Frisia regretted parting from him, but her eyes were fixed on Aslei. She was curious about where this place was, but she was most upset by the sad look on Aslei’s face.
‘Who persecuted my husband?’
At Frisia’s words of concern, Aslei burst into tears that
he had been holding back.
❁ ❁ ❁
“It’s been three years and eight months?”
The fact that time had passed was more surprising than the fact that Aslei had become Emperor. Frisia was astonished that she had become Empress without her knowledge, that Orl IV and Julien had already died, and that many nobles had been exterminated.
‘What is this…? … There is no resemblance left to the original storyline.’
The maids could not bear to say it, but Marianne and the sub-male leads had become wanted criminals. Frisia didn’t know that Jeremy had died at the hands of Aslei.
All she knew was that the previous imperial family had been exterminated, that Aslei had become Emperor, and that she, herself, had become Empress.
Because of her memories from her past life, Frisia had no great loyalty to the imperial family and accepted it with ease. In any case, neither Orel IV nor Julien were good rulers.
‘It’s karma. You have no one to blame.’
Her teeth still grinded when she thought back to what she went through and everyone that had died then. Frisia remembered all the guards, knights, coachmen, and servants that had been murdered.
Her moment of pain was brief, as the fire was so intense that her nerves burned out instantly, but she felt like she was going to blackout. It was terrifying.
Terror that she would die without being able to see or speak. She hated dying, the pain, everything.
She didn’t know that her strong emotions would invite the Spirit King, and she would make a contract.
‘I wish she had made a contract with the Spirit King earlier.’
If she had a contract with the Spirit King of Fire, she could have controlled the magical flames, and if she had been the Spirit King of Water or Wind, she would have spread a protective shield to block it.
The Spirit King of the Earth would also have changed the ground to prevent the magic from being activated.
Instead, it was the Spirit King of Life. She was neither light nor darkness; it was strange.
‘I’m glad I was able to survive. I know it’s not my place to argue about this or that, but… … .’
She couldn’t shake the feeling of being downgraded. She felt it even more when she recalled that Marianne had made a contract with the Spirit King of Water, Fire, and Earth.
Frisia looked at the spirits that were still floating around her. The difference from before was that the spirits of light, water, wind, and earth were visible, but none of the spirits of fire were visible.
‘Come to think of it… … .’
There were no flames visible around. Magic lights replaced the embers, and the fireplace was empty because it was the warm season.
‘Even so, there are rarely one or two of them mixed in the air.’
It occurred to her that maybe they were being considerate of her trauma. Aslei also ordered all fires to be put out around Frisia.
Thinking back on that time, she was still frightened. The two people around me were burning black in an instant. Even though the pain was short-lived, she broke into a cold sweat whenever she thought of that time.
“Frisia!”
Seeing her pale appearance, Aslei hurriedly approached her. He held her in his arms and glanced fiercely around her, like a mother hen wrapping chicks around her.
The maids who received that gaze were embarrassed and dispersed around Frisia. They seemed ready to flee from Aslei’s appearance.
Their faces were full of fear and fear as they lowered their heads. Frisia did not understand their reactions yet, but she grabbed Aslei’s arm.
“I just remembered that incident for a moment.”
Even with those brief words, a helpless expression appeared on Aslei’s face. Frisia gestured to him with the hand that was not being held.
When she motioned for her maids to leave, they left the room without a sound.
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s hug… … because of it, I soon stopped being scared.”
Thrilled, Aslei was moved by those words and pressed his lips to her forehead. She liked his warmth. It felt like she was alive.
‘I thought I would be afraid of hot things now.’
Her nerves died in an instant. Still, my living nerves were screaming of phantom pains here and there, and she felt dread and bottomless terror in her motionless body.
Frisia tried not to think about that time. She told herself she wasn’t alone; she was a contractor with the Spirit King of Life, so she’d be able to come back to life.
‘It will soon be forgotten. Because forgetfulness is a great gift… … .’
No matter how terrible a memory is, or because it is a terrible memory, it can be forgotten. Frisia felt Aslei’s solid arms and snuggled into his chest.
She was happy to return to Aslei.
