Chapter Text
Chapter 1: A New Life
The very first moment I opened my eyes, a word escaped my lips before my brain could even process it.
"Holy sh*t!"
Yes. It sounded crude. But it was the only word that truly fit the situation.
Because, out of nowhere, I had woken up in an opulent mansion I had never seen before. My body had shrunk—shrunk to the size of... a five-year-old.
I slowly looked down at myself. A pale green kimono, exquisitely embroidered with cherry blossom patterns, draped over my small frame. The fabric was as soft and smooth as the finest silk. Everything looked so expensive that I felt like moving too quickly might ruin it.
The bedroom was far too spacious for a young child. A carved wooden bed stood grandly in the center of the room, surrounded by intricate folding screens, a polished wooden vanity, and the faint, lingering scent of incense in the air.
Anyway, interior design isn't the priority right now.
I gingerly climbed down from the bed and walked toward the tall mirror standing in the corner of the room.
I froze.
The little girl reflected in the glass was staring back at me. Her long, pale pink hair was so silky it trailed onto the floor, the ends curling naturally as if styled by a master artisan. She had a small, round face, porcelain skin, and large, shimmering emerald eyes that sparkled like jewels.
She was preternaturally cute—like a BJD doll that shouldn't be alive.
"...Is this me?" I muttered to the mirror, my gaze lingering on my own reflection with an involuntary fascination. I had to admit, if I had seen this child in my old world, I would have fallen in love with her cuteness too.
But after a moment of self-admiration, I pulled my gaze away. My brain began to function. I tried to recall what had happened to me.
The last image I remembered was writing a novel online—a story I was pouring my heart into creating. Then, everything went dark. It felt as if the air had been sucked out of my lungs, as if something was squeezing the breath out of me.
And then... a void.
Before waking up again in this child’s body. I let out a long sigh as a realization I didn't want to accept bubbled up.
This is exactly like an Isekai novel. Transmigration. Rebirth.
It was absurd, yet it was the only explanation that made any lick of sense.
It took me several months to adjust to this new life—months of learning the language, etiquette, and the rules of this world. Eventually, I began to piece together who this girl was from the fragments of the original body's memories. I discovered I was born of a bloodline far stranger than I had imagined.
The child's mother was from Sichuan. She was a descendant of the "Tang Clan."
Don't ask what kind of Tang Clan. It wasn't just some ordinary noble family. It was the legendary clan famous for poisons and hidden weapons, straight out of the Wuxia novels I used to read in my old world.
...And the father was a high-ranking nobleman of the Edo Province.
The marriage between the two families wasn't about love; it was a political alliance—a bridge between two cultures, two powers, and two worlds that were diametrically opposed.
And the result of that union was me: the only daughter of the house.
The owner of the name 'Benio Sakura.'
It was a name as beautiful as a flower, but I wasn't yet sure if a life under that name would be as lovely as its meaning.
I’ll skip over the early years—not because they weren’t important, but because they were too bitter to recount.
One year passed.
My mother, Tang Meilin, remained as beautiful and elegant as ever, though her beauty was as sharp as a sword's edge. She was strict—so strict that sometimes I couldn't tell if it was love or a heavy expectation far too burdensome for a child.
Mother taught me everything belonging to the Tang Clan:
* Brewing poisons.
* Formulating antidotes.
* Identifying herbs by scent alone.
* Hiding poisoned needles in my sleeves.
* Wielding a sword that felt heavier than my own body.
* The art of stealth and assassination.
It was grueling for a five-year-old who should have been living the pampered life of a young lady, but was instead forced to hold a blade meant for killing.
"You must be able to protect yourself," she would always say in a flat, cold voice.
I practiced until my hands blistered, until my arms shook, and until I nearly coughed up blood.
Good grief. I never intended to fight anyone. I just wanted to live a quiet, simple life. But it seemed that in this world, simplicity was the most expensive luxury of all.
Then one day, I had a younger sister.
The news of Mother's pregnancy came suddenly, and the birth took place amidst an oppressive silence in the mansion. But what made me stop in my tracks wasn't the cry of the infant.
It was the name.
Mother named her Benio Sakura.
The exact same name as mine. I didn't understand. Or perhaps... I didn't want to understand.
I immediately protested before the name could be officially recorded in the family registry. I wasn't sure if Mother couldn't distinguish between me and that child, or if, in her eyes, we were merely reflections of one another. Whatever the reason, I didn't want a child to grow up in my shadow.
In the end, I made the decision myself. I asked everyone to call me Benio. Even though it was part of the name, I preferred it.
"Crimson Sakura." A flower that wasn't a soft, sweet pink, but a color I actually liked.
As for my sister, I gave her a new name: Haruno Sakura, using a surname from her father’s side of the family.
I don't know why I felt this name suited her so well. It was like a faint whisper in my heart, telling me it was meant to be this way. Despite the protests from those around us who thought I was overstepping, my father said nothing. He simply nodded and let my decision stand.
The infant in the wet nurse's arms looked uncannily like me. Pale pink hair, emerald green eyes, and cheeks as rosy as a budding flower. It was no wonder Mother was confused.
I stepped closer, reaching out to gently touch the back of her tiny hand. Her fingers moved—warm and full of life. My heart felt still, yet strangely full.
In a world filled with politics, power, conflict, expectations, and twisted fates... if no one else will protect her, I will.
I made a silent vow to the baby who knew nothing of the world yet.
No matter how cruel this world gets, at least you won't have to face it alone.