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Chapter – 02
In her previous life, Shailin had been someone who worked toward her destined throne.
A future king had the duty to maintain peace and prosperity, and since she was not a genius, she had to work even harder.
It was difficult, but she endured it. She believed it was simply a mountain she had to climb.
But everything changed when Relina was born.
That small child shattered everything Shailin had built through effort, and became a threat to her.
A small crack formed in her heart—and it slowly spread through her.
And eventually—
“Si-sister… why…?”
“Because you coveted what you should never have desired.”
Deceived by others, Shailin handed a lethal poison to the young child—still pure, still full of potential—and killed her.
And after that, all that remained in her mind was the thought that she had simply removed an obstacle.
When she looked back later, it was a completely irrational, artificial hatred.
She had felt threatened by Relina’s brilliance, but she had never actually intended to kill her.
So why did she do it?
Relina’s image—vomiting blood from every opening in her body—remained vivid in her memory even after dying and coming back to life.
After that, her stepmother collapsed from shock and died bedridden, and her father followed her a few years later.
Only after her parents passed away did Shailin regain her senses.
Even then, she wanted to fulfill her duty as king—but she couldn’t.
“Your Majesty, we have a plan. If you only trust us, everything will be resolved.”
“You are still using the incense, correct? There is nothing better for calming the mind… it will help soothe Your Majesty’s troubled thoughts.”
“We will handle everything. You only need to remain on the throne.”
Curses and brainwashing gnawed away at her mind.
“Your Majesty, you should not listen to that person. They are clearly acting out of resentment due to past conflicts with our family! You must trust your loyal subjects!”
“That’s right! Hasn’t that person always expressed dissatisfaction with Your Majesty’s policies? And weren’t they once known to be part of Princess Relina’s faction? Remove this dangerous influence immediately!”
Through the manipulations of corrupt courtiers, the kingdom fell into ruin.
Even when the brainwashing occasionally broke, it would soon take hold again.
In the meantime, the kingdom—having lost all its loyal ministers—walked the path to destruction.
It was a time when an unknown force known as “Erosion,” which had already begun swallowing the continent, and various natural disasters made survival difficult.
As chaos spread, the people died in droves, and nobles seized the opportunity to revolt.
Ironically, the one who led that rebellion was her fiancé…
“Run. I will handle them.”
The one who stood by her side until the end was the kingdom’s strongest shield.
The loyal retainer she had personally cast aside—and the only man she had ever truly loved, Grand Duke Erant Fejis.
“I don’t want to be king. My dream is to be unemployed—completely unemployed! I want to do nothing as royalty and just eat and sleep!”
Shailin’s declaration from a few days ago spread rapidly throughout the palace servants.
It was shocking in many ways: a royal princess wandering the palace in pajamas, crying uncontrollably, and suddenly declaring she would refuse the throne she had long coveted.
Wherever people went, they whispered about it—but Shailin didn’t care.
She had spent decades listening to rumors, so she was already immune.
More importantly—
‘I need to get a clear answer from Father quickly.’
Perhaps surprised by her sudden declaration, the king had taken no real action.
He had only said, “Let’s talk properly next time.”
She decided to hold onto that hope.
‘I need to emphasize that Relina truly has the qualities of a king. I need to persuade Father to make a decision as soon as possible…’
But in truth, there was another major reason.
She had already experienced failure once—she did not want to return to a life of endless overwork.
The hell of royal duties was horrifying.
It even appeared in her dreams sometimes.
And also—
“There were way too many corrupt officials in the kingdom. I need to clean them all up this time so they can’t interfere with Relina.”
The main culprits who ruined the kingdom in her previous life.
This time, she would make sure they could never rise again.
Kindness and grudges alike—she would repay everything tenfold.
That had always been Shailin’s principle since her regression.
“First, I should go for an audience.”
She stood up abruptly, picking at a hangnail with her fingers.
Seeing a desk with no books or papers strangely made her feel satisfied.
Soon, the servants would probably deny reality and pile books and documents back onto it—but she intended to keep throwing them out.
Then they would understand.
That everything she said was serious.
“Showing it through actions will shut them up eventually.”
She knew. The servants were the ones who had watched her ambition, effort, and desperation most closely.
Even so, some would never believe her no matter what she did…
But what did it matter? What mattered most was changing the past.
‘I’m not even sure when I came back to.’
Because so much time had passed, and her memories from the brainwashing period were hazy, it kept bothering her.
‘But I do know when I killed her.’
Shailin had killed her sister when she was twelve—and that year was this very year.
That much was a relief.
“…Yes. At least that’s fortunate.”
Once she handled everything that needed to be done, she planned to leave the palace without hesitation.
She didn’t want to linger and become a threat to Relina, nor did she want to deal with noble factions watching her every move.
‘Ugh… this is annoying.’
It was only a possibility, but it already gave her a headache.
She wanted nothing more than to lie in bed all day and do nothing, sleeping endlessly.
Moreover, after working so hard in her past life, she had even less desire to move now.
Before becoming king, she had studied relentlessly every single day until dawn.
She accompanied the king on inspections and secret travels even when she knew it would exhaust her, just to learn how the people lived.
She attended noble councils, trying to keep up with their political experience.
That must be why she felt so exhausted now.
“…Focus. Everything requires hardship if you want to gain something.”
Shailin took a deep breath like a knight heading to the battlefield.
She chose the simplest yet most elegant dress she owned.
When the bell cord was pulled, maids entered with makeup tools.
“Light makeup, minimal accessories, and use the dress I selected.”
“Yes.”
This was not a daughter visiting her father—it was a princess meeting the king.
There was no need for excessive decoration like a banquet.
A brush gently swept across her face. The soft silk dress wrapped around her body. A minimally decorated necklace rested around her neck.
“It is done.”
“Then I will depart.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maids withdrew.
After taking a deep breath, she walked toward the office.
Soon, she arrived at the office she had used in her previous life. The head attendant announced her arrival.
The door opened, revealing a familiar scene.
Stacks of documents piled on the desk, aides moving briskly, the scent of ink and paper filling the room, the rustling of pages turning…
She didn’t feel nostalgic.
This was the place where she had felt her incompetence most clearly.
The place where she had realized, in the harshest way possible, that she was not suited to be king.
“……”
“You have come.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Everyone, leave us for a moment.”
The aides bowed to both father and daughter and exited the room.
Soon after, the head attendant brought tea and refreshments.
Silence filled the room.
Shailin drank quietly.
In her previous life, she hadn’t liked tea at this time—it had been too bitter—but now it went down smoothly, as if she had aged into it.
After a while, the king set down his cup as if preparing to speak.
His expression was serious. Shailin straightened her posture and looked back at him.
“Is what you said—that you do not want to become king—truly your sincere wish?”
“Yes, Father.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because there is already a perfect successor who can replace me.”
A being more suited than anyone else to become a great ruler.
