~Chapter 9~
The scene was so thrilling it sent chills down one’s spine.
Since childhood, she had been forced into an engagement with the Crown Prince, a bond artificially created by the Emperor to restrain her. They had never felt any genuine interest in each other, yet for some reason, the Crown Prince had started finding fault with her ventures one day.
He tried to diminish the noble authority of Livia Arfin, and naturally, that was something Livia could never tolerate. The Crown Prince was like a thorn lodged deep within her heart.
“By the way, what could she have done? What in the world could she have pulled off to make the Crown Prince, who treated me like a piece of dog excrement left by the roadside, suddenly fall for her? Disgusting and offensive as that soul may be… if we could talk, that’s the one thing I’d want to ask.”
“That soul is long gone, Livia. She has paid the price for coveting your body. She will never have another chance.”
“Of course. At that time, my holy power was weakened by the accident. It won’t ever happen again.”
“We’ll be vigilant and reinforce the guard even more.”
Satisfied with Edmund’s loyal reply, Livia gave a satisfied nod.
At times, when she gazed into the mirror, she wondered about those lost five years. But more than any mere curiosity, the shame of having had her body stolen weighed upon her. If she ever met that soul again, she would never let it walk away whole.
‘Ripping it to pieces would be too merciful. Not only did it steal five years of my life, it ruined fifteen years of meticulous planning. So what I must do is…’
Shatter its life slowly, piece by piece. Death would be too merciful. True punishment meant tearing its very existence apart.
Eleven nights had passed since I snuck into Rajan.
During this time, I’d worked desperately to obtain any information about Crown Prince Khalid.
Initially, I thought finding news about the Crown Prince of the Empire would be easy.
That was naïve. Information about Khalid was harder to come by than that about the Emperor himself.
“Hmm? The Crown Prince, you say? Let me think… no one has seen him for five years now.”
“Five years ago? What happened then?”
The old man, in shabby clothes, sniffled as he tucked the piece of bread I gave him into his coat.
“Are you a traveler? Even foreigners ought to have heard the news about the Crown Prince breaking off his engagement. It’s common knowledge throughout the Empire.”
“Ah… yes. I’ve only just arrived recently.”
The old man glanced up and down at me from under his worn hood, and upon seeing the hint of black hair, nodded in understanding.
“Five years ago, the engagement with the Lady Arfin was called off. She suddenly collapsed, lost all her memories, and refused to marry him.”
“She refused? Even after she lost her memories?”
“What else can one do? The shock must have been unimaginable for the lady. As for the Crown Prince… what can he do? The noble bloodline refused. He couldn’t force a marriage upon her.”
With a shrug, the old man waved a hand as if saying he wouldn’t say more unless I offered more money—or another piece of bread.
With a heavy heart, I left the alley. Even in broad daylight, the tall buildings cast long shadows upon the narrow lane. The darker side of the city existed, as it always had, just behind its brilliant façade.
I pulled the discarded robe tighter around myself. In eleven nights here, I’d come to understand this truth. Even as “Livia Arfin” in the other world, I had never set foot in a place like this.
If I hadn’t sold the belongings I brought from the other world for a few coins, I would have long ago collapsed from hunger in this alley.
Each night I stayed in the cheapest room I could find, surviving on a few pieces of bread a day. The information about Khalid gleaned from that old man was all I had to show for it.
Khalid, hiding from the world. The Empire whispered that he was bedridden, torn apart by heartbreak after the broken engagement. But I refused to believe such a thing.
Even if heartbreak and shock were real, Khalid was not the sort of man to be defeated by despair. Not for long.
More than that, for a man like him, who genuinely loved this Empire, to abandon the duties of a Crown Prince for this long? Never.
“Still… a broken engagement…”
The thought weighed upon my heart. Perhaps it was selfish, but some part of me was relieved that he hadn’t gone on to marry another version of “Livia.” Our engagement had been the result of five long years of struggles and trials.
The moment I possessed the body of Livia Arfin, I learned the truth — she possessed holy powers, came from a noble bloodline, and was an irredeemably wicked person who ruled with cruelty and tyranny.
