ADVD 01

Chapter 1 

In her past life, Cecil was a wicked dark sorceress.

There wasn’t a single evil deed known to be committed by dark mages that she hadn’t tried.

With her immense magical talent and cruelty, she gained both fame and infamy, and made countless enemies in an instant.

Eventually, as expected, she was executed. That was the miserable end of the fearsome dark mage, Cecilia Winona Lynn Obedian.

‘But I’m not the kind of person who wouldn’t have prepared for something like that.’

Having long foreseen her own death, Cecil had already prepared an ancient spell.

A spell that would sacrifice her life to turn back time.

As she lay dying, Cecil activated the ancient incantation—and thus, she returned to the past, twenty years earlier.

‘Twenty years ago… So, I’m back in my eight-year-old body.’

When she first cast the spell, her plan had been to return to childhood and fulfill all the wicked ambitions she hadn’t achieved in her past life.

To conquer the world, make the kings and emperors of the continent kneel at her feet, and rule over the continent as if kneading dough.

But once she returned, her mind suddenly became clear.

The eight-year-old Cecil furrowed her soft brow and muttered,

“What in the world was I trying to do?”

Cecil looked down at herself.

Stubby arms and legs, curly black bobbed hair, chubby baby fat puffed like a squirrel’s cheeks…

Everything was different from before her regression, but the part she felt most vividly was something else.

The burning pain that had always seared in her chest was gone.

The rage and hatred that once consumed her body—and even her soul—were gone.

The hallucinations that had once filled her mind completely had disappeared as well.

She hadn’t realized it back then, but now she understood—her past self had been like a ticking time bomb.

Now, she wasn’t in pain, nor did she hear those hallucinations commanding her to commit atrocities. And with that, her mindset changed entirely.

At the very least, she no longer felt the urge to conquer the world or do evil for no reason.

‘I didn’t turn back time expecting this… but I’m really glad I did.’

Just as Cecil was calmly gathering her thoughts—

“His Majesty the Emperor, and His Highness the Crown Prince, have arrived!”

Cecil turned her head toward the voice, and her gaze turned cold.

Emperor Nicholas Winchester de Obedian and Crown Prince Maximus Landon de Obedian entered the salon to the nobles’ thunderous applause, radiating majesty.

‘That’s my damned father and older brother.’

Though Cecil was a princess of the empire, she had never lived a life of luxury.

The imperial palace was less like a palace and more like a jungle.

Nearly forty imperial children were not treated equally.

The emperor raised his children with extreme favoritism.

Those he doted on were given luxurious private palaces and enormous budgets that never ran dry.

The others were shoved into the rearmost palace and given barely enough funds to live, let alone maintain dignity.

Those not favored had to wear hand-me-downs from their siblings, and even the palace staff neglected them.

Cecil was among the latter.

Neglected and ignored, she was nearly sold off at age eighteen to a man three times her age.

Unwilling to accept that fate, she ran away from the palace.

The Crown Prince, on the other hand, was the emperor’s most favored child.

When firewood deliveries faltered during one bitter winter when she was twelve, Cecil shivered in threadbare clothes in a drafty room—while the Crown Prince’s palace held extravagant balls every night.

So, naturally, Cecil had no fondness for the emperor and the crown prince.

‘I suppose fate brought us together again. Should I use black magic for revenge?’

But revenge against the emperor and crown prince was no easy task.

Without thorough preparation, attempting anything against them would only lead to her second life ending just as quickly.

And unfortunately, she had very little power left—because she was now in the body of an eight-year-old.

‘With this much mana, I can only use magic in a very limited way.’

Cecil gauged her own power.

‘Right now, survival is more important than revenge.’

With that in mind, Cecil sighed, grasped her skirt with both hands, and curtsied.

‘Let’s focus on growing up safely. At least until I regain the power I had in my past life.’

The emperor looked over his dozens of children lined up to greet him with a satisfied expression.

“I’ve been looking forward to the presentations of my beloved princes and princesses. To celebrate the New Year, show me and everyone gathered here the fruits of your studies without holding back.”

