"PRINCESS Ophelia! I'm sorry for putting you in danger!"
My maid, Hera, continued to weep before me. She was twenty years old but still childlike whenever she cried. I immediately sighed and rolled my eyes at the empty space.
"Stop crying, Hera. I'm the one who got hurt, so why are you crying?" I couldn't help but snap, which only made her sob louder.
"You're not my kind princess anymore!" Because I am not just Princess Ophelia, Hera. I am also a brave woman in the world of humans. I really wanted to retort this to her, but I knew she wouldn't believe me; it's hard to believe.
I am just a normal woman named Penelope. I was on my way to a martial arts class, as ordered by my mentor, when a bomb exploded in a place near where I was passing. In my last breath, memories that I knew were not mine flashed back.
It was a rapid event, but I immediately understood. I returned to my persona as Ophelia. This is now my third life. I have no memories of what happened in my previous life as Ophelia and what caused my death. But I was revived for a second chance in my second persona as Penelope. And I was even more confused because I returned as Ophelia for the third time.
The accusations of my mother that I was a weakling before were true. I had no power since I was born. It's good that in my second life, I was skilled in fighting with any weapon. But now, I feel the ocean aligning with my fingertips. I feel the power flowing through my emotions.
"I am still Ophelia, I just have a second persona." I deliberately didn't let Hera hear the last part and whispered it to the wind, but Hera brought her ear closer.
"Forgive me, Princess, what was that?" I immediately pinched her ear. I immediately laughed when she pouted. I quickly sent her away to get me something to eat.
My smile disappeared when she left. I looked out the window beside my bed. The weather was clear again. From the top of the palace, you could see the blue sky along with the chirping birds. The busy people bustling within the kingdom, and the calm flow of the waves in the ocean.
Something inside me was screaming to claim this vast ocean. Something was exploding within me, restless and feeling the flow of my spirit. But I knew that this was a power I couldn't control fully.
I looked at my room, which was dirty, old, and like a maid's room. I immediately stretched my body and put a thick blanket on my shoulders. I immediately left the room, my gaze cold and distant.
---
"AHHHHH!"
I smirked when Lily, the first princess of the Griffith, and second among our siblings, screamed. She stopped applying lipstick to her face when she saw me, and glared at me with anger. "And what audacity is this, Ophelia, for someone like you to enter my room!"
Her maids glared at me, but I gave them a cold look. "And who are you to look at your mistress like that?"
The female attendants immediately became scared and averted their gazes. Meanwhile, Lily, seething with anger, approached me.
"What madness is this again, Ophelia--" The color of her purple eyes began to change from blue. A sign that she was using her water power.
"This room is mine, and get out of here." I stated directly. She stopped and laughed, looking at me as if she couldn't believe it.
"Should I remind you that this is the room my father gave me?" She grinned and looked at me teasingly. She even raised her hand, and a sharp water weapon emerged from it. Her attendants recoiled at her action. "So shut up and--"
Danger, that's what I wanted Lily to feel. And I knew she felt it because she couldn't move from where she stood, her eyes wide as she stared at me. I gave a mysterious smile as her power was cut off.
"This room, or your life. Choose, Lily, and use your brain."
In anger, she threw her power to the side of my head. I knew she wouldn't hit me, so I didn't flinch. She screamed and left the room in annoyance with her attendants. I smirked when I felt her bump into me.
"Is it okay to take Princess Lily's room?"
I rolled my eyes at my maid's words, her voice filled with worry. I simply laughed at this. "You don't need to dwell on what happened earlier, Hera. Lily is a small child I can manipulate with my hands."
Since I felt my power entering me, I've felt unending joy. But it's still a big mystery why I'm only receiving my power now. Why not when I was alive as Ophelia? Why did it return to me when I'm considered weak and useless by everyone?
"Princess, I've been worried about you since yesterday. I know I'm just a humble maid, but I hope you've thought carefully about your decisions regarding who your enemies will be. It's not good to fight Princess Lily because she is a lady--"
"--Who has a sharp tongue, is opportunistic, and skilled in her power." I cut off Hera's words. She swallowed and bowed her head again in fear. I just shook my head at her and looked at her coldly.
"I know, Hera, and I know what I'm doing." I said simply to her and removed the blanket covering my body, causing the cold breeze to envelop me. "It's dirty to fight Lily because I know her, and I know that her envy towards me will never disappear."
I'm thinking, even in my first life, I wasn't close to any of my family members. I seemed like a gentle sheep because I knew there was no place for someone weak and useless like me in the noble family that are skilled in controlling the power of water. That's probably why I'm distant from everyone, especially my family.
But that didn't become an obstacle between me and my father, King Thaddeus Griffith, who currently rules the Alsepius empire, an empire surrounded by the ocean. We had a complicated relationship. I didn't bother him if he didn't bother me. He provided for me and gave me everything I needed.
Among all of them, I was the most different. Because the color of my hair wasn't inherited from anyone. I only got my purpled eyes from my father. Thaddeus had silver hair, which all his children inherited except me, who has black hair, and Blair and Emerald, who both got their red hair from our mother.
Because of that, I became just a story in the workers' quarters. That the color of my hair wasn't inherited from anyone that started a fight between the couple. The king immediately admitted that I was the result of a mistake one night with an unknown woman. The queen was deeply hurt and felt hatred for what her husband did.
But somehow, the queen managed to cover up all the stories for the sake of her husband, the king's image. Even though the king made such a big mistake, she still couldn't stop loving him. So I understood the queen's cold treatment and hatred towards me.
But that doesn't mean I will continue to be oppressed by this family. I am indeed the result of my father's mistake, but it's not my fault that I was born into this world. For the third time, I will make sure to live without anyone dictating or oppressing me.
"Princess!" Hera arrived, panting. I looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong, Hera?"
"Your prince and princess siblings are arriving from their academy graduation."
I rolled my eyes. Another group of a pain in the ass to deal with.