Chapter 1: A New Beginning

“I have always despised the very sight of you.” The voice of His Majesty echoed relentlessly in her mind, accompanied by the pleased expression on Heinrich’s face.

Elise awoke in a panic, the phantom sensation of a sharp blade against her neck jolting her upright. She instinctively grasped her neck, tears streaming down her face. As her vision cleared, she recognized the familiar yet aged and dirty room around her. “What’s happening?” she whispered to herself. Trying to comprehend her situation, she glanced down at her tiny hands. “A baby?” she wondered, her confusion deepening.

As Elise cried, overwhelmed by feelings of betrayal and loss, someone suddenly entered the room.

“My lady!” called an unknown yet strangely familiar voice echoing through the room.

A maid rushed in, immediately picking up Elise and gently walking around to calm her down.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone with the other maids. I should have known their little tricks,” she said, her voice filled with worry.

Elise, still confused, looked at the maid and continued to cry.

“Why am I so sensitive?” she wondered, trying to stop the tears but failing. She longed for this kind of comfort, something she hadn’t felt in years. The loneliness that had haunted her was soothed by this woman, someone she barely knew, or perhaps, vaguely remembered.

"Shhh, it's alright now. I'm here," Flora whispered soothingly as she comforted Elise. She began humming a familiar melody, one that Elise vaguely remembered from her previous life. It struck Elise that Flora was the person who had hummed this melody to her before she fell asleep in her crib every night before she travelled back time, still wondering why did she suddenly left.

While Elise peacefully slept, Flora quietly moved her crib back to Elise's own room. Determined to address the situation, Flora gathered all the palace staff and demanded to know who had placed the princess in such a dusty, neglected room. As the head maid of Sapphire Palace, she was furious that Elise, placed there by her father Lucas Eisenburg, had been mistreated.

"Which one of you put the princess in that dirty room?" Flora's voice was sharp with anger, and the maids, casting nervous glances at each other, realized their mistake and forgetting to return Elise to her chambers they were caught abandoning her inside that dark and dirty room. Flora punished them by assigning two weeks of laundry duty as a consequence for disrespecting the princess.

The next morning, Elise woke up still bewildered but relieved to have narrowly escaped danger and returned to a previous time in her life. She couldn't shake off her confusion about how she had traveled back in time.

"Was I given a second chance at life?" she pondered silently. Despite being a baby, her memories remained clear, and she gazed around her large, clean room from her crib, overcome with curiosity.

"Flora..." she murmured in her tiny voice, then gasped in surprise at the sound of her own voice her tiny hands covering her mouth. "My voice sounds so small," she marveled to herself. As she waited for Flora, she contemplated how she could have been transported back in time. Was it fate, or perhaps the work of a powerful magician? Such magic, she reasoned, could only come from someone with immense power.

As Elise pondered with her fingers on her chin, Flora entered the room.

“Good morning, my dear princess,” Flora greeted with a smile, lifting Elise up. Elise admired Flora's beauty, her eyes sparkling green like emeralds. Elise giggled, quickly covering her mouth when she heard her own voice.

“Our little princess is as cute as ever!” Flora chuckled softly as she carried Elise towards the bathroom to wash her up. Sensing Elise's lingering gaze, Flora asked, “Is something the matter, my lady?” She kissed Elise on the forehead, and a small bubble of joy seemed to float in the air, eliciting another giggle from Elise.

“This isn’t so bad…” Elise reassured herself with a small smile.

Flora's gentle hands moved with practiced care as she bathed and dressed Elise, the warmth of the water soothing the princess's nerves. Elise, still adjusting to her infant form and the startling transition back in time, found herself drawn to Flora's comforting presence.

As Flora dried her off and dressed her in a soft, embroidered gown, she spoke in a soothing tone. “Your father, Emperor Lucas, has been occupied with kingdom affairs,” Flora shared, her voice filled with both respect and affection. “But he always asks about you, even amidst his duties.”

“As if he did…” Elise listened intently, absorbing the details of her father’s life that had been absent from her previous timeline. She felt a pang of longing for the lost years of distance between them.

“I'm grateful for you, Flora,” Elise told herself, “It’s strange...feeling so safe and cared for.”

Flora paused, her expression gentle and understanding. “You are deeply loved, my lady,” she reassured Elise, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “And you have many who care deeply for you.”

Elise smiled gratefully, her heart lighter than it had been in ages. As Flora carried her back to the nursery, she nestled into the maid's embrace, cherishing the newfound warmth and acceptance she had longed for.

After Elise was brought back to her room, she felt a sense of determination wash over her. She couldn’t dwell on the pass any longer because it’s only holding her down, but instead, she decided to plan everything first and work on changing her fate.

Elise pushed herself to stand up, but couldn’t, it only leave her to falling. As Flora watch her crawl around the room she smiled, “My lady has a lot of energy, would you like me to take you to the garden?”. Elise had an idea and clapped her hands and giggled as a response to Flora’s suggestion.

As Flora carried Elise to the garden, Elise was stunned with how beautiful her palace was. Unlike before she travelled back time, without Flora, even the maids neglected her and served her rotten food. She dare not to scold the maids because of her father.

