"Never leave me." I don't want to be alone.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The weight of the ring in my hand felt far heavier than it should have. The Abandoned Princess's mother—this was hers?

I furrowed my brows in confusion, which only deepened when I noticed a familiar letter "E" carved inside the ring, leaving me with even more questions.

As I glanced at Edmund, I found him staring at the ring with sorrowful eyes. He seemed to be holding himself together but he looked like he was on the verge of breaking down. When he finally met my gaze, the mask he always wore was back in place, burying the sadness he truly felt.

"She wanted you to have it," Edmund said, his tone cold, hiding the grief in his voice.

"...Really?" I managed to say, still bewildered.

"No."

"No?"

I stared at him, utterly perplexed, as a brief silence hung in the room. His brows knitted slightly as if he was just as confused as I was.

If Lucas were here, he would've already run his mouth, saying in a chuckle—His majesty is just shy and wanted to use your mother to give you a present— something like that.

"I gave that ring to your mother back when I was still a prince. It was the only ring she ever wore. I guess she really loved it, though she never said so," he said huffing a small, wistful smile. It was a smile of someone who had been in love—gentle and warm.

But that smile vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving no trace.

In the span of just an hour, I had witnessed emotions from Edmund that were usually buried beneath his cold exterior. A shiver ran through me, accompanied by an ominous feeling. Realizing it now, Edmund was never like this. In the story, he was never like this towards Elaine.

"That ring is meant to be used. Selene never said it but—" he paused and spoke much softer, "but I know she wanted to give it to you someday."

A hand gently rested on top of my head. "Take care of it from now on. And happy birthday, my child."

Warmth surged through my chest like a crashing wave, overwhelming and uncontrollable. I looked up at him, my eyes brimming with unshed tears, and gave a small nod. I might cry if I spoke, so I stayed silent, clutching the gift in my hand as my father tucked me into bed.

While the stars continued to shine on the silent night Edmund remained by my side until I drifted off to sleep.

Perhaps it was the exhaustion, or maybe the gentle pats on my head as I was forced to lay down that I had set aside the anxious hypothesis lurking in my mind.

When I woke up the next day, my mind was still glued to the last night's event. It felt so surreal that I almost believed it was just a dream.

The 'What if...' and 'Could it be...' thoughts came back crawling and gnawing at me.

An awful feeling had settled inside me as I bit my bottom lip, staring at the ring on my study table. It felt like I was at the edge of a cliff with nowhere to run but to face the truth. A truth that my ring and this one were the same.

"Maybe I just found it somewhere laying around when I was a Holy Maiden..." I mumbled to myself, chuckling forcedly, but immediately stopped. "No. The ring was already with me when I started serving the Goddess of Light."

"What will you do if you're the Abandoned Princess."

Cianna's words echoed inside my head like tendrils slithering tightly around me.

"I- I don't want it to be true. I really don't."

I carefully took the ring with a heart full of hope and desperation that it was just pure coincidence and I was just overreacting. It's not real. My heart beats quicker and louder as I placed it on my finger. The ring resized instantly, fitting perfectly around my finger. The faint buzz came like a greeting to its rightful owner made me feel like darkness had swallowed me.

Or perhaps, it had already consumed me. The warm, golden light of my room was replaced by a void accompanied by the sound of ringing in my ears and the chaos of my thoughts.

With the dawn of realization and helplessness, I couldn't help but weakly laugh at the truth.

The book she wrote—the story of the Abandoned Princess. My story.

This is why everything felt so personal, so painfully familiar. The bursts of warmth and fleeting happiness, the relentless fear, loneliness, and anxiety. It was all mine.

Cianna had regressed me. But why? Why did she send me back to a life I don't even remember?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

This can't be real. Why couldn't I just stay as the Holy Maiden and be by her side? Why do I have to go through this again?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Was is it because of the past Elaine that I am here? What did I do in my previous life?

I don't know. I don't know. I don't remember.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

"—ister!"

The shout pierced through my trance, pulling me back from the void. My senses gradually returned and the voice became clearer.

"Sister!"

Blinking away the blurriness from the tears in my eyes, I slowly began to focus on the person in front of me. It was Aiden. My brother. The person in the book—my first life, who had always hated his sister, the one who looked at her with nothing but resentment.