All royal children over the age of six were required to participate in these regular presentations to showcase what they had learned and accomplished.

For those not favored, their entire lives revolved around desperately trying to catch the emperor’s eye.

In such an environment, sibling affection had no place to bloom.

They trampled over one another, clawing for the emperor’s favor.

They were enemies and rivals before they were siblings.

So the atmosphere at the presentation was tense.

Eyes full of jealousy and wariness flitted about.

Some had already admitted defeat and bowed their heads to avoid attention and confrontation.

The only one who looked cheerful and confident was the Crown Prince.

‘Figures.’

Cecil snorted.

She was a regressor and, despite her diminished power, still an extraordinary mage.

If she wanted, she could easily stand out at this presentation.

But…

‘I don’t really feel like it.’

Cecil thought with a sneer.

‘I don’t want to impress these sorry excuses for people.’

There had been a time when she desperately wanted to be a part of this family. But now, there wasn’t even a trace of that feeling left.

She only felt contempt.

All she wanted was to get out of this wretched house as soon as possible.

‘But I’m still a child, and my magic is weak. I definitely can’t survive on my own.’

In other words—

‘…I need someone who will protect me and keep me safe.’

Cecil looked around.

Fortunately, many nobles were present as guests. She studied their faces, wondering who might be worth relying on.

‘That person’s got this problem, and that one has that problem… Hmm, tough choice…’

As she pondered, several children completed their presentations, and soon it was the Crown Prince’s turn.

“For my presentation today, I’ve prepared a study on the construction of waterways in the capital and their impact. Please look at this model.”

When the Crown Prince pulled off the white cloth, a grand, elaborate model was revealed—a miniature diorama of the capital.

The craftsmanship was so detailed and luxurious that it completely overwhelmed the previous presenters.

‘The quality’s impressive. I can guess who supported this project.’

Then—

“You’ve got some nerve showing up to the presentation. Do you even have anything to present? You’re just a hopeless case.”

The 13th prince, twelve years old, picked a fight.

Cecil, who had once lived as a terrifying dark mage and had even been murdered, didn’t even flinch at the childish provocation of a twelve-year-old.

“Are you stupid or something? You get punished if you don’t show up to these things. Didn’t you know that?”

Instead of crying or getting angry, Cecil shot back sharply. The 13th prince blushed in embarrassment.

“I—I didn’t mean you really shouldn’t show up… I was just saying, how dare you talk back to me?”

The 13th prince shoved Cecil’s shoulder aggressively.

“I’ve been letting you off lately, huh? Guess it’s time I teach you a lesson.”

‘Ugh, annoying.’

He was more persistent than she expected.

She figured it was time to drive him off properly—and conveniently, she needed a test subject to gauge her mana.

While she could feel that her mana was significantly weaker than in her past life, she wouldn’t know her exact limits until she used it.

The 13th prince had pushed her to scare her, but instead, Cecil smiled.

“Why are you smiling? You got a death wish?”

“No, I just… find it funny that a reckless brat like you doesn’t even know his place.”

“What?!”

Cecil poked him in the forehead with her index finger.

“If you don’t know, I’ll teach you. What true fear looks like.”

The spell she cast was one of illusion magic.

Now, everyone in the room would appear as horrific monsters to the 13th prince.

Far more terrifying than a snot-nosed twelve-year-old boy acting tough.

The spell took effect immediately.

“U-uaaaaaah!!! Wh-what is this?!”

The 13th prince’s face twisted in terror as he screamed.

“Your Highness, what’s wrong?”

“Your Highness, please calm down. The Crown Prince is presenting.”

The attendants rushed in to stop him, but he clearly couldn’t hear them.

“Don’t come near me! You monsters!!”

He ran around frantically, trying to escape the terrifying illusions.

Before the attendants could catch him, he suddenly leapt onto the stage—

CRASH!

—and slammed full force into the model of the capital.

The delicate diorama crumpled completely.