The minister, in his office chair, lifted his eyes as a messenger of the king entered. "So should I report the conversation to the king?" he asked. The minister sighed. "Yes, he has agreed, but how can we convince him to marry the princess who doesn't love him? We need to come up with a plan on this." The messenger complied. "I shall be going. The message the king will receive tonight, and his reply will be given to you in the morning." A puff of smoke, and he was gone. The minister, laughing, said, "I shall be the second in command in this kingdom. What a nice deal that was."
Casimir listened to their conversation: I knew it. That crook is never always nice, and he never called me his son—only when asking for favours. So this was his agenda. I need to follow that messenger.
The castle of the king of the kingdom of Arengard—in the throne room of the castle—the king sat on the throne with a worried look. His thoughts on Casimir ran: Why must he become my in‑law? What powers he has could rally troops to expand our territory. My fear is if he works for our enemies, our kingdom is destroyed. He has the favour of the people. If he married my daughter, I could use that as control, making him do my bidding. I just hope the news brought will be in my favour. Distracted, his servant announced, "You have a message from the minister, my king." The servant read the letter aloud. The king's face shifted from joy to rage. Angry, he threw his wine cup at the servant, shouting, "This boy has the guts to give me a condition? How dare him! I am the king, and I will get what I want!" Feeling watched, he turned to a corner but saw nothing, then continued ranting. Casimir listened to it all and decided to leave. I have got what I want anyway, so I can leave quietly. But I should leave a letter to my father at least. Casimir walked onto a busy street leading to the minister's house.
On his journey to escape the king, a special squad arrested him and took him to the king. Hearing of his departure, the king summoned the minister immediately. The minister reached the palace as fast as he could, seeing his son in the main hall, chained with magic cancellers that made him powerless. A king's squad man, with sword drawn, held him as a hostage: any little action to escape would be met with swift death at the king's command. The minister sighed, talking to Casimir: "I always thought you were smart. What happened to bring you to this?" Casimir laughed. "I know the truth. I should have never trusted you." The minister, angry, shouted at him: "Kendrick, you disobedient child! I warned you: do not disobey the king!"
"Your majesty," the minister pleaded, "please forgive your servants and give us a second chance." The emperor, feeling generous, replied, "I will forgive this if her purpose to my daughter is written right here, right now, or else—" Giving a signal to his servant, the blade dug a little deeper into Kendrick's neck, drawing a little blood to the cold blade.
(Sorry for cutting your reading short, but there is a change: the name of Casimir in his second life is Kendrick Baron. He is the son of the prime minister. Sorry if I confused you. Now please let's get back to the show.)
The princess in the hall told her father, "I don't love him, so why do this, father?" The emperor, angry at the princess, shouted at her, "Quiet! You do not know anything, you spirit brat! He will be a threat to this kingdom. If bound by marriage, that threat will be null. If not, then by death. I cannot keep an enemy to my reign as king. If he does not accept, the only choice will be death."
Casimir/Kendrick POV:"Well, I will die sooner or later and will just get reincarnated elsewhere. That's why I hate nobles—always killing if things do not go their way. Seriously, I will have to die because I am stronger. I should just kill this bastard, really giving me another reason to hate nobles." Looking at the king with a calm face, he told him, "I will not marry her, so just kill me." The king gave the signal, and feeling a sharp pain in his chest, Kendrick looked down at a blade in his chest, tasting blood in his mouth as his consciousness faded.
Casimir woke up in a familiar world. I guess I am back to reset. I didn't find the E‑class dungeon; Aurelia is in control. I guess I will have to try again in a century. Umbriel, the god of the underworld, waited for him at the gate. "Welcome back from the world of the living. Is your search successful, my friend?" Casimir sighed. "I tried, but my life was cut short due to noble schemes. My father—argh—he is the worst. He basically sold me for a higher position, that greedy swine. Like I did not do anything for him! I used my powers to elevate him from a baron to prime minister and also saved the kingdom from dungeon outbreaks by clearing them. So vexing." Umbriel laughed. "I told you: choose a poor family with less responsibility. They would be happy if you became an adventurer—and next, plan your next life so that you would not be a trauma victim. Let's forget that. Why don't we play a game of chess? There are no good opponents here; all of them are muddle‑headed. Let's go to my palace."
