The mortal realm is an old world given to humans by the gods. As such, ‘humans’ were the apex predators on earth.

Non-human beings are broadly classified into two categories:

Domesticated, or hunted.

Therefore, if I had been born as a beast, I would likely have belonged to the latter.

“Byaaa.”

Whenever I felt frustrated, strange noises kept coming out of my mouth.

‘Come to think of it, was there a beast that cried like this?’

Thinking quietly, I remembered that when I was a beggar, street cats used to cry like this.

‘Ah, so I was born as a cat?’

With these complicated thoughts, I suddenly recalled Ulrika.

A king who never had an heir despite being a monarch.

Yet, a human who always wanted to give me the throne.

“Cough.”

And in the end, my friend who departed vainly due to illness.

“You lit the lamp?”

Ulrika, who appeared lazy to me but was such a wise king.

“Because you don’t like the dark.”

“You remember such things well.”

“Isn’t it natural? It’s about you.”

Ulrika’s end was truly quiet. If I recall, what remains in my memory is the clear eyes under the flickering lamp.

“Are you dying?”

I was detached from death, and you were composed. I didn’t like that.

“All humans die.”

Well, you didn’t cry and wail like ordinary humans.

“I know. Who doesn’t know that?”

“I thought you might not know.”

That day was Ulrika’s last. Coincidentally, I had a bad feeling and secretly entered Ulrika’s room that night.

Come to think of it, this might have been a sense of an immortal.

“You’re about to die, yet you’re smiling?”

What a strange friend, indeed.

Let me clarify that my remembering Ulrika’s last day isn’t for as sentimental a reason as others might think.

“The end can be happy too. The day of death could be today, or it could be tomorrow.”

To be honest, I was quite indifferent.

No, everything was bothersome.

So even if I had known in advance that it was Ulrika’s last day, my sentiments wouldn’t have changed.

In my long life, was there no friend as close as Ulrika?

“You know.”

Everything started with a single sentence that came out in Ulrika’s final moment.

“That ‘question’ you’ve been searching for all your life…”

“Ah, how tiresome.”

I was stained with the dregs of life like grime in a sewer.

‘Ah, I don’t want to live. I don’t want to live!’

Muttering childishly for the damn god to get thorns in his bottom.

“I… I think I know now.”

“Right. You know… What?”

Who would have thought that Ulrika’s words at that moment would overturn my centuries of boredom!

“Hey, you’re not talking nonsense, right? You’re not senile, are you?”

“Do I look like it?”

“No!”

Ulrika was known as one of the wisest in that country. Above all, the unwavering pupils at that moment didn’t seem to be lying.

In my long years, I hadn’t gained much, but I had an accurate eye for people.

“What is it? What is it?”

Am I finally ascending? Dying?

‘Oh my! Heavens above!’

How could I not be anxious when I thought the answer I had been seeking through countless reincarnations was right before me?

So I pestered my dear friend. Even at that moment, Ulrika, this damned friend, just smiled quietly.

“Well, you see…”

It was a connection spanning two lifetimes. Such coincidences were rare even in my long life, making it special.

I must have been the same for Ulrika.

So she would have known how desperate and urgent I had been all my life.

Yet she was a mischievous friend who played tricks on me even then.

‘If you play tricks, I won’t let you off easy.’

In my urgency, I swallowed hard and stared at Ulrika’s lips.

“God wants you to…”

Slowly, Ulrika’s lips parted.

“…Hey?”

And it ended. Ulrika fell into eternal sleep just as she was about to say something. I trembled with anxiety as I watched the motionless Ulrika.

Her eyelids closed on their own, and I remember feeling as if my heart stopped along with my friend who finally showed no movement.

“Uh… hey? Ulrika? Hey?”

Ulrika, with her eyes closed, gave no answer.

‘Is this a lie? Another act? A joke?’

In my mind, I knew that Ulrika had finally found peace.

But unable to believe it, I shook Ulrika more violently, only to see my friend’s hand fall lifelessly below the bed.

It was evidence that it was already too late.

“…Hey! Damn it. Shit. How can you die like this!”

I trembled, clutching my long hair.

“Hey! You jerk. Even if you die, you should tell me before dying! Hey! Hey!”

No matter how much I shook and urged, the already dead would not answer.

“Hey, you bastard… What… What am I supposed to do now!”

With a desolate and faint echo, the moment when I had come closest to the answer to the question posed by God passed.

In fact, there was another reason why I didn’t run away and became king as per Ulrika’s last wishes.

I thought that if I sat in Ulrika’s place, I might find the ‘answer’.

Though it turned out to be a futile act in the end.

* * *

It took me several days to realize that I had been born as a human, not a dog or a cat.

At first, my body that wouldn’t move as I wished gradually began to stir.

Moreover, this life had a much better start than any I had enjoyed before.

I don’t know which empire or which monarch’s child I was, but everyone addressed me as ‘Princess!’ and held me in high regard.

