Debt of Fate

”Natasha, dodge the sword or you will die! ”

Long blond hair fluttered in the wind as the desperate cry rang out in the air. Blue eyes looked at their approaching death but the girl was not afraid.

After all, how could she be afraid when she no longer had anything to lose? She had already taken the blame for the crimes she had never committed in the first place. She had tried to insist on her innocence again and again but no one had believed her words.

And then she had been pushed forward as a sacrifice she was never supposed to be offered. And it was all that dukes fault.

Just because he wanted to save his daughter, he had decided to sacrifice the illegitimate daughter of their emperor who would not be missed by anyone even if she died.

If Natasha had one regret in her life, then she would not have lived it freely. She had always been careful to play the role that had been given to her in this new world. She had never acted out of her support role.

And now it was time for her role to come to an end. Finally, she would be free from this treacherous world.

Amid all this chaos, blue eyes met a pair of lovely golf ones. Those black hair framed a procaine-like face that was well cared for and Natasha could not help but be glad to see that pretty picture for the last time.

Ever since her birth in this new world, she knew that she would have to sacrifice her life for the real protagonist of this novel – Ashley. After all, it was her story.

I am so glad that she will survive. Hey system, I did well right? I will be able to go home, right? Its not like I gave anything left in this world anyway.

Natashas thoughts were cut short as soon as she felt intense pain in her abdomen. The sword wound hurt too badly and every movement made her side ache. She was bleeding quite profoundly and Natasha knew this would be her end.

”N-NO! Someone, stop this bleeding or my sister will die. Someone, hurry up and- ”

Well, there was one person left in this world who was worried about Natasha, and he was the current prince of the empire.

Her half-brother Richard had never done Natasha any harm. He was the only one she considered somewhat precious in this world.

And he was also the only one worried about her.

”Its alright your highness. This creature was never your sibling, to begin with. She was just someone the king picked up because she looked like your duplicate and could be used as a sacrifice in your place. Don be sad for such a creatures death. ”

Her brother was a good person but the people around him were anything but good. Especially the noble houses who hated to see the royal blood being tainted by Natasha.

”R-Richard, its alright. L-Live a long life. ”

Natasha felt her consciousness fade away and everything went a little blurry after that. But she was not able to get the image of those teary blue eyes out of her mind.

She wished her brother a happy and long-lived life in the future. He would be happy with Lady Ashley in the future and this incident would bring them closer. This was what Natashas role had been in the original story – to bring the two main characters closer.

”No, I won accept this fate. If your death is something I have to accept, then I will change everything. ”

Natashas heart swelled with love for her brother. The small eleven years old child was the only ray of light in Natashas fifteen years old life. He was the only one who treated her like a human.

And now he would be the very last thing she would see before she died.

In the end, the system abandoned me as well, huh? I guess I should have seen this coming since the start.

After all, that blasted system was the very reason Natasha had ended up in this situation. It had all started when she had died in her original world and somehow ended up waking in this strange world.

She still remembered that day as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. It had been a memorable experience.

Natasha had been a bodyguard in her last life without any family. She had been shot on her job and had ended up dead.

And then, just like the novels she had used to read, a system had appeared in front of her and asked her if she wanted to live again. She had agreed back then and then she had woken up in this world as a child.

The system had called this world a
ovel world and had handed her a script. If she did as she was told, she would be able to live freely in this world.

Life had been hard before the king had accidentally seen her in the streets. Once again, as a powerless child without any family to call her own, she had been taken in by the king. He had found her features to be particularly useful and then she had been made into a shadow.

Her purpose in her life had been to save the life of the main characters. It had been tough to keep her facade all this time but Natasha had done her job right.

She had raised Richard. She had saved his life again and again until he had turned eleven.

And now it was finally time for Natasha to be free of her cursed fate. She was once again in the blank space between life and death like she had been before.

You did your job marvelously. We are ready to let you go and live your next life out. You can choose your next life freely.

This was it. This was what Natasha had worked so hard to achieve until now and she could not believe she was finally free.

She wanted a world with a family to call her own next time. She had enough of the loneliness in the two worlds she had lived in thus far. She needed stability in her life and that was what her aim was.

”I want to choose an easy world to live in. Please, allow me to choose one which causes no problems for me next time. ”

Then, this one shall be the perfect world for you. I hope you *beep* system error. Data is corroding

Natasha had just received the file of the perfect world she desired when the space around her turned red. It was a scene right out of a horrifying sci-fi movie and she could not help but duck her head as if she was in danger.

The space around her was changing shape and Natashas senses were telling her that she was in danger.

”I need to get out of here. Which way is the out? ”

Natasha looked all around herself, looking for a way to escape this hell. She had no idea what would happen to her if this space collapsed.

The system screens connection to her senses was already gone and Natasha knew that she was no longer protected in this space.

I need to keep on moving. It hurts but that is all I can do for now.

The space around Natasha seemed to be converging. She was sure that the particles were fading and some were even floating toward her body. She was not sure what was happening to the space around her but Natasha did not like it.

She had seen a lot of scary things in her life as a bodyguard. One time she had even been asked to guard a mafia boss and it had escalated into open gunfire. Those had been some scary times.

But even those times paled in front of the current scare she was feeling. She was sure the supernatural aspect of her current situation was what made it so much worse than the other times she had been in a dangerous situation.

Hands were gripping her arms and legs. Natasha could feel herself being pulled back into the void she had just escaped from.

Someone, help me.

Natasha wanted to cry out those words, wanting someone to come and save her from whatever was happening around her. But there was no one out here to save her now. The darkness was swallowing her and her heart skipped a beat.

Even dying had not been this bad for her but this fear of the unknown was making her senses blur.

A pair of arms encircle Natashas waist and she felt their touch caress her bare skin. The sensation felt so real that Natasha could not help but freeze in shock.

”Where did you think you were going, sister? I never gave you permission to leave my arms. Come back home with me and I promise you I will take care of you. ”