Record of a Thousand Lives

Henrick had just finished carving a wooden bracelet, and he gripped his sculpting knife tightly. Meanwhile,Kang Yoon-Soorelaxed, sippingon the chilling alcohol from the Castle of the Dead.

Rustle…

Soundscamefrom withina nearbybush.Shaneth gripped her scythe,expectingsomething to pop up out of the bushat any moment.

Rustle…

A long shadow suddenly emerged from the bush. It was a woman with flowing golden hair, who asked,“Do you mind if I join you?”

She was wearing luxurious clothesthat could only belong to a noble, and the way she spokeexudeda sense of elegance and authority; in addition, her smooth white skin looked as ifithad never been underthemidday sun. Her beauty made it difficult not to look at her, and even made the surrounding damp forest looklike beautifulscenery.

However, Shanethasked cautiously,“Who might you be?”

“I’mathief,”the womanreplied.

Shaneth furrowed her brow at the woman’s response.“What do you mean, a thief?” she asked again.

“I’m a thief, since I stole something from someone else,”the womanresponded.

It was at that moment that Henrick suddenlymoved forwardand pushed Shaneth’s head down.

Shaneth felt as ifher neck would snap from the sudden force.“Kyah!What are you doing?” she shouted as she looked at him.However, she was surprised to see that the usually carefree andquick-wittedHenrick seemed to be more shockedthanher.

Henrick’seyes trembled as if he wereabout to break out in cold sweatat any moment;he knelt down and bowed his head.“I apologize for showing you my shameful self. To think that I would greet the royal princess of theReorkanEmpire, Your Highness Kisifran, in this lowly place,” he saidrespectfullyinan overlyformal tone.

Shaneth doubted her ears for a moment. ‘The royal princess…?’DidHenrickmean that this blonde woman in front of her was the princess of the empire, the daughter of the emperor?

However, Henrickhad beenthe personal artisan of the royal princess at one point in time. It did not seem like a lie, considering how he was behaving so differently from his usual carefree self.

Henrick suddenlypushed Shaneth’s head down as she was lost in thought,beforehissing,“You idiot! It’s a sin for a commoner to look at a royal without permission!”

“I-I’m sorry!”Shanethsaid, immediately lowering her head.However,shewas not looking at the royal princess; rather, hergazewent straight to Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo did not disappoint, as he did not even bother to bow his head;in fact, he was sitting there nonchalantlywhile sippingon his chilling alcohol.

PrincessKisifran was taken aback by the man.“Why are you not bowing downtome?” she asked.

“I don’t want to,”Kang Yoon-Sooreplied with a shrug.The other two’sfacesturned bluewhen they heard his words.

Shaneth thought at that moment that she had to steer the conversationinanother direction. She exclaimed,“Your royal highness! I am curious as to why a person of yourstature is in theselowly mountains?”

“I got lost,” the princess replied.

“What…?”Shanethwas taken aback by the simple reply.

Suddenly, Henrick, whohad been looking carefullyat the royal princess, spoke up.“Are you really her highness?” he asked.

“I am, butI amalso not,”the princessreplied.

It was a strange answer, and Henrick’s eyes flashed with suspicion.“Forgive my insolence, but may I rise?” he asked.

“You may if you wish,” the princess replied.

Henrick slowly stood up as he, the former artisan of the royal princess, carefully examined the princess’ face. He slowlyoffered the wooden bracelet in his hand toward the princess.“May you wear this?” he requested.

“Of course,”the princessreplied, taking the bracelet and puttingit on her left wrist.

Afterward, Henrick let out a sigh as he said…

“It’s a doppelganger.”

***

The princess was not surprised, nor did she getangry. The only reactionshe showedwas a look of curiosity as to why these people were so surprised after seeing her.

“What do you mean, a doppelganger?” Shaneth asked in surprise.

The situation had not made sense in the first place. Why would the royal princess of the empire be wandering around these mountains at this hour?

Henrick stared at the princess before saying,“I was surprised at first too, but I’m certain now. I saw her often up close. She had an allergy to elf wood, and she hated seeing any elf wood around her. There was a time when she had an outbreak because of the bracelet made of elf wood I gifted her, and I almost got kicked out of the palace for that.”He pointed at her wrist before adding,“But look, that bracelet is also made out of elf wood, and she’s fine.”

He now spoke with certainty.“Above all else, the emperor cherishes the royal princess, and he wouldn’t let Princess Kisifran wander around a place like this.”

“B-but…” Shaneth stuttered as she lookedintentlyat the princess.

There were no other words to describethe princess’longeyelashesand exquisite features other than the words ‘perfect beauty’, but to think that a beauty like her was a monster?

Shaneth was confused, asking,“Are you really a doppelganger?”

“Well,that is the casefrom your perspective,” the princess admitted.

However, she was different from a normal doppelganger. A doppelganger was a monster that enjoyed attacking its victim both mentally and physically, but the princess in front of them was just standing still.There was alsono attempt whatsoever from her to hypnotize or attack them.

