Reincarnating into a Beautiful Woman

Chapter 88

Celine felt slightly unsteady as the army helped create a mass grave for the Zionitte army. Knowing how Zavia was sealed instead of being destroyed was unnerving. She half expected Zavia to crawl out of the box and summon an invisible army. However, Akihiko frequently reminded her that she would be too weak to summon anyone again, especially since the remnants of their familiars wore her down.  He convinced her that it was better to seal the monster in case it somehow reincarnated and possessed a stronger body.

Ultimately, the army rejoiced with their win and grieved for their loss.

They had won, yet the soldiers remained solemn. They were returning home without their healers and children. They had also killed brainwashed soldiers, which didn't bring them any more happiness. However, it didn't affect them too much since life would be much worse if they had lost the war.

To honor the Zionitte army, they were buried in their own land. Celine also found it necessary to give Emperor Laith a proper burial, although she did not know where. Because both Laith and Yasna had suffered in the Zionitte country, Celine wished to move their bodies to the land of Krastia, near her mansion. She believed that they would rest well in a thriving, peaceful land instead of a destroyed city. She also didn't think Emperor Laith would want to be buried next to his awful father underneath an abandoned palace filled with dead bodies. 

The capital city of Nour was uninhabitable, but it was also far worse in the sub-urban cities. Zavia had literally set the entire country ablaze. In the end, they searched for survivors and took them in as refugees. The Zionittes mourned the loss of their last emperor, and looked up to Celine as their only hope. In order to officially carry out these orders and welcome the Zionittes into Krastia, Celine was named as the Empress of the Zionitte Empire, for she was the last remaining noble in the family. She found it pointless to claim such a title, especially since the entire land of Nour would eventually be buried by sand in many years to come. She had no intentions to revive the country, nor did she want to work her whole life to rebuild an empire she always despised. However, she reluctantly agreed to the title in order to reassure the refugees, hoping that her step-brother Oren would take on the role later in life. 

The return home was delayed for several more months as the emperor organized and created treaties for their allies. Thankfully, the hot desert protected them from the harsh winter as they spent many days traveling through each city. They were constantly met with parades and different forms of celebrations. Celine in particular was painted as a war goddess.

As they finally journeyed back home, Celine suffered from night terrors every night. Her heart was worn out, and the death of Laith brought her mental state down to the point she had lost too much weight. She believed that her nightmares and anxiety would decrease, but this was no fairy tail. Her relief and safety came with a hefty price. Some nights, Yasna cursed and beat her for grieving the death of Laith. Other nights, she watched as Laith's innocent youth was destroyed by her own selfishness until Zavia and her wicked army brutally murdered her. It was even worse when she experienced nightmares where Akihiko was ripped from her arms and thrown into the casket instead while Celine suffered in a pit of fire. Her imaginations grew wilder by the night until it affected her daily life.

On the last night, Emperor Akihiko grew frustrated, unable to keep in his anger and stress.

On this particular day, Celine had only taken a small bite of her dinner when she had thrown up. She had dreamed that her family in Krastia were shot dead by the weapons she had personally made. She woke up in a cold sweat, constantly opening her box to check on the weapons every hour due to her paranoid state. The soldiers watched sadly, as if they were watching a broken human. 

Even Celine felt pathetic, knowing that her broken self had finally unveiled itself. She felt like the war had unilaterally damaged her. For many years, she felt as if her mental growth had plateaued. It was haunting the back of her mind for many years, and for her to finally face this awful side of her let alone allow others to see her weakness. It seemed as if she had let go of herself. The little progress and change in her personal growth had finally dipped to an all time low.

She blankly looked at her own throw up, frowning at the disgusting after taste in her mouth.

Aaron brought over water and gently pat her back with his small hand, while Eli cleaned up the mess she had made. They looked over at her, and their innocent gazes were filled with worry.

"I'm sorry. . . The food is good. . . I just don't feel too well. I didn't mean to show you that side of me." Celine blushed in embarrassment, as she felt the eyes of many observing her. She didn't want to feed into the stereotype that women were too weak for war. Little did she know, that this was far from what the soldiers thought. They were worried over the woman who they hoped would become the wife of their leader. They especially wanted her to feel better since it affected his mood.

"It's okay. This is nothing compared to what you've done for us." Aaron squeaked. "You are strong! You'll get over this!" Eli lightly punched his little brother, making Aaron squeal in embarrassment too. "Your majesty!" He added.

Celine gave them a weak smile, and she felt exhausted all of a sudden. Her dejected eyes was the emperor's last straw, for he slammed the wooden post in the stables and marched angrily towards her.

" Come with me." 

With that, he grabbed her tiny wrist and dragged her towards his private tent.