The Grand Duke’s Fox Princess

Episode 1: Princess Eristella René Leonardo

“Unfortunately, six months ago, Princess Eristella Leonardo disappeared from the Prouthu region. After that, we held onto hope that the Princess was still alive and searched for her, but sadly no miraculous news was delivered.”

People in black garments. A coffin in front of them.

In a reverent and boring atmosphere, the funeral of Princess Eristella of the Leonian Empire was in progress.

However, an existence that could never be in a space that was supposed to be solemn was located in a darkened place even at the back of the cathedral where no one paid any attention.

Eristella, the protagonist of the funeral who everyone thought was dead. She watched silently as her own funeral was underway.

But no one noticed that. Even the priest continued his prayers without knowing anything.

“Now, I realized that I have to accept that the Princess has returned to the side of God. His Majesty the Emperor is also struggling to let go of his regrets, and I wish to take this opportunity to pray for the Princess to sleep comfortably.”

It wasn’t really for Princess Eristella, it was just well-packaged words. The same was true of many mourners who attended.

None of them truly mourned the death of Princess Eristella.

Even Princess Eristella’s older brother and the emperor of the Leonian Empire was yawning with a bored face. It felt like they wanted it to end quickly.

A perfunctory funeral process went on as such.

When the priest’s prayers and offerings were finished, the people left without any regrets. Even though it was the princess’s funeral, it quickly became empty.

Until most of the mourners left, no one looked at where Eristella was.

It was then.

A mourner turned his head because of a stiff neck and made eye contact with Eristella.

The mourner’s eyes widened slightly, then he stopped walking and stared intently.

Eristella slowly turned her head and became nervous… 

“There’s something in this place.”

The mourner merely mumbled incoherently. He quickly lost interest and left the church.

‘Of course. There’s no way you can recognize me.’

Eristella was nowhere to be found from where the mourners had been looking up until now.

*******

Princess Eristella René Leonardo realized a crucial truth at the age of nine.

“I think I’m the genius of the century.”

“Did you say you made three dictation mistakes today?”

“No. Not that one, I’m a wizard!”

At the words of the empress that was full of playfulness, the young princess shouted, her face turning red. The Leonian Empire, a great country that monopolized the blessings of nature and the power of royalty.

The imperial princess of the empire which continued its prosperity for 500 years, had her everything in her hands since she was born, as if the land of abundance had bestowed her favor.

Princess Eristella, who had been in the spotlight from the moment she took her first steps, was amazed when she realized that she was far superior to everyone else’s expectations.

‘I’m so good I can’t handle it.’

Eristella was the most talented wizard in the history of the Empire, and since she was still a child, no one could surpass her.

“The Princess’s talent is unprecedented. This is a blessing from heaven!”

“The empire will only be stronger in the future!”

People did not spare praise for the young princess.

But as time went on, people’s expectations were half-fulfilled, and half-gone in a completely different direction.

In fact, besides her own natural talent, Eristella realized one more thing.

The memories of her previous life that would shape her future life.

This place, where Princess Eristella lives, was not the world she originally lived in. This was from a book she had read in her previous life

After her sudden death, the story in the book became her reality.

Reincarnated as Princess Eristella of the novel, she wanted to change her destiny with the confidence that she knew everything about her future.

However, the story ended with a struggle remaining as if laughing at her. After one horrific turn of life, she returned to a newborn baby and repeated the life of the same character over and over again.

She was born with overflowing talent and many things, but she was destined to not be loved by anyone at the age of 18.

It was fate like a curse.

In her previous life, she struggled to be loved somehow, but the only return was bitter despair and isolation.

Even though her memories had just returned, the emotions she had felt from her previous life were swept away in an instant.

And luckily, nine-year-old Eristella knew what she had.

‘I’m glad though. Because I’m a princess with many things.’

‘If I just give up on being loved, my life is not lacking anything.’

‘I want to be content with what I have now.’

If it was a failure once in her previous life, she decided not to have even unnecessary expectations this time.

‘I already have a lot, so it’s okay to not have that one.’

As everyone expected, Eristella, who had grown up, had become an archmage with powers that might only appear once in 500 years. She had such overwhelming abilities that no one could ever dare surpass her.

