TPHO 01

CHAPTER 01

. I Died from Overwork and Became a Princess of the Enemy Nation (1)

I feel like coughing up blood. My insides are about to burst.

“Saintess! More wounded are coming! Please heal them!”

“Children have magical burns! Please, save them quickly!”

“Saintess!”

Desperate pleas exploded from all directions. I gasped for air.

“J-just a moment, please… just a little…!”

Just give me a second to breathe, you bastards!

Sure, with my divine power as the ‘Great Saintess,’ I could heal people a hundred times faster than an ordinary priest.

But what happens when I sleep only three hours a day and keep using divine power?

And keep that up for three straight months?

‘I’m seriously going to die…’

But I couldn’t say that—because we were in the middle of a war against the demons.

Our location was the Karon region, right on the border between the Holy Kingdom of Halkion and the demon nation Tartarus.

I shuddered as I stared at the mountain scorched by a demon dragon.

‘Border skirmishes are one thing, but why is this fight dragging on so long?’

What had the demons lost their minds over?

The fact that even I—the 13th Great Saintess of the Holy Kingdom of Halkion—was pulled from the capital to the front lines said it all.

‘But what’s the point of me working myself to death healing people?’

Demons were physically superior to humans in every way.

They easily lived to 100, and their prime lasted well into their 30s.

One demon knight took three of our holy knights to handle—barely.

No wonder we were taking such heavy losses.

“Haa… Ugh.”

But worst of all was the toll on me—mentally and physically.

I doubled over, panting in exhaustion.

I was working like an army on my own at the Karon Temple. I felt like throwing up.

“The cowards who ran away… may they be struck down by divine punishment later! Haa…”

Even with chaos erupting around us, some priests had fled.

But people still kept calling for me.

“Saintess, please save my child! The burns—!”

“Please save my father first! I’m begging you!”

“You bastard! Get out of the way! Why are you putting your dad first? He looks fine!”

Whether it was the battlefield where knights clashed or this temple where I was healing people—it was all a war zone.

But I was the symbol of the holy faith. I wasn’t allowed to show a hint of struggle.

“Saintess! Please, this way first!”

“Saintess, have you finished healing the 3rd Holy Knights?”

“Saintess! Hurry, please heal faster!”

There was only one Saintess—me. But the number of people pleading never stopped.

My vision blurred, as if I had a fever.

Still, I shook my head desperately and cried out:

“J-just a moment—I’ll be right—!”

“Ugh, why are you so slow?!”

Snap.

I don’t know who it was, but something inside me just snapped.

Everyone went quiet, stunned by how far this person had crossed the line.

Even I could feel it—my ‘holy and merciful expression’ had vanished from my face.

“That mouth of yours…!”

I nearly shouted, “Why don’t you shut it?!”

“Huh…?”

Suddenly my vision went dark. A ringing filled my ears.

The screams of people around me felt distant, like from another world.

My body relaxed, and drowsiness overwhelmed me.

I collapsed onto the cold floor.

But there was no pain.

All I could think was something stupid:

‘…Is it okay if I just sleep for a bit?’

Just for a moment… without anyone scolding me.

Once I get up… I’ll save people again. Just a little rest…

But my eyes never opened again.

[Holy Kingdom Year 511, January.
A minor conflict breaks out in the Karon region, the border between Halkion and Tartarus.
The fighting escalates into full-scale war.

Holy Kingdom Year 511, March.
The 13th Great Saintess is dispatched.
She performs daily miracles using divine power for three months straight without rest.

And in June.
The 13th Great Saintess of Halkion… dies from overwork.]

* * *

After my eyes closed…

‘I was supposed to be the Saintess… but I guess I didn’t get much divine blessing in life.’

Floating in the dark, I looked back on my past.

‘I lost my whole family to famine when I was young…’

Though to be fair, things did improve a bit after that.

The village temple took me in, and I became a trainee priestess.

But when I turned ten, I followed the village priest to the capital temple—and that’s when my life derailed.

All I did was bow along with the other priests, like always.

But then, the 12th Great Saintess suddenly stood up and pointed straight at me.

“The next Great Saintess is that child! All my divine power shall go to her!”

And so, the great saint passed down an immense amount of divine power to me.

While a normal priest would need a week of prayer to perform a miracle, I could do it in minutes.

The day after my ordination, the 12th Saintess passed away.

…And I quickly realized the capital temple was a prison.

I couldn’t eat anything that bled because it was “impure”—so my meals were grass and beans.

No sweets allowed.

Since I was the “face” of the faith, I wasn’t allowed to look tired, annoyed, or disinterested.

Smiling too brightly was “unrefined,” so even that was forbidden.

And there were even more terrible things I’d rather not remember.

‘Ha… I never received a single revelation, but boy, did I hear a lot of crap.’

I hated the temple that chained me down.

It was hell. I tried to escape many times.

But every attempt ended in failure.

As punishment, they’d bring me sick children and say:

“The compassionate Great Saintess wouldn’t leave when her prayers can heal these children, right?”

‘Now that I think about it, that really pisses me off.’

If they had just stayed up praying for a few nights themselves, those kids would’ve recovered.

So when I heard I was being sent to Karon…

It was childish, but I was happy.

I thought maybe I could escape those chains.

‘Now I want to slap my younger self for being so naïve…’

In the end, all I got was death.

I liked helping people, and it felt good to be thanked.

Maybe… it wasn’t such a bad life?

‘No. There were too many regrets.’

I lost my family too young.

I was torn away from the villagers who raised me.

And after all that, I just… died?

‘It’s too unfair.’

I couldn’t even remember my real name anymore.

Did I have nothing in this twenty-year life that was truly mine?

My name was—

『—Sion.』

『Elysion.』

『Lady Elysion!』

‘…Huh? That’s not right.’

I was born a commoner. No one called me something so grand.

But who’s calling me now?

“The princess has really opened her eyes!”

“Inform His Highness right away—immediately!”

Huh…?

‘His Highness?’
‘Would that be Emperor Alcyone of the Holy Kingdom? No, he’s referred to as “His Majesty”… must be someone else?’

There was no one named Elysion in the Alcyone royal family.

And yet, I was regaining consciousness. So… I wasn’t dead?

‘Then they’ll just drag me off to work again, won’t they?’

Maybe I should pretend to still be unconscious.

But the light was too bright—I had to open my eyes.

“My goodness! We all thought there was no hope since your eyes stayed closed for months!”

“Everyone, prepare quickly! His Highness will be here soon!”

“Princess! The princess is awake!”

…Why were they calling me a princess?

Not even my divine healing could cure narcissism, and yet maybe I’d been secretly full of myself all along.

I wanted to rub my face in embarrassment.

But… my hand wouldn’t move properly.

‘Wait. What’s with this arm? Why is it so short and pudgy?’

Short, chubby…

A baby’s arm?

‘What the hell is this?!’

“Waaah! Ehhh!”

“Lette, look! The princess is crying!”

“Thank goodness… She’ll recover soon, Minte!”

Two women who looked like maids were crying as they gently rocked me.

Their hands were kind. Comforting. It had been so long since I felt a touch like that.

I didn’t even know which part was more shocking—my strange body, or their tenderness.

‘Wait a second… why do these people have horns on either side of their heads?’

At that moment, a heavy door creaked open.

Even though it was just a door opening, the entire atmosphere shifted—filled with overwhelming presence.

“Urk…!”

What kind of ridiculous person was this?

I had never felt such raw power from a human being before.

“Is it true… that the princess has awakened from her coma?”