Reverse the Crazy Curse

Chapter 3

When I first heard about it, I was so shocked that I couldn’t sleep. They said there was a curse on the imperial family of this empire called madness. Anyone with imperial blood was afflicted, and the closer one was to the emperor’s direct line, the more severe it became.

People claimed it was because the imperial family wasn’t fully human, but descendants of the sea dragon. Having seen the sea dragon firsthand, I found this ridiculous. The sea dragon was an incredibly calm and dignified creature. Madness? That was absurd. However, it was also said that future emperors would possess strength far beyond that of ordinary humans.

Where did the Sacrificial Palace fit into this? Only the strongest among the emperor’s children could become the crown prince. Due to the curse, the mental and physical suffering eventually drove them mad. And since the future emperor couldn’t go insane, they came up with the idea of giving them a sacrifice. That sacrifice came from one family—The House of Ruseiyan.

What a horrible idea. To think, a human sacrifice.

I frowned in annoyance. Sure, they started this plan a thousand years ago, but it made no sense for it to have continued for so long. How could they keep letting it go on?

Wrong customs need to be changed!

To get to the point, it was said that if a crown prince consumed the sacrifice, he would recover from madness and be fit to rule the empire. However, since the curse was in their blood, whenever the imperial family had children they needed a new sacrifice, even if the previous generation had received one. Only the Ruseiyan family could serve as the sacrifice. For generations, they had paid the price for the imperial family.

The reason it had to be the Ruseiyan family was simple—it was because of the dragon princess that Adele always talked about. The Dragon Princess, who cured the first emperor’s madness, suddenly married another man instead of the emperor, creating the Ruseiyan family.

Despite marrying another man, she still called herself the dragon princess. For some unknown reason, she insisted on keeping the title. She also repeatedly stressed that she must be called the dragon princess, and that “dragon queen” or “dragon consort” would not do.

When she died, she left a will. In it, she said that in the distant future, a new dragon princess would appear, and the imperial family would be forgiven. This is why Adele so desperately wished that I was the dragon princess and not a human sacrifice.

If that were to happen, the curse on the imperial family would be lifted and the tragic fate of the Ruseiyan family would no longer be repeated. Honestly, I’d prefer to be the cure rather than be consumed, which would only be a temporary fix.

It’s still pretty ridiculous. A sacrifice?

The imperial family made a law to prevent the Ruseiyan family from hiding their children. Within three years of their birth, each child was to be sent to the Sacrificial Palace. If they didn’t comply, they’d be charged with treason, rebellion, and conspiracy. However, they wouldn’t kill them since they needed future sacrifices, but…

In this world, sometimes death is the better option.

I laughed at the thought.

Death would have been better than being sealed in stone.

At any rate, when the crown prince turns nineteen, he chooses one of the Ruseiyan children from the Sacrificial Palace. I don’t know who it would be, but it won’t be me.

As soon as I can swim, I’m getting out of here! The crown prince sucks all the energy out of the sacrifice and the child dies? Horrific.

Tsk. Tsk.

By the way, how old is the crown prince now? He’s not turning nineteen next year, is he?

That would be a disaster! I needed to grow, and fast. The fragile little body I had now was utterly useless. Even a jellyfish would be stronger than this. For a baby, my physical condition was in prime shape, but compared to my body in my previous life, it wasn’t even close.

As I made a fist and punched the air, I heard Adele’s voice and lowered it again.

“Oh, my lady is so good at waving her hands.”

I’m not waving my hands!

I couldn’t protest—all that came out of my mouth was babbling. This was frustrating. How was I supposed to grow and take revenge when I was so tiny? I wondered what happened to Atlantiz after I was sealed in stone. What was the name of this country? What year was it, and who was the emperor? Were my beloved people safe? I had hundreds of questions, but no one to answer them. Shaking my head, I let out another long sigh.

Seeing this, Adele, who had been changing the bedding in the cradle, clapped her hands in delight.

“My lady is so good at bobbing her head! Bob your head again.”

I’m not bobbing my head!

I flailed my legs in anger. Adele then scooped me up with one arm and began to rock me gently.

“I know what it is. You’re bored, aren’t you? Your two brothers aren’t here... They’ll be back soon. I snuck into the Wave Palace yesterday.”

I couldn’t tell if Adele believed I could understand her or if she thought I couldn’t, but I was pretty sure she was saying things she shouldn’t have. Sneaking in? She’s got guts. No one could enter the emperor’s Wave Palace without permission, especially a maid who was cast off to an isolated palace like this with a tiny baby in tow.

