PVSR 01

Chapter 01

Why did this happen?

With trembling arms, I barely managed to support my collapsing body.

Sticky blood flowed down from my torn forehead and covered my vision.

As I was dragged to the underground prison, my skin had been scraped and bruised, bursting in places, and waves of pain spread through my body.

It hurt terribly.

I could have struggled in this unfamiliar pain, but another thought completely dominated my mind instead.

“Something is wrong… something…”

Just three days ago, I was the only princess of this empire.

Loreia Frize.
The most precious and most vulgar jewel of the imperial family.
A cruel and cunning villainess.
A beautiful demon wrapped in gold.

All of those miserable titles belonged to me.

The nobles despised me, yet feared me.

Although I was only a half‑blooded princess who did not even know her birth mother, I had nothing to fear.

Because the sun of this empire—the one and only emperor—was on my side.
Because he gave me everything I wanted.

But then… why…

“All authority and titles of Princess Loreia Frize are revoked, and she is to be imprisoned forever in the underground dungeon.”

Why would Father make such a decision? He would never do such a thing…

Everyone except me cheered at the sudden sentence.
The people cursed me as if they had been waiting and threw stones.

“Never come back, you devil!”
“Dirty witch, fall into hell!”

The filthy, damp floor I would never have stepped on before, the rotten smell stabbing my nose, the swarming rats and insects—
all of it felt unreal.

“Why… why me…?”

Just then, faint footsteps echoed from the entrance of the dungeon.

They slowly came closer and finally stopped in front of the iron bars.

I hurriedly crawled on my knees and grabbed the bars.

“…Father!”
“My, what a miserable sight.”

There was no pity in his voice.
It almost sounded like mockery.

Why?

“Father, why are you doing this? Something is wrong, isn’t it? There’s… there’s no reason for you to do this to me.”
“It seems you still have strength left.”
“Father, why!”

My grip on the bars tightened.

“I lived exactly as you wished. I became a villainess for the imperial family and a source of fear for the people. Everything—everything was just as you wanted…!”

A cough mixed with blood burst out. My throat felt torn apart.

“…This is all a mistake, right? You must have… another plan… right?”

I was the necessary evil of the imperial family.

Whenever the royal house oppressed the citizens or carried out policies that would cause resentment, they always put my name at the front.

I believed without doubt that this was my value.
So Father would never abandon me.

“You need me!”

I screamed desperately.

But something was strange.

The emperor only looked down at me coldly, like an observer.

“More blood has been devoted solely for the imperial family than this. You know that.”

I hurriedly gathered the blood scattered on the floor.

Sticky. Dark. Red.

The thing that made me a precious princess even though I did not know my birth mother.
The thing only I possessed.

Blood that controlled unstable demonic power.

The emperor calmly nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. You and your blood have made great contributions to this imperial family.”
“Then why…!”
“What can be done? The people’s anger grows deeper, and the purity of the magic within your blood keeps decreasing.”

For the first time, regret appeared in his voice.

Inside his wrinkled hand, a bright red refined stone rattled.

“Shouldn’t we secure it before you become completely useless, so we can produce more refined stones?”
“…What?”
“You must fulfill your use—for the power of this imperial family.”

Something collapsed inside me.

“You’re… lying…”

Was that really the reason?

Throwing me into the mud and discarding me without mercy—
just to obtain a large amount of blood at once?

The strength left my hands gripping the bars.
Both arms dropped helplessly.

…

I had vaguely known all along.

From the beginning, I was only a chess piece of this imperial family.
That one day I might be abandoned.

Even so, they were my only family.

So I wanted to be useful.
Even if I could not be loved,
I wanted to have value.

“…May I ask just one thing?”

I forced myself to stand again and looked into the emperor’s golden eyes, which did not resemble me at all.

“Not even once… have you ever cherished me as your daughter? Even for a single moment…?”

My voice trembled.

“Even if I’m only half… still… did you ever… see me as—”
“Daughter?”

The emperor’s expression twisted strangely.

He tried to hold back laughter, then burst into loud, tearing laughter that echoed through the dungeon.

“Ahahaha! Foolish child!”
“…Father?”
“Who told you that you were even half my child?”

What did that mean?

With a look of disgust, as if seeing an insect, he kicked the iron bars.

