Chapter 2
It had been a few months since I had possessed Lucillia.
At first, I thought living as her would be easy. After all, what I had to do was simple enough.
Stay out of sight, live quietly! How hard could that be?
Opal Palace, where Lucillia lived, was small, so it would get a bit boring—but it wasn’t forever. Only three years.
Three years would fly by, I thought. That’s what I thought…
“I feel like I’m going to die…”
I muttered to myself, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling.
The old, worn ceiling stared back at me. In the left corner, the wallpaper had peeled away so much that the wood beneath was exposed. It reminded me of something.
“Ah… I want chicken.”
As I muttered, staring at the part of the wallpaper that oddly resembled a drumstick, my stomach let out a loud rumble.
Grrrrrrr…
I rubbed my eyes for no reason. The ceiling looked blurry. It must just be my imagination.
“I’m hungry…”
I turned onto my side and sniffled.
Since the moment I had possessed Lucillia, I had been plagued by chronic hunger.
Lucillia was twelve this year—at the prime age for eating. She would have cleared the table of all food and then, lowering her spoon, asked, “What about dessert?”
But the food she actually got…
“Your Highness, it’s Laura.”
Just then, a maid entered my room, carrying a tray.
Ah, one thing I had learned after living here for a month.
No one in Opal Palace ever knocks when entering my room. They all just announce themselves in flat voices and barge in.
At another palace, that would’ve gotten someone’s head chopped off. But in Opal Palace, it’s normal.
“Eat.”
The maid, Laura, set the tray on the table and left without even saying another word.
I sighed heavily as I sat down and looked at the tray. Another sigh followed.
Hard, black bread that seemed to have been made ages ago, soup with barely anything in it, and a coarse salad that looked like someone had just thrown weeds from the courtyard into it.
This is supposed to be food for a princess?
Still, my hunger forced me to pick up the spoon—but even before tasting the soup, I grimaced.
“It… smells…”
A sour, unpleasant odor rose from the soup. Anyone could tell it had gone bad.
“Another disaster today.”
I tossed the spoon aside. It clattered against the tray.
“Damn freeloaders…”
Exhaustion drained the force from my curse. I muttered it into the empty air.
“Don’t just steal and eat as you please.”
Princes and princesses were supposed to receive a budget to run their palaces.
The problem was that no one here actually worked for Lucillia.
The palace staff each had masters of their own. They were here only to keep an eye on me.
The head servant belonged to the 4th prince, the cook to the 15th princess, and the odd-jobs worker to some distant relative of the 7th princess… something like that.
I had to admit, they were prepared. Even a minor princess could become a dangerous rival, so they monitored her every move. How diligent of my shady siblings.
Naturally, none of them focused on their actual duties. Their interests lay only in reporting my every move to their real masters and siphoning money from the princess’s allowance.
Since the first task wasn’t much work, the second task got all their attention.
And that’s why my life looked like this.
“Let’s go.”
I abandoned my meager meal and went outside.
The weather contrasted sharply with my queasy stomach: sunny, with cotton-like clouds drifting across the blue sky.
“Oh! Your Highness! Where are you going?”
I flinched and stopped walking.
A maid with short blonde hair was staring at me, holding a laundry basket.
Mariam… or was it Miriam? She was a new girl, a few years older than me, the youngest servant in the palace.
I spoke as naturally as I could.
“A walk in the forest.”
Her face lit up at my answer.
“Of course! Have a nice walk!”
She bowed politely and went off toward the laundry area, smiling brightly.
I stood there, momentarily stunned.
My maid… greeted me? Smiling?
But a few seconds later, I realized.
‘Ah, this is a trick to get information by being friendly. I won’t fall for it.’
Somehow, I had become a cold, city-born girl—no, a city princess—who trusted no one.
It meant I was adapting to the Esperusa royal family, but at the cost of my former humanity.
The female lead better show up soon. I muttered to myself and started walking toward the forest.
The Esperusa imperial palace—home to the emperor and his family—was more like an entire district than a single building.
Palaces were scattered around the emperor’s Sollem Palace, with forests and rivers between them.
Opal Palace, where I lived, was at the farthest edge. Small, surrounded by trees, almost impossible for outsiders to reach.
At first, it felt like exile. Lately, though, I appreciated it.
Now I knew how blessed this forest truly was.
