I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
“Ack!”
…The price of shouting a little too loudly is too severe.
I covered my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt.
Sure enough, blood was visible.
“This won’t do.”
I need to gather some information and leave.
“Human, right?”
First, confirm the most important species. Reflecting my image on the smooth surface, it was indeed a human.
“Quite cute, aren’t you?”
Though not as clear as a mirror reflection, it was still easy to confirm my appearance.
Long navy blue hair cascading down, pink iris blossoming in my eyes, they matched quite well.
‘Human, female. How old am I? Thirteen? Fourteen?’
I hesitated for a moment, then sat down on the floor.
Age, I’ll know later when my memories return.
Memories of past lives returned, and a few hours later, memories of the current life surfaced.
To prevent the memories of past and current lives from mixing and becoming incomplete, it was a kind of protective measure.
‘But I don’t feel well.’
This could only be determined through examination.
So, I always checked my body like this when my life began.
It was a habit acquired from sudden deaths in many lives.
‘Let’s see.’
I pressed my body here and there with my hands.
What are these marks on my arms?
Hmm, it hurts here. Is there a problem with my lungs?
This hurts too? So many painful spots.
No wonder blood came out of my throat when I just shouted.
Oh? Does this hurt too? Of course, it does.
What about here…?
‘…Where is it not hurting, exactly?’
Surely not. A chilling thought made me break into a cold sweat.
Please, no. Please.
I examined it carefully with earnestness.
After 5 minutes, I got the answer.
It was a life with a deadline.
“Ahhhh!!!”
I screamed while lying on the floor.
Flocks of startled pigeons flew high into the sky, spreading germs as they flapped.
Ah, a feather got into my mouth.
“Are these the gods’ doings?”
Tears flowed down my cheeks with pigeon feathers stuck to them.
I was just about to take a break, why on earth is it a life with a deadline?
“No!”
I got up abruptly.
It wasn’t my first time with a deadline life!
My previous life was also a deadline life, but I managed to extend my lifespan by becoming an eighth-circle mage.
‘Even though I look like this, I’ve managed to extend several deadline lives.’
I laughed cynically and sat cross-legged on the spot.
It was to check the amount of mana accumulated in my body.
Five minutes passed.
I got the answer.
Wow, I’ve never seen a human with so little mana. Is breathing supposed to be this easy? Am I really alive?
Did I just become an undead or a necromancer’s summoning creature??
‘Then, swordsmanship! If I become a sword master, at least to some extent!’
None.
I pressed my body here and there to find muscles and talent, but there were no muscles, not even flesh.
Only bones were palpable, just bones.
What did I usually eat?
“Spirit affinity!”
None.
“Holy power!!”
Doesn’t exist.
“Huh, even dark magic!”
None at all.
“Then I should at least become a master of another class like an archer or an assassin…!!”
Nope, I have no talent whatsoever.
“Ahhhh!!!”
After just 10 minutes, I found myself lying flat on the cold floor again.
Damn. Did they know I would go on strike in this life?
So, they reincarnated me into this lousy body?
“What in the world do I have?!”
“Your Highness!!”
Huh? What did you just say?
I jumped up.
Then, a knight appeared at the open door.
“Here you are! I’ve been searching for a while.”
The knight’s armor bore the distinct symbol of the sun.
I recognized the symbol too.
“By any chance, are you a knight of the Pandelion Empire?”
“Yes?”
The knight’s eyes widened.
As I continued to press, he awkwardly nodded.
“Yes, that’s correct, Your Highness.”
“Calling me ‘Your Highness’ means I’m the princess of this empire, right?”
“Yes, yes….”
As my eyes gleamed, the knight’s eyes shifted from ‘Why is she like that?’ to a questioning look.
But I didn’t care.
‘I thought I had nothing, but I did.’
I had the most essential things for survival—money and power.
Of course, I could live without them.
I had accumulated abilities over time.
But I was born into a body that didn’t want to work.
