The Hero of the Second Round is Doted on by the Princess
The first time I was summoned to this world, I was nothing more than a convenient tool.
They called me the Hero. A savior summoned from another world to defeat the Demon King. The royal family of the Adonia Kingdom treated me like a political symbol, parading me before the nobles while whispering behind my back that I was nothing but a disposable weapon.
I fought anyway. I swung the holy sword they gave me until my hands bled. I burned through every spell I could learn, every skill I could grind, every desperate tactic I could invent. I screamed, I bled, I begged. And in the end, I died without accomplishing a single thing.
The Demon King laughed as my body crumbled to ash. The kingdom I had tried to protect had already fallen into ruin long before that final battle. My companions had betrayed me one by one. The princess who once smiled at me with trembling lips had watched my execution with cold, indifferent eyes.
It was a meaningless life. A worthless death.
At least, that’s what I believed until I heard that voice again.
“H-hello… It’s nice to meet you, Hero! My name is—”
The same soft, slightly nervous tone. The same hesitant pause before she introduced herself. The same gentle lilt that had once been the only comfort in my first, miserable life.
My eyes snapped open.
I was standing in the grand summoning chamber of the Adonia royal palace. The familiar scent of incense and polished marble filled my lungs. Magic circles glowed beneath my feet, their light reflecting off the worried faces of the court mages. And right in front of me, dressed in a pure white gown embroidered with golden thread, stood her.
Princess Serena von Adonia.
She was looking up at me with those same wide, sky-blue eyes I remembered so clearly. The ones that had once watched me die without a flicker of emotion. Now they sparkled with pure, unfiltered excitement and a hint of anxious hope.
My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack.
This… this is the second round.
I had returned. Somehow, against all logic and every cruel god in this rotten world, I had been sent back to the very beginning. Back to the moment I was first summoned. Back to the girl who would one day stand by and let me be sacrificed for the sake of the kingdom’s stability.
But this time, something was different.
“Hero?” Serena tilted her head, her long silver hair catching the light like threads of moonlight. A faint blush colored her cheeks. “Are you… feeling unwell? Your expression is rather frightening…”
She took one careful step closer, then another. The delicate scent of lilies and fresh spring water drifted toward me. In my first life, I had cherished even the smallest kindness from her. In my final moments, I had cursed her name with what little breath I had left.
Now she was looking at me like I was something precious.
“I’m fine,” I said. My voice came out rougher than I intended. I cleared my throat and tried again, forcing my lips into what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Just… a little disoriented from the summoning. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
Serena’s eyes widened. For a moment she seemed startled by my polite tone, then her entire face lit up with a smile so bright it nearly hurt to look at.
“Oh! You already know who I am?” She clasped her hands together, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. “That makes things much easier! I was so nervous about introducing myself properly. I’ve read all the ancient texts about heroes from other worlds, but meeting one in person is completely different…”
She was rambling. In my first life, she had been quiet and reserved, every word measured and calculated. This version of Serena seemed almost… giddy.
It was unsettling.
The king cleared his throat from his throne, and Serena immediately straightened, though the excited flush remained on her cheeks. She stepped back half a pace but kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye, as if afraid I might vanish if she looked away for too long.
“Welcome, Hero of another world,” the king intoned. His voice carried the same calculated warmth I remembered. “You have been summoned to this land in its hour of greatest need. The Demon King stirs once more. Will you lend us your strength?”
I stared at him for a long moment.
In my first life, I had knelt. I had sworn loyalty. I had thrown myself into a war that wasn’t mine because I was young and foolish and believed in heroes and happy endings.
This time, I simply bowed my head slightly.
“I will do what I can.”
It wasn’t the enthusiastic declaration they were expecting. A ripple of unease passed through the nobles. Serena, however, looked even more fascinated. Her gaze never left my face.
Later that evening, after the tedious welcoming banquet and the endless introductions, I was finally given a moment alone in the chambers prepared for me. The room was luxurious beyond anything I’d known in my previous life—silk sheets, a four-poster bed carved with protective runes, a balcony overlooking the palace gardens.
I sat on the edge of the bed and pressed my hands to my face.
Why?
Why had I returned? Why was Serena acting like this? In my first life, she had been kind at first, but her affection had always felt distant, like she was playing a role expected of her. By the end, she had become an ice sculpture who watched my death without blinking.
This Serena seemed genuinely… attached. Almost clingy.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
“Hero? It’s Serena. May I come in?”
I froze. Visiting a man’s room at this hour—especially the princess doing so—would cause a scandal in any other circumstance. But this was the royal palace, and she was the one who made the rules.
“…Come in.”
The door opened quietly. Serena slipped inside wearing a simpler gown than earlier, her hair loosely braided over one shoulder. She carried a small tray with tea and what looked like freshly baked cookies.
“I thought you might be hungry,” she said softly, setting the tray on the low table near the window. “The banquet was rather formal, and you barely touched your food. I had the kitchen prepare something lighter.”
She glanced up at me through her lashes, that same faint blush returning to her cheeks.
“Also… I wanted to speak with you alone. If that’s alright.”
I watched her carefully. Every movement, every expression. Looking for the calculating glint I remembered. The cold detachment that had eventually replaced her gentle smiles.
It wasn’t there.
Instead, she looked almost shy. Hopeful. Like a girl who had been waiting her whole life to meet someone she already admired.
“Your Highness,” I said slowly, “why are you doing this?”
Serena blinked. “Doing what?”
“Being so… kind. Attentive. In the stories I know, princesses don’t usually bring tea to summoned heroes in the middle of the night.”
She let out a small, surprised laugh that sounded like bells.
“Is that how it seems? I suppose it might look strange.” She tilted her head, silver hair sliding over her shoulder. “But you see, I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time. The ancient texts spoke of a hero who would come when the world needed him most. I memorized every word. Every prophecy. Every possible sign.”
Her eyes met mine, bright and unwavering.
“And now you’re here. The real you. Not a story or a painting in an old book. You’re… even more wonderful than I imagined.”
My throat tightened.
This wasn’t the Serena I remembered. This girl looked at me like I was her salvation, not a tool to be used and discarded.
But I knew how this world worked. I knew how easily kindness could turn to cruelty. How quickly trust became betrayal.
I couldn’t let myself believe in her. Not yet.
Still, when she smiled at me again—so pure, so genuinely happy—I felt something inside my chest crack open just a little.
“Would you… sit with me for a while?” she asked, gesturing to the chairs by the window. “I’d like to hear about your world. And I have so many questions. If you’re not too tired, that is.”
I hesitated for only a moment.
“…Alright.”
As I sat across from her, watching the way the moonlight painted her hair in shades of silver and pearl, I made myself a silent promise.
This time, I wouldn’t die meaninglessly.
This time, I would survive. I would grow stronger than anyone in this world could imagine. And I would figure out exactly why the princess who once watched me die was now looking at me like I was the most precious thing in her entire universe.
Because if there was one thing I had learned from my first, brutal life—
Nothing in this world came without a price.
And I intended to find out exactly what price Princess Serena was willing to pay to keep me by her side.