âWow â¦â
There stood an outrageous beauty.
His nose is straight and thin lips look ruthlessly cold. His hair is nearly jetblack, heâs slender, but powerfully built.
Whatâs most impressive is his blue eyes. His elongated glacial eyes are as sharp as blades.
(â¦. Gasp)
The dark-skinned man snorted as he looked down at Rishe coldly.
[Youâre charging at full speed. I thought you were a boar.]
This was an embarrassing way to encounter a stranger, but not so for Rishe. In the first place, this wasnât the first time she met him.
[What are you up to in a corner like this? The party is in the hallâ¦]
[Ahaahhhh ââ !!!]
[!?]
The man was startled by Rishe, who screamed without warning. His body responded with great alacrity, and his right hand immediately grasped the hilt of his sword.
[â¦. What are you up to? Even if youâre a young lady, I would kill youâ¦.]
[Emperor Arnold Hein!!]
Arnold, the black-haired man, was interrupted by Risheâs recognition.
She too was plagued with a strange urge to kill. Because she had just recently exchanged swords with this man.
It was him who killed her and ended her sixth life.
(So, this man has been invited to the evening party tooâ¦)
But thinking about it, itâs quite a convincing story.
Arnold is a royalty from an imperial militant state not far from her country. Both countries were embroiled in war before. But now, they are at peace on the surface and would occasionally establish contact.
Her former fiancee, the Crown Prince, would soon announce Marie, whom he fell in love with, as his new fiancee.
The Crown Prince must have made arrangements in advance for Marieâs introduction, a commonerâs daughter, to other neighboring countries.
Arnold examined Rishe with interest.
âDo you know me? This is my first time in this country.â
(I donât really know youâ¦)
Her heart was thumping badly, but she still managed to feign a smile.
Arnoldâs homeland, Garkhain, is ruled by an imperial dynasty that abides by the code âIf you donât have power, you are not a royal family.â If a royalty is weak, he will be eliminated even if he has the right to sit on the throne.
Armed with such immense military power, this Arnold here will invade other countries five years later.
It happened on her first and second life, and the third and fourth life. The same was true for the fifth time, and the sixth time, where Rishe herself stood on the battlefield.
(But if possible, I donât want to make an enemy of him.)
While Arnold is the emperor, he is also his countryâs most skilled swordsman.
And whatâs most terrifying about him is that not only does he excel in swordplay, heâs also a brilliant strategist.
Facing him peacefully at this moment, she could almost picture him in various stances. Speaking of which, even when sheâd exchanged swords with him on the battlefield, she always had this feeling that his gaze overlaps with his sword.
(I must contrive some sort of excuse.)
Rishe hid her right foot backwards, pinched her ball gown and gracefully lowered her hips.
[My name is Rishe Ilmgard Wertsner. I have never seen you before, but Iâve heard of you.]
The corners of Arnoldâs lips tilted up as if pleasurably entertained.
[You have the making of a first-rate swordsman. Thereâs no shaking in your stance.]
[Not at all. I just did my best to greet his Highness as a state guest without being rude.]
[You addressed me as the âEmperor.â]
With his reminder, Rishe realized her blunder.
[My father is alive, and Iâm still the Crown Prince. â Why did you make that mistake?]
[Well⦠Uhmâ¦.]
This is too bad.
What a terrible oversight. It might have come across to him as her knowing the future. No, sheâs thinking too much.
While wrestling with various thoughts, Rishe realized the gravity of her slip-up.
(â¦.Deceiving him wonât let me end up dead, right?)
Anyway, she doesnât know what Arnold thinks about it.
The thought of the possibility of her being killed, she couldnât help but curse Arnold inwardly.
Despite branding him the Emperor impudently, Rishe will soon be exiled tonight. This slip of the tongue wonât be of any influence to diplomatic relations.
After taking that into account, then thereâs only one way to escape now.
After taking a deep breath, Rishe curtsied towards Arnold again. But this time, it wasnât the courtesy of a noble lady, but the bow of a ladyâs attendant when apologizing to her master.
[My apologies, his Crown Prince. Although I was in a hurry, Iâm very sorry for my tactless mistake.]
Then, she raised her face.
[Nevertheless, Iâm in a hurry with my former fiance calling off our engagement. Forgive me, but I have to go!]
[â¦.. Your betrothal was cancelled?]
Rishe, lifted the hem of her dress and again sprinted away.
Time has been ticking and she must beat the clock. Rishe pushed the balcony door and rolled up the hem of her dress.
She took her shoes off and tried to move to a nearby tree, but the ground was surprisingly closer from the balcony.
(Thatâs it? Is it possible? I thought I had to jump into a tree, but from the height of this second floor, I can just jump right into the garden, right?)
At the same time, her body leaped.
The moment she crossed the railing, Arnoldâs eyes, who had been following her in silence, widened.
[Huh, heyâ¦.]
Rishe jumped off the balcony, leaving behind a trail of her fluttering moonlit dress.