Chapter 3 | A Dove of Peace!
The words that she had lost her head to him several times could not leave her mouth.
Cryer wasn’t really listening to her, anyway. He was just watching her—watching her with those eyes like half-moons cut upon his expression.
It was a look she could never read in the past, even before her regression and now….
[Cryer] “I think you need help, Your Highness.”
[Olivia] “My mind is fine! And why are you speaking like that again…..? Ah, wait! Don’t go!”
Though she sounded more desperate than she’d ever sounded before, Cryer didn’t stop.
Olivia’s instincts were whispering out to her—if she missed him now, she would again lose her life to him later on. She wanted to live more than anything else, so she had to do everything she could.
But she didn’t realize catching him by his pant leg was a part of that.
[Olivia] “What do you require!?”
Olivia turned her head away, clinging to Cryer’s pant leg. She could not allow the cause of the Continental War to leave this secret room.
But Cryer didn’t care in the slightest. He just kept walking, dragging Olivia along with him.
[Cryer] “Let go.”
[Olivia] “No!”
As he walked towards the door with her hanging off one leg, Cryer looked down at Olivia, who looked as though she wouldn’t let go, even if it killed her.
[Cryer] “Let me go.”
[Olivia] “No! Tell me what you want! No, what you need! Whatever it takes, I won’t allow you to start a war!”
About to pull her off him on his own, Cryer reached down towards Olivia, but his hand froze midair at the sound of her next words.
[Olivia] “You’re a slave, aren’t you!? I don’t know the details of your contract, but I can help free you……Ah!”
Meeting Cryer’s eyes, Olivia’s words stopped in her throat. Gazing into his eyes was no different from gazing into an abyss, vast and empty. He lowered his head, growling right next to Olivia’s nose.
[Cryer] “Who told you I was a slave?”
[Olivia] “I…….Hiccup!”
The distance between them neared zero so quickly that Olivia started to unconsciously hiccup. She threw both hands over her mouth, her shoulders trembling.
Cryer peered at her, growling so much like an animal, his sharp teeth were visible.
[Cryer] “Who are you?”
[Olivia] “A…..a dove of peace!”
…..Dove…..
Dove…..
Dove…..
Olivia’s voice echoed awkwardly in that secret room. It was so absurd that Cryer just looked at her with an expression she couldn’t describe, even if she tried. But before long, he grabbed Olivia’s arm, lifting her up.
[Cryer] “What did you just say?”
[Olivia] “A…..dove of peace……A symbol….of harmony……”
Nodding, Cryer stood up, still holding onto her as he dropped her onto the couch. With his arm wrapped around her, keeping her from escaping, he whispered into her ear.
[Cryer] “Great. So, dove of peace. I’ll ask you again. Who told you?”
[Olivia] “Y…….You! You did!”
With a straight and determined finger, Olivia pointed directly at him with her entire heart and soul. There was an awkward wrinkle forming across Cryer’s forehead as he stared at her without even blinking.
[Cryer] “You’re lying.”
[Olivia] “It’s no lie! I heard it from you directly!”
[Cryer] “From me?”
[Olivia] “Yes! You said to me, ‘I’m a slave. I have to do as I’m told.’ Just like that!”
She quickly threw out those words, took one deep breath, and finished her thought.
[Olivia] “In my last life, that is.”
Seeing the wrinkles on his forehead deepen, Olivia panicked, waving her hands around.
[Olivia] “I can explain!”
To the best of her ability, Olivia summarized everything that happened in her most recent life, all the way up until her return, speaking as clearly as she could for Cryer.
[Olivia] “It’s a bit hard to believe, I know, but it happened, I swear……..”
As he listened, Cryer held out his hand towards Olivia, whose words were starting to trail off with uncertainty. But seeing how she immediately stiffened and fell into a steady tremble at the movement, he gave a light sigh of resignation before immediately pulling back.
[Cryer] “So you died.”
[Olivia] “Yes, I’m certain. By your hand, I died four times.”
Olivia sighed, patting her palm against her chest, as if asking him to trust her, but then she quickly averted her eyes and turned her head down.
The reality of asking the man who killed her repeatedly to trust her words that he had in fact killed her was terribly grim.
No! I have to have hope that things can work out—even if it’s with him of all people!
Clenching her fists with a glimmer in her eyes, Olivia looked at Cryer.
[Cryer] “Playing games all by yourself, are you?”
[Olivia] “Um…….Huh?”
Lowering her clenched fists and holding them to her stomach, Olivia saw Cryer smirk at her.
[Cryer] “The way you speak and act is nothing like how an Imperial Princess should be. And your carefree and playful attitude doesn’t indicate you’ve died four times and come back to life.”
