Warm thick fluid of crimson flowed down my arm as I clutched the bullet hole on my shoulder, trying to hold off the bleeding. I heard gunshots coming from behind me. I must flee. This operation was a bust, dammit!

I can’t believe I failed, shit!

Fortunately enough, I managed to escape before they could corner me. I left quite a lot of bloodshed in my escape, as expected of my skills! But damn, I couldn’t even kill my target, what a blunder.

I turned towards a small alley, hoping to at least lose the ones who were chasing me. My long and unkempt black hair rattled as I ran desperately. I grip the pistol in my hands in preparation for what may greet me once I leave this alley.

My beautiful brow wrinkled when I heard the sound of a vehicle coming my way. Its headlight began to lit the road before me. There were no allies here, I am alone, therefore, this fast vehicle could only be an enemy.

Sure enough, the car stopped as soon as I stepped out of the alley. They opened the doors of their car, but before they could come out, I aimed my weapon at them. I instantly had one in my sights and pulled the trigger, a loud roar from my weapon rang out. I shot him cleanly in the head and his assault rifle fell to the ground.

I quickly shifted the aim to the second man and shot. But two more emerged from the backseat of the car, so I stepped back and took cover behind the wall. Their guns shot numerous bullets towards where I was situated.

Dammit, enemies will also come from my back at any second.

There were also the ones that were chasing me from behind, I expected that they would appear from where I just went through.

Aaah, this is the end.

How could everything end this way?

I began to worry about my life. My desire to have a carefree life, and my regrets came to my mind.

My life had always felt like it was in shackles, always bounded, unable to do what I wanted. Only do the things I was ordered. I was always envious of normal people. Casually walking down the street, without fearing for anything.

Eat by the street stalls, go shopping, laugh with other people. Hell, I am even envious of those that were able to go to school. Not because they were able to go to school until they graduate from college, but because they got to live a carefree life.

What a miserable turn of events…

Well, if this was how it was going to end, let’s end it with a bang! I ain’t gonna mope around in the face of death. If I was going to die, I’ll do it on my own terms. At least, I got to do what I wanted this time.

I listened to the rapid fire of my enemies. Then they stopped, they must be advancing towards me. Good, at least I get to catch them in surprise.

“This way!”

I heard a loud voice from the other end of the alley. They were the ones that were chasing after me. Instantly, upon hearing that one man’s shout, I stepped forward and extended my weapon with a dagger in my hand. I always had daggers strapped to my thighs during missions.

With my dark mission outfit which was made for the purpose of flexible movement, I moved swiftly. The two men looked surprised for a split second that I suddenly emerged from my cover.

However, with that opening, I pulled the trigger of my weapon, hitting him on the neck. Due to the pressure, I missed the head. But that was fine, that still meant death. Before anything else, I also instantly threw my sharp dagger towards the other guy.

I hit his chest, causing him to stagger, I quickly shifted my weapon towards him and open fired two times.

“?!”

But he also managed to open fire, though with utterly poor accuracy due to him being hit, he still managed to hit me by the side of the stomach. I grimaced in pain as I covered it with my free hand.

But there was no time to rest, enemies were coming from behind. I immediately opened fire towards then as I rushed towards the car the enemies used. Regrettably, I only managed to down one. And worst of all, I ran out of bullets.

No time to reload. So I entered the car, but as I did so, I caught a glimpse of incoming vehicles from a distance.

I got on the car seat and stepped on the accelerator.

Wait, I might be able to escape. Hah! Jokes on you, you bastards!”

My car moved fast, but the enemies were already hot on my tail. They fired at me, so I had to duck, unable to look what would be ahead. But that was fine, it should be a clean road since I managed to catch a glimpse of it.

I was heading straight to the bridge. Pieces of glass from the window came flying inside as countless hails of bullets rained towards me.

Shit, couldn’t they be gentle to a pretty girl like me? Damn!

I may have sounded sarcastic, but I was serious. I was only able to think of such things since I have always been in danger almost my entire life. So, this situation was nothing to be so depressed about.

I have hope that I can live.

But that hope was taken when an explosion erupted right behind the car I was driving. I panicked for a moment then took a peak.

A fucking grenade launcher?! Bullshit!

I tried not to drive in a straight line, I managed to dodge twice. Thankfully.

