Chapter 1: Memories of My Past Life

One evening, I got carried away and ended up playing games late into the night. Of course, I overslept the next morning.

I changed into my uniform and washed my face half-heartedly, not even bothering to fix my frumpled hair before heading for the door. My mom complained that, as a high-schooler, I should at least try to be presentable. But I ignored her.

I rushed out the front door and jumped onto my trusty bicycle, which I’d used since middle school. With a strong kick to the pedals, I was off. I continued pumping with all my might, down the slope that merged into the main road.

Again and again I pedaled —Maybe a little faster is better. I kept going. As you might expect, I eventually reached a point where I could no longer control my speed.

My bicycle then decided it was a good idea to fly straight into the intersection of the busy main road.

As I slowly started blacking out from the inevitable impact, the distant and familiar voices of my family echoed through my mind:“You idiot!”

...At least, that was what I remembered of my previous life, having remembered it suddenly after a solid blow to the head.

Katarina Claes; eight years of age. As the only daughter of Duke Claes, I was spoiled and doted upon lovingly since I was born. Arrogant and selfish, I was the very image of a wealthy little lady.

Today, I was accompanying my father on a visit to a castle. The third prince of the kingdom, who was the same age as me, was to guide me through the castle gardens.

The very first time I met this prince, I was captivated by his blue eyes and golden hair. He had the face of an angel, too. His calm and composed demeanor was really something else — it was hard to believe he was only eight years old.

As you might expect, this self-indulging young lady immediately fell head over heels for the prince and stuck to him like glue. Said young lady was raised under the loving care of her parents, and was far too spoiled to care whether she was causing trouble for others.

I was following a little too closely after the prince, not looking where I was going, and I ended up bumping into him and falling over. I wasn’t running when I tripped, but I couldn’t have chosen a worse place to land. I fell head-first into a decorative rock in the garden and cracked my forehead open. There was enough