She could remember many things about her family in this life. The clearest of all was how ridiculously kind they were to her. She’d planned to make them hate her by acting like a bad kid, so they’d leave her alone. That was why she’d been so temperamental from the moment she was born, always causing trouble and finding new ways to make a mess. But somehow, her family never got angry with her.

She’d never had any of this in her previous life.

The Empress stormed into the study and found her child flipping through the books inside. Her anger flared at once. Her child was being disobedient again.

“You’re still sick! Why are you running around? What if something happens to you?”

Worry was written all over her face. It was obvious how much she cared. She could’ve just left her alone. She wasn’t a well-behaved child, and she didn’t want to be someone people doted on. She studied hard to make herself a little more capable and learn about this world as soon as she could. To her, it was all so she could leave the palace sooner.

“Don’t mind me!”

“What’s wrong, Vivi? Are you still angry? Come back with Mommy.”

“Let go of me! I hate you! I’m not your child!”

She struggled, refusing to let the woman hold her. She resisted with all her might.

Family meant something vague and distant to her. She didn’t dare accept it. She was afraid to. She was scared she’d give too much of herself, only to be crushed all over again. She never wanted to go through that again. So she’d be a bad kid, a disobedient little girl. Then they’d hate her and leave her alone—and when she left someday, it wouldn’t hurt.

That was what she’d always thought.

She wouldn’t stay in the palace. Someday, she’d run away from home and live in seclusion.

“Stop minding me! Go away!!”

She struggled with all her might and shouted the words.

Crack.

Suddenly, a powerful force burst out of her. Brilliant light flashed, and the Empress sensed an immense surge of energy. It was coming from her own child!

It was magic.

How could a child so young…?

The energy shot upward. When Veltia came to her senses, she saw the bookshelf above her beginning to tilt, right toward the two of them! She shut her eyes on instinct. This was it—she was going to be crushed to death by a bookshelf! After all that, a transmigrator dying because a bookshelf fell on her? How embarrassing.

Smack!

But the pain she’d expected never came. All she heard was a huge crash, and all she felt was a gentle embrace. She opened her eyes. The bookshelf had already fallen, its books scattered across the floor, but she was completely unharmed. The Empress was holding her tightly, using her own body to shield her from the impact. A faint trace of magic hung in the air.

A drop of blood fell onto her clothes. Veltia’s eyes widened as she looked at the Empress before her, pale-faced and forcing a smile.

“Vivi, are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“…”

“Vivi, what’s wrong? Did you get scared? It’s all right. Mommy’s here.”

“Y-you’re hurt… There’s so much blood.”

She could see the injuries the fallen bookshelf had left on the Empress. Her head was clearly bleeding, and her face was pale, but she was still smiling.

The maids and guards came rushing over at the noise. They were all horrified by what they saw.

“Your Majesty! Are you all right? I’ll go get the royal physician!”

“I’m fine. Take Vivi back to her room. She’s frightened.”

“But, Your Majesty, you’re bleeding so much!”

“It’s fine. A healing spell will take care of it. More importantly, keep an eye on my child.”

Veltia stared blankly at her, at the woman before her.

Why…?

She was always getting into trouble, always doing bad things on purpose, acting in ways that were unbecoming of a member of the royal family, disobeying and making a mess. She was such a bad little girl. So why… why did the Empress indulge her like this? Why had she used her own body to shield Veltia from the falling bookshelf, just because she was afraid Veltia might get hurt?

Why would she do that…?

The palace physicians arrived and treated the Empress. They also brought in a young mage to treat her. Veltia saw that most of the Empress’s injuries were on her back, and that her head had been struck too. She’d apparently used magic to defend herself just before the bookshelf hit, but she was still hurt. Veltia, on the other hand, hadn’t been injured at all.

“Your Majesty, there’s nothing seriously wrong with you. You just need to rest for a while. We’ll come back to check on you.”

“All right. I understand.”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

The Empress stayed at Costa Palace. Because of her injuries, she had to lie on her stomach. She looked pale and in a lot of pain. Veltia walked over and looked at her—the mother she had in this life.

When the Empress saw her coming, she smiled.

“Vivi, you’re still sick. What are you doing here? Go get some rest.”

“Y-you’re much worse than me! Why are you still asking about me…? You’re clearly in so much pain. Why are you still smiling?”

“Because you weren’t hurt, Vivi.”

Veltia’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened and closed as she stared at the smiling woman. That smile was probably the most beautiful in the world.

Some things had changed. This life, for one.

She’d never longed for family, never let herself hope for it. And yet it was real. There really were mothers who would do anything for their children. People really would willingly get hurt to protect them. She’d never experienced any of that before.

