CHAPTER 2 - Holy Duty

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The Kingdom of Alscarraine, it was the prime apex of all great powers in the Yuropan continent, which had swayed the world for hundreds of years, at least until a series of wars which directly ejected the Kingdom into a hell of crisis after crisis.

Yvette was one of the main figures in the Kingdom who tried to push for a reasonable set of reform, lying in limbo between the radical peasantry who wanted to turn Alscarraine upside-down in order to create what was essentially a new country, and its corrupted and outdated conservative aristocracy who failed to see the shortcomings of the Old Regime.

Of course, as what was established, Yvette’s faction eventually died out in the end as they were engulfed by both sides when civil war broke out, the half of the Royal Family was executed, and the remainder went into exile as Alscarraine’s rival powers descended into the ambitious revolutionaries who wanted to spread their ideals to the current continental order.

That was supposed to be the end of it, however …

‘I … returned to the past …?’ Yvette thought.

 

She seriously couldn't believe this. Hell, nobody can. The things around her, the feeling she felt from holding the mirror, and then, finally, seeing her reflection. It all felt so real that Yvette didn't know how to react.

 

“Out!” She shouted at the butler, “Now!” She pointed towards the door in what seemed to be ravaging impatience.

 

“Y-Yes, milady.”

 

After the surprising outburst that Yvette had, it thoroughly spooked the butler, who immediately followed his master's order and quickly exited the room.

 

Now that the butler had left the room, Yvette was now alone, free to rant to her heart's content.

 

“What even is the meaning of this?! How have I returned?!” She said, scratching and pulling her bed hair as she got out of her bed.

 

“A dream, perhaps? No … that can't be …”

 

She walked back and forth and back and forth, putting a hand on her chin as she thought long and hard. Is this heaven? No, she was no saint. But then again …

“Is this God’s doing …?” She arrived at the only conclusion that she could possibly think of.

Now that she thought about it, everything made a bit more sense if she thought about it like that.

What wasn’t she born with? Near-peerless looks, great intelligence, the outstanding charisma that she was practically born with, her talent in aura-channeling which was basically unheard of, reaching the rank of Aura Swordsmaster at the age of 27 despite starting to train at the age of 20, which was 13 years late for the average aspiring swordsmaster.

The only thing missing would be being born as a member of the royal family, which was already negated due to how she was betrothed to the Crown Prince of Alscarraine from a young age, barring the fact that ironically, he was one of her biggest obstacles when it came to political ambitions.

One could definitely say that she was in fact, loved by God, which was also something she had become accustomed to hearing.

Yvette garnered the latent energy in her body, the cultivation of which wasn’t set to be continued until she was 20, and sure enough …

“Hahaha …” She laughed slowly as she manifested it, a translucent energy glowing throughout her forearms as she extended them, then reforming it into a rough outline of a sharp blade, which she then solidified and compressed with instinctual knowledge she had gained from the years of experience in her original life.

Drip.

“... Hahahaha!” And with the newly-manifested aura spreading throughout her hand, she swiped at a porcelain vase imported from the Orient in the East, destroying it in one stroke.

Thwack!

“Hahahaha … it really is God’s plan! I am destined to save Alscarraine!” Her mind was a bit hazy, however she paid it no mind as she wiped her nose, which was dripping with blood.

“... Yvette?” A familiar voice interrupted Yvette’s sentimental moment, to which she naturally turned her head to.

“Is that … aura!?” He asked in fright, as he ascertained Yvette’s situation by looking at her.

“Brother Ynbelott!” She called out and stared at him rushing at her, eyes wide in surprise.

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“Hahahaha … it really is God’s plan! I am destined to save Alscarraine!”

A handsome man in his early twenties stood there, by the doorway of Yvette’s room after she wouldn’t respond to the knockings on her door, opening it after he heard an abrupt noise of something breaking.

He had the same beautiful white hair on his head and the fierce red eyes while having a face that directly resembled Yvette's original self, however instead of shining with determination and the fierceness that the feature was usually associated with, his eyes held a look of deep confusion.

‘What in God’s good name …?’ Ynbellot thought as he stared.

“... Yvette?” She called out to her precious younger sister, who had always been nurtured from birth as the definition of a flowery lady.

He had rushed here after he heard from the servants that she had finally woken up after a playing accident caused by the First Prince, utterly worried for his sister’s health.

“Is that … aura!?” He questioned, obviously surprised yet at the same time horrified, as he rushed over to her sister, kneeling as he checked on her condition.

“Brother Ynbelott!” His sister called out to him with a smile so charming that it was a bit unbefitting of someone her young age.

“How did you … no, more importantly, your nose is bleeding!” He hurriedly took out a handkerchief from his coat’s breast pocket, and wiped her nose with it.

“Mhmm.” She simply gave a nod and small sound of confirmation as she took the handkerchief with …

“Your hand! Sister, what have you done!?” He took a hold of her younger sister’s hand, and closely inspected it.

Her precious younger sister’s hand, which knew no kind of hard work, was suddenly warped to something uglier than that of a coal miner’s hands after an accident in a day of work.

Blood droplets spread everywhere, and as Yvette put down her hand in for closer inspection, it would seem like blood was dripping all over from the gaps between her fingers and nails, her hand all the way to her forearm looked to be bruised all over, and her veins seem to be at the verge of exploding.

“Oh …” She simply said to herself, as if Aura discharge was a simple oopsie, while collapsing into her elder brother’s arms.

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