Usually, if you live comfortably in your previous life, you should be a beggar in the next, so this was strange.

Still, I tried to live as best I could in my previous life, so there was no way I’d be born as a beast this time.

Rather, being born as a princess this time, it seemed like it would be easier to find the answer.

By the way, there’s something odd lately – the room I’m staying in feels strangely familiar.

It’s as if I’ve seen it somewhere before.

“Your Highness, did you cough?”

Someone’s silhouette appeared by my bedside. Blinking a couple of times, I could clearly see the face of Miranda, who was said to be my dedicated nanny.

“Auuu, bubaa?”

Miranda, hello?

Although unintelligible sounds still came out of my mouth, Miranda smiled brightly and shook a rattle.

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

As if she had understood my greeting, Miranda soon put a milk bottle in my mouth.

As this was a daily occurrence, I accepted it comfortably and enjoyed my meal.

I was grateful that even though I had become a newborn, my thinking hadn’t regressed.

It’s natural since the soul inside is hundreds of years old, even if the body is like this.

Still, I couldn’t help but be influenced by being young again.

In other words…

“Oh my, our princess. Is it delicious?”

Ugh, damn it!

‘It’s delicious!’

While my mind was collapsing with self-loathing moment by moment as I watched myself drinking the finest goat’s milk from a bottle, my body was honestly satisfied.

‘Your mouth says no, but your body is honest?’

I suddenly felt as if someone was whispering this, and by the way, that line was from a rather handsome guy who tried to hit on me in one of my lives.

He had a peculiar name, but that’s too off-topic, so I’ll stop here.

Anyway, perhaps because of my experience as an emperor in my previous life, I quickly adapted to palace life.

In other words, palace life wasn’t bad for me.

After all, the top-quality goat’s milk I’m drinking now, the colorful gold and silver rattles adorned with jewels, and the leisurely and relaxed daily life in the sunniest part of the palace – all of these benefits were amazing.

‘I almost want to just laze around and play like this.’

Thanks to this, I grew rapidly.

It seems like I just lay there blankly, opening and closing my eyes, eating what was given to me, and suddenly I was 1 year old.

‘How surprising. Really.’

I didn’t know babies grew this fast.

That’s because in my recent past lives, I had hardly ever encountered such young babies.

My lives were usually short-lived, or I was always alone trying to find the answer God had posed until I died. Naturally, there were no instances of starting a family or taking care of children in my life. I could count on one hand the number of times I had met children born to others.

Even then, picking up Duke Piccadilly when I was a king in my previous life was the extent of my interaction with children.

‘He was such an evil little brat back then.’

While I was momentarily lost in thought, I heard a thumping sound from far away.

Lying in the cradle, I couldn’t tell what the sound was, but listening carefully, it was the sound of footsteps moving quickly.

‘What’s the rush?’

Before I could fully grasp the situation, another sound echoed, thump, thump.

“His Majesty the Emperor is here!”

The knight guarding my room shouted in a resounding voice.

‘Ah, it’s the Emperor?’

But why is the Emperor coming to my room?

For the past year, the Emperor, whether my father or mother, had never shown their face. Even though everyone took extremely good care of me, I was certainly not a hated princess.

So I couldn’t shake off the thought of what wind had blown for the Emperor to come to me.

“Is the princess awake now?”

Soon after, a low and heavy voice reached my ears. Judging by the voice, the Emperor was a man, and mixed with rough breathing, it seemed he had run quite a distance with his feet on fire. It was natural, as such a sound couldn’t be made without running considerably.

‘Where have I heard this voice before?’

Soon, the slightly annoying sound of breathing quickly settled.

“Yes, Your Majesty. She just coughed a moment ago.”

Miranda quietly replied, and then silence fell in the room.

‘He’ll come to me soon.’

I decided to say hello with my eyes while sucking on the milk bottle. I didn’t think the Emperor would say much to me, a baby.

Step, step.

I could feel the slow-moving footsteps getting closer and closer to the cradle where I was lying.

At last, I saw silver hair mixed with pink. Standing right above me in the light, I couldn’t see his face well. Shadowed, all I could make out were green eyes.

Squinting and looking closely, the Emperor was in full armor as if he had just returned from a war. Moreover, the areas around his armor were stained here and there as if he had arrived in a hurry.

The Emperor didn’t explain why he was in this state or the background, but I could roughly guess why he hadn’t shown his face until now.

“You look healthy.”

At that moment, the Emperor let out a sigh of relief and reached out his hand as if to pick me up. To this, I expressed my refusal by flapping my arms and legs.

“Abubu! Uuaa! Appu!”

Wash up! Wash up before touching me!

“Indeed, you’re quite spirited.”

Did my struggle work? The Emperor paused as he was reaching out to me. Soon after, he withdrew his hand and took a step back.

Then the shadow on his face disappeared. Along with this, the Emperor’s face, which had been invisible until now, became clearly visible in the light.

‘Huh? What?’