The princess pointed atthe boar heartroastingover the fire and asked, “MayI eat that?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

The princessplaced theroasted meaton a wooden plate, and looked around before asking,“Where are the forks and knives?”

“Therearenone,”Kang Yoon-Sooanswered.

“Then how am I supposed to eat this?”the doppelgangerasked.

“With your hands,”Kang Yoon-Sooreplied.

“I see…”The princess stared at Kang Yoon-Soo for a moment before using her hands to eat the wild tusk boar’s heart. She did not hesitate for a moment, grabbingthe food with her bare hand andplacingit in her mouth. She definitely looked likeroyaltyon the outside, but the way she smudged soot all over her mouth seemed unnatural for someone of her stature.

Shaneth quietlywhispered to Henrick,“If that’s a doppelganger, then why hasn’t sheattacked us yet?”

“How would I know?”Henrickreplied.

“Iam a variant,” the princess interjected.

Theother two jumpedin surprise.The princess had heard them even though they were whisperingquietly.

The princess took another bite out of the heart before explaining, “A normal doppelganger shiftsits appearance quite frequently. It also harborsimmense animosity toward other creatures, but I am different. I am a mutated doppelganger,” she explained.

“I am stuck in the form of Princess Kisifran, and I cannot shift into the forms of other creatures. I cannotread other people’s mindseither, but I have a higher intellect than other doppelgangers. Well, there are a lot of other differences betweenthem and me,” she added.

“Why is shespeaking as if she werea test subject…?” Shaneth quietly asked.

“Oh, you figured it out. I am a test subject,” the princess replied.

“What did you say?” Henrickexclaimed, frowningin anger.

It was at that moment that some noises emergedfrom the other side of the forest.

Tadak! Tadak! Tadak!

It was the sound of hooves, and it soundedas ifthere were at least twenty horses on the way. The rough voice of a mansuddenly filled the air as he shouted,“She must be around here somewhere! We have to find her and catch her by today!”

“I am sorry. If they find you with me,they will kill you all,” the princess suddenly said.

“What do you mean by that?” Henrick asked with an angry expression.

“My existence is confidential. They will kill anyone who comes across meon thismountain,”the princessexplained.

“Who are they?”Henrickasked.

“Theimperialknights,” the princess replied.

“Which order?”Henrick continued asking.

“The third order, if I recall correctly,” the princess replied.

“The third order? Then Lenox must be their leader, then,” Henrick said, looking surprised.

“Do you know him?” Shaneth asked.

“I know him, but…He isn’t someone to be swayed by personal feelings and disobey the empire. He’ll kill me regardless if that’s his mission,”Henrickexplained.Heglared at the doppelganger before asking,“Can’t we just hand you over?”

“I am a confidential secret of the royal family. They will definitely kill anyone whoseesmeon this mountain;they are loyal to the empire, after all,” the princess responded.

“We’re all dead…” Henrick grumbled.He then started to pack his stuff as he said, “We have to quickly get away from this doppelganger. The only way we can survive is if we pretend not to have met her.”

“But is it alright if we leave her alone like this…?” Shaneth asked.

“Damn it, no matter what the circumstances are, aren’t our lives the most important thing? She’s just a monster anyway;there’s no reason for us to put ourselves in danger just to help her out. Am I right?”Henrickasked as he looked toward Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly nodded and answered, “Yes.”

The princess’ doppelgangerhad beenone of his companions in his previous life, andher beinga variant doppelganger would be a big help in their travels. However, there was no need for them to travel alongside her. She would survive and get stronger one day, and therewerejust too many things to teach her, because she was still a monsterin theend.

He stood up and pointed toward the horizon, as he felt that he could at least teach her a way out ofherpredicament for old times’sake. He said,“If you go over this mountain and turn left at the fork in the road…”

“Youlookexhausted, as expected of someone who has lived for20,000years,” the princesssaid, cuttinghim off.

“What? You mean him?” Shaneth asked in surprise.

KangYoon-Soo, on theother hand, doubted his ears.“What?” he asked.

However,perhapsbecause he was far away, Henrick urgently shouted at them,“Don’t you have to run if you want to live? Hurry up!” Thegroup subsequentlydescended the mountain in a hurry.

Afterward,Kang Yoon-Soo went to the princess and whispered,“What did you say just now…?”

“Isn’t this yourthousandth life? After losing to the Demon Lord hundreds of times, that is,”the princessreplied with an innocent look on her face.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo was different. His usually expressionless face changed, as a reaction formed on it forthe first time.“How do you know about that…?” he asked.

For the thousandsof yearshe hadregressed, thedoppelgangerhadnever noticed the fact that he had regressed once. In fact, she did not even have the abilitytoread other people’s minds like a normal doppelganger. How did she know about that?

“Answer me,”Kang Yoon-Soosaid, bitinghis lips.

His toneturned aggressive as herepeated, “I told you to answer me.”

The princess smiled for a moment, butas she was about to answer…

The sound of hooves drew closer toward them.