“Listen carefully.”

A thick hand shot through the bars and grabbed my collar.
Silver hair like mine fell between us.

“The Carter Grand Duchy.”

At that sudden name, I froze.

“I only used you to trample those vermin.”
“…What do you mean?”

He released my collar roughly.

“Still don’t understand?”

He clicked his tongue.

“Where do you think those wicked red eyes of yours came from?”

The emperor sneered.

“Go on, tell me how it feels. With your own hands, you strangled your father and brother and threw them into ruin.”

His face looked endlessly delighted.
His yellow eyes shone like a snake’s.

I couldn’t understand his words.

Carlos Carter, Grand Duke of Carter—
the imperial family’s greatest enemy,
the man I destroyed and drove to death with refined stones.
And even his only remaining heir—I had turned him into a cripple myself.

And yet…

“That… can’t be…”

They were my family?

“What a miserable expression. Do you pity your blood relatives now?”
“No… no, that’s a lie…”
“No. It’s true.”
“……”
“Because I made it that way.”

I stole you from your family.
Raised you as a princess.

The emperor smiled as if my ruined face were entertainment.

“Sadly, there’s nothing to be done now. The Grand Duke is already dead, your brother is ruined, and you are trapped in this dungeon.”
“……”
“Still, don’t worry too much. You won’t die here—your blood will be used until the very end.”

His long smile stretched wider.

Something in my mind snapped.

He would not let me die here.
He would isolate me as a villainess and kill me when he wished.

“…If my polluted blood can’t be used for refined stones, it would be troublesome if I died in this filthy prison.”
“Oh, you understand well.”

He even praised me.

“So you should feel honored. Your filthy lineage will be erased, and you will become a princess who devoted herself to the empire.”
“Of course, no one will know.”

The gentle father who once seemed to cherish me was gone.

Only an emperor rejoicing at the end of his enemy’s daughter remained.

“Do you understand, Loreia?”

Loreia.

He had never called my name before.
Only “my jewel” or “princess.”

How desperately I had wished to hear that name.

And now—when my entire life was denied and death stood before me—I finally heard it.

Everything felt like a dream.

“I am truly grateful to you. Even at the end, you became a precious chess piece.”

The final blow drained the strength from my body.

My warmth faded.

“Ha… hahaha…”

I laughed.
I couldn’t help but laugh.

“…Have you finally gone mad?”
“Haha… ha…”

I suddenly stopped laughing and looked at him.

“…I understand well that you intended to use me. But—”

My vision blurred with tears or blood.

“Then you should have been more thorough, Your Majesty.”

Without hesitation, I reached through the bars, pulled out the sword at his waist—

“You must have forgotten how cunning your princess is.”

—and aimed it straight at my heart.

The emperor’s eyes widened.

“No!”

Stab.

“Cough…”

The blade pierced my heart.
Terrible pain flooded my body.

“My… my blood…!”

The emperor turned pale, desperately trying to gather the blood through the bars.

I looked straight at him.

At the very end—
I would not grant his wish.

“…May only ruin fill Your Majesty’s path.”

With that cursed prayer, my strength left me, and I collapsed.

In the cold underground prison, as the blood drained from my body—

I finally smiled brightly.

“…Your Highness, Princess.”
“….”
“Are you alright?”

…Princess?

When I opened my eyes, I was not in the filthy dungeon, but sitting under warm sunlight.

Perfume…

I frowned instinctively.

A maid who met my gaze in the mirror flinched and bowed quickly.

“F‑Forgive me! You didn’t answer!”

…What?

I definitely died.

Loreia couldn’t easily accept the situation, so she kept her head still and only moved her eyes to look around.

Am I alive? No… something is different.

This place was familiar yet strange—
the princess’s bedroom from before her coming‑of‑age ceremony.

I looked in the mirror again.

My face was very young.
Only in my early teens.

I pinched my cheek.

“…Ah.”

It hurt.
Not as much as the sword through my heart, but still.

“What year is it now?”
“Pardon?”

Seeing my cold expression, the maid hurriedly answered.

“It is Imperial Year 1043.”

Seven years ago.
When I was thirteen.

Ha.

I let out a hollow breath.

This was not simply being alive again.

I had returned.
To the past.