"I've never made it this far," Princess Consort Rishe of the Galkhein Empire pondered as she rode through the magnificent beaches of the empire's northern coastline. Her eyes glistened at vast blue sea which spread into the horizon and glistening in the morning sun. The gentle sound of waves washing over the white sand mixed with seagulls chirping.

"Of course we've never come this far, Rishe," her husband, Crowned Prince Arnold chuckled.

He rode up beside Rishe's horse and leaned over to kiss her cheek, which turned almost as pink as her hair.

"Ahh, of course," Rishe muttered and tried to hide her sheepish expression after realizing she accidentally said her thoughts aloud.

Rishe was not referring to this region, but rather, her life. She could not explain it, but this was in fact, her seventh go at life. Five years prior, she was the betrothed of a rotten prince in her home kingdom, only for a betrayal by her once friend to end it and leave Rishe disowned by her family. Despite this, she found a new life as a successful merchant only to die at twenty in a war caused by none other than Arnold.

Yet, upon her death, Rishe found herself taken back to the moment her engagement ended. In that instance, she became a successful apothecarist, but died once more upon turning twenty again. The process repeated itself four more times, and with each life, Rishe developed a new set of skills, including swordsmanship, but all of them ended the same way, dying at twenty. In Rishe's sixth life, it was Arnold himself that killed her, believing her to be a man, since she disguised herself as one.

Yet in this, her seventh life, she promised herself to survive only to find herself engaged to the very man who killed her, Arnold. For the last five years, she was engaged to him, and after turning twenty, on the same day she died six times before, Rishe married him. The man who caused her death five times before, and the man who killed her himself the sixth time. Arnold, the man she now loved with all her heart.

A bashful smile grew over Rishe's face when she looked down at the wedding ring on her finger. Only days passed since the wedding, and now the newlyweds were on their way to a royal estate in this coastal paradise to enjoy a two-month long honeymoon. Never in her past lives had she made it this far in life, and perhaps it was because this time, she ended up with Arnold. Rishe took his hand and held it tight, savoring the warm sensation.

The newlyweds gazed into each other's eyes, and Rishe lost herself into a fantasy of just what new adventures awaited them. That was until a sharp cry and series of horse hooves hitting the ground tore through the air.

"Your majesties!"

No less than thirty royal knights raced toward them on their steeds, sweat and terror streaming across their faces. At last, they arrived and panted.

"Please, don't run off again like that," the captain sighed.

Despite this, Arnold sharpened his gaze at the knight and gave a slight but terrifying smile that only Arnold could pull off.

"I only wanted some private time with my bride."

"Yes, your highness, but if someone attacked you-"

"Are you implying that I am incapable of defending myself, and my beloved wife?"

Arnold's smile vanished and the captain turned pale. Rishe giggled a little as Arnold stroked the pommel of his sword and the other knights avoided his hardening expression. She and the knights knew well that it would take a small army of assailants to overcome Arnold. Rishe glanced down at her own sword and sighed a little. Despite years of refining her skills, she still could not hold a candle to Arnold.

"Let's be on our way then," Arnold said.

He led the way down a road past a prosperous seaside port town nestled near the royal estate. Rishe took note of everything she saw as they passed by. A merchant guild lay near the docks where fishing and cargo boats came in and out. A few apothecary shops broke up bakers and blacksmiths and a small library rested in the town center with palm trees growing between the buildings.

Rishe waved at the townsfolk who spotted them and greeted the royal couple. Arnold did the same, but Rishe beamed a brighter smile and promised to come and visit the town. She would do jus that. The princess already had ideas of deals she could make with the merchants, and imagined new discoveries the local apothecaries may have made.

"Let's not spend all our time doing business, Rishe. Remember, we are on holiday," Arnold said with a slight smirk.

Rishe went a little red and avoided his eyes. Had she become that easy to read? After a five-year engagement, perhaps it made sense. Maybe Arnold had a point. Rishe promised herself back when the seventh loop started that this time around, she would live a carefree and fun life. Yet out of habit or perhaps fate, it had been anything but that. Even so, Rishe loved every moment of it and grinned a mischievous smile back at Arnold.

"Who says you can't enjoy doing business. We can have dinner with merchants and take them out on the ocean. Plus spend time in the library. Not to mention I want to personally ensure this vacation estate is up to my standard of cleanliness."