“The air here makes me feel so free, I wonder what happened to Flora after she left.” She wondered to herself as Flora carried her to the beautiful lake. As Flora laid Elise on the picnic mat preventing the grass to pierce Elise skin, Flora sang and danced. Her voice is soft, it’s as if she’s comforting me. Flora danced and made the water float turning it into a beautiful artistic beauty. She danced and sing devoting her love and loyalty to the lady.

As she finished singing and dancing, Elise giggled and clapped her hands. She watched as Flora’s movements, forming beautiful patterns that sparkled in the sunlight.

“Did you enjoy it, My lady?” Flora smiled as she sat beside Elise patting her tiny head.

Elise looked at her with a delight smile on her face which led her to hug Flora.

Flora in the other hand, was surprised by Elise’s sudden hug chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“If only you hadn’t left me…would have I been happy in my past life…” Elise wondered to herself lying down and gazing at the sky.

“Flora…” Elise said in a soft and lovely tone making Flora pause.

“What did you just say, My lady?” She was left shocked, hearing her first word coming out from that tiny little body.

“F-flora…” she said again stuttering to say Flora’s name.

Flora teared up leaving Elise shocked and panic. But before she could say anything again, Flora hugged her softly, “Her hugs comforts me…” she told herself.

As they both returned to Elise’s room, Flora prepared Elise’s milk and baby food for her to eat. While eating Elise knew she also had to get everyone on the palace to like her to lessen the problem on the future. Because her past life, the maids of the palace had neglected her and didn’t bother to care for her but instead ignored the very sight of her.

3 years had passed since then, Elise is now at the age of 3.

As Elise ran around the palace garden, she was playing hide and seek with the maids, the two maids who abandoned her inside the dirty and dark room. As she was trying to hide she came across with another garden that had a big fountain and beautiful roses. She hid behind it and waited for a the maids to find her. She waited for a while but they couldn’t find her somehow.

“What’s this thing doing here, how did it get into the palace of Elizabeth?” The familiar voice that came from behind her.

“This cant be…” Elise told herself while clenching her fist. Into knowing whose voice owned that.

“Child, face your Emperor” He said in a cold tone. With his Guard beside him.

Elise froze, her heart pounding in her chest as she slowly turned to face the imposing figure of Emperor Lucas Eisenburg, her father. His expression was a mix of surprise and curiosity as he gazed down at his daughter, standing amidst the grandeur of Elizabeth Palace.

He chuckled, “You are the spitting image of me, how surprising. I thought you’d look a lot like your mother, because after all, she is very beautiful.” looking at Elise’s face.

"Father..." Elise whispered, her voice barely audible as she struggled to find the right words. Her mind raced with conflicting emotions…fear, longing, and a hint of defiance.

Emperor Lucas stepped closer, his piercing gaze studying Elise intently. "How did you come to be here?" he asked again, his voice commanding her to speak up.

Elise swallowed hard, steeling herself against the overwhelming tide of emotions. "I...I don't know," she admitted hesitantly, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I...just...found myself here."

Lucas Eisenburg's brow furrowed in contemplation, his thoughts hidden behind a mask of regal composure. He reached out a hand, gently tilting Elise's chin up to meet his gaze. "You have grown," he remarked quietly, his tone betraying a hint of sadness.

Elise felt a lump form in her throat as she struggled to contain her emotions. Memories of her past life, of the neglect and longing for her father's affection, flooded her mind. Yet here he stood before her, a powerful and distant figure she had yearned to understand.

"I...I wanted to see you," Elise finally managed to say, her voice wavering slightly. "I wanted..." Her words trailed off, unable to articulate the depth of her feelings.

“As if I wanted to, not after killing your own daughter.” Elise looked down trying to avoid eye contact with him.

“Hahaha…I think the princess is tired now your majesty why don’t we bring her back to head maid Flora-“ before Marcus could finish his sentence his majesty glared at him which led him to retreat.

Lucas studied her for a moment longer, his expression softening imperceptibly. "Come," he said finally, his voice gentle yet authoritative. "Let us talk…do you like strawberry tarts?”

Stunned with his majesty’s request, she looked up and gazed confused. “He’s not the type to do this kind of things with me.” She told herself.

With a mixture of trepidation and hope, Lucas carried Elise which left her stunned as he walked through the corridors of Elizabeth Palace holding Elise tightly. As they walked, she stole glances at him, trying to avoid moving too much.

As Lucas let her sat on her seat by the garden filled with roses, he said…”this palace was owned by your mother…”

Elise looked at him with disbelief…she looked on her tiny hands, “I only saw her portraits in my past life…” she mumbled to herself.

His majesty, who was didn’t hear her clearly looked at her, seeing her hands trembling in fear.

“Are you afraid of me?” He said in a sharp tone yet calm.

Marcus and the other maids of the palace of Elizabeth was stunned by his question.

“All of us are!” They all said together to themselves.

“Doesn’t father hate me…?” Elise said while gritting her lips until she wounded herself.

“Yes, I did.” His response pierced Elise’s heart again daring not to say another word again. “Elizabeth died because of you after all…” he sipped his tea and looked at Elise straight in the eye.

“Right…I only met his majesty at the age of 13…but I met him at this age, the age of 3. I still have a few more years before Carolina and that woman shows herself. The day of my Debut.” she said to herself.

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