The Beloved Youngest Daughter of a Noble Family

Chapter – 1 Empire’s Witch, Reborn

“The Third Princess of the Empire, Elena von Integra, is hereby sentenced to be burned at the stake!”

The morning of my long-awaited coming-of-age ceremony dawned, but instead of the promised freedom, I was sentenced to be burned.

Soldiers dragged me before the execution platform.

“That’s the monster princess who was locked away in the tower,” I overheard whispers.

“Seems normal on the outside, but a witch inside. Rumours claim she gouges out young men’s eyes to survive.”

“How barbaric,” someone muttered.

As I walked barefoot up the towering pyre, only ridiculous stories filled my ears. Not a single soul spoke in my defence.

For me, a princess who grew up imprisoned in a tower, the title held no meaning. It was a mere ornament.

“Look at that ominous black hair,” someone scoffed. “Just like a witch.”

My long, unkempt black hair mirrored the colour of my eyes. Among the royals with their dazzling blonde manes, I was a starkly different presence.

Yet, there was a man who saw past it all. A man who told me I was beautiful.

The one who showed me the outside world and taught me to read and write – Lanian, my tutor and fiancé.

For nearly two decades, he was my only visitor in the tower. Now, it was he who watched me from the seats reserved for the royal family.

“Don’t dawdle. Get up on the pyre quickly.”

“Ugh!”

As the soldier prodded my shoulder with his spear, my tattered dress ripped, and blood streamed down.

They seemed indifferent to my pain, considering I’d be ashes soon anyway.

“It hurts.”

But the wooden splinters digging into my bare feet and the spear wound in my shoulder paled in comparison to the shattering of my heart.

“You…”

Lanian, you.

How could you do this to me?

I looked up at him with vacant eyes. He stood beside Carl, the crown prince and my brother.

I loved him. Truly.

I truly loved him. No, perhaps I was mistaken.

In a life that resembled an endless walk through darkness, the only moments of light were the brief times I spent with him.

But now, he stood beside my treacherous brother, his face had mask of indifference as he watched me from above.

He had positioned himself for the optimal view of my fiery demise.

“Haha…”

A hollow laugh, barely a whisper that wouldn’t reach the guests, escaped my lips.

The fleeting dream of happiness I had dared to grasp shattered like glass, its shards piercing my very soul.

‘How did this come to pass?’

My life of confinement, stretching back to my distant childhood, stemmed from a prophecy uttered by a high priest.

A prophecy that foretold the appearance of the “Mark of the Emperor” on my 20th birthday, a mark signifying the rightful heir to the throne.

“What is the meaning of this? The Mark of the Emperor, a symbol bestowed upon only one member of the royal family, manifests on this…half-breed princess?”

“The princess must never be allowed to seize power. We have no recourse but to confine her deep within the imperial palace and await her maturity.”

“But what of those already privy to this information?”

“Silence them. Eliminate them without a trace. With time, the very existence of a princess will fade from memory.”

Following the empire’s defeat, my mother, taken as a concubine, could not prevent my confinement. Soon after, she succumbed to illness and passed away.

And just recently, as the priest prophesied, the mark manifested upon my body.

As if anticipating this moment, Carl arrived at the tower and proposed a bargain.

In exchange for relinquishing the Emperor’s Mark, he promised my future freedom.

“Lanian and you will be wed. I will provide you with a mansion and sufficient wealth to live outside the imperial palace. Henceforth, you shall live a life of peace.”

“…Are you sincere, brother?”

“Indeed. You need not suffer more because of the mark. You are free now. I guarantee you the ordinary life of a princess you have always desired.”

But Carl broke his promise. The coming-of-age ceremony, meant to announce our marriage, became the day of my execution.

“How foolish I was. Did you truly think I could live such a dreamlike life?”

What had I been expecting?

If only I had known Lanian would stand beside my brother, gazing down at me with pleasure as they bound me to the pyre.

If only I had known his gaze would be so chillingly cold, I never would have made this choice.

“Light the fire! Give the witch who cursed the royal family the death she deserves!”

“Peace and stability for Integra!”

“Burn the filthy demon without a trace!”

The shouts echoing from all sides grew increasingly frenzied. Like an audience demanding an encore after an opera, their expectant gazes crawled over me like insects.

“How terrible this is.”

Why did I ever crave people’s acceptance so much? Did I truly believe someone among them would come to save me?

“Ah, now I see.”

Only as death looms near does one truth pierce the veil of my ignorance: I alone hold the key to my salvation. They, however, crave nothing more than a spectacle.

My tragic fate, born into an empire where women are eternally denied the throne, sees me condemned to die unjustly. Yet, to them, it’s nothing more than a macabre entertainment.

“Prisoner Elena, do you confess to the crimes of bartering your soul to a malevolent fiend and cursing the royal family?”

A twisted smile contorted my lips as I lifted my head towards Carl. “Such accusations are baseless. Brother Carl, you, of all people, know my innocence. Do you not?”

“Audacity! A criminal dares to address His Highness the Crown Prince with such familiarity!”

The soldiers beside me lunged forward, spears glinting in the unforgiving sunlight. But I held their gaze unflinchingly. Seeing my defiance, Carl raised a hand, silencing their murderous intent.

