2
The System offered no answers.
reached the palace wing where Eric and I had once lived together, only to find it deserted, save for a few maids listlessly sweeping
Chapter 1
and dusting. In the courtyard, the apricot tree we’d planted together was in full, glorious bloom.
ོ Ē ༢ ན
13:04
A spring breeze rustled through its branches, shedding white blossoms like a flurry of snow, dusting my hair and shoulders.
A sudden, jarring realization hit me.
When had this apricot tree grown so large?
The thought had barely formed when the System’s voice echoed in my head.
[Host, the flow of time in this world is different from yours. Ten years have passed since your departure.]
Ten years. No wonder the place felt so cold and empty. Eric was long gone from here, wasn’t he?
I hurried over to one of the maids, wanting to ask where Eric was now.
But the moment she turned and saw my face, her eyes widened in terror.
“Do you know-”
Before I could finish, she let out a piercing scream.
“Assassin! Seize the assassin!”
What?!
“Wait, I’m not-”
She wasn’t listening. Tossing her broom aside, she lunged, grabbing me with a strength that belied her station.
During my last mission, I was technically a maid too, but I’d never lifted a finger. I’d cleverly delegated all my chores to Eric, spendi- ng my days goofing off. In reality, my noodle–armed college student body, which had barely passed gym class, was no match for a
maid accustomed to hard labor.
In a matter of seconds, she had me pinned.
I clutched my little cake pot pathetically. “I’m really not an assassin! I’m here to find Eric. Can you please just take me to him?”
The maid’s eyes narrowed. “You wish to see His Majesty?”
His Majesty? So it was Eric. I’d left when he was still the Crown Prince, the old king’s health long failing. After ten years, it made
sense he’d ascended the throne.
My eyes lit up. “Yes! I want to see His Majesty!”
She called over another maid from inside the hall. The two of them bound my hands and, flanking me like a pair of grim sentinels,
marched me away.
