Chapter 2
The game <The Abandoned World>, based on a romance fantasy novel of the same name, had this story:
After the emperor—my father—dies from a worsening illness, the Crown Prince, my half-brother Tahar, inherits the throne.
After that, a power struggle breaks out between the young emperor and the Grand Duke of the North. In the end, the Grand Duke is assassinated.
‘At that point, the Grand Duke’s children—still just little kids—lose control and destroy the capital.’
The two boys the Grand Duke had been protecting were transcendents—the male protagonists of the game—so such destruction was possible.
After that, the young protagonists grow up without guardians, living harsh and miserable childhoods.
Fifteen years later—
The grown male leads and the surviving imperial princess try to take revenge on each other, but gradually fall in love.
The game is played from the perspective of Princess Lydia Obelir, where you choose between the two men, dress them up, and level them up.
‘And my role? A stubborn villain who survives until the end and keeps tormenting the protagonists.’
It wasn’t a good role, but it wasn’t completely hopeless either.
Right now, the protagonists were still children. This was long before the story began.
I compared the game’s story with some historical facts in my mind.
The empire’s history followed the game’s storyline almost exactly, which confirmed that I had entered the game.
‘If I know how the story goes, I can change the future.’
I couldn’t stop my mother’s death… but maybe I could avenge her.
I clenched my fist in my mind.
Soon, a warm energy spread through my abdomen.
My father was urgently pouring divine power into me.
“Frey, you’ll be fine. Everything will be okay…”
His voice, usually firm and authoritative, trembled weakly.
It carried anger toward those who killed his wife and grief for losing someone he loved.
Listening to him, I realized—
‘Even my father’s pure divine power couldn’t save Mother.’
It felt like my heart dropped, but my breathing didn’t stop.
Instead, thanks to his divine power, my breathing gradually steadied.
If only he hadn’t been away… or had returned just a little earlier—
But such thoughts were meaningless.
The Empress and the Zelon family would have tried to kill my pregnant mother and me no matter what.
“Father… ngh.”
I forced out the words with my remaining strength.
At that, a faint light returned to his shaken eyes.
“Frey, I’m sorry. While I was away, this happened…”
His broad shoulders trembled with every word.
His deep, aged eyes kept glancing at my mother, now covered with a white cloth.
I quietly placed my hand over his rough hand resting on my abdomen.
But I couldn’t say “it’s okay” or “it couldn’t be helped.”
My mother’s sudden death had shocked me too.
“….”
And after seeing the future where my father would also die from illness, it was even harder to speak.
I had just lost my mother, and now I had to think about losing my father too.
As I struggled to breathe, unable to say anything, he spoke.
“…I will not let today’s events pass quietly. But for now, rest well and recover.”
He wasn’t a fool—he likely suspected the Empress’s family, the Zelon Duke’s house.
After all, they were the ones who benefited from our deaths.
‘Yes, Father. I won’t run away in fear like before.’
I said that with my eyes as I slowly closed them.
The divine power was purifying my body, and the shock had drained me completely.
Honestly, it was a miracle I had stayed conscious until he arrived.
“Move the princess to her room and strengthen security. Assign priests and a physician.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At his command, I was carefully carried away.
“…Roselia.”
The last thing I saw was my father’s back as he called my mother’s name in a hollow voice.
Then my vision went dark.
* * *
It felt like a part of my past life was replaying as a dream.
Before I was reborn as Frey Obelir—
I had never been able to settle anywhere, moving from one relative’s house to another.
Sometimes for a few months, sometimes for years.
My biological parents had both run away after having affairs, abandoning me.
‘Even though we were family, my relatives only took me in to get more inheritance from my grandparents under the excuse of raising me.’
After a few years without any contact from my parents, they started treating me badly.
[“A regular high school? Are you really that shameless, just like your parents?”]
[“You should be working already instead of studying…”]
An extra mouth to feed. A freeloader. A parasite.
I heard those words every day.
Having no one on my side made me feel miserable and resentful, and I became twisted.
