"What are you?"
I looked into the girl's striking blue eyes. I knew the answer to who I am, but I didn't understand what she had meant when she asked me that question.
"I don't understand the context, but I am just Savina."
Not a red or a Cox. I was just Savina because I didn't have to explain the meaning of Cox.
"Commoner." She ran her fingers through her hair, moving the dark strands of her hair away from her face. Her sharp eyes narrowed on me. "Perhaps, you had magic in your lineage."
So, who was this crackpot? I was polite enough to introduce myself first and she was acting like some queen.
I studied her clothes. She was wearing a Victorian-era hybrid dress. Maybe she was the queen or something. It was better not to offend her.
Only God knows how many hardships I have created for myself because of my uncontrollable tongue.
Patience, I told myself in my head. Since I saved her life, she would be grateful to me. Wouldn't she?
"You will do." Meanwhile, she was studying me like a predator. "You are a little skinny. But I don't have any choice."
Red alert!
My gut was screaming at me that this woman wasn't any good. But it was too late in its evaluation. Before I could move, the woman grappled my throat.
I didn't want to die. Not like this. If I died here, my family would never know what happened to me. I folded my fingers into a fist and hit her cheekbone.
Crack!
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I screamed. My fingers were throbbing with pain. I couldn't move my fingers except for my thumb.
But the woman let go of my throat. She was rubbing her cheek with dangerous fury in her eyes. I didn't want to know what was going inside her head. My fingers were broken. Was she made of titanium? Metal woman?
Maybe my cheat was getting killed by people for no good reasons.
"If I didn't need you, I would have killed you for this offence," She hissed at me.
I should have kicked her face. "I saved your life. How could you talk about killing me?"
"Oh, you want a reward." The corner of her lips curled up into a sinister smile. "I will give you one."
Time to run!
But the woman was faster than me. She grabbed my hair and pulled me back. I was ready to kick her this time. However, nothing ever went how I wanted it to be. I had to slip on some wet rocks and fall on the ground, hitting my head on rocks.
My ears were ringing. I heard her laughing. Her figure was vibrating like a pendulum. Maybe there were three or four of her.
She asked me a question. I didn't understand. I touched the back of my head and felt my warm blood.
That was it. I was dying again.
"Fuck yourself." I showed her my middle finger before I 'died'.
However, death didn't greet me. It was only a concussion and I was being a dramatic idiot.
"Your royal highness, we found a survivor!"
I regained my consciousness when a soldier was shouting at the top of his lungs. I recognized the voice. So, I knew that I was doomed. His royal highness was Prince Dante who was going to be an evil emperor.
By then, I was sure that my cheat was bad luck.
One way or another, I kept running into him.
If I managed to escape, I would get a concussion to meet him again.
It must be the author's doing. I was sure that he gave me some jinx that involved meeting the man who would kill me again and again.
I saw the same faces again -- the commander, the soldiers, and the damned emperor. The current emperor wasn't him but he would always be the emperor in my head.
Damn!
My head was still hurting.
Dante stood in front of me. There was a small crease between his brows as if he was looking at something mildly annoying. But I knew that he could kill people with a straight face. Was it good if he was frowning a little?
"Your royal highness, if the rumours are right…" The Commander hesitated. He turned his head toward me. When our gaze met, he paled and took a step back. His hand was on the hilt of his sword. He looked ready to strike me if I moved slightly.
If the author thought that I would behave after dying twice, he was so right.
I wasn't the best actress, but I could try to act weak and miserable.
Maybe he would pity me if he saw a helpless woman.
I shrunk my shoulders and lowered my head. Then, I realized that something wasn't right. I was wearing a blue and silver dress.
"..."
Did she steal my clothes?
"Doesn't she look like a Mara?" A soldier questioned.
"But all of them are dead." The second soldier scolded him, "You saw. We looked for the survivors. There were none. All the bodies were burned. There have been two already."
T-Two days? I was a goner for two days. What was I doing here? I touched the back of my head. It didn't hurt. My hand was also working fine. Did she steal my robe? Why would she do that?
I found the answer soon.
"We should burn her alive too," The last soldier, who had been annoying since the moment I transmigrated here, suggested. "She is a necromancer."
Shit! Being a dark sorceress here was worse than being an unlucky transmigrator.
That woman was evil! I shouldn't have saved her.
I looked up at Dante Scheledrus Wyrm. "I am not a necromancer."
"Liar." The Commander pointed the sword at my hand. "We already know who you are."
On my left ring finger, there was a black opal ring. I didn't understand what he was trying to say. What did this ring have to do with my identity?
I couldn't recall anything about this ring at all. All I knew that the black sorcerers were seen as evil beings. They were found and burned at stakes. Obviously, I didn't want to be burned at the stake.
A deathly silence fell in the cave. I was calculating my chances. I wasn't a martial art expert or a secret assassin. Begging wouldn't work either.
"Your royal highness, should I?" The Commander probed the villainous emperor.
Dante had been observing me. The small frown on his face was gone. I had no idea what was going to do. Maybe I was going to die again.
The expressionless emperor tilted his head and said, "She will do."
Do what? I widened my eyes when I saw a ghost of a smile on his lips. My heart skipped a beat -- not because I was enchanted by his smile.
I was terrified by the gleam in his eyes.
He announced, "I choose her as my slave."
Choose me? I wanted to laugh. Did he think that I was a pokemon?
"Your royal highness, she's Aloisia Annaliese Bloodworth!" The Commander reminded him, "She didn't even spare her family."
Did he call me Aloisia? That name… I gasped.
That evil woman was the crazy ex-fiancee.
I sighed.
Perhaps, it was better if I had died.