The bridge was within reach, a river vigorously flowing underneath it. I was reaching the center of the bridge, but at that moment, an explosion came in front of me. In reflex, I turned the wheel, but instead of staying on the road, my car went to the edge of the bridge.

There was where I fell.

The cold dark water, with no light since it was night, greeted me. I held my breath and tried to open the door. Although it was rough. The river here was indeed troublesome.

But I still managed to open it and came outside with difficulty on the way. The wounds throbbed as the strong current carried my body. It was difficult to swim in this kind of current.

But at this rate, I might be able to escape and survive. Truth be told, I also planned to dive into the river if all else fails.

I’m a genius right?

Now, here I go praying I won’t drown. I swam with all my strength towards the surface. When I reached above, I looked around. The strong current really helped since I saw no enemies around.

That being said, I felt very cold and weak. I was losing a lot of blood. I swam quickly to the river bank.

I barely managed to hold unto the concrete, but I still managed to climb up. I collapsed on the floor, extremely tired.

My precious hands shivered, no it wasn’t just my hands, it was my entire body. Blood began to form a small puddle on the floor. I don’t like this, not at all. The pain, the blood, the cold, this feeling, I don’t like it.

I need immediate medical attention…

I forced myself to stand up, body shaking while doing so. My body felt heavy, it was unpleasant. Not anything else here was pleasant. I legit felt I was dying.

No, I may be literally dying.

But I had hope. I lifted my feet, slowly moving forward. I was somewhat familiar with this location, but any medical facilities here were totally not close. In other words it was impossible to reach one.

Maybe some person will come across me and help me.

Yes, if someone came, I might be saved.

As a short time passed, a vehicle with its headlights on, came towards me. A faint smile curled on my lips.

The vehicle stopped and its doors opened.

“How miserable you look.”

***

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A man’s voice. It was familiar, and the smile on my lips grew a bit wider. The man about his mid twenties had blonde hair and blue eyes. This man was beautiful and could charm just about any woman who he came across.

Of course I felt nothing, I was never infatuated by this man. The same thing applies to the same gender as mine. I can’t feel anything special towards even females, and also men. What? Could this mean I am a monster? No way, I’m human. Perhaps that was just the way I am.

The man flashed me a charming smile.

I walked closer to him and shrugged.

“...Indeed. I’m a m-miserable beautiful twenty-year old girl, and v-vulnerable. So, what are you standing a-around for, help me here.”

This was one of my colleagues, therefore, I could feel all relaxed.

“Ah, how d-did you find me anyway?”

The man slowly approached me.

“The tracker.”

“... Of course.”

Somewhere embedded in my arm, I had a tracker. All members of the organization had them. However…

“How come you have access to a tracker’s location?”

“Before the operation, I was, well, you could say promoted.”

“I see,” I frowned as I watched him. “Why are you still standing, I’m d-dying here, I’m using all my strength just to stand up, where’s the first aid?”

He heaved a deep sigh before moving his hand to his back.

“You were seen, you know. You exposed your face, and even caused all that trouble.”

I grew tense upon hearing his words.

“... So what?”

“You have exposed the operation, and look at you, dying, in the middle of a street.”

“You…”

I glared at him, having an idea where this was leading.

“...”

My gaze downcast, I took a deep breath.

So this is where it ends, huh.

Trying to fight back was pointless. I was wounded and weak. I didn’t even have any kind of weapon in hand. I couldn’t fight back here. It seems this was where I will meet my end. The organization often does this, so it didn’t come as a lot of shock.

They always discard those who no longer had any uses or had failed miserably.

And, here I will be thrown away. Abandoned. Disposed of.

I returned my gaze towards the man. We had worked together for a long time. A few years. But he didn’t show any kind of sympathy as he was about to kill me. I guess that was what to be expected. There were just people that didn’t have a heart.

They can kill easily like having a tea party, they feel nothing about it. Taking one’s life was trivial, even if they had worked together for a long time. I suppose I’m the same way as him.

I glared at him.

“Go ahead t-then. But don’t think I won’t fight back.”

He smiled at me as though amused.

“Hm, you’ll die of blood loss anyway. But, it appears it would take time, so I’ll end it here.”

A dagger in his hand, he prepared to throw it. It would seem he didn’t want to face me head on. Of course it was not because I could potentially hurt him, I’m way passed that. That was because he didn’t want to get dirty due to my blood.