Additionally, she had a beautiful appearance and noble status as a princess that no one could deny.

In particular, her dazzling silver hair and golden eyes that shined brighter than gold itself were regarded as symbols of the Leonian imperial family.

However, despite the splendid conditions surrounding her, she was not loved by anyone, just like in her previous life.

No, maybe it was worse than her previous life.

Having let go of expectations of people, Eristella enjoyed freedom by taking whatever she wanted without hesitation.

Naturally, the modifiers attached to Princess Eristella were varied.

A reckless and unruly princess.

An arrogant and insufferable princess.

A princess who doesn’t know where she is going, and causes accidents everywhere she goes.

A princess who I hope doesn’t get entangled with me.

But Eristella didn’t care. Because she knew that she couldn’t be loved just because she met everyone’s expectations anyway.

Eristella didn’t think it was bad for her to live and die.

…But even that would be lost.

*******

Half a year ago, back then, she really thought she was going to die again like this.

‘Fortunately, I did not die and survived.’

It was just that the appearance had changed and no one knew.

So, even though her funeral was being held, Eristella was unable to attend.

Eristella turned her gaze away from the coffin full of chrysanthemums and walked towards the entrance. As she turned her head, she looked into the large mirror next to the entrance.

In the mirror, the image of a white fox was reflected, not Princess Eristella.

‘The problem is that I turned into a fox.’

When Eristella opened her eyes after passing the threshold of death, she found herself still in the form of a fox.

At first, she thought that an injury had weakened her magic and prevented her from returning to her actual form. However, after recovering to some extent in this body, she realized that something was wrong as she showed no sign of returning to her original form.

Still, Eristella didn’t give up; over the past half year, she tried everything to get herself back. But she was limited in what she could do as a fox, and none of that worked.

She showed no sign of coming back.

‘Don’t tell me I’ll have to be a fox forever.’

‘No way. I’m going to go back to Princess Eristella somehow!’

She would return to her original form at any cost. As Princess Eristella, who possessed all of her wealth, honor, and abilities.

There was only one way left to do that.

‘I know I can’t do it on my own, so I need to find someone to stick with.’

And the only one within the empire who could help her who became a fox was the Grand Duke of Adelasia, Heinricion.

The Grand Duke of Adelasia was a family proficient in applied magic from generation to generation, so they must have had data on rare magic cases. Moreover, Heinricion was the second most powerful wizard after Eristella.

However, there was one fatal problem.

‘Of all things…….’

His relationship with Eristella was quite complicated.

Heinricion was the young princess’s playmate. When they were young, the two of them had a good relationship.

Heinricion was also her fiancée, although it was a strategic relationship. But after an incident a few years ago, the relationship between the two was at its worst.

As if following her fate, the relationship between the two of them split at 18. But now, Eristella was not in a position to be reckoned with.

Hence, even if he found out about her situation, there was no chance that he would help her.

Reluctantly, Eristella found a way. She decided to approach him, hiding the fact that she was the fox.

‘There’s a possibility because it’s a fox.’

Eristella was planning to hide her identity and infiltrate the grand duchy as a fox.

During childhood, when the two were playmates, Heinricion was very fond of animals. So that was the way she came up with.

Henricion would be even more angry if later he found out that she had deceived him, but she had no other choice right now.

Instead, she would compensate for anything after returning to her original form. Once she returned to Princess Eristella, she was confident she could solve anything.

‘In order to do that, I need to meet Heinricion first. Why hasn’t he come yet?’

Eristella looked around her, waiting for Heinricion to come to her funeral.

However, from early morning to late afternoon, he was nowhere to be seen.

‘Still, he will come once.’

‘I don’t want to take even a single step.’ Eristella stared intently whenever the doors of the cathedral were opened.

It was already midnight.

‘He didn’t even want to come to the funeral?’

The fox’s ears drooped down. It seemed like he never liked her.

‘Even if I wait longer, he won’t come.’

It was time for Eristella to go back. As she thought so, the door of the church opened, and the figure of Heinricion, who she had been waiting for so long, appeared.