In the E‑class dungeon, a hidden level with S‑rank monsters, a small figure moved with stealth, trying not to be noticed by those beasts. Her target was a rock fifty meters away. With a quick burst of speed, she passed through the herds of monsters and reached the finish mark—when the claws of the lead monster slashed at her. Dodging the attack, Aurelia snarled, "Damn, I still need to increase my stealth movement since I've been discovered." Well, she could pour her anger on this monster. Recalling her attack skill, she delivered fast punches—striking with precision at deadly points. The monster fell in ten seconds.
Blikin appeared to evaluate Aurelia's assignment. She was calculating her next move on any unlucky monster and how to use her energy to deliver more powerful punches. Blikin, unimpressed, said in a grumpy tone, "Why did you attack the monster? You didn't notice your presence could have allowed you to move forward without stopping. Now your punishment is fighting a monster invasion with a one‑hour time limit in the simulation chamber. Hurry up before I add more!" Aurelia smiled. "You can't forgive, can you? Well, I'm tired and need my rest. I will call your match to tease you." Blikin shuddered, sensing something bad would happen. Appeasing her, he said, "Your punishment is cancelled. Do what you want." Aurelia gasped, then smirked. So the God of War can compromise. "I am impressed—but too late: Tara is coming."
A rush of winds swept from the entrance. Tara, running with huge bursts of speed, launched at Blikin with a kick, sending him flying to the heavens. Angry, Tara beat up Blikin. After that session, Blikin, with broken limbs, asked angrily, "What did I do?" Tara, towering over him, said, "I told you not to bully my student. If you love your third leg, got it?" Fearing for his life, he agreed without complaint—or he would have hell to pay. Tara, acting cute and smiling at Aurelia, said, "I have dealt with the bully. He won't be rude to you anymore, my student."
Another day in the dungeon was full of training, fun, and—most of all—luxury. A dungeon boss's life was not bad at all for her, but she missed the outside world, wondering what was happening. The only news came from adventurers, giving her a little information. Feeling sleepy, she closed her eyes to slumber.
In the morning, she was awakened by a loud banging sound, which she rushed out to see. She was still in her pyjamas and her sleep hat. Meanwhile, in the dungeon, adventurers were busy fighting monsters and mages were busy casting magic. Aurelia casually slipped past them, still angry they had woken her—and worst of all, she had skipped breakfast. She casually flicked her hand—and to her surprise, the damage caused by it disrupted the adventurers' focus. Their attention was divided. A mage said, "What was that sound just now? I think the dungeon boss is approaching!"
Aurelia was just laughing. They don't know the dungeon boss is me, btw. If only they knew. In that moment, a fighter from the adventurer group spotted her. He shouted, "You—"
Aurelia thought, Huh? Yes, you. He continued, "What are you doing in a place like this?"
Aurelia, still processing how she was caught—I'm sure I used invisibility—replied, "Answer me?"
Aurelia thought, If only they knew they're playing around with the dungeon boss.
"Umm," she said, "I'm just lost."
The fighter said, "I know you're in pyjamas. Spill it: who are you?"
Aurelia wanted to get angry, but somehow she cooled down. She stood up from her hiding place. The male fighters were all dazzled by her beauty—they stared so hard they forgot to fight. One of them lunged—and got bitch‑slapped hard. He was knocked out cold. Aurelia chuckled. Am I that beautiful?
A female fighter approached to make her talk, but when she grabbed Aurelia, she instantly let go, feeling a chill down her spine, as if standing before the dungeon boss. Aurelia knew she had to act, or be discovered. She devised the best strategy: using her unsuspecting hand, she created a monster as powerful as the dungeon boss's standard. She sent her creation to face them. As the dungeon boss creature charged the adventurers, all attention turned away from her—and she used that chance to flee. After the grueling battle, the adventurers defeated the dungeon boss—only to discover Aurelia was gone.
The male adventurers were disappointed, while the female adventurer who had found her grew suspicious. Something is off in this dungeon—and that girl I spotted didn't tremble at the monsters. She just stood there, as if planning to strike. At least I stopped her.
Home Again
The scene changed to Aurelia in her home, casually frying bacon and toasting bread. After that, she fried eggs and sat in her usual spot, preparing to dine. But before she could eat the first bite, the God of War knocked her on the head.
"We leave in one minute—and now you're already causing trouble," he said.
Aurelia glared. "What was that for? Was it necessary? You could have just spoken."
The god of war grunted.
Aurelia sighed in fallen expectation. "I figured—much all brawn, no brains."
Thud! He knocked her on the head again, swelling her scalp. Then he scooped her up like a baby.
"We're going to train," he declared.
Aurelia screamed, "Nooooo! I haven't even eaten breakfast yet! Nooooooo!"