Reverse the Crazy Curse

Chapter 2

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Deep down, I wanted to overturn everything—the castle and all—but for now, I was full of regret. Unintentionally, I had caused a flood, likely damaging the homes near the ocean. Though the wave wasn’t meant to hurt anyone and no one had died, I still felt terrible.

Those people were probably soaked to the bone.

Thus, I decided to suppress my temper for a few days and take time to slowly assess the situation.

I never expected to be reincarnated. Geez.

I sighed through my small mouth and examined my hand. No matter how many times I looked, I couldn’t believe it. Me! The great empress of Atlantiz! Reduced to the size of a baby crab!

Ugh.

I wanted to grow up and become an adult as soon as possible. At least there was one silver lining—the family into which I had been reincarnated was quite respectable. I was now the youngest daughter of Duke Ruseiyan—Nisefor Ruseiyan.

For now, this status could be acceptable. If I compared it to my former life as an empress, being a duke’s daughter felt somewhat unsatisfactory, but it was decent enough. However, there was one problem. Where was the treatment befitting a duke’s daughter?!

“Waah!”

The duke and duchess—my parents—were assassinated. Amid the chaos, the maid had managed to escape with me. From what I gathered, I couldn’t recognize myself right after birth. Then, when my life was threatened, my past self’s consciousness awakened, and thankfully, I survived.

Though all I can do right now is drink milk, roll over, and suck my thumb.

“Nyaah!”

I need to grow up! There’s so much I want to explore! Kaortan and Doum. Those damned traitors. They would never, in their wildest dreams, imagine that I’d be reincarnated. Just wait and see…

If I had to, I’d summon their souls and take my revenge. Then, I’d savor this new life to the fullest. There were so many things I had wanted to do in my previous life, and this deeply bothered me. In truth, I’d only ever done three things—survive, wage war, and carry out the tedious duties of an empress.

This time, I won’t live like that. I’m going to play, spend money, and enjoy life to my heart’s content!

With a fierce glare, I punched my fist into the air. Since I was holding a rattle that Adele had given me, it jingled loudly.

“Nisefor, it’s time to eat. You need to eat well and grow strong!”

As I was getting worked up, Adele arrived with warm milk and a handkerchief.

“Bah buh ba.”

Hurry up and serve my meal!

I pounded on the rail of the cradle with authority. Fortunately, I wasn’t so much of a baby that I couldn’t control my body at all. I was already thirteen months old. However, that number had a catch. No matter how I looked at it, my development made it seem like I was only five months old. Naturally, I couldn’t run, jump around, or swim like I wanted. The most I could do was hold onto the railing and stand, but even that was tough since my head was heavy and it wobbled.

I’m positive Adele said I was thirteen months old. So what is wrong with me?

It didn’t make any sense. I didn’t know much about babies, but this didn’t seem like a simple case of late development. At first, I was a bit disappointed, but then I thought it over. It had been so long since I had last moved my body. It might be better to have these limitations for now. Over the past few days, I was adjusting to living again. Breathing in and out. Wriggling around. Focusing on the things I could do to hurry up and grow!

“You always finish your milk, and you’re so calm.”

The maid who saved my life was named Adele. It had been three days since we had arrived safely at the imperial palace. During that time, I tried to piece together everything that had happened before my consciousness was reawakened. In other words, from the moment I was born until I turned thirteen months old.

I am “Tarassa.” I am also “Nisefor.”

The memories from both lives blended seamlessly within me. I was Tarassa, but I was also Nisefor.

It’s unfortunate. Had my consciousness awakened a little sooner, I might have been able to save my parents.

In my previous life, I was an orphan. I had no idea what parents were like or how warm and gentle their gazes could be when they were looking at their children.

I wish I could have experienced that love firsthand.

In my memories, I could see the faces of my parents in this life.

“Nisefor, my love.”

My mother had whispered those words as she kissed my cheek. She was an unparalleled beauty, with brilliant coral-colored hair that flowed down to her waist. The color of her beautiful hair was unmistakably that of the Coral Sprites. My father was a normal human, so I might be half human and half Coral Sprite. Was this the reason for my delayed development?

I heard that Coral Sprites grow into the strongest warriors on earth, but as a trade-off, their development is quite slow the first year after birth.

