Chapter 50 The Second Bloom: The Little Princess's Black Hair Resembles Seaweed...

Ding-a-ling... The clear sound of a bell rang out.

Who is fiddling with the gauze curtains...?

Eleanor slowly opened her eyes; she saw many double images, making her dizzy.

"Ugh." The little princess frowned, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

She swung her hand forcefully, and her body swung out with her arm—thump! She slapped a furry little head with a thud.

"Ouch, that hurts! Oh, Lily, you're awake?" The little head turned around, transforming into the fluffy Mysella.

The little girl jumped on her with a "Hey!" and giggled, saying, "How are you feeling today? If you're feeling better, let's go out and play!"

"Third Prince..." Coral lifted the curtain and pinched Misella's little cheek, disapprovingly saying, "Don't keep dragging the princess out into the wind. What if she gets sick?"

"Oh, running around more will keep you from getting sick," Mysella said, rolling around on the bed and acting cute.

She had all four limbs intact, and her fair face was full of a triumphant smile, without a single bloodstain.

Huff... Eleanor clutched her chest and took a deep breath, a dull ache shooting through her chest. Even amidst the heartwarming scene before her, she could still feel a faint pain.

Snap.

She touched the gold pendant on her chest, a six-petaled flower bestowed by the Mother Goddess... no, now there are only five petals left.

Eleanor picked up the pendant and examined it closely.

This pendant was originally a very graceful six-petaled flower, but now it has become five petals—perhaps to preserve the neat and natural shape, the shape of the petals has also been changed to some extent.

The petals become more pointed at the ends, making them look like borage at first glance.

Fortunately, each petal still bears six bloodstains, indicating that the total amount of data retrieved has not changed.

"Lily~ Lily! Are you listening? Hello, hello, hello."

Mysella grabbed her sister's hair in front of Coral, but Coral slapped her hand away.

Mysella wasn't annoyed at all. She glared at her with bright eyes and said with a grin, "Hehe. By the way, that annoying brat Hetuya is kneeling outside yesterday. Don't be friends with her anymore~ Come on, let's go over and give her a kick each!"

Andra... Andra!

She remembered.

That's great, we can do it all over again.

Eleanor loosened the pendant, a joyful smile spreading across her face.

Mysella looked up and froze when she saw her sister's eerie smile.

That was not the expression a child should have; it lacked any innocence and didn't seem happy at all... It was a more pungent, more terrifying expression that she couldn't comprehend at all.

"Sister? Let's go, I want to go see her."

Eleanor stepped out of bed in her slippers, and that terrifying smile vanished in the blink of an eye; she seemed to have turned back into that cute little sister.

That's strange, am I seeing things?

Mysella scratched her head, dismissing her doubts.

Hmph, she thought of that annoying Hetuya again. Yesterday, her sister had a huge fight with her because of that boy, and even begged their mother to bring him to her side—how outrageous!

Myrcella blinked and patted Eleanor on the shoulder, wanting her sister to swear that the two of them were the best of friends in the world, but then she couldn't help but shudder: her sister's demeanor... wasn't quite right.

"Um?"

Eleanor turned her head indifferently as she changed clothes to match Coral's movements.

She's not smiling now; her calm expression looks quite normal.

But Misella felt that her younger sister was different from usual. Not only did she not have a headache or feel weak, but she seemed to have matured in every way, with the demeanor of an older sister.

Isn't maturity a good thing?

Children certainly think maturity is good; Eleanor is still Eleanor, but there's a strange sense of incongruity about it.

Mysella shrank back, not daring to tease her younger sister today.

She stood obediently to the side and waited for Eleanor to finish changing before following her sister out the door.

......

The wind blew through his long, golden-red hair, and the young boy stood tall and straight.

A few pink petals clung to the ends of her hair, and her eyes crinkled with a smile as she turned toward Eleanor.

"Your Highness."

Andra gracefully stepped over the stone steps.

She lifted her hem and knelt on one knee, raising her face to Eleanor just as she had in her past life: "I will become the sword that protects you."

Andra.

Eleanor silently recited the boy's name in her heart.

Every time she thinks of Andra, her heart aches slightly, as if a wound that will never heal has been etched onto it.

That's good, that way I'll never forget you, never forget my hatred.

She couldn't help but smile and bent down towards the boy in the sunlight.

The little princess's black hair fell down like seaweed, and Andra, who was kneeling on the ground, quickly straightened her back.

The image of Eleanor from yesterday still lingered in her mind: a shy, kind princess with a very serene smile.

She would apologize to her silly older sister and blush unconsciously while chatting, which was extremely cute.

Andra raised his face, wanting the princess to see his handsome features.

The princess is smiling.

Andra has seen many smiling faces.

A loving nanny on the grassland, a stern but slightly approving instructor, the nobles' flattery, the slaves' humility, the eager, the malicious, the pleading, the seductive... human smiles are inherently diverse.

