Night Ripple Empire, Imperial City.
Lu Mo looked up at the young girl sitting alone on the high throne.
The girl was smiling at her.
Her blood-red eyes reflected Lu Mo’s figure, filled with greed, heat, and desire.
The girl’s long, pitch-black hair fell to her shoulders with a slight natural wave. She wore a black dress adorned with swaying red ribbons.
She sat there casually, exuding a sense of indolent ease. It was an innate relaxation that came from absolute power.
There were clearly members of the royal family present who held higher status than her, but for some reason, this girl appeared to be the most noble and supreme person in the entire hall.
‘Is this where my life ends?’ Lu Mo thought.
The girl before her was the Third Imperial Daughter of the Night Ripple Empire, Cthilla.
She was hailed as the greatest genius in the entire domain in over a thousand years. At the same time, she was also Lu Mo’s fiancée.
For years, the family had been searching for a marriage partner for Lu Mo, hoping to squeeze every last bit of value out of her. No one expected that an envoy from the Night Ripple Empire would personally come to their door, expressing interest in this marriage.
It was a request made personally by Cthilla.
***
It was no secret that the Third Imperial Daughter was suspected of being a lesbian.
Over the years, many pure young girls had been taken by the Night Ripple Empire and sent into the Third Imperial Daughter’s manor. Some entered and were never heard from again. Others returned to their families shortly after, dazed and incoherent. It would take them over six months to return to normal, yet they completely lost all memories of their time in the manor.
Some said that Her Highness Cthilla had special, peculiar hobbies. Others speculated that she practiced a Taboo Art that required the souls and blood of pure maidens. Eventually, rumors even surfaced that the Third Imperial Daughter enjoyed all sorts of deviant playstyles.
After all, the more talented a person was, the more twisted they were likely to be in certain aspects.
And today, it was Lu Mo’s turn.
The high-ranking members of her family were currently chatting with the Night Ripple royals. They were cautious and subservient, showing none of the arrogance they usually displayed within the family.
‘It’s truly… disgusting.’
‘If I enter Cthilla’s room this time, I’m afraid I’ll never come out again, right?’
Lu Mo lowered her head, remaining silent. Just as she had done countless times before her family.
To endure everything in silence. To meet her end in silence.
Yet, for some reason, a strong sense of indignation surged within her heart at that moment. It was as if something long-buried wanted to break through its shackles and be released.
She didn’t want to accept this ending. She didn’t want to be such a “good girl.”
She wanted to… resist!
That indignation drove her to look up and stare directly into the girl’s blood-red eyes. She looked at the Imperial Daughter with her most furious, fiercest gaze. Summoning every ounce of her courage, she spoke—
“I do not like this engagement.”
“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river… do not mock a girl for being poor!”
She didn’t quite understand why she had said such words in a fit of extreme rage. However, it felt as though the phrase had been etched deep within her DNA.
Her voice wasn’t loud. It sounded like the tiny, harmless roar of a tiger cub, devoid of any real threat.
“?!”
“Hiss—”
The moment she spoke, the expressions of the family elders changed. They were shocked that Lu Mo would actually say something like that today.
Hidden within this “good girl” was actually… a lion?
If these words were spoken by a fallen genius, it would definitely be the mark of a true protagonist. But Lu Mo saying this just left everyone utterly confused.
“Ha, hahaha! Children are ignorant; she’s just joking.”
“Our Lu Mo just likes to fantasize. She’s probably imagining she’s a protagonist again, getting her engagement canceled at the start, and getting ready to go home and talk to herself through a ring. Please excuse her, please excuse her.”
The family members tried to smooth things over.
“It is no matter.”
Cthilla let out a soft chuckle and slowly stood up. Step by step, she descended from the high platform and walked toward Lu Mo. Her eyes seemed to shine even brighter than before.
As the Imperial Daughter approached, Lu Mo could only keep backing away until… she was pinned against the wall.
Lu Mo watched as the princess stood directly in front of her, leaning her face in close. She could smell the princess’s faint fragrance, feel the warmth of her body, and even sense her slightly heated breath.
“You have quite the personality. I actually… like you even more now,” Cthilla whispered, her voice slightly unsteady.
She moved even closer. Her blood-red eyes stared into Lu Mo’s clear, watery pupils. Her parted red lips were almost brushing against the girl’s cheek.
“I know that your surface is not the real you.”
“I can see it in your eyes…”
This scene felt somewhat familiar. But Lu Mo simply couldn’t remember why.
Cthilla seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, but soon, she gave a playful smile and spoke again, “Thirty years is a bit too long. By then, you wouldn’t be a poor girl, but a poor middle-aged woman. Besides, I’m afraid I won’t be able to wait that long.”
“However… three years. I will give you three years. How about that? I’ll allow you to use any means necessary to resist, to struggle, and to break this engagement. But I also look forward to seeing the way you fall into utter despair after realizing your struggles are futile. I will be waiting for you in three years, my lovely Miss Lu Mo, my dear…”
Lu Mo lost her last bit of strength and slowly slumped to the floor. Cthilla turned around and walked away, step by step.
A sense of powerlessness flooded Lu Mo’s heart.
She didn’t know what happened in the palace after that, or what the family elders said to her on the way back. Her world was left with nothing but despair and noise.
***
It was another rainy day.
