****
****
“Excuse me.”
“You’re finally awake, Ellea. We had faith that you would indeed wake up.”
‘Wait a minute, Ellea?’
El had heard that name somewhere before. It was certainly in the papers she saw while helping Terban with his work. El began to recall a few memories from her past.
‘Ellea, Ellea. I’m sure that’s the name I heard.’
That time when El reported to Terban, what El said flashed through her mind.
[The princess was born weak and now she is in a coma.]
It’s definitely the Princess’s name.
Ellea Zevenica.
El asked urgently, finally pulling away from the man holding her. Was the person she thought of really the right one?
“Am I Ellea Zevenica?”
“Yes, my twin sister Ellea. What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
At the young man’s words that he was her brother, El pointed to them one by one with a trembling hand, wishing in her heart that she was absolutely not.
“Lean Zevenica, Bellea Zevenica, Alessis Zevenica.”
“Why are you calling our names all of a sudden?”
El took a deep breath and asked Alessis, who hugged her.
“Emperor of the Empire of Zevenica?”
“Why are you suddenly asking me something so obvious? Ellea. Where does it still hurt?”
When they tried to approach her again, El held up her hand to stop them from doing so.
Fortunately, they stopped immediately, as if they were worried about El’s condition. El has just confirmed that the assumption was correct.
This meant that the owner of this body that she had awakened to was the very Ellea, the only princess of the Zevenica Empire.
“This doesn’t make sense.”
El, or rather Ellea’s body shook, and her family hurriedly sat her down on the bed.
“Hurry up and call the doctor.”
“How long has it been since I woke up?”
“It’s already been seven days.”
‘Then, it must be the day after I died.’
At that moment, the doctor hurriedly went inside and examined El’s body. El surrendered herself to the palace doctor, deflated by the whole situation.
The doctor carefully checked El’s physical condition. El did not feel much pain.
She felt weaker than that time when she was a knight, but not so much that it was difficult for her to go about her daily life.
Then doctor’s eyes widened in surprise as he checked on El’s body.
“Your Majesty, the Princess is currently… ……..”
Ellea’s family anxiously waited for the doctor’s words.
“How is she? I hope it’s not worse.”
“No. If anything, she’s much better than before she collapsed. It’s a miracle.”
“Is that true?”
Even as her family was thrilled, El, in Ellea’s body, still couldn’t believe this reality.
‘Does that mean I’m now the Imperial Princess? How could this be…?’
No matter how much she tried to deny it, it didn’t change the fact that this was now reality. She had died in Rubain, and now she woke up a different person.
Her head hurt with sudden confusion, so El said in an even more subdued voice.
“Um, I’d like to get some rest.”
“I see. I know it’s still hard for you, so rest a little longer. If it hurts, tell us right away.”
“Okay.”
Now that the people had left the room and she was alone, El leaned back on the bed to catch her breath and calmly sort out her current situation.
According to the information she had received when she was El, Princess Ellea was born weak, and this was a concern for the Empire.
And that she had woken up in Ellea herself.
“So I’m finally dead, there.”
She had expected that fact, but she was sad after this realization. She didn’t want to die so badly in front of Terban.
“I wanted him to at least smile and say goodbye at the end.”
There was only one option left for El. To live her life as Ellea Zevenica instead of El. Because she couldn’t go back to her dead body.
“I have to live in this body.”
But El had lived for a long time as a knight, she didn’t know for a second what would happen to her now that she was Ellea.
****
One month later.
She was standing alone in the middle of a large performance hall, holding a wooden sword for training in her hand. The sword began to move fluidly as if it were a part of her.
Every time she swung the sword, it made a sound that cut through the wind and was both soft and menacing, as if she was cutting the enemies in one fell swoop.
The woman was impressive in the way she used her sword, her pink hair swaying in a ponytail, and before long her face was red and sweaty.
However, the sword never stopped. Even though she looked frail, as if she was about to collapse, it was as if there was something hidden inside of her.
She finally stopped and put down the sword when she heard her name called from a short distance away.
“El.”
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“I heard you were here again, so I came.”