I refused to live like that.
“Livia Arfin” had a fiancé. She had loving parents who weren’t tyrannical, and a sister who was healthy. All things that “Kim Ji-yeong” — that I — never possessed.
And she had Khalid, a man who sincerely disliked the old “Livia” but came to acknowledge the person I tried to become.
Khalid and I fell in love after countless trials. Our wedding was supposed to happen when the Empire was struck by disaster.
“Kalid! I had a premonition, a prophecy!”
“…What?”
“We must go to Bellaniv. A disaster is about to strike that place!”
“Livia! You can’t just run off like this. Not alone!”
“But… if I don’t go, everyone will die. What am I supposed to do? We must go. Now!”
“Livia–!!”
That was the first time I used holy power to its utmost limit. The flood came after weeks of torrential rain. The river burst its banks, and the beautiful “City of Water” near Rajan was engulfed.
That was when I exhausted every last drop of holy power within this body. The memories of that day were hazy, blurred by the sheer pain and desperation that came with channeling holy power far beyond its limit.
People called that day a miracle. But for me… it felt like a curse. What I remember is agony that felt like my body was being torn apart, and a flood of regret.
People called it a miracle, but for me, it felt like death.
And when I opened my eyes, Khalid proposed to me.
The flood was just the catalyst. Khalid had watched every struggle, every moment I tried to change. An engagement that had existed in name alone became a shy, precious bond, and the time came for the wedding. The long, long wait, the countless trials we had overcome together… it was to be the happiest moment of both our lives.
But then came the betrayal. Even if she had lost her memories, people must have wondered why the engagement was broken. Khalid, more than anyone, must have suffered.
A sharp ache surged in my chest, beating wildly like a bird struggling to escape its cage. The sting of guilt felt sharper than the pang of hunger.
“Even if I wanted to see him… in this state, I can’t possibly go to the Arfin estate. Not like this. And if she truly refused the marriage herself, then… it really might be the real Livia.”
After eleven nights of starvation, my body felt like a brittle skeleton. Not only was I too weakened to approach the Arfin family, I wouldn’t be allowed near the Imperial Palace.
“Still… I want to see Khalid.”
But the Imperial Palace was no place for a nameless, destitute girl. Without an Imperial ID, I’d be thrown into a cell by the guards before I could ever set foot inside.
I shook my head sharply.
“There has to be someone… Someone with the means to create an Imperial ID, someone able to walk into the Palace, someone wealthy enough to help, and someone with a reason to help me…”
What sort of benevolent person would fit that description?
Then it happened.
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
A massive, opulent carriage came into view. Among those entering Gate 8, this was the largest and grandest. Its long line of wagons announced the presence of a wealthy merchant guild.
Although the procession was captivating in its own right, what drew my attention was something else.
A thought sparked in the depths of my exhausted mind.
My hand, resting upon my chin, slowly dropped to the ground. The corners of my mouth curved upwards.
“Of course… someone like that does exist.”
A small banner fluttered atop the carriage. The symbol upon it was heartbreakingly familiar.
A person I might call a “foolish philanthropist” for how much they had helped me in the past.
In this world, there was precisely one such person.
“Since you have no greed, it’s hard for me to repay you… But I’ll make an exception for you, my Lady.”
“Hmm? What are you talking about?”
“Should you ever need help in the future, no matter what it is, I will grant it. I make this promise to you.”
“Really? To make such a dangerous promise, just like that?”
“Because I trust you, my Lady. You will be the only person I ever make such a promise to.”
I shot to my feet. The world spun wildly due to my hunger, but I pressed myself against the wall and refused to fall.
A long line of carriages passed Gate 8, and I knew precisely where they were headed. My hand clenched into a tight fist.
“…Marquis Valandier.”
It was almost laughable that I hadn’t thought of this sooner. A person existed who would aid me, who had the means and resources. Someone who had been the only one to recognize that I was not the “original” Livia Arfin.
For this weakened version of myself, that person was the last, faint ember of hope.
