Vivia stared at the stranger in the water - a reflection that wasn't hers. She pinched her cheeks, splashed water, rubbed her eyes, but the reflection remained. She dropped her gaze to the dress her new body had donned on. Her eyes popped out of her sockets in response.
Though the fabric had gotten dirty and torn at places here and there, it was evident that the dress was far from ordinary. Made out of exquisite silk, its royal burgundy color screamed of the owner's wealth and status. Intricately embroidered floral patterns told Vivia of how an expensive artisan was behind this creation.
A pearl bracelet adorned her delicate wrist, making her cough out blood by just thinking of the amount of gold coins spent on this purchase. The finely crafted velvet shoes with a beautiful white pearl embedded at the toe was grander than anything she had ever owned.
I never earned that kind of money to enjoy this luxury…
Vivia pinched her hand and a stinging pain erupted. She jerked her head back toward the handsome demon. "I actually feel pain!"
He, who had already approached her, got struck to his jaw for the third time today. Dark clouds of displeasure and frustration immediately surrounded him.
"Must you always turn like a startled goat?"
"It's one shocking thing after another. How am I supposed to contain it?" Vivia was baffled
Her own thoughts were just a pile of mess.
How am I alive? The arrow had clearly struck me, but now I'm alive, yet the face is somebody else's.
Did I perhaps…reincarnate? Is that even possible?
Seeing the confusion and panic spread across her expression, the demon leaned closer, his eyes narrowing.
"You're not Princess Clairette."
Who? Wait, why do I feel like I've heard this name before?
Vivia cleared her throat. "Of course, I'm Princess Clairette."
"I think you forgot about the part where you didn't recognize your own face."
"..."
"It's too late to feign ignorance anyway. You, no, Princess Clairette was dead when I took her."
"...Where was a demon taking me anyway?"
"To the Demon Realm."
Vivia stared at him, taken aback. "...Did you have the permit to take me to your realm? Or do I have the permit with me?"
"Neither of us."
"Then isn't this breaking the law? I couldn't have crossed your realm's border just like that without a proper authorization."
"I wasn't left with a choice. I cannot simply cross into the Human Realm and carry a human's dead body with me. Entering the other territory is a matter of national security and like you said, we need permits. Unfortunately, I didn't have one with me today, nor did you have any plans to visit the Demon Realm. But I had to do something."
"Still…You could get into trouble by taking me, especially my 'dead body.'"
"I couldn't let you just lie around there. Wild beasts could have followed the scent of your blood and eaten you. By the time your family would've reached here, you'd already be in a beast's stomach," his smile chilled her.
First died, then eaten…That would have been a terrible fate.
He continued. "They wouldn't be in the dark for long anyway. Once I reach my realm, I would've notified the royal family. With our authorization, they'd send a convoy right away."
...What royal family? She wondered.
"The Emberlain royal family to which Princess Clairette belongs," he smiled, reading her confusion.
Vivia was forced to gather every last bit of her strength to stop the shock from reaching her expression. But only she knew how dangerously close she was to losing her sanity.
Emberlain family? Is she that Clairette Emberlain? No wonder I felt her name so familiar! I…I reincarnated into the royal family princess's body!?
The Emberlain royal family ruled the Human Realm from the capital city of Orseth with Clairette's father as the Emberlain King.
He narrowed his eyes. "I must say you're doing a fine job hiding your disbelief, but it's a little late now."
Vivia's breath hitched. She could only curse herself for not thinking through things calmly before and giving herself out with her panicked reactions.
This is even more horrifying than before! If it came to light that some other woman's soul is possessing Princess Clairette's body, I'd be labeled as an imposter and executed as a murderer!
The mere thought of a death sentence was enough to sink her heart into the depths of the cold abyss. She had barely come to terms that she was somehow alive, only for a cold realization of an imminent second death to be thrown at her face now.
But that was a faraway concern when the immediate threat was this demon standing before her. For somebody from a race humans held clashes with to know about the royal princess's death and somebody else's reincarnation within her - the situation had suddenly escalated to become a matter of grave concern.
Though Vivia didn't wish so, it was impossible to not see him in a suspicious light, not when Princess Clairette was concerned and not when a demon was taking her right into the enemy's territory.
She took a deep breath and turned on her heels to escape at a moment's notice, but barely taking two steps forward, pain suddenly jolted in her legs and she tripped down.
He arched his brow with interest, watching this spectacle unfold. He crouched beside her with a smile.
"That's hurtful, Princess. Was it an attempt to run away from me when I only had pure intentions to save you from a wild beast's claws?"
Vivia didn't respond, but studied the demon leaning closer and closer to her. Though she held his gaze and gave nothing, her peripheral vision was locked onto her target.
He offered his hand to help. "You're too injured to even walk, much less run-"
*Swoosh*
In one fluid motion, Vivia grabbed the momentary advantage and yanked his sword from its sheath, pressing the blade to his throat.
She smiled. "Who is the pitiful one now? It's hurtful to see you so gullible."