She imagined Eleanor's smile at that moment, one that must have been exceptionally joyful and sweet.

Andra's shoulders stiffened.

The little princess's soft features faded from her eyes, and she went straight into a pair of burning eyes.

Princess Eleanor's eyes were soft amber, and when she blinked they were as gentle as water.

However, the warm amber now shimmered with golden spots in the sunlight, reminding her of the unpredictable face of Queen Eva of Norlana.

The princess is smiling.

Those petal-like lips were clearly smiling.

Eleanor's features are delicate and beautiful; a slight blush at the corners of her eyes and brows can bring out a charming shyness.

Her cheeks were flushed a light pink, as if they had been adorned with the finest balm.

But it wasn't a childlike smile, nor a girl's shyness, nor even the serene or confident smile of an adult woman.

Her lips were like a blooming flower, but her expression was like a light lit in the abyss, and then, facing the light, she opened her sharp teeth!

Thump, thump, thump thump!

Why? Why is my heart beating so fast?

Andra swallowed hard, clenching her fists nervously, feeling an unusual sense of dread.

Is this love? Is it the love at first sight that everyone talks about during the festival?

But this isn't the first time I've met Her Highness.

Nervousness, rapid breathing, and a racing heart.

Blood was flowing down to the tips of her ears, which made Andra very uneasy.

Reason and reason told her seriously that all her current symptoms matched the feeling of falling in love at first sight.

Look—the princess is so adorable, she's smiling at you, of course your heart will race!

Is that so? Emotions whispered their objections.

In fact, the tremor she felt was closer to the intense fear a human would experience when encountering a tiger head-on in the wild.

That was my intuition screaming in my ears: Danger! Danger!!

Unfortunately, Andra never experienced similar feelings.

She encountered wolf packs many times when she was a child, and also saw giant bears and tigers when she was crossing mountains.

She was never afraid; she easily drew her longbow towards the beast.

Of course, if Sister Wang next to her encouraged her a few more times, she would smile and draw her scimitar, charging towards the ferocious beasts that dared to appear in front of her.

Some people experience genuine fear during their first battle or their first killing.

Andra wouldn't; she loves to fight.

That wasn't a twisted emotion cultivated by anyone; it was an innate joy at the mere mention of war.

To be fair, Andra didn't like her mother or her sister, because these people didn't like her either; she could read the deep fear and jealousy in their eyes.

But when fighting or facing provocation from the other side, she actually "likes" them.

She enjoys plunging swords into the bodies of her enemies; the stronger the enemy, the more fun it is. She loves hunting down the strong!

Andra was unaware that her current feeling was fear.

She knelt stiffly on the ground until the little princess took her hand and pressed her palm against her soft cheek.

Her image was reflected in those amber eyes.

"Andra".

The princess smiled radiantly, sweetly calling her name. It was as if she were a treasure finally found after traversing countless ages.

Without a doubt, this is love.

Andra's breath caught in her throat for a moment. She involuntarily stood up as the princess pulled her, and heard that melodious voice.

"From now on—she'll be my guardian knight~"

......

"From now on...she will be my guardian knight."

Eleanor grasped Andra's wrist and lifted it high into the air.

She smiled and looked around, waiting for Manzhu and Jingji to challenge her to a duel, just like before.

Eleanor had figured it out: the best way to kill Andra was not to rely on others, but to do it herself.

Andra may appear cheerful and rugged, but she is actually quite wary. In her first life, the only person she truly trusted was Eleanor.

As she stared at Andra, an idea did indeed cross her mind: why not just have Eva execute Andra?

This idea was immediately rejected.

Firstly, although Eva may seem crazy, she is actually quite cautious in her actions.

In her past life, she didn't even shout "Drag her away and execute her!" when she killed a mere princess; in the end, she chose to execute her with poison.

Andra was, after all, a princess of Hetuya. Even if Eva was furious, she would most likely only cut off one or two of Andra's fingers, or lock her up and humiliate her.

Eleanor thought about the potential consequences of this behavior, and her liver started to ache.

Normal Andra is already terrifying like a ghost. If she were to suffer some childhood trauma as well... who knows what kind of monster she would become when she grows up.

She still harbored resentment towards Eva, Ophelia, and even Myrcella, but she absolutely did not want her family of four to be left hanging and playing mahjong after the city fell.

Secondly, Eva is quite rebellious.

Despite her mother's doting affection in her first life, she didn't do anything extra after the second life was rewound twice.

Once Eva realizes that he has a clear purpose for Andra, the king might just do something unexpected to amuse himself, since she doesn't have many years left to live anyway.

Eleanor held Andra's arm, her mind already out the plan for the killing.

She's prepared to do it herself, so following the storyline from the first life is the best course of action.

Eleanor in her first life was the only one who had many opportunities to kill Andra.

As long as she continues down that predetermined path, even if all her assassinations during her teenage years fail, she can still poison Andra at any time after marriage.

