Chapter 4

I slowly gathered my thoughts while gazing up at the mobile spinning in the wind.

After being reborn, I experienced two strange phenomena.

One was that I still had memories of my past life, the memories of the fourteen years I had lived as Alisa del Edenverre.

The other was…

I whispered to myself.

Hey.

Some things wriggled toward me in response to my call. They were spirits made up of tiny lights.

Only I could see them.

Even before I could see them, I had vaguely felt their presence. When I completely gained sight, I could not only see them, but also converse with them.

I had been born as an elementalist, an extremely rare being. I was so powerful that I could see spirits that existed as natural entities.

The Elmire Empire worshiped the god of light. If I were to show that I could skillfully handle spirits of light from a young age, my value would probably increase tremendously.

But so what? I smiled bitterly. Even though I had this great ability, I had no will to live. Even when the nanny tried to feed me milk, I only suckled briefly and soon quit.

I avoided making eye contact with people, and I didn’t babble. Because of my instincts as a baby, it was inevitable that my eyes would be drawn to moving things, but I tried to control that tendency as much as possible.

I thought it would be better if people got tired of me and neglected me. But they were very persistent.

They kept showing me amazing things and trying to make me happy. Even though I didn’t reciprocate, I recognized their efforts.

But I was sure that if I ignored them for several years, they would give up on me one day.

There was no particular reason for me to do this. I was just exhausted. I no longer had the will to live. There was nothing I could do about the fact that I was born again, so I ate just enough and breathed just enough to stay alive, but I didn’t want to do anything more than that.

I will live quietly, and die quietly.

However, there was one problem with that plan…

“Aisha! How are you?!”

Again, and again, he showed up.

I frowned at the sound of his voice.

When he opened the door and came into the room, the oblivious nanny greeted him warmly.

“Your Highness! Have you come to say hello to the princess again?”

“Yes! How is she?”

The two started talking about various things. I sighed inwardly again.

Yes, it was that guy. He was the source of my problem.

Ysis del Elmire, my older brother.

He was 9 years old this year, and was the only prince of this empire, next in line for the throne. Because he was the son of the former empress, we had different mothers, but he treated me like I was his younger sister.

I saw him more often than even the nanny or my mother. No matter how much I tried to ignore him or look away, he kept coming to see me. His affection troubled me.

“Aisha!” He smiled broadly and came to the side of the cradle. “How have you been?”

Looking down at me, he handed me what he had brought. It was a large light pink flower.

“I brought you a flower today. It’s probably the prettiest and largest flower in the palace.”

I glanced at it. The flower he brought was the Elmire flower, the national flower of this country.

The nanny was a talker, so I heard her say that this was the season when the Elmire flowers were in full bloom all over the fields.

The flower with overlapping light pink petals was very beautiful. But I looked the other way. I didn’t want to talk to the crown prince.

“It seems our Aisha is very shy…” the prince muttered, sounding disappointed.

No, I denied inwardly. That’s not it. I just don’t want to get close to people. Leave me alone.

To make myself clear, I closed my eyes tightly. Surely he wouldn’t talk to me if I pretended to be asleep.

It seemed like my plan succeeded.

“Aisha? Are you sleeping?” he muttered in confusion.

Yes. So leave already.

I closed my eyes tightly and started to count down in my mind. Soon, the room went quiet.

Did he leave?

I assumed he was gone. Pretending to sleep was more effective than I thought. I told myself I would use this method more often in the future.

I slowly opened my eyes. But the next moment, I ended up screaming instinctively.

“Aghhh!”

He was staring at me from a distance so close that the tip of his nose was almost touching me. His big green eyes seemed several times larger than usual.

When I jumped up, he seemed more flustered than I was.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you...”

I clenched my jaw and turned my head. I had just made a mistake. I had been trying to show as little emotion to others as possible.

Because of that, people were secretly worried that the princess wasn’t expressing her emotions much…

But even that was according to my plan. I was trying to make others lose interest in me by not responding.

But why is this guy so persistent? I grumbled to myself.

“Aisha, are you angry because I startled you?”

He sounded dejected.

“I’m sorry. I apologize.”