“You’re an ugly man, you k-know that?”

I said to him as I rushed my feet forward. If I could hit him, I might get satisfied. But, the dagger had already pierced my heart before I knew it.

I collapsed on my knees. I clutched the dagger stuck to my chest, but I had no strength left to pull it out.

I feel sleepy.

“You’re a hard girl to kill.”

I smiled at him as my life was slowly draining away.

“...Just... the way things are.”

“Indeed, so don’t bear any grudges towards me in the afterlife.”

Of course, there will be no grudges. I knew this could potentially happen to me at some point. But, I had regrets. I had a lot of regrets.

I didn’t want to die yet, but I was already dying. No hope escaping from its grasp. No, perhaps dying would be a blessing from this life.

I said my final words.

“Have a good life, my friend.”

Even if he killed me, we were still colleagues once. And we were raised in the same organization. Thus, despite how we treated each other now, we still had respect for each other. We still somewhat have a relationship. And the word I could think of to describe it was ‘friendship’, or perhaps ‘kinship’?

“Friend? Yes. We’re friends aren’t we?” A faint smile appeared on his face. “I hope something good will happen to you, if souls do exist and end up somewhere... Farewell, our angel.”

That was the moment my life faded away. My corpse lay on the cold hard street, with a dead heart full of regret.

***

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“Good lord, please save the princess.”

“How is she?”

“This is the worst!”

It was noisy.

What the hell? Can’t I even have a good quiet death? Shit.

They sounded like they were panicking, which was strange.

Wait? There was no one around where we were.

The place was eerily quiet, and I remembered it clearly. No, I think that was not the issue here. The main issue here was…

Why the hell am I laying down on something soft?

I was laying down on something soft, like a proper bed, facing up, I feel. Which was strange, I died on the street. No, did I manage to survive somehow? Maybe, when he left me, someone found me and I still had some sort of pulse.

This could mean a lot of things though. He had mistaken me to be dead. And most of all! This could also mean I’m free! I couldn’t feel more happy. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Hahaha!

My face twitches due to the positive emotions I was feeling inside.

“The princess! The princess moved!”

I heard a woman’s voice. She sounded relieved as she raised her voice.

I wonder what princess they were talking about.

Was there even something as princesses during this generation? Oh wait, there were. Well not where I was.

Maybe someone had the name ‘princess’? A certain country does use that word as a literal name.

Or maybe, by some strange fate, a princess ran away and encountered an accident, thus we ended up in the same room. Good, she could be useful if that was the case. Maybe if I go all friendly with her, she would treat me nicely. Maybe she could take me somewhere. I mean, princesses were wealthy girls, so helping someone who was kind as me would be no big deal.

“Physician, she’s still closing her eyes, please make sure there’s nothing wrong with my younger sister.”

Hm? Wait, why the hell is someone touching the side of my face.

Must be a mistake, there must be a timing coincidence. Someone just happened to check up on me at the same time.

It was then I noticed something was amiss. I had no wounds on the head. Which was again strange. I was supposed to have a bullet wound on the shoulder and on the stomach. Wait, I was also stabbed on the heart. I supposed to have died. Could it be perhaps I was tougher than I thought? Pfft, of course not. A stab to the heart was a sure death.

“The healing spell healed her head in time, so it should be alright.”

A man’s voice reached my delicate ears.

Hm? What did this guy just say? Healing spell? Hey hey, what the hell is going on?

I was utterly confused. Was something weird going on? This guy was totally an adult, not some kid playing around and saying stuff like spells.

“Princess, can you open your eyes?”

I was becoming more confused than before. That voice, it just whispered to me after all.

Me? Princess?

Was this some kind of joke?

Completely confused, I opened my eyes. Oh boy, what greeted my eyes only made me think I lost my mind.

What is this? Some kind of cosplay?

I have heard that term and saw what they were, so that was what first came to me.

I saw people who were wearing strange clothes, clothes that were definitely out of their time. A woman somewhere in her mid-thirties with silver hair and bluish eyes stared at me wearing a white dress, emblazoned with plenty of intricate patterns with lines dyed of yellow. Her hair was tied up neatly in a bun. But that was not the big deal here, the clothes were. They were not modern designed. No one would wear something like that. In any case, her outfit just didn’t sit well with the current time.