“Yup.”
Once deep inside, I checked to make sure no one was around, lifted my skirts onto my knees, secured them with my belt, and ran.
The empty forest, freely.
A thrilling sense of liberation washed over me.
“Ah!”
I stopped abruptly in front of a tree trunk where a white, fluffy shape sprouted.
“Mushrooms!”
I reached out—but just before my fingers touched them, a strange sensation ran through my hand.
“Ugh.”
I pulled back, then tried again. The sensation grew stronger.
A tingling, cold feeling in my fingers.
Poisonous mushrooms.
“Damn, they looked so good.”
No way I’d end my second life on poison mushrooms, so I turned away. There were plenty more.
A few steps later, I found another mushroom—safe this time. I eagerly began gathering them.
After months of barely surviving on trash-like food, I had finally found a way to sustain myself.
Using Lucillia’s abilities to feed myself.
At first, I tried to scavenge within the palace. But the kitchen was so meticulously guarded by the cook that even a single piece of cheese was impossible to find at night.
So I looked outside, recalling the forest Lucillia sometimes visited.
Maybe I’d find fruit trees if I was lucky.
As I stepped into the forest with that vague hope, I was amazed.
This forest belonged entirely to Lucillia.
I knew she had hidden abilities—but experiencing them firsthand was different from reading about them.
Even the air was different. The life force of the forest tingled on my skin. Every tree and bush, seemingly identical to others, appeared unique to me.
Sensitivity to plants and animals.
That was the extent of my power for now—but it was enough.
“Phew.”
I gathered the mushrooms and used my folded skirt as an apron to carry them. Then I walked a short distance and arrived at a small, dilapidated cabin.
It looked like a forester’s old, abandoned home—Lucillia had found it first.
She had been afraid of it, never returning after discovering it.
For me, it was the perfect hideout.
Inside, the cabin was dark and cramped. One wall was rotting, giving off a musty smell.
Lucillia, as a princess, had every reason to avoid this place.
But for me? This was nothing. I had survived in worse conditions before.
…I guess that’s not exactly a boast.
I shook my head and lit the fireplace. The scattered supplies had been left by the forester and were surprisingly useful.
I skewered the mushrooms, set them over the fire on a grate, and let the aroma begin.
“Ahh…”
The white mushrooms browned, juices bubbling and occasionally dripping onto the charcoal. My mouth watered.
Minutes of restraint ended as the mushrooms were perfectly cooked.
Charred color, fragrant smell—perfect.
“Thank you for the meal!”
I opened my mouth to eat—
BOOM!
An explosion rang out.
“Ah!”
I ducked instinctively, covering my head. I had no idea what was happening—it was purely instinct.
What? Did the fireplace explode? But my body was fine.
No other explosions followed, so I peeked up.
“Gah…”
Half the cabin was gone.
Where there had been a wall, now there was nothing. Cut cleanly away.
Through the open space, someone was walking toward me.
The sight filled me with absolute terror.
They were just walking. That’s all.
Yet it was terrifying.
Every gesture, every strand of hair, every footstep radiated menace.
I wanted to run, but couldn’t. Any movement felt like it would end me.
Approaching me was a man, cloaked in the aura of a demon, more disaster than human.
“You.”
He spoke to me. Only later did I realize a sword was aimed at me as I struggled to regain composure.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Who… who are you…?
I barely lifted my head, trembling, and met the eyes of this demonic man.
They were a vivid red—the color of freshly spilled blood.
Red eyes…?
“Gasp.”
My breath caught.
The 13th Princess was a novel about Imelda Bell Esperusa’s journey to the throne.
Of course, where there’s a protagonist, there must be villains.
Among the eighteen siblings, there were minor antagonists and rival heirs who challenged her to the very end.
The fiercest competitors were three:
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Leonore Dunn, the first princess, infamous as “Ironblood”
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Rudolf Sol, the fifth prince, heir to the magic tower and a future archmage
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And the twelfth prince, Richard Khan
He was unmatched in skill, capable of defeating siblings and the entire empire alike.
Yet in personality, he was a true Esperusa-born psycho—someone who relished battle and murder. If he hadn’t been a prince, he would’ve long been executed as a serial killer.
And the hallmark of the twelfth prince? His blood-red eyes.
“Last chance. Who are you?”
