Alicia was crying.

At first, out of disappointment in herself for failing to properly swallow poison and die.

Then, because of the dream that didn’t end even after opening her eyes.

And after some time passed, out of shock at realizing this was not a dream.

Then she cried in gratitude for being able to get a new chance, and cried in fear of not being able to do it right even with the opportunity.

“Your Highness Alicia, where are you feeling unwell?”

“When is the doctor coming!”

“Princess. You’ll be exhausted if you keep crying like this. Please…”

“His Majesty is on his way!”

“His Highness the Crown Prince is coming too!”

“The Crown Princess has stormed into the medical office!”

“Your Highness Alicia, please don’t cry.”

It had already been two hours since the princess, who had been mumbling strange things about poison and flashbacks after waking up in the morning, started crying upon seeing her reflection in the mirror.

At first, the head lady-in-waiting thought she was shedding tears due to the lingering effects of a nightmare she had the night before.

Of course, she didn’t know if Alicia had really had a nightmare, but what else could make her cry after waking up?

Golden hair cascading down past her hips, shimmering even though it hadn’t been properly brushed since she got up not long ago.

Beneath the hair that looked as if sunlight had been melted and spun into thread, a round forehead and beautifully arched eyebrows.

Under the full, long eyelashes that looked as if pearls would roll right off them, sky blue eyes reminiscent of the spring sky.

A high, round, pretty nose and below it, lips as red as the reddest rose.

The noblest flower of Eregron.

The most beloved woman of the Craig Imperial Family.

Princess Alicia Craig.

Even when smiling, her beauty was enough to stir the heartstrings of those who saw her, and even her crying appearance was beautiful enough to enchant people.

Amy, who had been her nanny and head lady-in-waiting since the moment she was born, secretly smiled as she recalled the princess’s childhood, seeing her shedding tears startled by a nightmare.

But that smile was short-lived.

For some reason, her lovely princess showed no signs of stopping her tears, and as time passed, she cried more sorrowfully, melting the hearts of those watching.

At this point, it was hard to think it was just the lingering effects of a nightmare… The head lady-in-waiting naturally became convinced that something was wrong with her lovely princess’s body.

“Why isn’t the doctor here yet!”

“Calm down, Mrs. Campbell! Your shouting is making the princess cry even more!”

Amy tried to suppress the worry rising in her heart at the cry of Mina, the chief lady-in-waiting whom she had earmarked to succeed her position in the future.

Then, approaching Alicia, who was still crying silently, she began to comfort her as if she had returned to her childhood.

“Our princess, why are you crying so much? Hmm? Did you have a scary dream? Or are you hurting somewhere? Is your finger that you pricked while embroidering last night hurting? Hm? Please say something.”

By now, she had forgotten even the reason why she was crying so sorrowfully.

Alicia had reached the point where she was crying simply because tears were flowing, and that made her sad.

“Ari!”

“Alicia!”

It was the moment when Alicia sat down in front of the mirror and burst into tears once again.

With hurried footsteps, the door opened without warning, revealing the two people Alicia had longed for so much.

“Brother! Father!”

The Crown Prince who had ended his life early due to an unexpected accident, and the Emperor who had closed his eyes after languishing from the shock of losing his beloved son.

The moment she saw the wavering eyes of her blood relatives looking at her crying self, Alicia could truly be certain that she had been given a chance.

“I, sob, I did wrong. I, really… hic…”

“Ari, what did you do wrong!”

“Alicia, my child. Stop crying and tell me. Seeing your tears feels like my heart is being torn apart.”

“I’ve brought the doctor here!”

While the Crown Prince and Emperor were consoling Alicia, the Crown Princess, who had practically dragged the old doctor who couldn’t run properly by the collar, quickly burst into the room.

And upon confirming her healthy appearance, Alicia wailed once again.

Alicia’s tears ignited a fire in the somewhat hot-tempered Crown Princess.

“Who! Who made our beautiful, cute, lovely Princess Alicia cry! Was it Your Highness? Or was it Your Majesty? Was it you, the head lady-in-waiting? Who was it!”

“Wife, Sienna. Please calm down. What if our Ari gets scared and cries more because of you!”

“No, Adrian! That’s not the issue right now! Our Princess Alicia is crying! Who is it! Who made my sister cry!”

“Ari is my sister.”

“If she’s my husband’s sister, she’s my sister too, why are you being so pedantic!”

“Ahem, thanks to you two, Alicia has stopped crying, so that’s enough.”