The voice that called for Ellea was Bellea. Ellea’s twin brother and the Crown Prince of the Empire of Zevenica.
As twin siblings, the two of them looked very similar. Except for Bellea’s red hair.
“Aren’t you tired? When I first heard that you wanted to train, I was worried.”
“It’s an unnecessary worry. I told you, I’m completely fine now.”
While Ellea was wiping the sweat off her face with a towel, Bellea came up to her. Bellea couldn’t believe that he was seeing this directly with his eyes.
The sight of Ellea in the performance hall with a sword. It was a situation he really couldn’t have imagined before. They were born twins, but unlike Bellea, Ellea was weak and spent most of her time in the court.
Even when she came to the practice field, it was to watch Bellea practice. But now, Ellea was standing proudly in the performance hall.
Shortly after she woke up, Ellea surprised everyone by wishing to work out for her health.
At first, they were worried about her and stopped her, but with Ellea’s persuasion, they finally allowed her. It was on the condition that she could only do it as long as she didn’t strain her body.
Also, with the excuse of “I want to do properly this time what I couldn’t do when I was sick,” Ellea started to learn not only studies but also general things such as etiquette, which she absorbed at a fast pace.
In a word, the previously weak Ellea was nowhere to be found.
That wasn’t the only amazing thing. As Bellea conversed with Ellea, he sometimes wondered if she was really his sister.
On the outside, she was indeed Ellea, but Bellea felt that Ellea’s personality had changed tremendously, as if she was a different person.
Of course, Bellea liked such Ellea. As long as she was healthy, however she looked didn’t matter.
However, it was still strange to see her holding a sword like now. Especially in terms of skills.
“Are you sure it’s your first time learning this? I think your skills are improving faster as the days go by.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m healthier, but it’s more interesting than I thought. It’s a good fit.”
Ellea, of course, didn’t show her full ability when people were around. There’s no need to arouse unnecessary suspicion.
“Isn’t it busy being the Crown Prince? You don’t seem to have much to do.”
“That’s not true. And I’m strictly your big brother. El.”
Ellea barely stopped herself from laughing at the word “big brother.”
Because for the past month, she had looked at Bellea and wondered many times if he was actually her brother.
“If you think about it, you’re not that older than me but a few seconds. If you want, you’ll have to pass me this time.”
Bellea thought Ellea was joking. As far as he knew, Ellea was a beginner who just started learning swords. Of course, it was a sense of confidence that he didn’t know Ellea was hiding.
“It’s okay. If I do that, father will scold me.”
“I’ll see you later for dinner. Don’t worry, I’m fine now, you don’t have to come to check on me like this.”
“I understand.”
After the conversation, Ellea leisurely walked past Bellea.
Bellea, who was left in the performance hall, was truly grateful to be able to talk with Ellea like this.
Ellea returned to her room and, with the help of her maidservant, washed her sweat-soaked body and changed her clothes.
At first, these helping hands were naturally awkward, but since she had decided to live as an imperial Princess, she had to get used to it. And the next thing she thought of was to increase her physical strength.
No matter how much healthier this body was than before, it was still not enough by her standards.
In order to move and handle a sword like she used to, it was most urgent that she build up her physical strength, so she started physical training and now she was holding a sword little by little.
‘It’s annoying to pretend to be learning for the first time on purpose.’
El also started learning about the Zevenica Empire. There was some information that El knew, but it was different to learn here.
Most urgent of all was the etiquette of being a member of the royal family. Fortunately, however, this body has been weak since childhood, so there was no suspicion.
The only thing that was still awkward was standing in front of the mirror and looking at her changed figure.
And as if it was meant to be from the beginning, the family called El by her own nickname. So whenever they called Ellea as El, she flinched without realizing it.
Another special thing was that El, who had no family since birth, became Ellea and had a family.
Her friends in the Order were as important as her family, but they were different in some way. This family’s unconditional love and trust felt so warm to El.
On the other hand, it was the first time she had received such love, and it was awkward and at times burdensome.
While El was so lost in thought that she felt guilty for having this body, the maids finished their job and stepped back.