Lu Mo stared blankly at the dark sky outside the window, her eyes hollow and her face expressionless.
“Miss, don’t always look so gloomy. You’ll get wrinkles.”
“Miss, would you like to see the ‘Happy’ tools I brought for you today?”
The maid beside her kept trying to comfort her, wanting her to cheer up. But everything the maid did was useless.
“Afu, can you help me brew a cup of coffee?” Lu Mo turned back to look at the maid and managed a forced smile.
“Miss, we’re out of coffee. Is black tea alright?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
The little maid quickly scurried out of the room and headed for the kitchen. She was happy because her lady had smiled; it seemed she was finally stepping out of her previous state of withdrawal.
Once she confirmed Afu had left, Lu Mo opened a nearby drawer. Inside was a letter and a ribbon.
The ribbon was a gift Afu had given her once, wishing that she could become good friends with everyone.
Lu Mo placed the letter on the desk and looked at the sky outside the window one last time. Then, she took the ribbon, stood on a chair, and hung it from the chandelier.
“I’m sorry… Afu…”
“I’m sorry, Father, Mother…”
“I can’t take it anymore…”
“After all… I still can’t do anything.”
She kicked the stool away.
In an instant, a powerful sense of suffocation enveloped her. She struggled instinctively, her legs kicking at the air. In the second before she lost consciousness, her sealed memories finally broke through their bonds and flooded her mind.
***
“Miss! Wake up, Miss!”
“Sob, it’s all my fault. That’s why Miss Lu Mo would…”
“Miss, how am I supposed to live without you? Waaaah!”
Her head felt heavy. Her neck hurt a bit, too.
The sound of a girl crying reached her ears. It was a sad yet somewhat pathetic sound that immediately brought the crying cat meme to mind.
‘Lu Mo?’
That was indeed her name. But, ‘Miss’ Lu Mo?
Wasn’t her biological sex male?
And hadn’t she been at home since last night, grinding a game to try and breed a female shiny Gardevoir?
“Ugh…”
Lu Mo tried to recall more, but another wave of sharp pain hit her. Sixteen years of memories as a girl surfaced one by one, filling the gap between her “last night” and “now.”
Lu Mo Thrassyll.
A member of the Thrassyll Family, one of the four major families of the Ward Duchy. She came from a branch of the family that had long since fallen into ruin.
When she was ten years old, the main family discovered her branch and brought them back. This wasn’t out of an overflow of compassion. The only reason they were willing to let the branch return was because she had value.
At ten, Lu Mo had worn ill-fitting old clothes. She was physically weak, silent, and often kept her head down, hiding her expression behind her hair. She seemed to have no presence at all.
However, when the family members saw her fair face and downcast eyes, every single one of them was stunned. It was as if a radiant light had graced the passage of time.
There was no doubt she was a rare beauty in the making. Given time to grow, she would surely become a woman capable of toppling kingdoms. Even the Princess, who was currently hailed as the number one beauty of the Ward Duchy, would be nothing more than a faint firefly before her.
With such looks, her greatest purpose to the family was, naturally, a political marriage.
The family had been searching for a marriage partner for her all these years, hoping this time they could establish a connection with the imperial family. But when the imperial family actually came knocking, the high-ranking members of the family were immediately terrified.
The ones who visited were envoys from the Night Ripple Empire.
The Night Ripple Empire was one of the most powerful empires in the domain, acting with an arbitrary and violent nature that was impossible to predict. Even the Ward Duchy was nothing more than a little girl before such a gargantuan entity.
“Her Highness Cthilla is very interested in this marriage,” the envoy had said plainly.
After that, the family had brought her before Cthilla. This sequence of events had pushed her mental state to the brink of collapse, eventually leading to her suicide attempt.
‘It looks like I even failed at killing myself.’
‘The pathetic squad takes another loss,’ Lu Mo thought.
‘But, a Three-Year Agreement?’
‘How interesting.’
Lu Mo sneered inwardly.
‘I’ve regained my memories. I’m no longer that weak person from before.’
‘I, Lu Mo, am a Transmigrator!’
‘A yuri writer!’
‘A Galgame master!’
‘A veteran otaku!’
‘This time, I will definitely take back everything I lost!’
‘Wait… though, those experiences don’t seem very useful, do they?’
The things she wrote before transmigrating weren’t even good enough to be published. They probably wouldn’t be of any use here. As for being a “Galgame master,” was she supposed to unlock more “degenerate” CGs for herself?!
At the thought of those deviant playstyles, Lu Mo suddenly shuddered and sat bolt upright from her “deathbed.”
“Miss!”
The little maid jumped in surprise, her aggrieved and sad face instantly lighting up with a hint of joy.
But at this moment, Lu Mo’s attention wasn’t on the crying cat meme. She was staring at what appeared before her, lost in a daze.
**[We are configuring your system]**
**[System loading…]**
**[The 100-Life Reincarnation System update is complete. The host can simulate reincarnations, experience different lives, and unlock their stories within the cycle.]**
**[For every life completed, rewards will be granted based on the ending of the story.]**
‘Simulated Reincarnations?’
‘With… them?’
‘Does this match my specialty?’
Lu Mo looked at the floating light screen. A bit of color finally returned to her pale face.
**[The first life has been unlocked. Would you like to begin?]**