Alicia, who had unknowingly stopped crying while watching her brother and sister-in-law’s loving quarrel that wasn’t quite a quarrel, stood up holding the hand of the Emperor, who spoke a word to the couple with a somewhat embarrassed face.

Her legs were stiff from sitting on the cold floor for quite a while as she cried absentmindedly.

“Dalton, now that you’re here, examine the princess’s condition.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The white-haired chief imperial physician, who had straightened his crumpled collar after being grabbed by the Crown Princess, approached Alicia and examined her body.

Though of high status, he had been grabbed by the collar and dragged like a leashed dog by a young lady much younger than him.

However, as if such occurrences were not uncommon in the imperial palace where all sorts of things happened, his demeanor was impeccably composed.

“I will examine her briefly.”

Dalton, who had seated Alicia, who was staggering due to her stiff legs, in a nearby chair, began his examination while the Emperor, Crown Prince, and Crown Princess waited anxiously for it to end.

“Other than mild exhaustion from shedding too many tears, there are no other issues.”

“Doctor, is that true?”

“Are you going to grab my collar again if I say it’s not?”

“Ahem.”

“…I’m ashamed. Let me apologize on behalf of my wife.”

“Before the Crown Princess stormed in herself, Your Highness the Crown Prince’s personal attendant broke the doorknob of my research room saying it was urgent.”

“…Let me apologize on behalf of both children.”

“I will remain silent about what Your Majesty’s chamberlain did.”

The old physician, who had been in the palace longer than even the Emperor, completely silenced the three of them and then left the room with a smile, saying he would prepare a decoction for Alicia.

It was only after that the royal family members breathed a sigh of relief at the old physician’s considerate gesture to end the matter here without holding a grudge.

“Alicia, are you alright now?”

“Father…”

In place of the Crown Prince couple who couldn’t look at Alicia out of embarrassment, the Emperor approached her as she stared blankly at him and gently stroked her head.

Seeing her father comforting her like a child, Alicia felt like she might cry again.

However, knowing that this was not a dream, illusion, or flashback, she couldn’t cause any more worry to her beloved family members.

“I… I’m fine.”

“May I ask what happened?”

“…I had a dream… a nightmare.”

A nightmare.

An empire ruined by her foolish love.

The empire’s loyal subjects who unanimously called for the death of her beloved.

Love that didn’t turn to her even after offering up the empire.

Everything was a nightmare, but the worst of all was Alicia herself, who always chose the worst path with her wrong decisions every time.

“It must have been a very frightening dream.”

“Yes…”

I ruined everything, Father.

Unable to cause another worry, Alicia swallowed her words and said softly, rubbing her head against the Emperor’s hand that was stroking her hair as if throwing a tantrum.

“I’m alright now.”

She really was alright.

Now she could undo her wrong choices.

Although she didn’t know how she had come back, if this was a chance given by God who took pity on her, Alicia had no intention of letting that chance slip by.

But the Emperor seemed to interpret Alicia’s sparkling eyes, filled with such determination, differently.

“Alicia… if you wish, I will allow it.”

“Pardon?”

“Your Majesty! No, Father! That cannot be!”

“I agree! I may have failed, but Princess Alicia should have a love marriage!”

“Sienna, how is marrying me a failure!”

“A love marriage was my dream! If it weren’t for Your Highness’s face, I would have run away on the day my marriage was arranged! So be grateful for your face!”

“Adrian, Sienna. I haven’t finished speaking yet.”

After calming down his son and daughter-in-law who were about to digress again, the Emperor turned back to Alicia, who was blinking her large eyes.

“I know you’re not the kind of child who would shed so many tears over a mere nightmare, Alicia.”

“Father…”

“It must be because of your affection.”

“Pardon?”

“I didn’t know that trying to find a better match for you would make you this distressed.”

“No, um…”

“Don’t worry about the Crown Prince’s opposition. If only you are happy, even your foolish brother will eventually give his permission. Isn’t that right, Adrian?”

“That’s, well… Sigh, Ari, do you really have to marry that man?”

The moment the words ‘that man’ came out of Adrian’s mouth, Alicia could understand what the Emperor was talking about.

And at the same time, she realized that this was the first opportunity given to her to correct her mistake.

“I know you really like that man, but…”

“No.”

“Still, marriage is… Huh?”

“I won’t marry him.”

“Alicia?”

Her first mistake was pushing for an engagement and marriage with someone her family opposed.

So…

“I won’t marry Killian, I mean… Duke Diaz.”