Chapter 3: A Second Life
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 3: A Second Life
“Gasp! Haah…”
Her fading consciousness snapped back into focus, and Blair’s eyes flew open.
As her blurry vision gradually sharpened, an unfamiliar ceiling came into view.
No, that’s not right. That crest is…
Staring blankly at the pattern above her, Blair recognized it. It was the crest of the Imperial Palace, where she had lived before her marriage.
Why am I in the Imperial Palace?
Her last memory was of being attacked by an intruder at the villa in Holstein, far from the capital. If she hadn't died, she should have been recovering there. Yet, for some reason, she was here.
She didn't know what had happened, but only one thought consumed her.
Asiel!
My baby… he must have been looking for his mother the moment he woke up.
Scrambling out of bed, Blair rushed toward the door. Just then, it swung open from the outside.
“Oh! You’re awake, Your Highness? I was just about to come wake you.”
It was Blair’s personal maid, Lina.
Having served Blair in the Princess’s Palace since childhood, Lina had earned her complete trust and even followed her to the House of Delmark after her marriage. To Blair, she was a confidante—sometimes a sister, sometimes a friend.
“Lina, where is Asiel?”
“Asiel?”
“Yes, Asiel. Where is he?”
“Who is that?”
Lina tilted her head, then let out a small gasp as if she had just remembered something.
“Ah, are you talking about that cat that’s been wandering around the backyard recently? Is its name Asiel?”
Already on edge, Blair’s brow furrowed.
“Lina, I’m not in the mood for jokes. Asiel. My son. Where is he?”
“What? Your son?” Lina blinked in bewilderment. “How could Your Highness have a son when you aren’t even married yet?”
“…What?”
It was only then that Blair realized Lina had called her ‘Your Highness.’
Don’t tell me…
Blinking in confusion, Blair asked, “Lina, how old… am I?”
Lina found the question odd, but since it wasn't difficult, she answered immediately.
“You turned twenty this year. You had your coming-of-age ceremony two months ago.”
Impossible.
Hearing her age, Blair had no choice but to accept that an impossible hypothesis had become her reality.
I’ve gone back three years.
To a time before Asiel was born, before she had even married Herdin.
* * *
With no time to collect herself, Blair was dressed and escorted to luncheon. It was the weekly family meal she shared with her older brother, Emperor Ivan, and their mother, Katrina.
Seven years had passed since the late Emperor who had established this tradition had died, but it was still observed as if to honor his will.
Blair’s mind, however, was completely elsewhere.
I thought I was dead, but I’ve returned to the past… Am I dreaming because I died? Or was the future I remember the dream?
Chewing on food she couldn't taste, Blair retraced her memories and came to a firm conclusion.
No, that wasn’t a dream.
She couldn’t explain how she knew, but it hadn’t been a simple dream.
Asiel’s voice calling for me, the warmth of his embrace, his face… It’s all so vivid.
And that made this moment all the more empty.
My baby…
Though she had miraculously returned to the past, this reality without Asiel felt like hell. The child who had been her hope, her life, her very everything, had vanished in a cruel trick of time.
Just as Blair was sinking into despair, someone spoke.
“Your Highness.”
Lina, waiting behind her, called out in a low voice and touched her shoulder.
“…Ah.”
Blair snapped back to her senses.
“His Majesty is speaking to you, Blair.”
Katrina was looking at Blair with an annoyed expression. To her, the son who had become Emperor was the pride and trophy she had dedicated her life to obtaining. To ignore that trophy was to negate her life’s work.
“You’ve been completely out of it. Did something happen this morning?”
“I apologize. I had an unsettling dream last night… What were you talking about?”
“Nothing much,” Ivan said casually, as if it were nothing. “Just that you should prepare for your marriage to Duke Delmark so there are no issues.”
It was a matter he had never once discussed with her. Blair’s eyes widened in shock.
“It’s already been decided. I’ve dangled the right bait, so he won’t refuse.”
The marriage had been arranged without a single word to Blair, the one it concerned most. Seeing the shock on her face and sensing her objection, Ivan quickly added, “I trust you won’t say something childish, like you don’t want a political marriage.”
