What was her relationship with her family like?

Veltia had asked herself that question many times. But no matter how often she asked, she had no intention of thinking of these people as family. She didn’t want to give them her heart again. If opening up only meant getting hurt, then she’d rather not open up at all. She didn’t belong here, and she had no intention of staying in the palace. If she could, she still wanted to leave. A quiet, ordinary life would be enough for her. She didn’t want to accomplish anything great. All she wanted was a little money and a secluded life in the countryside, where no one could find her. That would be enough.

Yesterday, her older sister Leona had given her a spanking that had left her bottom smarting. She knew she’d been in the wrong for disobeying, but even after living two lifetimes, it was still hard to accept that she’d actually been spanked.

Today, she was sick.

Veltia lay in bed in the palace where she lived, Costa Palace, her face flushed and her whole body feverish. She didn’t even have the strength to lift a hand. She felt weak all over, and nothing felt right. Maybe she’d cried too much yesterday and her body couldn’t take it, so she’d come down with a fever.

Come to think of it, this body of hers was weak and often fell ill. It had been that way from birth. She’d come down with a fever and been confined to bed every other day, and the palace had been frantic with worry. At one point, she’d even thought she was going to kick the bucket right after being reborn. Luckily, the palace physicians were skilled. They’d pulled her back from the brink several times. They said she simply had a weak immune system, and that her health would improve as she got older. Sure enough, by the time she was three, she was getting sick a lot less. She could go outside now—and even climb trees. Being able to go out was great, but accidents were still hard to avoid. Like yesterday, when she cried her eyes out and ended up bedridden today.

Good grief. Could a body like this really grow up healthy? Veltia had asked herself that more than once.

“Her Highness the Princess is fine. She just needs to take her medicine on time and get plenty of rest.”

“All right. Thank you for your trouble, physician.”

“You’re too kind, Your Majesty. I’ll take my leave now.”

After the physician finished examining her, the empress came into the bedroom to check on her daughter. Veltia lay in bed, looking listless. At least she was being quiet now and wasn’t making a fuss. Her youngest daughter had been a handful from the moment she was born, always getting sick. She’d finally grown a little stronger, only for this to happen yesterday. But there was nothing to be done. Her youngest daughter really had been in the wrong.

Leona looked pretty guilty. The empress would talk to her later.

“Vivi, where does it hurt? Is there anything you want?”

All she could do was stay with her daughter and take care of her. After what had happened, she couldn’t bring herself to focus on anything else. She admitted she favored this daughter a little more. After all, she was the youngest. And since this daughter had often been sick until she was three, the empress had spent more time caring for her. Naturally, she’d grown a little more attached. Maybe that was why Leona felt a little jealous.

Raising children really wasn’t easy.

“Don’t mind me...”

That was all Veltia said. Even though she was lying in bed, she was still conscious.

The empress froze when she heard that.

“Vivi, what’s wrong? Are you upset? Your big sister didn’t mean to hurt you. She’ll apologize.”

“Don’t mind me...”

“Vivi, please don’t be angry, okay? It makes Mother sad.”

“You’re not my famiwy...”

There she went again. Why was this child always like this? She had a family, so why did she say she didn’t? And was that really something a three-year-old would say?

Maybe because she’d been sick so often since birth, the child had never been sure she’d live to see the future. Children worried about all sorts of things. It was only natural. Back then, she’d spent every other day in bed, and reading was her only amusement. She’d started learning to read around then, too. In fact, she hadn’t left the palace once before she was three. She’d spent nearly all her time there, and the emperor always came to visit her himself.

To reassure her child, the empress made a point of visiting Costa Palace every day. Veltia was precious to her, and she didn’t want anything to happen to her. She remembered how irritable the child had been as a newborn. Her gaze had been so cold, it didn’t seem like a child’s at all. She’d squirm whenever someone held her. If anyone tried to see her face, she’d deliberately turn away. She’d even hit the empress with her tiny hands. She seemed to hate adults. Whoever tried to hold her, she’d wail and scream. Give her a toy and she’d just hurl it away. The look in her eyes had been frightening.

Later, when they started giving the child books to read, she began to settle down and learn her letters. She made a fuss less often, too. The empress kept visiting every day and talking to her, and little by little, the child let go of her temper and began to let the empress hold her. By the time she was three, she could go to the imperial garden, and she seemed much happier. She stopped throwing things around. She’d become a bit of a wild child, but at least she was starting to accept everyone and smile.

Of her three children, Veltia was the one who worried the empress most—the one she trusted least to be all right on her own. She couldn’t stop keeping an eye on her. Veltia was her child.

“Your Majesty, Princess Leona is here.”

“Let her in.”

