Why was I given a second chance at life?
I ask myself this question every day whenever I wake up in my baby form. I thought, after my death, I would wake up in hell, but that was not the case.
It's been seven months since I was reincarnated.
I was an unusual child. I started crawling earlier than most normal babies. I could even get a few words out.
Within that short period of time, I was able to get a grasp of the world I was reincarnated into.
This world was set in the medieval era, just like in a fantasy novel.
Lady Myra is my mother in this new world. She's also a servant girl in the castle and the King's secret concubine.
I met my father for the first time after seven months, in the middle of the night.
He is King Godfrey III, ruler of the Brutish Empire.
King Godfrey III and the queen had two children. In other words, I have two step siblings.
I was the 2nd prince of the Brutish Empire. Maybe I should rephrase that, the bastard prince of the Brutish Empire.
In the Brutish nobility, children born of concubines were seen as bastards while children born within a formal marriage were considered legitimate.
The birth of a bastard Prince would cause a huge fuss in the Brutish Empire. So my birth had to be kept a secret within the royal household. Not even the queen, my stepmother knew of my existence.
King Godfrey III took one good look at me. He wrinkled his nose then turned to Myra.
"I'll provide you with whatever you desire," he said. "You will live within the castle walls and keep your son's identity hidden, do you understand? No one, I repeat, no one must know this child is mine."
"As you wish, your majesty," Myra bowed slightly. "Wouldn't you like to know his name, my lord?"
King Godfrey III drew close to her, glaring directly to her face. "You birthed a bastard. I have no interest in him anymore than I have any interest in you. The only reason you're still here in my castle is because we are at war with the demon king. If that wasn't the case, I would have sent you up North where I'll never have to bear to see your face or that of this bastard for as long as I live."
Myra lowered her head in submission but I could see she was battling to hold her tears in. Poor girl. She doesn't deserve this. She is just a victim of a scumbag who wears a crown.
"I will keep his true identity a secret, your highness. I promise," Myra said.
King Godfrey III glanced back at me as if I was the most hideous thing he had ever seen. "That baby would bring shame to my name. I can't have that. Better keep to your words or you'll suffer a grim fate."
By grim fate, I assumed he meant execution.
It began to dawn on me that if I'm going to protect my new mother's life, I'll have to downplay my existence from a prince to a background character. The world must never know I came from royalty.
King Godfrey turned and left as quietly as he had come in. He never visited our chambers again.
Myra let out a sigh, then she turned to face me who was lying in the crib. "I'm sorry you have to be born in this cruel world, Archer. Your father told me to remove you when I was still pregnant but I refused. I couldn't bring myself to do it."
This girl had absolutely no idea I could understand her clearly. The pains in her eyes struck something warm in me. I wanted to protect her.
She lifted me up from the crib and carried me in her arms. "I promise, no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you."
No one had ever said anything so sweet to me in my past life. I smiled inwardly. This place isn't so bad after all.