Technically, the Sacrificial Palace was part of the imperial palace, albeit in the most remote corner where nobody ventured. The emperor resided in the Wave Palace. The crown prince lived in the Stone Palace. All the other palaces were clustered together in a safe location. Except one! The Sacrificial Palace stood precariously by the ocean.

How undignified.

As you can see, I was in a rather unfortunate situation, and Adele’s situation wasn’t much better.

There’s no way she should have been able to set foot in the Wave Palace.

Even though a lot of time had passed, I doubted that the rules would have changed that much. Yet Adele confidently declared that she had snuck in. If she was caught, she’d probably lose a hand, at least!

“I heard that the battle with the pirate Giorgio ended the other day.”

I blinked my eyes innocently, listening intently to Adele. The pirate Giorgio. I didn’t recognize the name.

“They say your two brothers defeated him, so they will be returning soon. Then, your treatment here should improve. Normally, you would have received proper lodging in the main palace.”

Adele seemed unable to bear that I was being treated this way. The Ruseiyan family was promised wealth and prestige in return for sacrificing their children each generation, and it appeared their influence was enormous. One sacrifice for the happiness of all. It truly was sacrificing the few for the greater good—a logic I had fought against during my rule.

Well, it’s not like I’m going to become the sacrifice anyway. Everything’s fine.

I was no longer the empress, so I no longer needed to think about such stressful things. I’d been given a second chance at life. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity, wouldn’t it? There are so many things I want to do. Dying early? Not a chance.

If you want me to be the sacrifice, come back in a thousand years!

I shouted boldly, raising my chin, “Goo goo!”

“Oh, how adorable.”

Adele smiled down at me and carried me over to the window. The sun was softly streaming through the window. Reflected in Adele’s eyes, I looked so chubby. All humans grow up eventually. It just takes time. This body would grow eventually too. I just needed to be patient.

Even if it takes a thousand years, they say an empress’s revenge is never too late.

Despite the passage of time, the betrayal that took place before I was sealed felt like it happened yesterday. The moment I was buried in the black dust, my arms and legs unable to move, yet still conscious—how could I ever forget?

As soon as I can swim, I will look for the Merfolk.

Merfolk were necromancers. I was positive they still existed, somewhere out there in the ocean. They were a secretive and cautious species, so they must have been living in hiding, but with the help of the ocean, I was sure I could find them.

Then, I’ll summon the traitors... and meet my parents.

If they had already been reincarnated, that would be quite difficult. If not, then I should be able to meet them.

I want to call someone “mom” and “dad” at least once in my life.

As I was planning this new future, the palace, usually as quiet as a graveyard, suddenly echoed with the sound of marching soldiers. Adele must have heard it too, as her face stiffened, and she held me tight. Again, it felt like my lungs were being crushed. I lifted my tiny hands and tapped Adele, but it did nothing to loosen her grip. Someone save my cute little lungs!

“His Majesty, the Emperor!”

Upon hearing the servant’s announcement, a flicker of fear crossed Adele’s face. It was the survival instinct that kicked in, in the presence of someone who wielded absolute power. The aura seeping through the door at that moment felt like a tidal wave on a tumultuous, stormy day. It devoured everything in its path, mercilessly killing anything in its way.

Long ago, I saw many people make that same expression in front of me. After meeting Kaortan, I learned that hiding my strength wasn’t about lowering myself, but about showing consideration for the weak.

Well then, let’s see the face of his descendant.

I wasn’t afraid of the emperor. I was just curious to see which of the two traitors he resembled.

Oh please, let it be the descendant of the so-called friend who stabbed me in the back. I’m going to crush him. If he has a beard, I’m going to pluck out every single hair. I swear, I’ll become the most vicious baby in the entire empire!

As I was huffing and puffing, the door finally swung wide open. The first thing I saw was a pair of gleaming boots. Then came a pair of perfectly creased white uniform pants. I couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed. An incredibly handsome man stood draped in a red cape.

His sun-kissed, bronze skin glowed, suggesting many days in the sun. It looked like he possessed incredible physical strength. To top it all off, he was extremely good-looking. His hair shimmered like it had been forged from melted gold, and his eyebrows were perfectly straight. His deep, jade-green eyes were intense as he turned toward me. He was far too beautiful, too elegant, to be the ruler of an empire. This man looked like he’d stepped out of a painting.

Wait.

There was something familiar. Something that made my heart skip a beat. He bore an uncanny resemblance to him—the one person who had meant everything to me. Kaortan, the man I had loved more than life itself.