Frisia regretted parting from him, but her eyes were fixed on Aslei. She was curious about where this place was, but she was most upset by the sad look on Aslei’s face.
‘Who persecuted my husband?’
At Frisia’s words of concern, Aslei burst into tears that
he had been holding back.
❁ ❁ ❁
“It’s been three years and eight months?”
The fact that time had passed was more surprising than the fact that Aslei had become Emperor. Frisia was astonished that she had become Empress without her knowledge, that Orl IV and Julien had already died, and that many nobles had been exterminated.
‘What is this…? … There is no resemblance left to the original storyline.’
The maids could not bear to say it, but Marianne and the sub-male leads had become wanted criminals. Frisia didn’t know that Jeremy had died at the hands of Aslei.
All she knew was that the previous imperial family had been exterminated, that Aslei had become Emperor, and that she, herself, had become Empress.
Because of her memories from her past life, Frisia had no great loyalty to the imperial family and accepted it with ease. In any case, neither Orel IV nor Julien were good rulers.
‘It’s karma. You have no one to blame.’
Her teeth still grinded when she thought back to what she went through and everyone that had died then. Frisia remembered all the guards, knights, coachmen, and servants that had been murdered.
Her moment of pain was brief, as the fire was so intense that her nerves burned out instantly, but she felt like she was going to blackout. It was terrifying.
Terror that she would die without being able to see or speak. She hated dying, the pain, everything.
She didn’t know that her strong emotions would invite the Spirit King, and she would make a contract.
‘I wish she had made a contract with the Spirit King earlier.’
If she had a contract with the Spirit King of Fire, she could have controlled the magical flames, and if she had been the Spirit King of Water or Wind, she would have spread a protective shield to block it.
The Spirit King of the Earth would also have changed the ground to prevent the magic from being activated.
Instead, it was the Spirit King of Life. She was neither light nor darkness; it was strange.
‘I’m glad I was able to survive. I know it’s not my place to argue about this or that, but… … .’
She couldn’t shake the feeling of being downgraded. She felt it even more when she recalled that Marianne had made a contract with the Spirit King of Water, Fire, and Earth.
Frisia looked at the spirits that were still floating around her. The difference from before was that the spirits of light, water, wind, and earth were visible, but none of the spirits of fire were visible.
‘Come to think of it… … .’
There were no flames visible around. Magic lights replaced the embers, and the fireplace was empty because it was the warm season.
‘Even so, there are rarely one or two of them mixed in the air.’
It occurred to her that maybe they were being considerate of her trauma. Aslei also ordered all fires to be put out around Frisia.
Thinking back on that time, she was still frightened. The two people around me were burning black in an instant. Even though the pain was short-lived, she broke into a cold sweat whenever she thought of that time.
“Frisia!”
Seeing her pale appearance, Aslei hurriedly approached her. He held her in his arms and glanced fiercely around her, like a mother hen wrapping chicks around her.
The maids who received that gaze were embarrassed and dispersed around Frisia. They seemed ready to flee from Aslei’s appearance.
Their faces were full of fear and fear as they lowered their heads. Frisia did not understand their reactions yet, but she grabbed Aslei’s arm.
“I just remembered that incident for a moment.”
Even with those brief words, a helpless expression appeared on Aslei’s face. Frisia gestured to him with the hand that was not being held.
When she motioned for her maids to leave, they left the room without a sound.
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s hug… … because of it, I soon stopped being scared.”
Thrilled, Aslei was moved by those words and pressed his lips to her forehead. She liked his warmth. It felt like she was alive.
‘I thought I would be afraid of hot things now.’
Her nerves died in an instant. Still, my living nerves were screaming of phantom pains here and there, and she felt dread and bottomless terror in her motionless body.
Frisia tried not to think about that time. She told herself she wasn’t alone; she was a contractor with the Spirit King of Life, so she’d be able to come back to life.
‘It will soon be forgotten. Because forgetfulness is a great gift… … .’
No matter how terrible a memory is, or because it is a terrible memory, it can be forgotten. Frisia felt Aslei’s solid arms and snuggled into his chest.
She was happy to return to Aslei.