"Why are you crying?" I mumbled. Why are you looking at me so worriedly?

"You're hurting yourself, sister." He held both of my wrists tightly, preventing me from pulling out my hair. Once I finally released my grip, Aiden wiped the blood dripping down from my lips.

He seemed to want to ask but chose not to. Instead, he guided me to the bed, gently helping me sit down. With soothing pats on my back, he silently hugged me. Without realizing it, I clung to Aiden, feeling the warmth of his embrace seep into my cold, trembling body.

Why did Cianna bring me back here and forced to relive it all again?

"Lucas said that if I see a girl crying, I should cheer her up, but... I don't think you need that," Aiden mumbled, his voice uncertain. He paused, deep in thought. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"Yes."

Silence enveloped the room once again as Aiden continued to hold me. I could imagine the hesitation in his eyes, and the thought of him regretting his words almost made me chuckle.

"But-but! Promise me you won't hurt yourself again," he said, hugging me tighter.

"... I promise."

His tight embrace loosen in relief. "I don't know what's going on, but you're not alone," Aiden said softly, pulling back slightly.

Looking at him now, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, I couldn't bring myself to hate him for what happened in my first life. Even if the memories of my past life returned, I knew the resentment in my heart towards him was little to almost none.

Aiden gently held my hand. "Whatever this is, whatever you're going through, I'm here. I won't let you face it by yourself. Let's talk once you're ready, sister," he said with a promise.

I stared at the door where Aiden left.

His words felt like a balm to my wounded soul. Maybe, just maybe, in this life, I won't die.

After skipping breakfast and desperately trying to focus on the brighter side of things, I found myself standing at the edge of a cliff.

A stifled laugh came out of my mouth.

The sea was dazzling in the sunlight. The cold morning wind kissed my skin, sticky and salty. From afar, the blue-green sea stretched endlessly on the horizon in stillness calm, a contrast to the waves crashing violently against the cliff wall below me.

A chill ran down my spine. My heart pounding against my chest as I stood with shaking knees.

Life never seemed to let me be happy for more than a day.

Should I start praying?

"Sister, you're shaking too much." Aiden chuckled at the sight, clearly amused.

Where was the boy who kept looking at me at the carriage with worried eyes awhile ago? He had been so skittish the whole ride that Edmund thought Aiden was about to take a crap and had to make a stop. Where was the boy who's face was so red in embarrassment?!

I looked at him, mortified.

Before my eyes would start to roll up, Edmund lifted me up. A short scream escaped my lips, and I quickly covered my mouth with trembling hands, my heart racing even faster.

It wouldn't be a simple push off the cliff; no, I was sure he'd throw me. I wouldn't survive the fall. Sharp rocks probably awaited below, and the violent waves would slam me against the cliff wall before I could even touch the surface.

I haven't even activated my holy artifact!

My vision started to blur as Edmund walked toward the cliff's edge, still holding me in his arms.

"Elaine," the king's voice, full of authority, called my name, snapping me out of my daze. "Stop trembling. I won't let you fall."

Then what will you do to me? Make me fly?!

"Father, what are we doing here?" Aiden asked.

I looked up at Edmund, his face shadowed against the morning light, his gaze fixed somewhere far off in the distance. "This... is where your mother rests."

My heart stilled. I watched his face, the flicker of pain in his eyes that he tried to mask. Unable to bear his broken expression, I looked away, letting my gaze follow his to the distant horizon, where the sea met the sky. My fear faded, replaced by a raw, hollow ache.

This is the queen's grave.

A silence stretched between us, filled only by the relentless crash of waves below. I know Aiden wanted to ask him so many questions because I too want to know who she was, why she chose this place, and why was he telling us this now?

"But you said... you burned her body," Aiden stammered, his hand clutching Edmund's tightly.

Edmund's voice sounded far away, each word thick with memories. "Yes. I burned her until she became ash and freed her here. She wanted to see the world. But she... she couldn't. She was once a prisoner of war, held by chains she could never break, even after we were wed." He paused, swallowing, as if the memories were lodged in his throat. "When we married, we dreamed of leaving it all behind, of traveling together. But the kingdom needed us, and those selfish dreams faded... so we would come here, just for a moment, to escape and pretend."

