Morning sunlight poured through the towering stained-glass windows of Castle Liones, casting rivers of gold and crimson across polished marble floors. Outside, the capital bustled with life. Merchants opened their stalls, children laughed through the streets, and knights trained beneath fluttering banners bearing the crest of the royal family. It was another peaceful day in the Kingdom of Liones—a peace that had endured for generations.

There had never been whispers of the Seven Deadly Sins. No Holy War scarred the history books. The Demon Clan remained sealed in an ancient prison forgotten by nearly every living soul, while somewhere beyond mortal reach, an inexplicable force had erased the catalyst that would have shattered those seals. Even the Demon King and the Supreme Deity could no longer feel the ancient curse they had once woven together. It had not been undone by either of them... it had simply ceased to exist, as though reality itself had rejected it.

Meliodas...

The name no longer existed within history. The man himself remained sealed alongside the dormant Demon Clan, his existence buried beneath an unknowable power that had rewritten destiny itself.

And Elizabeth...

She was no longer another reincarnation doomed to repeat an endless tragedy. She was simply Princess Elizabeth Liones.

───

A soft breeze stirred the white curtains as Elizabeth slowly opened her emerald eyes. For several moments she simply stared at the ceiling, breathing quietly while an uneasy feeling lingered in her chest.

Again... That dream. It always came in fragments. A field stretching endlessly beneath a crimson sunset. A pair of warm emerald eyes looking at her with unbearable sadness. A hand reaching toward her.

"Elizabeth..."

A voice she couldn't remember. A promise she couldn't understand. And every single time... ...the dream dissolved before she could see the person's face.

Elizabeth slowly sat upright, placing a hand against her chest.

"...Again..."

The sadness refused to leave. It wasn't fear. Nor loneliness. It felt... like mourning someone she had never met.

A silver-haired woman covered in radiant light... A pair of magnificent wings...

Darkness. Sunlight. Countless stars. A man smiling while covered in blood. Then... nothing.

The memories never stayed long enough to become memories at all. Perhaps they were only dreams. Her tutors claimed dreams reflected hidden desires.

The royal physicians insisted she simply possessed an overactive imagination.

The feeling was impossible. It shouldn't exist. History insisted nothing had ever happened. And so, every morning, the dream faded a little faster than before, as though the world itself quietly corrected the mistake and erased what was never meant to remain.

───

Later that afternoon, Elizabeth was summoned to the grand audience chamber. The enormous doors slowly opened. King Bartra Liones sat upon his throne, his gentle expression carrying the same warmth he always reserved for his beloved daughter.

"Elizabeth."

She curtsied gracefully. "You wished to see me, Father?" A soft smile crossed the king's face. "Come."

She approached, curiosity flickering across her features.

"There comes a time in every royal family's history when alliances must be considered—not through conquest, but through trust."

Elizabeth listened quietly.

"I have invited several princes and noble heirs from neighboring kingdoms." "They are not here to force your hand." "They are here so that you may meet them." "If, in time... your heart chooses one... then that choice shall be yours."

Elizabeth lowered her gaze slightly. Marriage... She had always known this day would eventually arrive.

As a princess, it was both responsibility and duty. Still... for reasons she couldn't explain... her heart tightened. Almost as though somewhere deep within her soul... she had already loved someone.

The thought vanished as quickly as it came.

King Bartra smiled kindly before gesturing toward the doors.

"They're here..."