I wanted to live comfortably without working.
And now, a princess?
Not just any princess, but the princess of the Pandelion Empire, which had firmly held its position for over a thousand years!
‘Fine.’
I grinned as if asking when I had screamed.
In this life, I’ll just suck up the power and money of the Pandelion royal family.
Even with a deadline, as long as I have all kinds of rare herbs and potions, life can be extended little by little.
The downside is that each one is outrageously expensive, enough to sell a whole territory, but it’s okay, especially here in the Pandelion Empire.
“Knight.”
I laughed as the knight still looked at me strangely.
“Hurry and take me to my room.”
I’m really tired.
***
…What’s this?
I stood in front of the door, staring blankly at my room.
Honestly, I didn’t expect much.
I never expected elven-style beds or dwarven-made furniture or fairy-blessed tea.
I just expected a spacious room with top-grade furniture and a bed big enough for five people to lie down comfortably, even if we were having a running race.
Isn’t it natural for the princess of Pandelion?
But, but…
“I-Is this really my room?”
I pointed at the room with my finger.
No, this was not a room; it was more like a cell.
“It feels like a prison?”
Yeah, it was a prison.
Damp air, damp walls, a bed that looked too small for just me to lie on, and even moldy furniture.
It was the perfect prison, except without the bars.
No, there’s a lock on the door here. And it’s on the outside, not the inside.
“How did this happen…?”
“Well.”
As my eyes shook like crazy, the knight scratched his head and explained.
“This is indeed a prison, but at the same time, it’s also Princess Lottie’s room.”
“….!!”
Was I supposed to be surprised by the name of this life, Lottie, or by the fact that this room was supposed to be mine?
I just couldn’t figure it out.
Seeing my considerable shock, the knight looked apologetic.
“Am I… the Emperor’s illegitimate child?”
“No.”
“Or cursed by the royal family?”
“Not that either.”
“Or the despised daughter of a concubine?”
“No! None of those.”
Come on, instead of just teasing me, tell me the correct answer!
“Then… did I… commit a grave offense…?”
“Correct!”
Congratulations! The knight applauded.
You jerk?
“Your Highness Princess Lottie was arrested for attempting to assassinate Her Majesty the Empress. So, she’s currently under house arrest.”
The knight cheerfully patted my life’s outcome.
Ding-.
* * *
“Ugh, ugh.”
Tears fell incessantly. Round teardrops scattered on the cold floor.
“Darn it.”
I sniffled and wiped away the tears.
“Darn.”
Even when my sleeve was soaked with tears and snot, the tears didn’t stop easily.
That’s how unfair it was.
“I’ve been pushing and pushing, and then I finally declared a strike…”
In a life with a deadline, with no talent, and now as a princess arrested for attempted assassination?
When I asked why I was outside earlier, they said it was my daily walk time.
But now, I won’t even have that because I dashed out recklessly earlier.
As the gaze of the sympathetic knight came to mind, I lifted my head, tears welling up again.
“It wouldn’t be strange if I were executed anytime!”
It’s the worst, the absolute worst, the worst of the worst situations, really!
‘…There’s not absolutely no way.’
I sniffled. Yeah, there wasn’t absolutely no way.
I could die.
I’m a soul who lives on in the next life.
If I die, I could escape this situation and this body and live another life.
‘But I can’t do that.’
I bit my lower lip.
I declared that I won’t make nectar for the gods anymore.
If I die and become a state of the soul, surely they’ll try to grab me and shake me somehow.
‘So I have to find another way out of this situation.’
Anyway. I paced around the small room with tears streaming down.
But maybe I cried too much. My head felt stiff.
‘Should I wash my face?’
I touched my cheek and looked around.
Fortunately, there was a somewhat usable washbasin, albeit a bit battered.
‘But there’s no water.’
But it’s not like the knights or the maids will bring me water for washing.
Well, there’s a way for everything.
“Undine.”