It hurt so much.

Her heart hurt so much.

She knew the bookshelf had fallen because of her. She’d used that strange power, and the bookshelf had toppled. Her mother had been hurt too.

She was always causing trouble, always doing bad things and refusing to listen. And still, this woman had shielded her with her own body and ended up bleeding.

The Empress was clearly in so much pain. She’d lost so much blood; her clothes were stained red. Why was she still smiling?

She’d said she didn’t want to be the Empress’s daughter. She’d said she didn’t want a family with them, and that she was more comfortable on her own. But she’d never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone this woman. She’d never meant to. She’d never wanted this to happen.

“I’m sowwy…”

“Vivi?”

“I’m sowwy! I didn’t mean to hurt you. I… I’m sowwy, Mother! I’m so sowwy! Waaaah…”

She wiped at her tears, but no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn’t stop. She stood there and burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.

For the first time, she realized that doing something bad could hurt this much. If she’d known, she would’ve been a good girl. She’d never have caused trouble or disobeyed again. If behaving could make her mother’s injuries heal, she’d be good right away. She’d even study her etiquette lessons properly.

“Vivi, don’t cry. Mommy’s fine. If you cry that hard, you might get sick again tomorrow.”

“Waaah… Mother…”

She was her mother in this life.

Ah… So she was already happy. The wish she’d made to the gods had come true. How could she have been so foolish? Before coming to this world, hadn’t she prayed to the heavens for exactly that? A home she wanted. A family who loved her. She already had them. She was the one who couldn’t let go of the past, who couldn’t untie the knot in her heart. She’d pushed this love away because she thought she didn’t deserve it. She was the one who refused to admit it, refused to accept it. The most ridiculous part was that this was the very wish she’d made herself.

What she wanted had been right in front of her all along.

She’d been running away from it.

When she’d cried herself out and grown tired, she stayed beside her mother. Her throat was hoarse and her eyes were swollen, but now her heart had finally settled. She wouldn’t run away anymore.

She shouldn’t have been so selfish, and she shouldn’t have done bad things. If she could, she wanted to be a good girl.

As long as it made Mother happy.

From that day on, Veltia finally let go of the knot in her heart and began accepting her new life. She never said those things again. She stopped saying she wasn’t a princess, and started trying to change, trying to accept her family. The Empress noticed that her child seemed to have finally come to her senses. Veltia stopped acting out and became well-behaved.

Veltia visited her mother every day. She had the royal physicians examine the Empress daily and asked whether there might be any lasting effects. Even after they reassured her again and again, she still wasn’t satisfied. She started poring over medical books, trying to find out whether this world had traditional Chinese medicine or acupuncture. The Empress was completely baffled by her.

Leona came over too. She watched her little sister pour water for the Empress and feed her fruit so considerately, and for a moment thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She’d had no idea her sister could be like this.

“Veltia.”

“Oh, Big Sister… you’re here.”

When Veltia saw Leona, she instinctively lowered her head, remembering how Leona had spanked her not long ago for being disobedient. She was still a little scared.

It really had been her own fault, but she was still afraid.

Leona could tell Veltia seemed a little afraid of her, and sighed inwardly. Honestly, she didn’t really know how to be a good big sister. She’d never spent much time with this younger sister before; she’d only known there was a little sister in the palace. So she’d even gone and asked her own maid how to get along with a younger sister.

“I’m sorry I hurt you when I spanked you that day.”

She cleared her throat twice, then awkwardly reached out to rub Veltia’s head. The gesture was so clumsy, it looked like she was about to grab Veltia by the head.

“Big Sister?”

“Well, um… about your etiquette lessons. If you don’t want to study them, I won’t force you. You’re still young. You can start in another year. But you do need to learn table manners. You can’t be so messy when you eat.”

“All right…”

“You’re still sick, right? I’ll come see you and Mother again tomorrow. Remember to take your medicine on time, understood?”

“Mm-hmm, I understand. Thank you, Big Sister.”

Leona scratched her cheek, her face turning a little red as she began to relax. Maybe she was starting to figure out how to get along with her little sister. She’d never had to be the older one before, and after getting a little sister, she’d even felt jealous. But Veltia was her own sister, after all. She could at least try to get along with her. Mother had said that as the older sister, she should be patient with her younger sister. Well, she was old enough to grow up a little. It’d be fine. She’d get used to it.

The Empress watched them from the side, smiling without saying a word. It was a good thing when her children got along. What would she do if they fought every day? What pleased her most was that her younger daughter seemed to be growing up at last. She wasn’t causing trouble anymore.

On that day, Princess Veltia’s life began a new chapter.