Reincarnating into a Beautiful Woman

Chapter 43

"Your majesty, Emperor of the great Zionitte Kingdom, I strongly oppose the Second Prince's request to be appointed as an official. He lacks military experience and the necessary court etiquette!" A chancellor kneeled in front of the emperor. He was part of the Crown Prince's faction and greatly despised Krastians. The thought of Prince Zayden entering court politics with his inferior blood was regarded as an abomination that might possibly taint the empire.

"How dare you insult the Second Prince! He is praised as a genius by his tutor and excels in swordsmanship. We are only looking to utilize Prince Zayden's profound knowledge for the good of the Zionittes!" Sir Vigos rebuked the chancellor, and his menacing tone intimidated many nobles. After all, offending an elite man with multiple connections would not end well for them. "Your majesty, please consider this request, for the Second Prince is competent and strong. He should be given a chance to prove himself worthy, your majesty."

The following words ensued chaos once again, and nobles continued to debate over the Second Prince's capabilities.

The Second Prince had been sitting in on multiple meetings during the past few weeks, and he was rather shocked by how disorderly the royal court was conducted. The emperor didn't bother to listen and neglected his responsibilities, which initiated a domino effect with the officials. He watched as the old men continued to complain while never offering solutions.

When an emperor is lacking, how can his advisors be any better?

The only person who remotely displayed signs of intelligence was the Crown Prince, who sat across from Zayden. He had slowly cleaned up the mess that the emperor had made upon arrival, stripping away power from certain, corrupt nobles. The Zionitte Empire's decline in treasury was temporarily steady due to Prince Laith's efforts. Zayden also knew that Celine offered practical advice to Prince Laith, often aiding him when the people were struggling. They had stabilized the lower class and even innovated the capital. 

Prince Zayden could almost see why Celine approved of this empire's Crown Prince. The Crown Prince stood tall amidst the nobles, as if he was the Zionitte's sun. 

The Second Prince considered his disadvantages. He had initially planned to increase his political power in order to protect Celine. However, it seemed as if the nobles would never accept him.

How tedious. The Second Prince leaned against his seat casually, earning a few sharp glares from nearby officials.

Due to the pandemonium in the court house, the royal men failed to notice the slight change in atmosphere. A regular man would never notice the sound until it was right in front of them. However, the princes noticed the strange air and stiffened immediately. Their eyes met in understanding, and they grabbed the hilt of their swords.

The royal palace was under attack.

****

Celine sat against a tree in the Krastian garden. She was engrossed in her own thoughts when an arrow hit the bark of the tree, barely missing her neck. She staggered behind the tree in alarm as Draco shielded her from the onset of arrows. He easily deflected the attacks and sent Celine backwards.

Dark figures emerged, immediately flanking Draco and Celine on all sides. Their movements were airy and swift, like professionally trained assassins.

She panicked inwardly, cursing herself for not bringing a sword. She could only hide underneath Draco's wing as he continued to ward off the incoming attacks with the impenetrable skin he had developed over time.

However, they were outnumbered, and Draco couldn't fly away while simultaneously keeping Celine hidden from the arrows. He protected her well until an assassin ultimately penetrated his shield. Draco cried and Celine slid away from his wings, which was a big mistake. She had never experienced such a dangerous situation before and didn't know what to do. She felt as if her death was near, and her heart began to pound fast.

Luckily, the assassin that was aiming for her also made a mistake. He moved closer to Celine as she attempted to run away from the scene. As she was thinking of ways to safely escape this attack with Draco, she didn't notice the assassin creeping his way towards her with a knife.

She ducked and narrowly missed the dagger. Draco also noticed Celine's vulnerable state and hit the weapon out of the assassin's hand with his elongated tail. Celine gave the assassin no time to recover and did what any person with minimal defense skills would do. She pounced and tackled him to the floor. She noticed that the assassin was weaker and smaller than the others.

"Who are you?" She muttered and ripped the black cloth away from the attacker's face.

She was about to whisper for Draco to whisk them away when she met the eyes of the assassin.

Celine felt as if her world was crashing down, and her body began to shake. She forgot how to breathe.

"Aki?" She croaked.

The person standing in front of Celine was the spitting image of her late husband. His hair was pulled back into a bun, and his rounder face was textured with dirt. This person's slanted eyes and high cheekbones were roughly outlined by the harsh world, yet he looked exactly like Akihito. She could recognize her own husband anywhere.

The pause was enough for the assassin to recover. He slowly reached out for the dagger while Celine stood over him, dumbstruck. Celine knew he was going to stab her and screamed inwardly to take cover. However, she couldn't move. She wanted to reach for his cheeks, to see if she was experiencing a nightmare. Tears streamed down her red cheeks.

I'm a fool.

"CELINE!"

At that moment, the world seemed to slow down. She followed the direction of the voice to see Zayden speeding towards her with a horrified expression. He ran desperately, yet even he would never reach her in time.

Celine froze, unable to avoid the incoming dagger slip into her stomach. She whispered to Draco, who wailed as he witnessed his master's downfall. A painful roar rang in everyone's ears, momentarily shaking the assassins. 

She fell to the side as Draco and Red annihilated the group of attackers, while Zayden finally tucked her into his arms.

Then, Draco halted his movements and reluctantly snatched her assailant by the neck. She fixed her eyes on the figures as they flew into the sky and blended seamlessly with the blue hemisphere.

Aki, you know how much I missed you? I struggled a lot, all on my own. Aren't you proud of me?

As the blood trickled down her mouth and stomach, her heart also seemed to bleed endlessly. The memories Celine had tucked into her heart were flowing out, and she entered a deep sleep.