I'd read bits of the kingdom's history but I didn't dived deeper. All I knew that the Luville Kingdom wasn't as large as this before. It was after the war that this kingdom became powerful at the hands of the Arias family. Edmund's family.

Edmund set me down, then placed his hands on both my and Aiden's heads. "Go on, Aiden, Elaine," he murmured. "Greet your mother."

"M–Mother," Aiden's voice trembled, cracking before he could even finish her name. "It's Aiden... I miss you so much. I wish you were here, I wish I could feel your arms around me again." He wiped his eyes, but the tears kept falling. "I don't remember the things we used to do but I know you used to sing to me at night. I remember the way you made me feel safe, the warmth of your voice when you whispered lullabies to me. I wish you could come back... even just for a little while and teach me the song you always sang."

Unable to hold it back any longer, Aiden turned away, tears streaming down his face. His small arms reaching up towards Edmund.

As Edmund knelt down, Aiden immediately clung to his father burying his face against his chest. "Father," he whispered through his sobs, his voice barely audible, "I miss mother so much."

Edmund took a deep breath before speaking softly, his voice full of tenderness

"I know, Aiden. I miss her too. Every day, I wish she were here. But your mother... she loved you so much. She would want you to be strong, to hold onto the love she gave you, even when it feels like everything's gone. It's okay to miss her, to cry... but you have to remember that she's always a part of you."

I watched the bond between father and son as they shared their feelings of missing someone so dear to them.

I may not know my own mother, nor do I miss her the way Aiden misses his, but I somewhat understood the depth of their pain. From my first life or the present, I didn't have the memories they did, the warmth of a mother's embrace, the comfort of her lullabies.

I stood there, shifting awkwardly. My gaze drifted over the sea, hoping that maybe, somehow, the waves would carry my words to her.

"Hi..umm... Mother," I whispered, hesitating. "It's me, Elaine. Your daughter. I... I don't really know you. But I wish I did. I just turned ten. I—I wish you were here."

My voice wavered, and the tears I'd tried to hold back finally spilled over, surprising me, "I wish you could have been there yesterday." A sob escaped, and I covered my mouth, feeling silly but unable to stop.

Perhaps in my first life time I was also feeling this jealousy in my heart. Wishing that I knew her like them.

I took a shaky breath, a tiny smile breaking through the bittersweet emotion. "Thank you for giving me this life. I hope you're watching over us."

As I finished speaking, Edmund pulled me gently into his embrace. Aiden's small frame pressed against mine, his sobs muffled against my shoulder. We stayed there in that fragile embrace, clinging to each other, feeling her presence in the soft brush of the wind, in the endless expanse of sea and sky.

We walked back from the cliff in a kind of silence I hadn't felt before—one that wasn't heavy with tension or fear, but rather a quiet comfort.

Aiden walked beside me, his hand slipping into mine. Against the puffy eyes and red nose, he wore a faint smile on his tear-streaked face

"Sister, I think she heard us," he whispered, his voice barely louder than the breeze.

"I think so too," I replied, squeezing his hand gently.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

I had been staring at the ring on my finger for what felt like hours, the frustration building inside me. The holy artifact, the one I had hoped would connect me to my original power, wasn't working. No matter how much blood I spilled, no matter how many times I activated it, nothing happened.

Was it because of my mortal blood? Was that why it wasn't responding?

I clenched my fist, a frustrated groan slipping from my lips. It was the weekend, a day I'd planned to spend practicing my magic, but clearly, that wasn't going to happen.

Across from me, Ciel's gentle tap on the table drew my attention. Ciel, sitting quietly with his book, gazed at me with concern. "Is everything alright, Princess?" he signed, his large bluish-gray eyes watching me closely.

I sighed, wiping my face with my hand. I ignored Ciel's disapproving look as he watched my unladylike manner and signed back, "Sorry. It...It's nothing, please don't mind me. Go ahead with your reading." Even though Ciel could hear me speak, I'd made a habit of signing, hoping the practice would come in handy one day.