[Olivia] “If there’s anything you’ve taught me, it’s that in the face of death, we are all equal—Imperial Princess or not. Though I wish that lesson could have come to me easier, I learned it quickly after dying for the fourth time and coming back.”
[Cryer] “What?”
[Olivia] “My reality is like sitting in a gutter, so I must act swiftly and lightheartedly so as to not descend further into the murky despair.” (1)
Olivia ran a hand across her stiff neck.
[Olivia] “And…I’ve already learned by now that speaking to you with elegance and grace doesn’t allow me to keep my head.”
[Cryer] “You act like you know me.”
[Olivia] “Because I do. Would you like me to explain more?”
[Cryer] “No, that’s enough. I wouldn’t believe you even if you did.”
The moment Olivia tried to give a response to Cryer’s firm answer, he reached out again, and she reflexively stiffened her body and tightly shut her eyes.
[Cryer] “I won’t kill you now, so there’s no need to be so on edge. If I wanted you dead, you’d know. I could kill you whenever I wanted, whether you’re cautious or not.”
[Olivia] “I know. Believe me, I know.”
As Olivia nodded strongly, her eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly amidst a storm.
Even without trying, those memories from before her return replayed vividly in her mind, as if it were unfolding right before her.
[—] ‘Your Highness, you must get away!’
[—] ‘Your Highness!’
Despite the harrowing cries of the knights, covered with blood and gore, Olivia couldn’t take her eyes away from Cryer as he strode towards her. The moment she looked away, it felt like that single second was all he would need to close the gap and tear her apart.
Right after that, he smiled widely, baring his teeth—soaked with so much blood that one side of his face was no longer visible.
The side of the wall, behind which Olivia was hiding, completely collapsed, leaving only a cloud of dust in its wake. And having destroyed the wall with a single gesture, Cryer approached Olivia.
[—] ‘Stop! Your Highness—!’
[—] “Your Highness…….!’
The scent of blood rose up in front of Olivia’s nose.
With a simple sword, Cryer managed to kill the best knights the Empire had to offer, and once they were out of the way, he reached out to Olivia.
And he was smiling.
Like a hungry predator, finally laying his eyes upon the most coveted prey there was…….
Olivia’s shoulders immediately shook, blinking quickly as she tried to push away those memories of the past.
He said he wouldn’t kill her now, so was he trying to say that he would definitely kill her later? Oh, how she wished he would just tell her outright which it was going to be.
As Olivia’s eyes were swimming in visible confusion, Cryer simply pulled on her arm.
[Cryer] “I’m not going to kill you.”
[Olivia] “Thank you.”
When he said that, Olivia reflexively responded with words of gratitude. It was so embarrassing that her cheeks immediately turned red like an apple, but Cryer clearly didn’t care. He ignored her shame, carrying the conversation along.
[Cryer] “So, you died, came back a few times, and in doing so, experienced the Continental War and found out I was a slave. Is that right?”
[Olivia] “Um……Yes.”
To hear the greatest tragedies of her life summed up so quickly in but a few words by the man who killed her…….was very strange, to say the least.
[Cryer] “I’ll trust you for now. But you should know some slave contracts are more complex than others. Some can even bring people back from the dead, but……Oh.”
Before Cryer could finish his thought, Olivia’s body immediately released the tension as she swayed, causing him to instinctively catch her. It looked a little strange because her forehead was pressed against his strong chest, but all Olivia could do was smile.
There were no words.
It felt like she’d finally passed level one, like overcoming a difficult puzzle. Or maybe even like that feeling of grasping at straws in an endless and vast sea, only to realize it’s a sturdy lifeline.
But that feeling didn’t last long.
[Cryer] “You said earlier that you would free me from my contract.”
That kind of story was crazy, no matter who was listening. But the reason why Cryer so easily accepted Olivia’s story was because he wanted to use her. She was the Imperial Princess and what she was offering him was his ‘freedom’.
So long as he could escape this goddamned slave contract, the more options he had, the better.
At his words, Olivia’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s, but she didn’t respond. Only a small gasp escaped from between her lips.
When she said that, she was just desperate to stop him from leaving. But what freedom could she offer him when she didn’t even understand what kind of contract he was under?
[Cryer] “I can hear the gears turning in your head from here.”
[Olivia] “No, I…..”
[Cryer] “I didn’t ask you to free me right this second.”
[Olivia] “That’s good, but…….Hm. First, let me know what you can about the contract and I’ll see what I can do. I am a Princess, so I have some power to wield. May as well use it, right?”
Cryer answered Olivia, who immediately nodded, her ears perking up as if she were ready to listen.
[Cryer] “I see.”
[Olivia] “Hm?”
[Cryer] “But it won’t be that simple.”