He apologized too easily. That wasn’t a desirable quality in the crown prince.

Please leave now.

But contrary to my wishes, he continued to stay by my side. He didn’t even seem bored. Through the small, open window of my room, a light breeze blew in. It made the mobile dance, creating five-colored lights and beautiful sounds.

Ruffling my hair, he whispered, “My precious little sister.”

I flinched. Not that again. I heard him say that so much I thought my ears might bleed.

He was 9 years old, and I was 10 months old.

He kept on repeating, as if trying to brainwash me…

“My lovely little sister.”

“My precious little sister.”

“My one and only little sister.”

It made me so uncomfortable. Every time he said those words, the memories of my past life flooded back to me. I recalled my old family who had abandoned me, turned their backs on me, threw stones, and spat at me.

“...”

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

Was I frowning without realizing it?

I didn’t answer, and he flopped down in front of the cradle. It didn’t seem like he was going to leave anytime soon.

“Aisha,” he called again.

I felt the cradle dip back and forth slightly. When I moved just my eyes to check, I saw that he was gently rocking my cradle.

Ugh, I’m so sick of him.

With that thought, I stared at his face for the first time. He had bright blonde hair, leaf-green eyes, and defined facial features despite his young age.

He looked a lot like the emperor and was very handsome. Moreover, even though he was only 9 years old, he seemed mature and kind.

I could tell he was very patient because he kept coming despite the fact that I always ignored him. He was truly amazing in many ways.

“Aisha!”

When I stared at him, he said my name as if he was moved.

“My little sister...”

He wore a big smile on his face. I couldn’t really understand him.

Does he like me that much? But why?

Even though we were siblings related by blood, I couldn’t understand his intense love for me.

Besides… I lowered my eyes. Being related by blood or being siblings didn’t mean anything. I still couldn’t forget Lakia’s voice saying that I should get the death penalty.

I became a little disappointed that I was just a baby who couldn’t speak yet. If I could, that would be my first question.

Was I frowning again without realizing it? Looking worried, Ysis scanned my face again.

“Aisha, are you not feeling well?”

“...”

I was silent. I felt uncomfortable with the attention he showed me and the affection people gave me.

I’d rather... It would be better if you spat at me or condemned me like my family had done before I died. Or just acted indifferent.

As if he had read my mind, he spoke to me.

“Aisha.” His soft voice was as warm as the sunlight. “I’ll tell you a secret.”

A secret? When I opened my eyes wide, he smiled as if he thought I was being adorable.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

What he said made me tense up instantly. It sounded like he knew I would be born.

How did he know I would be reborn? Was there a connection between him and my reincarnation…? That couldn’t be, could it?

I looked up at him nervously, and he continued as if to answer me.

“I begged Mother for a long time because I really wanted a younger sibling.”

Oh, all energy drained out of me.

That’s what he meant by he had been waiting for me.

I was on edge, probably because I had been looking at the same ceiling every day and couldn’t move.

Ysis continued, “But my mother wasn’t healthy enough to have a child. And her health kept failing and failing...”

I hadn’t heard that story before. He rested his chin in his hands and looked down at me.

“She passed away two years ago.”

“...”

I blinked. His green eyes, as beautiful as the green trees in the forest, were filled with loneliness.

“I was resentful at first. I even resented Lady Iris who came to replace my mother. I resented the world and my father too. But...”

He smiled faintly.

“Now I feel fortunate that Lady Iris is here. Because she became my new family. I’m so happy that she’s here.”

He held my fingers preciously. His hands were so much bigger than mine.

I looked at him blankly.

A new family...

“And now that you’re here, Aisha...” he continued calmly, “You coming into my life was like a miracle. I was so happy, I didn’t know what to do with myself.”

“...”

“You may not remember, but I loved you even before you were born. I used to come to see Lady Iris every day.” He smiled broadly.

I know, I thought to myself. I remembered the young boy’s voice, which I heard as often as my mother’s.

It was only a few days after my birth that I realized it belonged to Crown Prince Ysis. I heard that voice every day, so how could I not know it?

“I used to tell you, Aisha…” Ysis whispered to me in a sweet voice, like he was pouring pure affection on me.

“The whole world loves you.”