The Chusa Empire. A prosperous kingdom capable of conquering lands of their enemies with generations and groups of well trained knights and mages. It was a Empire brought together by Mana and strength, where the Royal Lineage, was said to be the strongest of the Humans and lead them to civilization.
I can barely open my eyes. Theres a constant ringing in my ears and I can't get the pain out of my head. Nor can I move my limbs.. The only other thing I hear and feel is muffled speaking and the sound of my body being dragged. I can only somewhat make out what they're saying.
"We got the girl' *muffled speaking* "-Her to the boss"
The one dragging me treated me harshly and threw me onto the chair. A bucket of water was poured over me, and after clearing my vision, i see its a thug and a giant man.
"How the noble has fallen, the sweet princess from the dukedom is now broke beyond what you can pay up. Unlucky for you, I'm not interested in your body anymore", the Goliath boomed. "Any other way of paying, your grace?" in a mocking tone. He notices my necklace glimmering slightly. "That looks valuable. More valuable than your life do you think m'lady?"
"Silence! Don't you dare take it you peasant!" I cried out desperately, trying to hold on to the last remnants of my previous life. "i'd rather you kill me here and now than to have your filthy subhuman hands touch it!"
My vision improved slightly now that the concussions fading. The figure becomes more discerning and it's a disgusting, shirtless tall man with unwashed brown hair. He cares nothing for his appearance or hygiene, only that he cares to show off his scars and muscles to others. I see him walk forward, pausing briefly to look at me, and slapping my face. The sting feels too real for it to be a nightmare and it burns my face. I fall to the ground with the chair.
"You don't know your place, you bitch. Well, you've outlived your usefulness anyways, we got enough money. I guess it's time to let you go" I watch as he unsheathe a blade and wind up an attack. "You're unlucky my friends found you first. I won't bore you about how much I detest you Nobles. Only that I just want you to die slowly. No one else gets to get this opportunity and i hope you believe me when I say that every gang wanted to have a shot at killing you. We still don't forgive you nobles for pulling us into a war and then abandoning us to save your own skin." He shoves the blade into my stomach, slowly pulling it out. "It didn't matter if we won, us beggars had to do anything to survive. Now feel our pain and torment". The sharp pain isn't anything like I've felt before. The cold metal feels so stinging, and yet the wound itself is so hot. The pain alone is something I can only focus on, and I feel like I might pass out already.
As a last ditch effort to try to die out in a meaningful way, I try to cast any sort of spell I knew. The most basic fire spell, ignite, was the most I could manage, as I only became a 2nd circle mage at best. It was enough to burn his hand, but he shrugged it off. "You whore! Agh, my hand. You'll fucking pay!" *He kicks my grounded body relentlessly. "How does it feel to die by a slum rat you Nobles hate so much?" He continued to mock me and my cut off lineage. There was no point in calling me a noble anymore. I lost count how many years I spent in this disgusting place. The only thing I can do now is to not let my voice out and scream, he'd only get more pleasure from it. I try to cast it again, but the constant kicking made me give in. I wish I could go back, to a loving family, my sister and my brothers, and the warm food and baths I could have attained with a lift of a finger. I'm truly sorry I caused so much chaos just so I can have a sliver of attention of that prince.
The jewel of my necklace glowed dimly, as if responding to my sorrow and regret. That's right, the reason I treasured this so much was because it was the first gift Father gave me. He told me it was the highest bid from an auction he participated in, and the green jewel would match my face. It didn't matter anymore. I'll just close my eyes, and remember how I slept on that big bed.
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Sunshine blinded my closed eyes, however, when it did not feel like it was my own arm rubbing my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes and realized my smooth skin, untouched from burns or scarred from knives. I quickly ran to the mirror, and glared long at the reflection. Looking at myself again, I can still feel the stab wounds around my body, the pain so reminiscent and so clear. I shivered from reimagining the pain.
It was a younger me, with crimson red hair and vibrant green eyes, still full of life.
I couldn't believe it. I touched my face feverently, pinching my cheeks and pulling my hair. That future did not feel like any dream, am I crazy? No that can't be, is it a spell? There would be no one in the slums who would be capable of such a hallucination. I held onto my stomach where the first knife pierced me, i can still feel the cold metal entering my body. I glanced at the necklace and the jewel was faded without any color. Was this the cause for my return? No, I don't want to live through this hell again, I don't want to be humiliated any longer, I've lived through enough. It's too cruel to reject me passing away peacefully and not make me return to a further point, no..
"Oh dear, your grace has woken up, are you alright? I heard a faint scream from this room, and you're awfully sweaty." A maid had walked into the door. She looked no less younger than me. If I remember correctly, her name was Jessica. "Here, let me get the family doc-"
"Stop! It's fine. I just.. had a bad dream and it's none of your concern. I only need to ask of you, what the date is."
"My apologies your grace. Perhaps this should be a reminder for you. Today is the day you'll meet your father for the incidents you've caused."
"You!-" Before I said anymore and before I could swing my palm at her, I managed to stop myself. No, I can still salvage this. I just need to calm down. Remember you're much older than her and my position is in jeopardy, so I need to be mature about this. "Yes, thank you, Jessica. Please come back with breakfast, I will come to him later today."
"Yes your grace. I shall report to your Father first." She bowed and left, startled by her scream.
I paced back and forth, Father only gave me 3 months before he would announce I would be disowned. I have to prove myself somehow to get more time first. In my past life, etiquette classes never gave me anything of value when I was kicked out. No one would want to wed me in the first place, and I don't intend to be used as a tool for connections anyways. I was obsessed with marrying the prince my past life, but that juvenile excitement won't be here this time, I won't let this chance go.
My family was known for their gifted and powerful mages, however, I was a rare case of being fairly average. That was another reason I wasn't a popular choice among the men in high society. They wanted sons who would grow to be powerful, and feared I was a defect. I need to hurry and write the future events.
As I sat down I tried my best to recount the following events. I wasn't very knowledgable since my own survival was more important. The Chusa Empire would soon go to war against another nation, the Lumacian Dynasty over the fear that the Lumacians was exploiting smaller nations of their resources in about 5 years. If I remember right, monster cores and mana stones were valuable assets in powering technology. Seeing how I was only a first circle mage my past life, I don't see how much I would matter in the war. Whatever it is, I have to see if I have potential in even being just a mercenary or a knight. The mistakes I had living before was because not only I was egotistical, but I was too weak to do anything. Even if I wanted to seek another profession, there'd be no telling if I'd be protected the next few years. I have to make a name for myself and become prestigious, in order to regain my reputation in my family.