Chapter 2

This is my second post of the day, as it's short!

It's hot.

Absolutely, unbearably hot.

The summer in the country of Brioire is usually clear, but things change when you're in the underground ruins in the southern region. Most of the ancient dynasty's ruins are buried underground. It has been known for a long time that there are ruins here, and excavation work has been underway for several years.

However, excavating ruins buried underground is a delicate matter. Even though most of the buildings are made of stone, after several hundred years, they have become quite fragile. Moreover, since they are buried underground, the excavation must be carried out with great caution, and it is naturally a dangerous task. Few people are willing to do it, and the country cannot afford the enormous labor costs for an excavation that will take decades.

Therefore, most of the laborers who carry out these excavations are prisoners who have committed some kind of crime and are serving their sentences.

(Why do I have to do this?!)

Tiana, the former noblewoman, is one of them.

Tiana, who once rose to become the crown prince's fiancée, saw her life take a nosedive in just a few months. She lost her status as a noblewoman and is now forced to perform hard labor.

"It's all because of Lady Olivia!"

Her father, who planned to smuggle goods and attempt to assassinate the royal family, is not here. He is performing even more grueling labor in another place. Her mother has also been sent to a different location, leaving Tiana to be sent here alone.

There is no trace of the elegant and graceful woman who used to dance like a butterfly at various evening parties in the latest fashionable dresses. She now wears dirty pants and a shirt, and long work boots that reach her knees. Her face and hair are covered in dirt from working in the soil, and her carefully manicured nails have been cut short. Her once delicate hands, which were like those of a white fish, are now rough and weathered.

This isn't me, Tiana thinks.

Tiana is meant to be bowed to by people, to live elegantly, like a queen. Why should she be doing such labor—her complaints are endless.

(I will definitely escape from this place!)

Tiana kicked the nearby dirt wall with the toe of her boot.

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