Two years ago, I was both surprised and a little relieved when Ciel asked to serve as my attendant, offering his loyalty in exchange for my help with a case involving a drug organization. It was an unusual request. Ciel wasn't exactly suited for the role—he didn't have the experience, and even now, after all this time, he still wasn't fully qualified. But he trains diligently under Aiden's attendant, Mykel, and Haisley.

I understood Haisley's role in his development—she knew me well and had been by my side for years. Her guidance made sense.

But Mykel? The king's adviser?

When I asked Ciel about it once, he just dismissed it with a smile and said 'this and that'. I immediately gave up on my first attempt to prod further and let it be "this and that." He'll eventually tell me, or perhaps I'll find out someday.

Weekends were our free days from lectures. As practice and to apply all the knowledge he learned, Ciel would occasionally act as my attendant.

We left the library at the Emerald Palace just before the clock struck twelve. On the way to lunch, I decided to stop by my room at the Moon Palace.

"Huh, that's weird," I murmured as we entered the palace. Ciel gave me a questioning look.

"I haven't seen Aiden," I explained.

Ciel looked up pondering before signing to me, "That really is unusual. The prince is always around, sticking to you like those sticky snails in the forest."

"Right? It's not like him to disappear for the whole morning."

After a moment, Ciel gave up thinking and offered a slight shrug, as if to say perhaps Aiden had something important to attend to.

He might be right, but my intuition tells me other wise. There's this strange unsettling feeling stirred inside me, one I couldn't shake.

Pushing aside the thought of Aiden was up to something no good, I turned to Ciel with a pleasant smile. "By the way, your other uniform just arrived. I can't wait for you to wear it once you're officially my attendant."

". . ." He stared at me in disapproval, as if protesting. But he didn't say a word—he couldn't, after all. I was the master.

He'll definitely look good in it, though! I smirked inwardly at the thought.

Ciel opened the door to my room, and I entered in high spirits, already imagining how the new uniform would suit him. But the smile plastered on my face froze in an instant.

There, standing in the middle of my room, was Aiden.

"A-Ah, sister?!" He stammer, looking so surprised to see me in my very own room.

I looked at the open wardrobe and scattered dress on the floor. I dragged my eyes back to Aiden who was wearing my periwinkle dress. That dress—my favorite dress. The one I had painstakingly saved for and bought with my 'own hard-earned money' two years ago.

The fabric clung tightly to him, clearly not designed for his frame, yet he didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable. In fact, he looked utterly pleased with himself as he suddenly twirled in front of us like a child showing off a new outfit. His expression practically radiated joy.

And then, I heard it—the dreadful sound of fabric tearing. My heart sank. My poor dress. At the same time, the button that was holding on it's dear life flew off, hitting me square in the forehead. But I was too shocked to even register the sting of the physical pain. The button bounced off, rolling back to Aiden, who had just finished his twirl.

Aiden was looking at me, smiling expectantly, as if waiting for a compliment. Meanwhile, I stood frozen, staring back at him with an expression as lifeless as my now-ruined dress.

Unable to process the absurdity of the situation, I looked down staring at the fallen button, no, there were two buttons.

"Are these yours sister?" Aiden then bend down to pick up the buttons when we all heard another ripping sound.

Ah, perhaps it was also my heart.

"Sister... I'm—" His eyes widened, filled with tears, as he stood upright, clutching tightly at the tear in the fabric.

What had I done in my past life to deserve this?

Aside from the dull ache in my chest, I felt a small sense of relief that Ciel could vouch for me—that I wasn't the one who made Aiden wear my dress. But when I glanced at my witness, Ciel was no longer standing beside me. Instead, he was lying on the floor, holding his forehead in pain. The poor boy had been hit by the stray button too, huh.

Wait. Wouldn't someone think I'm bullying these two.

I quickly looked at Aiden. "Hey-Hey, it's alright," I reassured, comforting him. This should be the was around! I'm the one who's in pain the most!

"But..." he started, his voice trembling.

I shook my head assuring him. "You don't have to worry. It's just a dress, it's just a dress..." I said but more of to myself.

"Really?" My older brother looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, filled with hopeful innocence.

I nodded, forcing a smile. "But I didn't know you were into this, bro-brother," I said dryly.