"So, when are you going to show me the memories, dear brother?" Fiorentia pouted as she sat on the couch, swaying her legs back and forth.

"After you finish your breakfast, my dear sister," Felix replied, sipping his tea calmly with the perfect posture.

The two were now sitting on the couch in Fiorentia's room. After Fiorentia had finished reading the letter written by her 'first' life, Felix snatched back the diary and told her to wash up and eat breakfast before they continue their conversation. Although unwilling at first, in the end Fiorentia still followed her brother's orders. Not long after, the maids brought in their breakfast which consisted of egg porridge with bacon and soft bread.

"There's no vegetables —?" Fiorentia looked distraught as she stared at the food on the table.

"Oh? I thought you hated them," commented Felix, raising an eyebrow. "Should I ask the maids —?"

"No!" Fiorentia quickly refused. "I'm satisfied enough with the food, so don't you dare ask for those green things!"

"Not all vegetables are green, Fio," Felix corrected. He had already finished his breakfast and was now waiting for Fiorentia. "Aren't carrots orange? Turnips and beetroots aren't green either."

"But most of them are green!" Fiorentia exclaimed in irritation. "And I'm already disgusted just by seeing the sight of those leaves and roots on my plate!"

Felix shook his head, feeling helpless with his sister's exaggeration on the matter of eating vegetables.

"Alright, I'm finished."

Fiorentia rang the handbell and maids entered to take the empty bowls and plates. They also brought in a plate of cookies for the two to eat while talking.

"I'm going to project the memories inside my head into an illusion," said Felix after the maids had left. "You'll see what's happening inside the illusion from a third-party's perspective. Before that, I always say this every time before I show you the memories but —are you sure? This can be quite —gruesome and appalling."

"It's fine," Fiorentia tried to assure him with a determined tone. "It's my own death. I of all people should know what and who killed me, right?"

Felix sighed heavily, knowing that nothing could defeat his sister's stubbornness. He slowly closed his eyes and chanted, letting his mind loosened to a tranquil state. The illusion Felix mentioned before was his own blessing, Dolus. He could create or project his own memories into an illusion. This was also the reason why the 'first' Fiorentia chose him as the memory box, since 'showing' the memories was much more effective than simply retelling them.

He opened his eyes and saw that Fiorentia was sitting still with her eyes closed. It took a while for her to watch the 12 lives that she supposedly experienced. During that time, Felix saw her furrowing her brows and groaning in pain.

Then, Fiorentia suddenly opened her eyes in shock, gasping and panting heavily.

"What in the world —! Dear Ruler of Hours —" Fiorentia mumbled as she struggled to let her mind return to reality.

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"I've told you, it's gruesome. Now you understand why I didn't let you see this before eating, right?"

"Yeah, it's certainly uncomfortable to eat after seeing moments of your 12 different deaths," Fiorentia said with a bitter tone as she wiped her cold sweats with a handkerchief.

"Just so you know, in most lives, you died tragically in front of me," Felix spoke calmly. "Well, that's what I've seen in those memories. In actuality, the 'current me' never experienced them. It's only like a very long nightmare that I never want to go through again."

Fiorentia tried to recall the scenes she had just seen. In her first life, she died during the war between their kingdom, Regillum and Chaldea Empire when she was 11. Her body was shot with countless arrows as she tried to flee with Felix. In her second life, she managed to escape safely and live until 17. But on the night before her 18th birthday, she was poisoned to death by her most trusted friend. In her third life, she worked with their uncle, the current King of Regillum to strengthen the kingdom's defense. But in the end, they lost in a war of attrition when she was 12 and was beheaded in front of the enemy's troops.

She also tried many things in her fourth and the next lifes. From claiming the throne to becoming a war commander, from being 'invisible' to making herself known. Once, in her tenth life, Fiorentia who was already tired and ran out of ideas to survive, decided to not do anything and simply went with the flow of events. Miraculously, she managed to live until 22, living her life as a wealthy commoner in the countryside. But in the end, she was framed for crimes she never committed and was stoned to death.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!" Fiorentia laughed like mad as if mocking her own tragic fate. "Is this supposed to make sense? Like hell anyone would believe those deaths were coincidences or accidents! I'd rather believe that our uncle king's head would go bald!"

"Words, Fiorentia," Felix reminded. "It's not polite to swear. But according to the memories, our uncle will indeed become bald sometime at the end of this year due to excessive stress. Maybe we should buy him a few bottles of hair-growth potion?"

"Idiot, it's like you're asking him to cut our allowance! Don't you remember that he already did that last week when we accidentally broke that strange pot in the treasury?"

"It's a vase with patterns unique to the southern continent. And true, it's indeed quite hideous, to the point that I wonder if the reason the south gives the vase as tribute is to curse our uncle."

"Speaking of curses, according to the memories, don't you think my 8th death was caused by a curse? I mean, it's strange for me to suddenly have a heart attack during a night walk, right? I never even had heart problems before!"

"Well, warlocks are rare, but not to the point of almost extinction. I guess it's a possibility."

"Why do I feel like I'm some kind of tragic heroine in stories?" Fiorentia grumbled. "At this rate, I could write those 12 deaths of mine into books and publish them."

"Unfortunately, tragedy isn't the trend these days," Felix shook his head in disapproval. "Not to mention that almost every time you die before 18. Children's tragic death and misfortunes are controversial topics that always stirred heated discussions among people. And it will cause another uproar if it is known that the writer is still a child, especially if the child in question is related to the royalty."

"I know, it's just a 'what if' question."

After that, Fiorentia didn't say anything for a while before her body slumped down on the soft couch. Looking at her brother who was still maintaining his excellent sitting posture, Fiorentia wondered if he didn't feel tired at all. Of course, she wasn't going to voice out her comment, lest she would get another nagging.

"Aren't you going to ask what I'm planning to do from now on?" she asked curiously since Felix didn't speak anything about the subject.

"I'm indeed curious," Felix admitted. "But my dear sister, it has been proven that hastily-made plans always lead to either failure or death. According to the memories, there's still 2 years left before the Empire attacks. And 2 years are enough to plan a safe survival strategy with low risks."

"It's considered low risk as long as participating in the war isn't added to it, right?"

Felix paused. His eyes shook slightly before he nodded. "Yes, it is."

His voice was cold, but as his twin sister, Fiorentia noticed that Felix was struggling to hide the bitterness he felt inside.

"And it's pointless to risk your life defending this kingdom, because Regillum's time has come to its end."