I had only heard stories and never seen it firsthand, but here I was, experiencing it myself.

Wow. Amazing.

Please, somebody, help the great empress maintain her dignity. Geez.

“Ninis, are you sure it’s okay for me to hold her?”

“Of course. See, Nisefor likes you.”

“Still… What if I hurt her?”

“There you go again. It will be fine. Nisefor is our daughter. She’s strong. Have some faith in her.”

My father, a strikingly handsome man with silver hair, had been sweating nervously as he took me from my mother’s arms. Then, very carefully, he stroked my hair. I must have loved it because I remembered smiling brightly.

“Look, Ninis! Our daughter is smiling!”

My father’s face lit up with joy at the sight of my smile. My mother rested her head on his shoulder, a serene smile gracing her lips. Behind them, I could see Adele watching me with such happiness.

The last memory of my parents was such a happy one.

It only made my heart ache even more.

I’ll never forgive them. Whoever killed my parents, I will find them and make them pay, as painfully as possible. First, I need to grow!

I flailed my arms about to try to tell Adele what I wanted.

“More food? Would you like more milk?”

No, not that.

How was I supposed to grow with just watered-down milk? I was already thirteen months old—surely I could have something other than milk?

“Just a moment. I’ll bring it right away.”

Adele clearly had no idea what else she could give a thirteen-month-old baby. Frustrated, I gave up and plopped down. Adele hurried out of the room, leaving me alone again. Honestly, as a princess, shouldn’t I have had at least two nannies and three maids attending to me?

I can’t live like this. Who treats a baby like this?

As a Reseiyan princess, I was thrown into a faraway palace with Adele. Thrown—that was the only way to describe it. The castle, dark and covered in patches of moss, was no better inside than it was outside.

It’s dark, damp, and musty. A terrible environment for a baby!

It was a dreary place, spooky and lacking warmth. I didn’t like it at all. Having the sea right next to me was nice, but the real problem was the name of the place. Sacrificial Palace. What the hell is a Sacrificial Palace? Who in their right mind would name it like that? Why sacrifice? Well, it’s because I, the great empress of Atlantiz, might be destined to become a living sacrifice!

Ugh, how stressful.

I tried to grab the back of my neck while holding the empty milk cup in my other hand. No matter how much I struggled, it was impossible. I let out a sigh and dropped the cup like an empty wine bottle. What I wanted was to down a whole bottle of wine, but all I could drink was milk.

“I’m sorry for being late, my lady. I brought your milk!”

Adele hurried in, warm bottle in hand.

Do I really have to drink more milk?

I looked at the white milk with bleary eyes and reluctantly reached out. Adele must secretly be a bodyguard, trained in combat, posing as a maid because when it came to childcare, she was useless. It was the only explanation I could see for giving me only milk for days on end.

“You’re already over a year old. Soon you’ll catch up to the other kids your age and start to grow. I know it’s uncomfortable not being able to move the way you’d like, but all the young masters were like that too. It’s perfectly normal.”

Is that true? I get it, but what about something other than milk? Is there nothing else? Just milk? I tried to convey my questions with wide eyes and rapid blinks, but Adele continued her monologue, oblivious.

“Soon you’ll be the dragon princess. Just like the oracle said.”

I’ll probably die of malnutrition before that.

I stopped myself from saying anything as I noticed Adele’s eyes welling with tears again.

Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I don’t know how to console people. You know what, fine. I’ll drink the milk!

“Goo… guh,” I managed. It was going to take forever to be able to form actual words.

Adele sniffled.

“Oh, are you trying to comfort me? Thank you, my lady.”

Her tendency to tear up whenever she looked at me was becoming a pattern. She must have felt sorry for me in such a situation.

“My lady has a very special gift… I believe that with all my heart. You won’t be a sacrifice. You are the dragon princess, and you’re going to break the curse.”

Adele wiped her tears, doing her best to be cheerful. Those were the same words she spoke, word for word, every time she fed me or bathed me. At first, I had no idea what she meant by the dragon princess, but it didn’t take long for her to explain it clearly, making it easy for me to remember.

The dragon princess. A mystical and powerful figure who would break the almost one-thousand-year-old curse on the imperial family.

They said that was me. Actually, to be precise, the oracle said it might be me. That was the reason my parents had been killed.