One day, after school, I wandered outside instead of going home. Some delinquents laughed at me.
[“You want to do that in broad daylight? What kind of world do you think this is?”]
[“So what? She doesn’t have parents anyway.”]
[“What did you just say?”]
I grabbed their hair and fought them without thinking.
‘…Maybe I was reborn as this unlucky princess as punishment for acting without thinking back then.’
Anyway, in my past life, whenever I was treated unfairly, I prayed again and again.
Please, let me have a family that loves me.
A family that sees my existence as a blessing—who loves me just for being me.
Unfortunately, that wish was never granted before I died in a traffic accident.
‘Now that I’ve been reincarnated into this game, I finally met parents who love me…’
Would the Empress and the Crown Prince ever understand that?
That meeting my parents in this life was the wish I longed for in my previous life?
‘Mother… I don’t think I can keep your request to pretend I don’t know the culprit.’
My eyes opened naturally. It seemed a day had passed.
The room was covered by thick velvet curtains, blocking most of the sunlight.
A luxurious space—something my past self could never have imagined.
‘I lived like this for 20 years without realizing how fortunate I was.’
With memories of my past life, I could now truly feel how much I had enjoyed.
As the emperor’s beloved daughter, I had countless advantages.
Maybe I could use knowledge from my past life in many ways.
“Ah…”
As I moved slightly with a groan, the priests and physician in the room straightened immediately.
Seeing their black clothing reminded me of my mother’s last moments, making my chest ache.
“Princess Frey, how are you feeling?”
“Please drink some warm water first.”
“….”
What caught my attention next was how tense they were.
Of course, I knew why—they acted as if even a small mistake could cost them their heads.
Before I even spoke, I had always been extremely cautious because of the killing intent from the Empress and the Crown Prince’s faction.
They were powerful enough to kill me anytime—and they had threatened me before.
Over time, I became sensitive to even small noises.
Even during meals, if I saw unfamiliar utensils or ingredients, I suspected poison.
“Take that away from me—right now!”
I was always on edge, afraid of death.
Over time, rumors spread that I vented my stress on servants.
Mistakes made out of fear were twisted into cruelty.
But in truth, I had never beaten anyone or tortured them.
‘Thinking about it now, I hid even more because I was afraid of rumors.’
But remembering the future I saw in my past life, that fear quickly faded.
I didn’t need to live in constant terror anymore.
“…Thank you.”
As I accepted the warm water, people stared at me in shock.
As if I had spoken an alien language.
“Princess Frey… what did you just say?”
“Physician, could this be brain damage from shock?”
“I’ll check immediately, Priest.”
“….”
Seeing people much older than me react like this was embarrassing, considering my past life.
Normally, I would have gotten angry—
‘But now it’s different.’
To avenge my mother and change my future, I needed people on my side.
And there was no better moment than now.
That didn’t mean I would act overly kind.
That would only invite suspicion.
‘Be strong to the strong. Change toward the weak.’
“Thank you for taking care of me even after my mother passed… and for doing your best for her yesterday.”
I lowered my gaze and saw my reflection in the empty cup.
Golden hair like my father. Red eyes and long lashes from my mother.
“I survived thanks to you.”
Even though my mother didn’t.
Speaking softly with a sorrowful expression, I saw their eyes shake.
Filled with sympathy.
They probably thought I couldn’t survive the Empress and Crown Prince’s attacks.
I pressed my lips as if holding back tears, then spoke.
“My mother’s funeral?”
“It will be held after sunset today.”
I nodded quietly.
Just as my mother had once joked, it would be a simple funeral.
She didn’t want my father to be politically attacked because of her.
After the physician and priests finished their checks,
I changed into a black dress and asked—
“The Empress must be too busy to attend, right?”
It sounded more like sarcasm than a question.
But the answer pierced my heart.
“Well… we heard that Her Majesty the Empress and her attendants will be holding a party tonight… in the White Chrysanthemum Garden.”
