First meeting

When I went out of the prayer room, Tani was waiting for me outside while the priest was gone. Tani immediately skipped her steps towards me with a bright smile on her face.

"My lady!" she called and stopped at my side. "Did you find peace in praying?"

"Peace?" My brow arched, rocking my head lightly. "Well, you can say that." 

I swore to God that I would live the way I wanted it to. So I guessed that was what they called being at peace after prayer.

'I did a pretty good job praying. I should do it more often.' I nodded, smiling in high spirits as I cast Tani a look. She grinned happily when she saw the smile on my face.

"Oh, Tani. You're so adorable." 

"My Lady." She blushed and gazed down, a little shy at that little compliment.

Although Tani was only a year younger than Marsella, this old soul had lived two lifetimes. It made me want to pamper her and preserve her innocence. Her bright energy helped my mood too.

"Tani, can you tell the coachman to prepare the carriage? I will look for Yves." I ordered as I didn't find the need to stay a little longer. 

Tani nodded and replied with an enthusiastic, 'yes' before she executed the order with haste.

"It's nice to be young," I murmured, shaking my head as I wandered around. Yves told me he would find me, but I doubt that. I would just pretend I looked for him and then wait in the carriage.

With that thought in mind, I strolled around and my feet led me to the temple's garden. My eyes snapped, gazing at the vast maze garden.

'I've been here once in my previous life.' I thought to myself, walking inside the maze garden as memories of the past filled my mind. 'In this same maze garden… I first met him, my fiance.'

A chuckle slipped past my lips as our meeting here in my previous life wasn't the best first meeting. Back then, I had fun getting on his nerves… he pressed one or two of my buttons as well. Overall, it was quite a fun encounter before his premeditated death.

"Now that I think about it, if I don't meddle with his affairs, nothing will happen, right?" I nodded, getting lost in my thoughts while I trace the hedge with my fingertips. "And even if something happened, it's none of my concern."

I nodded once again, convinced that whatever happened in this empire had nothing to do with me. Even with my marriage with the Grand Duke, I would try as best as I could to avoid getting caught up with it.

"My life before is full of thrill, but doing it again is boring..." I trailed off suddenly as I coughed, covering my mouth with my palm. My brows furrowed as I slowly withdrew my hand away, my eyes on the small blood clot on my palm.

"What the…" I furrowed my brows as I stood frozen on my spot. How could I cough out blood so out of the blue?

"Good thing I am alone," I murmured, grabbing a handkerchief Tani prepared for me to wipe the blood on my lips and palm. Still, this bothered me to the core. 

Marsella's body was weak, and she had an illness before I occupied this body. Don't tell me I still had that illness, although the soul was different?

'How can I be so stupid? Marsella's body was so heavy at first, walking is already a tough chore.' I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. 'Of course, even though the soul was different, the body is the same.'

"Goodness. Don't tell me I will die after my marriage?" I grumbled, holding my head from the headache and abrupt stress. How could I not think about the obvious?

'No, I won't, right? I'm not straining this body because Lady Sarah is on my side now and she lets me rest. Studying is more like a review for me since I've read all the books I could before I became an empress.'

As I pondered on how to resolve this problem, I raised a brow as I heard a faint rustling noise from the other side of the hedge. "Is somebody there?" 

No one answered, and I could hear his footsteps continued. Well, perhaps it was just someone who was taking a walk. I'd better not concern myself with something else when I had a lot more things to think about. 

"I should head back," I told myself, walking back to the direction where I came in. However, on the way, my vision blurred, and I made a wrong turn. 

"Ahh, goodness…" I supported my head, feeling dizzy the more I walked. I was fine the past month, so what was wrong with me now of all time? 

I tried to look for my way out, and the regret of coming into this maze garden slowly crept into my heart. It just felt like I went further and further away from all exits.

"Fuck it." When I got exhausted and couldn't handle the dizziness anymore, I slumped down on the grass. "I'll just wait until someone finds me here."

My back was against the hedge, bending my knees closer to me with my palms on it. I rested my forehead on the back of my hand, trying to regain my strength. 

'My head feels so heavy… I can't fall asleep….' Just as I told myself those words, my eyes closed, and I fell asleep for who knows how long!

*****

"My liege, what did the high priest…" 

Luis cut off the young knight's sentence by raising his hand. His eyes were on the woman sitting on the ground, sleeping.

"What? Did she lose her way here?" asked the young knight as his eyes followed where the Grand Duke was looking at.

Normally, Luis would ask his knight to help this young maiden. But something within him was drawn to her, as if he should be the one to approach her. Hence, without thinking twice, Luis followed his gut feeling and approached the lady.

"Is she sleeping, Your Grace?" the knight asked as he stood behind Luis, while the latter squatted down in front of her.

"I think she did." Luis raised his hand, extending his arm to wake her, but stopped midway when Marsella suddenly raised her head. Her pair of crimson eyes shone brightly, alarmed and woken up by his presence.

Marsella blinked many times as she stared at the pair of dark orbs that were akin to a void, sucking anyone who looked at it in. Her eyes slowly moved across his face, leaning forward before a beautiful smile resurfaced on her face.

"You are...?" she asked, and the second she spoke, Luis recognized her voice. It was as the lady who clearly needed to be taught how to pray.

"Luis," he replied, making the young knight behind him gasp in disbelief.