Of course, exchanging one for another is the worst-case scenario, and Eleanor doesn't want to give up her life after her rebirth. She must ensure that after eliminating Andra, she will still have enough resources to pursue her dreams.

Andra's arm trembled slightly in her palm.

Perhaps the boy was unaware of his fear, but Eleanor saw a reaction in him that was completely different from the fascination he had shown in his previous life.

The little princess glanced at Manju and Thorns with some impatience: Why haven't they made a move yet?

To her surprise, although they looked unwell, they made no move to stop her, let alone challenge her to a duel.

What's going on? Do they also have memories of their past lives?

Eleanor was startled by her companions' strange reaction.

She looked to the side and saw that not only Manzhu and Jingji, but even Misella, who always loved to joke and contradict, was stammering and shrinking her shoulders, pretending to be a good girl.

After being glanced at by her younger sister, the older sister pulled her feet back, not daring to meet her gaze.

Eleanor could only look helplessly at Coral, hoping that this mature nobleman's servant would come over and persuade the plot to return to its original course.

Coral didn't speak, but when she received the princess's gaze, she lowered her head slightly, as if nodding in agreement.

What were they afraid of? Were they afraid of Andra? No, it was more like they were frightened by her performance.

Eleanor turned to look into Andra's eyes and immediately confirmed it: Andra was indeed somewhat flattered, his golden eyes shining slightly.

However, this look wasn't one of infatuation; rather, it was lively and alert.

Eleanor was immediately struck by a realization: the difference between me in this life and me in my first life was too great.

Even if the body remains the same, the temperament and mindset will definitely change too much, and it's impossible to fool others.

She hesitated for a few seconds before reverting to the previous save.

It will take a long time to calm down the anger at the time of death, and the things she wants to do next will most likely be things that can be rolled back within seven days, so there is no need to waste rollback opportunities.

The little princess stopped smiling. Seeing that no one around her objected, she said somewhat coquettishly, "Coral~ take my knight over to try on clothes, and have a few more dresses made for her. She'll definitely look very handsome!"

"yes."

Coral nodded reflexively, somewhat surprised herself: Why didn't she want to remind Her Highness the Princess at all today?

She subconsciously looked up and shuddered inexplicably when she saw the princess's serene face.

It's so cold... She walked up to Andra and hurriedly left with the boy.

Eleanor then turned to her guards and said gently, "You all stay at the door. I have something to do. I'll call you over later."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Manzhu and Jingji instinctively straightened their shoulders and responded in unison.

The little princess turned gracefully and swept past the servants like a feather, saying as she went, "Bring me my paper... parchment, ink and quill pen."

If it were in her previous two lives, when the ten-year-old princess gave this order while Coral was not around, these noble servants would usually make a few jokes first.

But no one laughed in this life. The servants left the room quickly and soon brought pen, ink, and a bound parchment scroll, which they silently spread out on the princess's desk.

Eleanor sat down at the table and picked up her quill to write.

As she wrote down the messages she remembered from her past life in Chinese characters and pinyin, she pondered the question she had just asked.

Her changes are too drastic; if Andra becomes completely suspicious, it will be very difficult to kill her.

Andra's attitudes toward "Eleanor" and "the others" are drastically different.

She wanted to be with Andra, a man who was completely devoted, almost foolishly in love, and willing to risk his life to protect Eleanor in the face of danger, rather than a seemingly loyal King of Hetuya who was actually always ready to betray her.

As Eleanor wrote, she gradually relaxed.

Good things still happen, perhaps because the memories of the past life are very strong due to repeated memorization or personal involvement during the previous life.

She spent several hours writing to record all the important information onto the scroll using a simplified code.

Eleanor closed the scroll and had the servants put it away.

As soon as she got up and opened the door, she saw Manzhu, Jingji, and Andra standing in a row outside, two on the left and one on the right, acting as door gods.

The little princess tugged at Andra's sleeve with a smile and snuggled into her arms. "Great! This outfit suits you so well."

Andra quickly put her arms around Eleanor's shoulders, and she heard the girl in her arms whisper, "You are my guardian knight, and you will stay with me from now on."

“...Okay.” Andra’s heart was pounding faster and faster.

She was about to reply when the little princess slipped out from under her arm, waving for a servant. "Come, Heidi, show my knight around, then take her out for a meal."

......

After seeing Andra off again, Eleanor calmly beckoned to Manju and Thorn: "Come in, and Coral too. I'd like to have a good talk with everyone."

The three of them looked at each other blankly, unable to figure out why the little princess was behaving so strangely today.

Coral was the first to enter the room. After confirming that no one was around, she, Manzhu, and Jingji sat down around the princess. The four of them seemed to be enveloped by an invisible barrier.

Eleanor sat upright on the couch, her posture resembling that of a delicate doll.

"Please don't tell anyone what I'm about to say, and don't be too surprised. I must—"

The little princess took a deep breath. Her voice was very low, but it boomed like thunder through the ears of the three of them.

“Kill Andra.”