your father ten massages!”
“Clara is a good daughter,” I told her.
Everything that came out of her mouth so far was about her parents.
She reminded me of Ray. In other words, her words sounded beyond useless and were getting on my nerves.
The thought of giving a massage to Carnan was simply terrifying.
How much was she going to pay me to give him a massage?
Oh, it might relieve some stress. It might be my only chance to strike the great Emperor, Carnan with my bare fists.
Moreover, that is not a good thing. At least by my standards.
“You don’t like it? So how about smiling ten times a day?”
“Then, what about smiling ten times? Come to think of it, I have never seen the princess smile properly,” Clara said, fiddling with her chin.
I glanced at the mirror that was at one side of the room, and saw a nine-year-old girl with a stern expression reflecting in it.
As a tyrant, I rarely smiled, which made people more afraid of me.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like to smile. I just had nothing to smile about. Even after becoming the Empress when I had everything I ever wanted, I couldn’t smile.
Clara’s words make sense.
When I thought of the image of a good person, I usually saw someone with a kind smile on their lips.
There’s no such thing as a good person with a bad face.
So, I looked in the mirror again and gently raised the corners of my lips.
But too embarrassed by the unnatural sight, I quickly lowered the corners of my lips before Clara and Stefan could see anything.
* * *
