Chapter 1

I have been having strange dreams ever since I can remember.

They were too vivid to be called mere dreams, and for a while after waking up, I would remain dazed, immersed in the dream.

In the dream, I was on a battlefield, where my allies called me "Sir" and my enemies called me "The Bloodstained Witch." Sometimes, I was even called "A lowly monster woman of ignoble blood." In the dream, I fully understood why I was called such names and would laugh, saying, "They just don't like that I've risen in rank. If they don't want a commoner to look important, they should step up and survive the battlefield better than I do."

It was a time of turmoil.

Still, in the dream, I was surprisingly happy. Perhaps it was because I didn't dream about the tough times, but I had trustworthy friends, important subordinates, and even a troublesome adjutant.

This adjutant appeared frequently in my dreams.

He was an incredibly useless adjutant. He had long, wavy red hair and a handsome appearance, but when he was first assigned as my adjutant, he was even more useless than a new recruit. He would often skip training, complain easily, run away quickly, and was enthusiastic only about flirting with women.

At least, that's how he was when he was assigned as my adjutant at the age of 17. In the dream, I thoroughly disciplined the man, who was three years younger than me. Every time he skipped training, I would beat him down, and every time he complained, I would scold him, saying, "Save your whining for after you die." Every time he ran away, I would stomp on his back, and every time he neglected his duties to chase women, I would call him a "red-haired dog in heat."

I disciplined him like this for about two or three years. Then, for the next five years, I continued to discipline him, though not to the point of killing him, as he gradually became a more capable adjutant. The reason it only took five years was that I died in battle. Incidentally, the adjutant was the one who was with me at the end.

It was a strange, recurring dream, as if I were recalling fragments of a memory.

In reality, I was the youngest daughter of a duke, living a life completely different from the "me" in the dream.

However, I never felt a sense of disparity or strangeness. It felt as if, like a drop of water from a river becoming part of the sea, I had naturally ended up here.

I was confronted with the fact that this sensation was not a delusion or a wish but a reality when I was 13 years old.

*

It happened when I was introduced to the Crown Prince, who was two years older than me, at the royal palace, accompanied by my father.

I knew my adjutant from when he was 17 to 25, so I had no way of knowing what he looked like at 15.

However, the moment I saw the Crown Prince, I realized with a shock like a bolt of lightning that it was him.

── That adjutant.

There was no doubt it was the same man I had once called a "red-haired dog in heat" countless times.

I couldn't help but widen my eyes, let out a short scream, and almost run away.

In hindsight, the most sensible choice would have been to pretend I didn't know him. But the sight of the man I had once disciplined standing before me as the Crown Prince made my blood run cold, and my instinct for self-preservation kicked in, thinking, "This is bad."

The Crown Prince, for his part, looked at me with a stunned expression.

Then, he said, "I'll show her around the garden. No one is to follow," and led me to the garden.

The roses were in full bloom, the breeze was refreshing, and it was a perfect day for a stroll.

However, the Crown Prince looked at me with a voice as low and ominous as if he were in the depths of hell, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Do you remember me?"

It was a question, but it was more like a statement of certainty. I averted my eyes, unwilling to meet his gaze.

"What are you talking about, Your Highness? I don't understand."

"Red-haired dog in heat."

I fell silent. Sometimes, silence is the only option in life.

The Crown Prince, visibly shaken, ran his hand through his red hair and said,

"Why did this have to happen...!"

"I'm in a bind."

"Why are you nodding so calmly, Sir!?"

"I'm not a Sir. I'm the daughter of a duke now. Please call me Sylvia."

"Ha!? Sir, you... you... when did you die?"

"When... If this is a memory from a past life, the great war was about three hundred years ago, right?"

"You died during the great war!?"

I couldn't help but look at the Crown Prince with a cold eye.

"You saw me die, didn't you? I remember you were the adjutant who was with me at the end... I was grateful."

"Grateful!? You were thinking that!?"

"Is that so strange? To feel grateful to someone who held your hand and encouraged you at the end?"

"Well, that... Honestly, given your personality, it was quite a surprise."

How did he see me?

I must have seemed distant, but I could understand that I was a tyrannical superior officer.

I was so tyrannical that if this were the present day, I might have been sued for creating a hostile work environment.

As I savored the peace of the current era, I tilted my head and asked,

"And you, Your Highness? When did you die?"

"── Ha ha ha! That's a good one! I lived to be 80! It was a remarkable lifespan for that time."

"That's good to hear."

"I was a popular playboy even in my old age, and people said my wrinkles were charming. I played with young girls all the time."

"Is that a made-up story?"

"It's true. Even back then, I had a striking appearance, didn't I?"

Indeed, this man has a handsome face. He has always had a face sweeter than honey.

Standing silently, he would attract beautiful butterflies. Now, he was grinning wickedly.

"Three hundred years later, this is the perfect opportunity for revenge!"

"More like three hundred years later."

"Our positions have reversed. I'm the Crown Prince, and you're just the daughter of a duke. If I propose to you, you can't possibly refuse."

"Isn't that a bit extreme for revenge?"

If he proposed, the next step would be marriage. Living with a person you hate sounds like a suicidal move.

However, the Crown Prince declared with enthusiasm,

"No. You disciplined me, beat me down, and worked me like a horse. This grudge will never fade, no matter how many centuries pass. Now it's my turn to get back at you. Just you wait! This time, you'll be the one called a dog."

"Well, Your Highness, you have a taste for... that kind of thing."

"What are you trying to casually label me as a pervert? You were the one who called me a dog, Miss Sylvia."

"That was a long time ago."

"I won't forget. I won't let it go."

The Crown Prince was as talkative as my former adjutant.

However, that only lasted until we left the garden.

When we returned to the maids, he put on a perfect smile. Everyone was captivated by his angelic, radiant smile.

Then, to everyone's surprise, he knelt down and proposed to me.

No one doubted the beautiful Crown Prince's declaration of love at first sight.