Chapter 8

Alexei was utterly despondent, a despair deeper than when he had been killed twice by the three-eyed red bear.

"…Why did you kill her?"

"We judged her to be a beast."

"She is human. Pie is the kindest woman of all."

"I apologize, but she did not have the appearance of a human."

"Pie is human. She is my savior. I will never forgive you. Never."

Seeing Alexei, who was on the verge of exploding with anger, yet completely powerless, and unable to stop his tears from flowing, the prime minister urged the knight commander and others to leave the room.

Once they were alone, the prime minister spoke to Alexei calmly.

"Your Highness, this must have been a great shock to you. I will explain the details of what led to this once you have recovered. And I apologize for what happened to Pie, who helped and cared for you as a child."

Alexei turned away, not wanting to face the prime minister, but he continued to speak matter-of-factly.

"However, the fact that you couldn't protect someone important is due to your own weakness. If you were stronger, this wouldn't have happened. Pie wouldn't have died. It's all because you were weak."

These words deeply wounded Alexei. He resented his own powerlessness and hated the selfish people of the empire.

From then on, Alexei devoted himself to learning, training, and becoming obsessed with gaining power.

Meanwhile, the woman named Pie by Alexei received his blessing, but since her body was already dead, she was given a new body with her soul and memories intact.

In a quiet room, a baby lying on her back on the bed opened her eyes.

(I was supposed to be dead...)

After a while, the sound of the door opening was heard, and someone entered the room.

"Has Lady Eleonora woken up?"

"She's such a well-behaved little lady."

The voices of young women echoed.

(My name is Pie. It's a precious name given to me by Ham.)

"The diaper is wet. Come, let's change it."

(I died once.)

After the diaper was changed, she was given a bottle by the nurse, and she lost consciousness.

As a baby, she repeated the cycle of sleeping, drinking milk, and excreting. However, she had no doubts about being reborn as a baby. In her previous life, she thought she was very ignorant, so she easily accepted this situation.

(What a surprise. This can happen.)

The woman named Pie by Alexei was reborn as Eleonora, the eldest daughter of the Purpureus Duke family in the Virides Empire.

(To be able to sleep in such a fine bed and be taken care of by such beautiful women... I feel like a princess. But I want to see Ham. Ham, Ham!)

Although Eleonora was reborn as a baby in a much happier situation compared to her previous life, the thought of Alexei made her heart ache.

(Is Ham okay? What is Ham doing? Is he crying alone?)

However, a baby's thoughts don't last long, and Eleonora fell asleep again.

She was afraid of being different from others due to her memories from her previous life. The only ones who loved her were animals, beasts, and Alexei. She didn't want to be shunned and hated for being different, as she had been in her previous life.

(Alright, I'll act like a baby who knows nothing. I won't tell anyone that I was Pie.)

Determined, Eleonora tried to behave like an innocent baby. However, she felt guilty about troubling the nurses, so she rarely cried, and people began to whisper that she was not normal, though she didn't realize it.

"Lady Eleonora is such a good child. With her beautiful purple eyes and fluffy golden hair, she will surely grow up to be a great beauty."

A young nurse, holding Eleonora, spoke to her.

(So, I have purple eyes. No one calls me a monster. They call me by my name. Eleonora. Is this my new name? But I like the name Pie better. It's a precious name given to me by Ham.)

She had only seen her parents a few times and didn't feel lonely about it. In her previous life, she didn't know the love of parents, so she didn't have any particular feelings about it.

(Once I can eat solid food, I'll eat something Ham likes. I'm looking forward to it.)

And so, Eleonora fell asleep again.