There was a young man with golden blonde hair and purple eyes also staring down at me, he was perhaps in his late teens. He wore a white and gold long coat with of course clothing underneath it. Trousers and boots, by his neck tied an ascot. As extravagant and expensive looking as the aforementioned woman. Again, weird.

They both looked like they came from a time when swords still existed and used as a weapon.

There were also a couple of maids at the back. How did I know they were maids you might ask? Well, they were wearing black and white dresses, which totally looked like they were worn by maids.

And beside me was a plain looking middle aged man, although his clothes still looked expensive. Could this person be the physician they were talking about?

Woah wait.

If that’s the case, didn’t that make me the “Princess”?

Oh my, I may be beautiful sure. And being called a princess sure is nice. But who are these weirdos? What the hell? Huh?

Only then I noticed the room I was in. The ceiling was high, a small chandelier hung down unto it. White walls with beautiful decorations. Extravagant looking lamps were also there embedded on the walls. Well, the room sure was nice, but that was not what I was worrying about right now.

This is way out of its timeline.

Modern architecture didn’t look like this at all. This looked somewhere around medieval times.

“Estelia.”

The woman from before leaned closer to me.

What did she just call me?

“... Estelia?”

A puzzled look formed on my face.

“Estel? Are you okay?”

The young man, seemingly sensing my confusion, called out to me. I ignored him and pondered. My mind was in complete disarray.

Aaah! What the hell is going on?

I don’t have enough free world experience to come to an acceptable conclusion. I have always had a limited life. Every action I take must have restrictions. In other words, I was always focused on the task given to me. Not enough free time to go around.

“Who are you?”

“““Haaaaah!”””

Everyone in the room gasped in my question. I would have given them credit since it looked genuine. Hm, but since it looked genuine, then it could be. They were legit surprised. Then panic ensued on them.

“Physician! My daughter! What happened?! She just asked who we are! Could it be?!” The woman asked as her eyes rattled around.

“My dear sister? No…” The young man looked away in dismay.

Ah, sorry, I asked in the spur of the moment. I should calm down for a moment.

“She fell down the stairs that hard?” The physician muttered as he covered his mouth.

I glanced at the maids, they disturbingly looked distressed.

Hm, wait did he just say fell down the stairs? I did? Wait, who am I?”

I looked at my hands and touched them. They were pale as ice, I looked like I never left shelter at all, and never even felt the warm touch of sunlight. I shifted my eyes towards my long straight hair. They were white, no, “platinum” would be the appropriate word to describe it.

I’m not me while I'm me at the same time?

That was the only thing I can conclude at the moment. I’m a different person. And this was a totally different place.

“Agh!”

Just then, a surging pain erupted within my head. I clutched my head, it felt like my head would explode at any moment. The people around me panicked as they saw the pained expression on my face. My head was like going to burst out!

Then, it came the feeling of something being injected into my brain. I was overwhelmed. I see. I remember. I feel.

These were… memories.

I am...

“Estelia Vernisia Wisteria.”

“You remember?!”

I looked at the woman who exclaimed in joy. This woman was my mother.

“Mother Meliya.”

Meliya Helvinia Wisteria, the queen, and my mother.

“Aaaah, you remember! Thank goodness.”

She suddenly moved closer to me and… my eyes widened and my body turned stiff. I didn’t know how to react to this.

She… wrapped her arms around me. She was hugging me. It was warm. It was comfy. A foreign feeling and moment for me. Was it always this pleasant? Was this what normal people feel when they hugged each other?

I didn’t know the answer. But, I was feeling it.

This was… wonderful.

No!

I shook my head, shaking off this ridiculous feeling. This was a feeling that was not to be accepted. These emotions were prohibited! These kinds of emotions only beget weakness. I have seen many people die and fail during my assasination missions due to emotions. Due to attachments!

There was even a time when my target was a female. She was what supposed to be my only target, but a man came taking the bullet. Ridiculous. Self sacrifice.

There was also a time when a fellow agent went into an infiltration mission. She needed to pretend to be their ally as we gathered information. However, when time came for execution, she fucking hesitated to kill a single man. How unbelievable.

Emotions are hindrances. Attachments are absolutely forbidden.

Dreams were nice, but these kinds of emotions were not needed. They would only get in the way.

I will not get attached because of this short empty moment.

Plus, I am not Estelia. I am…

***

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