[Vol. 7] Chapter 162: The Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus
Engage? Engage my ass! I need a break!
I’m exhausted... My stomach hurts so much... I feel like throwing up…
Walking along the red carpet, the girl named Carinvega Frederick kept up her elegant smile, gracefully waving in response to her supporters. But inside, her thoughts were in complete chaos.
Ideally, she should be taking this opportunity to network with representatives from other nations, securing more benefits and prestige for the Austre Empire. However, the princess had just declined all invitations and returned straight to her delegation’s area.
Not because of some grand strategy, but because...
She was at her absolute limit! The pressure today had been overwhelming! She just wanted to quit, to stick out her tongue in frustration, to let out a sigh of relief!
Yes, this was the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], praised as the most outstanding imperial princess in Austre Empire’s history. She was the noble leader who always handled every situation with elegance, efficiency, and perfection. The untouchable flower on the mountaintop, admired by all.
But unfortunately, she couldn’t just give up.
Or rather, while negotiations could wait, her dignity and composure could not be compromised.
Because she was Carinvega Frederick, the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], the princess upon whom everyone placed their hopes. No matter what, she had to respond to their trust with unwavering grace and enthusiasm.
Unless she truly couldn’t take it anymore.
Loyal knights gathered beneath her banner, devoted friends and confidants tirelessly worked for her cause, and everyone praised her brilliance. Before Carinvega even realized it, she had been swept into the role of the empire’s guiding light.
But... wasn’t this all a bit strange?
She never had any grand ambitions. All she ever wanted was a simple, peaceful life. She never intended to fight for the throne. So how had she, of all people, ended up being called the wisest in the empire? How had she, without even realizing it, taken on a burden far beyond what any mere mortal should bear?
My stomach hurts!
Fine, fine. Setting aside her personal feelings, Carinvega had to admit, each time she acted purely on instinct, without overthinking, things somehow worked out perfectly.
The results were always so astonishing that, when faced with the awed admiration of her subordinates and citizens, all she could do was swallow her own shock and force herself to appear like a wise leader who had everything under control.
If the first couple of times were just her vanity kicking in, then at some point, she had completely lost control of the situation, she had no choice but to keep going.
Because if she ever slipped up, if people ever realized that the so-called [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], the so-called greatest princess in history, wasn’t actually as brilliant as they thought, that she was in fact just an ordinary mediocre person, then everything she had worked so hard to maintain would come crashing down.
Even though this whole image was never something she wanted in the first place, the backlash from revealing the truth would be terrifying. Disappointment, anger, accusations of deception. Just imagining the scene of everyone turning on her made her scalp tingle and cold sweat run down her back.
So, she had to keep it up.
She had to keep playing the part of Carinvega, the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], even when her father suddenly ordered her to travel to the legendary Academy City Sainz, leading a team to compete for a championship that was practically impossible for their Imperial Academy to win. Even then, she had to grit her teeth and accept it.
Because Carinvega Frederick was like this. She wouldn’t and couldn’t fear any challenge. She was destined to conquer them all and trample them beneath her feet.
The problem was—
She wasn’t actually Carinvega!!!
At least… not entirely.
The girl now known as Carinvega Frederick still remembered clearly, the first time she became conscious in this body was when the princess was twelve years old.
When she woke up, she was lying by a crystal-clear lake under the dark night sky. Three moons hung high above, and an arrow had pierced straight through her left chest. The luxurious fabric of her gown was soaked in blood, the thick metallic scent filling her nose. The sharp, searing pain jolted her groggy mind awake instantly. Then, like a tidal wave, an ocean of memories flooded her brain all at once.
She remembered…
She remembered that in another world, she had been just an ordinary girl, who stayed up too late playing romance games and died from overwork in the prime of her youth.
She remembered the pure white space she woke up to after that.
As a hardcore otaku with experience in all sorts of fantasy stories, she immediately realized what was happening. This was the legendary "isekai reincarnation" scenario! She was already preparing to bargain with the inevitable "goddess" for the best possible reincarnation perks and cheat abilities…
But…
No one ever showed up to guide her.
Instead, all she saw was a dazzling golden star streaking across the endless white sky, leaving behind a trail of brilliant flames. In the next moment, the entire world spun around her, and her consciousness was swallowed by darkness once more.
And when she woke up the second time, she was already deep in the forest, already in this body.
She had become Carinvega Frederick, and somehow, all of her past life’s memories had merged seamlessly with this new existence.
Staring at her reflection in the lake’s surface, she saw a pair of mismatched brown and silver eyes staring back at her.
And in that moment, she realized, this was her now. She had really traveled to another world.
Maybe this mismatched-eyed body had always been here from the start, and she had just now awakened her past memories. Or maybe the real Carinvega had died in the assassination attempt, leaving her, a complete outsider, to take over. There was no way to know for sure. But one thing was clear, her first priority was survival.
To be honest, she really wanted to file a complaint against whatever "god" had thrown her into this mess. Not only was their customer service terrible, but they had dumped her straight into an assassination attempt in the middle of nowhere, completely separated from the imperial guards and maids who were supposed to protect her.
And the worst part? This body was completely useless in a fight, severely injured and utterly defenseless.
What kind of hellish starting point was this?!
But thanks to her memories from the other world, a bit of quick thinking, and a tiny bit of luck, she, now Carinvega Frederick, managed to shake off the assassins and reunite with the empire’s elite forces, who had been desperately searching for her. Crisis averted, at least for now.
The moment she was confirmed safe, her wounded body finally gave out, and she passed out on the spot. When she woke up again, she was back in the royal palace, properly treated and under heavy protection.
Since this body was still young, a lot of its memories were hazy or incomplete, and some things seemed to be missing altogether. So, using her knowledge from games and anime, she played the "convenient amnesia" card, using it as an excuse to gather intel about the world and her current situation.
Most importantly, she started searching for her isekai "cheat ability."
And then reality smacked her in the face. She had nothing.
No special system, no innate powers, absolutely nothing.
And to make things worse, this body had zero magical talent.
Not only was she born with no affinity for magic, but she also wasn’t suited for learning any combat techniques either. Compared to her siblings, who were all gifted warriors and mages, she was basically a total weakling.
Which explained why she had been looked down on and why she had been caught up in some noble family's schemes, ultimately leading to the assassination attempt.
At first, she was completely devastated. But then, she realized something shocking.
This world… this empire called Austre…
She had seen it before.
She had played this game before.
That’s right!
She had somehow traveled into the world of a fantasy game she had played in her past life.
And not just any game. It was the very last game she had been playing before she died.
A yuri romance game called…
[Starlight Concerto].