The Made Queen

CHAPTER TWO

3 years earlier……

I woke up in a familiar bedroom, staring at the silk sheets and canopy, utterly confused.

Didn’t I die? Why am I here? Is the afterlife supposed to look like my bedroom?

I clearly remember starving to death on the street in the capital city. I had not lived a happy life.

All my life, the majority of my childhood and adolescence had been spent on one goal: to marry the crown prince, Ivan,

And become the future queen. At that time, I saw it as a privilege to work hard for my family.

But it all came crashing down the day the prince broke our engagement, and I realized I was so naive and had no idea how cruel the world is.

Despite my father being a duke, he had no talent for managing money. As nobility, the majority of our income comes from taxation of those who live and work on our land. My father was overly trusting of our task collectors and never double-checked their numbers.

They stole money from the duchy and gave nothing to it, and we became financially ruined.

This alone would not have been too much, but father did not know the meaning of the word ‘restraint’ when it came to spending money. He issued large bills, bought expensive items, and gave gifts to my mother and me.

It led to a situation of low income and large debt. It was a miracle we lasted as long as we did. We only survived that long because of my connection to the royal family as the prince's fiancée. Merchants hesitated to be aggressive about calling in our debt because they assumed that when I became queen, I would pay all my father's outstanding debts.

But then the tragic day came. The prince broke my heart and married another girl, and all of a sudden, we were no longer under the crown's protection.

With no money coming in, we had to sell everything and pay off some debt, but it still wasn’t enough. We only survived for half a year.

Mother and father have never lived outside the protected walls of the duchy. So we couldn’t survive the shock of being thrown into the streets and into the struggle for survival. Unable to survive the harsh conditions, they left their only daughter behind.

I was all alone.

I tried everything to survive. I worked as a maid, a cook, and a*****e clerk. But all these positions were temporary, and none paid enough to keep me fed and alive. I grew thinner, sicker, and more desperate.

I started begging for money; some days were better than others. I ate food three times a week. I drank water wherever I could find it. I was always worried that the conduction would make my health worse.

When I died, I was only out on the streets for a year. I died hungry, alone, and full of vengeance.

Why did I trust others to protect me? What was love that I had my life ruined because of it?

If I could do it, I would do it differently. These were the last thoughts, as my eyes closed for the very last time.

So I thought.

I woke up in my old bed, in my old room, very much alive and completely confused.

But how am I here?

I remember this house being sold shortly after my engagement was broken. This place was torn down, and a new cottage was built there as an engagement present for the prince’s new fiancée.

Everything I endured passed through my head, but there is no denying this is my old room. I am on my bed, in my house, wearing my clothes… even my body looks slender and smaller than I remembered.

I hastily ran over to the mirror beside my wardrobe and looked at my appearance.

“I looked so young and naive." I touched the mirror with an outstretched hand, and the glass felt cold. This is real.

“I have gone back.” I was twenty years old when I died. If my calculations are right, I have woken up five years in the past.

Which is three years before the prince broke off our engagement, which ruined my life and my family, leaving us to absolute destruction.

So…… this means… I have a chance to change my future for the better.

I started laughing, a crazy laugh in the silent, empty bedroom.

I sat back down on the bed, deep in thought. Undeniably, I need to prevent the downfall of the Duchy of Greenland. The motivator had been my broken engagement with Prince Ivan.

What should I do this time? Make him fall in love with me? Break off the engagement now?..NO

Marriage and Children won’t guarantee that I won’t end up dying on the street. I would pass on love and marriage this time around.

This time, I would be ready for any obstacle that comes my way.

I will make this duchy financially stable and, not only that, a powerhouse of money-making.

Every minute this time around truly mattered. I quickly got dressed. I had a lot to do and a little time to do it. As I got ready, my stomach growled, signaling hunger.

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I curled up like a ball in a corner of the street, an empty bowl in front of me.

My stomach was in pain. It ached terribly. When did I last eat? I heard footsteps. In desperation, I lifted my head, only able to project a weak voice.

“Please spare me a coin so I can eat.”

But the person just passed, and my hunger worsened.

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I staggered with the awful memory and looked back into the mirror in my room. My eyes looked coldly back at me with determination and anger.

This time, I will not fail to protect my family and myself. I will surely not fail. Starving to death was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. My aim this time around is to never trust in love again.