“He’s a decent—no, the best possible groom,” Katrina chimed in. “Women all over the empire are dying for a chance to dance with Duke Delmark. His Majesty put a great deal of thought into your match.”
“Your marriage isn’t just about a man and a woman. It’s to improve the relationship between our families. As a princess of this nation, you must act with a sense of responsibility.”
Ivan and Katrina cut her off, anticipating her opposition. Seeing their reaction, Blair finally recalled a memory from her past.
‘I’m sorry, Your Majesties, but I do not wish to go through with this marriage.’
Before she had returned in time, in this very situation, Blair had refused to marry Herdin. It was the first time Blair, who had always been meekly obedient to Ivan and Katrina, had ever defied them.
It wasn't because she disliked Herdin. She found him uncomfortable, frightening—ever since the day of the Empress's Palace fire, ten years ago.
But…
“I’ll do it.”
This time, Blair’s response was different. She submitted to Ivan’s command, just as she always had before her return.
“It is His Majesty’s will, so it is only right that I follow.”
Her eyes, however, had changed. In this life, she had a reason she absolutely had to marry Herdin.
* * *
After the luncheon, back in the Princess’s Palace, Lina watched Blair cautiously.
She seems different today… Did something happen?
But as her closest maid, Lina knew Blair’s every move. Until last night, she had been her usual self. She had simply woken up after sleeping peacefully in her room. What could possibly have happened in that time?
If anything, the news of her marriage to Herdin should have been a shock. Yet Blair seemed completely unfazed.
No, if anything… she seems to be in a better mood than she was this morning.
Lina tilted her head in confusion. Although it happened before she came to the palace, she knew the relationship between the House of Delmark and the Imperial Family was not good. And she knew that the Empress's Palace fire had been the final nail in the coffin.
Her marriage to a family that was, until this morning, a political enemy has been decided, yet she seems happy.
Blair’s father, the late Emperor, had two women: his official wife, Empress Esmeralda, and the Imperial Concubine, Katrina. The Empress had been childless for years, and Katrina was brought in to produce an heir.
When she first entered the palace, the gypsy-born Katrina had no power, but once she gave birth to a son, Ivan, those eager to cling to power flocked to her side. As the power struggle between the two women intensified, a political rivalry formed around them.
Despite this, Empress Esmeralda cherished Blair, the daughter of her rival, as if she were her own. At least, that was how it appeared on the surface. Until ‘that incident.’
A fire broke out in the Empress's Palace, killing the Empress and gravely injuring Blair, who had been with her. The shock caused Blair to lose all memory of that time. The Emperor launched an investigation, vowing to find who had harmed his daughter. In the end, all evidence pointed to Empress Esmeralda.
Her family, the House of Delmark, denied the results, insisting it couldn't be true, but the Empress was ultimately buried as a traitor.
Her only nephew was Herdin.
Their Majesties are so thoughtless. Even if it’s a marriage to restore relations…
There was no way Blair, a victim of the incident, would welcome a marriage with a Delmark. Worried, Lina was about to speak as she took Blair’s outer coat, but Blair spoke first.
“Lina.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Send someone to the House of Delmark. Tell them I’d like to meet tomorrow. If he’s busy, have him suggest a day that works for him.”
At Blair’s command, Lina’s eyes went wide.
“You want to meet with Duke Delmark?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
It was a fair reaction, considering Blair had actively avoided him at the Harvest Festival banquet just a few months ago.
Well, I’m sure Her Highness has her reasons.
With that thought, Lina replied, “Ah, it’s nothing. I’ll send someone right away.”
After Lina left, Blair gazed out the window alone. Soon, she saw a carriage carrying a chamberlain depart from the Princess’s Palace.
Blair thought of the master of the Ducal Mansion where the carriage was headed. And of the lovely child who so resembled him.
Picturing that face, Blair placed a hand on the stomach that had once carried that child.
I’ll do anything to see Asiel again.
Even if it meant repeating her dreadfully lonely marriage. If that was what it took, there was only one thing she had to do now.
Marry Herdin again, safely.
If she had truly returned to the past, events would likely follow their predetermined course, even without her intervention. But Blair couldn't risk even the slightest chance of him not becoming her husband.
I will, without fail, meet my baby again.
The light that had vanished from her eyes began to shine once more.