With permission granted, Leona entered her younger sister’s bedroom. She rarely came to Costa Palace, since she and her sister weren’t especially close. She hadn’t played much with her younger sister before, or held her often. All she knew was that from the moment her sister was born, she’d taken Mother’s and her brother’s love away from her. It had left her feeling a little jealous. Mother and her brother both liked their little sister now, and neither of them cared about her anymore.

But when Leona heard her sister was bedridden, she was overwhelmed by complicated feelings. She’d skipped her etiquette lesson to come see her. Seeing Veltia lying in bed, looking so weak and sick, reminded her that her sister was different from her. She got sick often. Things were much better now, but back then, she’d always been in bed.

“Mother, how is Veltia doing...?”

Leona felt a little guilty asking.

The empress could tell what she was thinking. She simply went over, picked her up, and smiled. The two of them stepped outside, leaving Veltia some room to rest.

It had been a long time since anyone had picked Leona up, and the feeling made her heart flutter. Still, she wrapped her arms around her mother. A child’s feelings were simple: she just wanted her parents’ attention. How could the empress not see that?

“Mother...”

“Lily, you haven’t done anything wrong. You’ve already been a good big sister. Didn’t you take your little sister to etiquette lessons?”

The empress stroked her head and smiled.

Leona’s face flushed. She lowered her head, feeling even guiltier.

“But... I—I hit her... If I hadn’t hit her, she wouldn’t have gotten sick...”

“I’ve already heard about it. It wasn’t your fault. You were just worried about your little sister, weren’t you? You’ve done so much for her as her big sister. Even if you didn’t do everything perfectly, how could Mother blame you? You didn’t mean any harm, and you didn’t do it on purpose.”

Leona’s eyes welled with tears. She clung to the empress, her body trembling as she sobbed.

“I’m sorry... Mother, I... I only got mad because she wouldn’t listen to me... I—I didn’t want her to get sick... Waaaah...”

“There, there, Lily. Don’t cry. I’m not blaming you. You’re both my daughters. I just want you to know that I don’t favor one of you over the other. You’re both my children. And you’re sisters, so I hope you can get along. Can you do that for me, Lily?”

“Mm...”

Leona nodded and wiped away her tears.

Once her little sister woke up, she’d talk to her properly. If it came to it, she wouldn’t force her to study etiquette anymore. She’d just try to be a little nicer to her.

Lying in her sickbed, Veltia was back in the time she hated most. She didn’t like being stuck in bed, and she didn’t like this frail body. Getting sick so often made her anxious about the future. She’d have to work hard at her studies to keep herself from ending up in a political marriage or becoming a useless princess. She hated her family, and she hated the parents she was supposed to call her own. In her previous life, she’d worked so hard for the family she’d thought she had, but in the end, she never became part of it. They’d only treated her like a nuisance. This time, she didn’t want to give anything more. She didn’t want to try anymore.

But...

Why?

She’d tried so hard to be unpleasant. She’d been this selfish, this unreasonable. So why didn’t they hate her? Why did they keep coming to her? Even when she was sick, even though they didn’t like her, they still came to see her.

Why wouldn’t they hate her? Why wouldn’t they send her away like she was some kind of plague?

Why were they still so kind to her?

Didn’t they know that being this kind would make someone fall for them? She didn’t want affection. She didn’t want a family anymore. She was scared. If she opened her heart again, she was afraid she’d be crushed just like before. If giving someone her heart meant getting nothing back, she’d rather not give it at all.

But in this life, her mother was genuinely good to her.

Why did she have to do this...?

Veltia slept for another whole day. When she woke up, her throat was terribly dry. She looked around the empty room and felt a wave of loneliness. Her body was much better, but she was still weak. She had no appetite today, either. In fact, she hadn’t eaten anything all day because she couldn’t stomach it. She reached for the glass of plain water on the table and drank it herself. Then she left the room alone, without ringing for a maid. She was used to being alone and didn’t want to rely on anyone. If she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to be a princess at all.

Veltia went to the study by herself. There wasn’t much to do for fun in this world. No phones, no TV, and she wasn’t allowed to go out much. Reading was her greatest pleasure. At least she could read now, so there were plenty of books she could get through. But this world didn’t seem to have any books for children. She’d read a lot about history, as well as the origins of knights and mages, and had learned a fair bit about this world.

She browsed the books by herself, pulling a few down from the shelves. She enjoyed the quiet and didn’t want anyone disturbing her. As for her family? Forget it. She’d said it already: she didn’t consider them family. She had no intention of giving them her heart.

She read on and on, losing track of time.

The palace had been thrown into chaos. The maids were frantic, searching everywhere for her. Veltia was reading alone and hadn’t noticed what was happening outside. Then the study door opened. She turned around and saw the empress, her face pale with worry.

“Vivi! Why did you come here all by yourself? You scared me to death! Why are you doing this again, not telling anyone anything?”

Once again, she saw the concern on her mother’s face.