[Olivia] “I mean, obviously it will be difficult, but…..”
[Cryer] “For starters, using the power of a princess, is it even possible for you to gain any real magical knowledge?”
[Olivia] “I can always gather the help of others if there’s something I don’t know, but you’re asking about magic? You must be joking.”
[Cryer] “I’m not.”
[Olivia] “Was your slave contract…….a result of magic?”
Before her return, she offhandedly believed it was like a curse or like magic that Cryer first appeared to bring destruction. But those words were like a seed she had unintentionally planted.
To think it was really because of magic.
[Cryer] “It was.”
[Olivia] “That……..makes things difficult.”
That makes things impossible!
She nearly shouted right to his face, but she managed to force those words right back down her throat.
However, Cryer didn’t miss her foolish little reaction.
He got very close to her—close enough to feel his breath upon her skin. Cryer looked straight into Olivia’s eyes, whispering directly towards her.
[Cryer] “Once you say something, you have to take responsibility for it, Princess.”
*
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*
While Olivia and Cryer were conversing in the secret room, the meeting hall burst into a myriad of conversations. Some were a little desperate sounding, others more interested in the development, while some couldn’t contain how absurd they thought it was.
[—] “World peace, hm?”
[—] “There’s no chance of it.”
[—] “You shouldn’t speak like that. You know the saying, right? One’s words are the seeds behind every action.”
[—] “Ahem. Words are mere words.”
Dark clouds flooded the faces of the gathered nobles.
[—] “War, perhaps?”
[—] “Don’t even say such a word! Words are seeds!”
[—] “Word or seeds—that’s the question we must ask. We have no choice but entertain the idea when a Continental Congress is held months in advance with the discussion topic of world peace.”
[—] “World peace is an admirable endeavor, and a banner that must be flown at all times. There’s no need to jump to those kinds of conclusions……”
[—] “It’s not a jump. I only think it’s good to be prepared.”
[—] “But taking steps to be prepared for war of all things could very well be pointless right now.”
[—] “Better pointless preparation than acting clueless and being ambushed.”
[—] “You’re speaking of a surprise attack. But this is world peace! World peace!”
The leaders of the variegated countries all spoke of different thoughts, refusing to give in to one another’s staunch ideals. But in the end, their concerns could all be traced back to the same source.
The Empire’s war of conquest.
As the only Empire, they bore no name but occupied the largest swath of land on the continent, and showed the greatest ambition when it came to domination.
Fortunately, thanks to the existence of the Continental Congress, acting as a political bridge between nations, there had never been any kind of major war. But even so, smaller conflicts were becoming more common.
If the Empire were to choose war, the smaller nations would need to join forces to fight them. If they formed an allied power and responded with their fullest might, they stood a chance of stopping the Empire’s invasion.
Or even if they couldn’t stop them, they could at least push them back.
But what they couldn’t do was…..
All the leaders glanced at each other.
If they were to measure the trust held between them, trust they could believe in one another to fight against the Empire, they had nearly none.
Even if everyone banded together, someone would slip. They would fall to the side of the Empire for scraps, offering themselves up to stake their claim in domination.
[—] “We can argue all day amongst ourselves, but nothing is certain until the Empire chooses a position.”
[—] “For now, we should just do our best to maintain the status quo during this meeting.”
After their discussion about their different opinions and concealed intentions, the conversation drifted in another direction. Now the people gathered in the hall were having a rather colorful talk about something else entirely.
No, this was no civil talk. This was a fight—a fight about who would take the seat next to Olivia.
[—] “It’s just the two of them in there, you know.”
[—] “Yes. The Princess couldn’t take her eyes off of that knight from the moment she laid her sights on him.”
[—] “Please. The knight’s appearance was favorable, but looks are just looks. For the Princess…..”
[—] “Love is blind, they say.”
[—] “Watch your tongue. Love? Absurd.”
[—] “What’s important is if the Princess likes him…..”
[—] “But for the future of the Empire……”
They all spoke however they pleased, but the congress’ break time was nearly at an end, even as the conversation continued to grow in intensity.
[Messenger] “Pardon the intrusion!”
But what was unexpected was the sudden and loud interference of a messenger, bursting into the meeting hall and shouting at the top of his lungs.
[Messenger] “Th……The King of Nordian!”
Despite how frantic he sounded, the gathered leaders didn’t even raise an eyebrow at him. If they panicked at the sight of one weary messenger, they would not deserve their respective seats of power.
[Messenger] “He’s dead!”
[—] “What?”
[—] “I’m sorry?”
[—] “What is this?”
[Messenger] “The King of Nordian has died!”
* * *
T/N: (1) She literally equates her life to being a gutter right now, so she saying positivity is key so she doesn’t crumble under her circumstances.