“Even if you have committed sins beyond redemption, your royal blood cannot be denied. Speak your final words, if you have any. As your brother, I am here to listen.”

Carl’s voice was soft, feigning concern for a dying kin. As he spoke, murmurs of admiration rippled through the crowd, one by one.

“Indeed, the Crown Prince embodies true nobility. Such compassion he possesses.”

Everyone unanimously praised Karl’s character, extolling his noble disposition as befitting his impeccable lineage.

But I knew the truth that lurked beneath his cultivated facade.

He revelled in toying with me like a mere plaything until his very last.

The line between man and demon blurred in Carl; his inhuman cruelty defied comprehension.

“Do you have any final words to leave behind?”

“Speak.”

“Rot in hell, Carl!”

A cacophony of jeers erupted as a barrage of rotten eggs and stones rained down upon me.

My forehead split open, blood streaming down my face. My ragged dress, now a filthy shroud, clung to my battered form.

Humiliation and pain were but distant echoes now. No amount of torture could eclipse the inferno of rage that burned for those two.

“Unrepentant to your final breath. How utterly pathetic, sister.”

With a pained expression, a mask of feigned sorrow, Carl raised his hand, issuing a final, chilling command to his soldiers.

“Die! Just die already!” The enraged shout echoed in the air.

Whoosh!

A fiery inferno erupted as dozens of torches ignited the oil-soaked wood.

Flames, tall enough to engulf me, danced wildly towards the sky.

Through the searing heat, the crimson flames bubbled and boiled, momentarily obscuring the blurred figures of the two men.

Overcome by the thick, pitch-black smoke, I lost consciousness.

******

Tinkle, tinkle.

A multicoloured mobile hung suspended in mid-air, its bright colours sparkling like jewels under the warm sunlight. I blinked my large eyes, staring blankly at the mobile as it swayed gently back and forth.

‘How did this even happen?’

Sunlight streamed through the large glass windows, bathing the luxurious room in a warm glow. The curtains fluttered ever so slightly in the lazy afternoon breeze, creating an atmosphere of utter tranquillity. It was surreal to think that just moments ago, I had been engulfed in searing flames.

‘Ah, this must be the afterlife I’d only ever heard about in stories.’

The gods in heaven must have taken pity on my wretched past life. After all, they granted me a direct ticket to paradise, sparing me any suffering.

‘But… something feels amiss.’

I brushed aside the strangeness of the unusually high ceiling and the giant objects surrounding me, reminiscent of my childhood perspective. The most pressing concern was the complete lack of movement in my own body.

Groan, whimper.

Despite exerting all my strength, even the slightest movement of my eyebrows felt like a herculean task. Unable to produce a sound, shallow gasps escaped my throat for what seemed like an eternity.

Then, from not too far away, a soft, melodious hum drifted to my ears.

“Hmm~, hmm…~”

Jolted by the young woman’s humming, I tried to turn my head in the direction of the sound. Well, I attempted to, at least.

But my head, heavy as a stone, managed only the slightest tilt.

‘Please, just a little, move…!’

With my eyes tightly shut, I prayed desperately. And then, something extraordinary happened.

A strange sensation, like something popping inside my head, and slowly, my body began to regain movement.

‘This is it!’

Elated, I reached out with my arm, only to freeze in place. The hand raised in the air wasn’t mine.

“Myaaa…?”

Tiny palms, like pebbles, with soft skin folded in multiple layers on her chubby, short forearms. Instead of the body of a grown adult, she found herself in the form of a helpless newborn, a time she couldn’t even remember.

‘Wait a minute… Wasn’t this supposed to be heaven? Have I been reincarnated?’

Everything felt far too real to be the afterlife.

‘What in the world is going on here?!’

Lost in utter confusion, she flailed her short limbs wildly. In response, the dolls scattered around her like flowers adorning a coffin tumbled down upon her.

‘Ugh, so heavy!’

She wheezed helplessly, unable to even produce a proper cry. But her body, soft and squishy like a sinking marshmallow, only sank deeper into the crib.

‘Am I going to suffocate here?’ Wow, her luck was truly terrible. First, she died in a fire, and now suffocation?

“Absolutely not!”‘

“Waaaaaahhhh!”

With all my might, I mustered every ounce of strength I had, even the power to suckle, and let out a loud wail. From somewhere, the sound of a chair toppling over echoed through the room.

Someone rushed in, frantically tossing the dolls piled on top of me into the air and gasping for breath.

“Oh, my little lady…?”

The woman in the maid’s uniform, presumably the owner of the humming voice I had heard earlier, stared at me in disbelief.

“Goodness. How could this have happened?”

Hiccup, sniffle.

Belatedly calming down, I looked up at her with a hiccupped sob.

The tears that hadn’t yet stopped welled up in my eyes and then trickled down my flushed cheeks.

“My little lady Our little lady…”

The maid, watching the scene with trembling eyes, cautiously reached out and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“Your skin is warm. It used to be so cold, like ice.”

Her touch was so gentle and delicate, it felt like she was cradling the world’s most precious jewel.

“You’ve awoken, my lady! Surely this isn’t a dream?”

Beaming with joy, the maid who held me tightly in her arms called out towards the outside in a loud voice.

“Our little lady has finally opened his eyes!”