Hailey and Adger had successfully convinced the officer, and the officer promised that he would process Hailey's documents.
Now they just had to wait for a few days.
Adger insisted that rather than sitting the whole day in the tavern, they should go out and look around, and Lia also agreed with him.
Hailey just nodded and followed along with them.
The sun was slowly setting on the horizon… she was walking along with Adger and Lia. Lia was explaining about the food being sold in the stalls to Adger.
Hailey looked up at the sky... her heart was at peace. This peace she had never felt in her last life.
In her past life, she had been treated like a puppet even though she was Crown Princess.
And in the royal palace, things didn't get any better.
The Crown Prince never talked to her and ignored her.
So the servants didn't respect her that much, and she didn't fight back as she was afraid she would anger Cedric.
That wasn't the end. The daughters of higher nobles, who obviously wanted to be Crown Princess, were jealous of her, as she was just the daughter of a count, and badmouthed her right in front of her.
No one defended her back then.
Hailey hoped that maybe one day the Crown Prince would love her back and everything would be alright.
But... who knows. She was just a character who was meant to entertain people and then be thrown aside.
Hailey pushed her thoughts away. This life, it is different. She was now very close to her goal and maybe would never have to face Cedric ever again.
When she was lost in thoughts, she heard Adger's voice.
"Hailey, we brought a few snacks for you too... they are delicious." Adger handed out a few snacks to her.
Hailey took the snacks, thanked him, and started to eat.
All three of them walked in silence while eating their snacks.
Hailey was still lost in thoughts about how different things were in the past life and in her present life.
Lia pointed at some commotion. "What is happening over there?"
Hailey and Adger turned their heads to where Lia pointed out.
Someone was getting executed.
Hailey dropped her snacks and widened her eyes. She never thought they had walked to the public execution area. The very same place she was executed in front of everyone in her past life.
Fear started to creep in her as the flashbacks of her past started to haunt her again.
She could remember the laughter of the people and the pain she felt before everything went dark.
Lia was confused when she saw Hailey drop her snacks, but Adger understood and held her shoulders for support.
Hailey started to shake and looked at Adger. "I... I don't want to... die."
Adger whispered, "That is not going to happen, Hailey... You changed your fate now. You will not be executed again."
Adger reached out and gently took her hand. He wanted to say something to comfort her. But the words caught in his throat.
Then everything around them... stopped.
The wind stilled. The rustling leaves froze mid-motion. Color started to drain from the world.
Hailey and Adger looked at each other, confused. They didn't know what was happening.
And then, the world turned black. After a few seconds, a scene started to play in front of them.
Hailey gasped.
It was her execution from her past life.
Her body trembled. Adger tightened his grip on her hand, pulling her closer to support her as the vision unfolded.
Tears slowly started to form in her eyes as she saw a woman kneeling in rags, heartbroken in front of everyone.
The woman on her knees… it was her.
Her past self.
In the distance, Cedric was sitting, holding Cynthia in his arms... and her brother, with a cold expression, stood in front of her holding his sword.
Everything was just like it was back then. She never wanted to remember this moment again, but she was seeing it again.
Her past self looked up once and opened her mouth to say something.
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"This is not an ending...
This is the beginning of the kingdom's eventual doom.
And no one will escape it."
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The crowd surrounding her burst into laughter at those words.
Hailey was shocked because she didn't remember saying those lines in the first place.
She only remembered that everything went silent for a few moments and then everyone started to laugh.
And she also felt something was off about her voice too... that was not her voice.
Adger was also shocked because in the book, Hailey never said anything during her execution.
"This line... it is not mentioned in the book," he thought.
On the execution ground, her brother lifted his sword.
Immediately, Adger placed himself in front of Hailey, facing her, his hands gently cupping her face.
Hailey's eyes met Adger's.
Neither of them could speak, but Hailey understood his message: "Don't look... I'm here for you."
Behind them, the crowd started to cheer after the execution, but neither of them dared to look back.
Adger was still holding Hailey's face so she wouldn't have to see the cruel scene.
After a few moments, they heard Cedric's voice echo.
"Citizens of the Empire," he began, his tone proud.
"That evil woman was never worthy of her crown. Now that she's gone... I announce Lady Cynthia as your new Crown Princess."
Everyone started to cheer.
Hailey felt pain hearing those words. They considered her an evil woman.
Tears started to roll down her cheeks. She was not evil. She never was. She just wanted to be loved by her fiancé.
Slowly, the vision started to fade, and then a few moments later, they were back to the present.
They heard the voice of Lia. "My lady, what happened?"
Adger hugged Hailey as she cried. Lia was confused but thought she should stay silent.
Adger turned to Lia. "Let's just go somewhere else."
Lia nodded. Adger held Hailey close to him as all three of them walked away from there.