Rishe sat up taller with her shoulder's squared as she spoke, and Arnold chuckled.

"My, the empire has a bright future once you and I take power."

"Indeed," Rishe's smile widened, and she giggled a little after thinking about all the plans she had upon becoming empress consort and ruling alongside Arnold.

When they arrived at the royal estate, its staff gathered outside and bowed before them. Six maids and five servants alongside a dozen guards.

"Welcome, your majesty, we are privileged to serve you on your honeymoon. Everything has been prepared for your leisure-" the lead maid started.

Rishe, however, shook her head and jumped down from her horse. "Not so fast, I need to make some personal touches." The staff grimaced and shook a little as Rishe went inside. Arnold followed, with the staff stiffening before the knight captain eased them.

"Relax, you're not in trouble. Her majesty just prefers the personal touch."

When they went inside, the maids gasped upon seeing Rishe now wearing a maid's outfit with her hair tied back into a ponytail. "Not bad, but I can see some improvements to be made. Follow me." She waved for the maids to follow, and they gulped before obeying.

Rishe lost herself to tidying up the fine estate until every inch shined. The maids beamed in delight after seeing what they accomplished following Rishe's direction.

"I didn't know an estate could look so beautiful!" one cried.

"It was nothing," Rishe said and wiped some sweat from her brow. It was only then that she realized that two hours passed, and she completely left Arnold. Her smile vanished and the princess nervously looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The maids giggled and gestured to a nearby window. Rishe walked over and peered outside. There, behind the estate, Arnold sparred with his knights. Rishe felt butterflies in her stomach while watching him fight off fifteen at once with one hand strapped behind his back. A smile crept back onto her face when she looked back at her sword which lay near the estate entrance.

Within a few minutes, she raced outside in her sparring gear and charged at Arnold from behind. Rishe slashed high and came inches from striking her husband, but he turned and parried the blow. Arnold's face remained peaceful yet confident as he held a grinning Rishe at bay.

"Finally have the estate in order then?"

"Yes, sorry I took so long. But now we spend the rest of the day together. After I finally beat you-"

Rishe almost yelped and went scarlet as Arnold leaned in and kissed her, lighting a wonderful fire inside the princess's belly while her heart raced. It was hardly the first time they kissed, yet Arnold never failed to make Rishe feel that way when they did so.

"You won't distract me!" Rishe threw her left hand out as a knight tossed her his sparring sword.

Rishe now let loose a furious assault with two blades, striking high, low, and mid often at the same time. Yet, Arnold blocked and parried each blow with relative ease, smiling the entire time while his bride gritted her teeth. Sweat poured down Rishe's face and back, stinging her eyes, yet she pressed on, even as her body stiffened up. The knights remained silent, but the maids giggled as Arnold moved only to defend himself. Finally, after a five-minute match, he sent both of Rishi's sword flying with a single slash.

"Eh?" Rishe blinked and stared at her now empty hands.

"You still have a lot to learn, my love," Arnold said and Rishe puffed up her cheeks.

"Let's go again!" she demanded.

"Alright, but every time you lose, I'm going to kiss you," Arnold said and Rishe hastened her breathing.

She recovered her swords and charged once more. Over the next hour, Rishe battled Arnold again and again. By the end, she got no less than twenty-seven kisses, not that she complained about that aspect. After the hour ended, Rishe leaned against her swords just to stay upright. Every inch of her body cried out for a respite, and she struggled to breathe through the fumes of her sweat.

"Alright, Rishe, I think that's enough," Arnold wiped a little sweat from his brow.

Before she knew what happened, he swept her into his arms bridal style and carried Rishe toward the estate.

"I think we could both use a bath."

"Ehh?" steam shot from Rishe's ears, and her entire body went bright red.

The rest of the day disappeared in bliss. After a relaxing, yet exciting bath, Arnold and Rishe enjoyed a savory dinner. By nightfall, the two rested in their bedchamber.

Both wore a bathrobe while Rishe sat on Arnold's lap in a large chair. Together they read from a manuscript describing the history of the local area.

"It looks like some of these islands are still uncharted, why don't we explore them!" Rishe smiled at the idea and envisioned making new discoveries on a lush island, and maybe ending the day with sailing across the coast.

"Perhaps, but did you read all of it?" Arnold asked and pointed back to the page.

Rishe's eyes widened when she noticed the passage indicated that many of smugglers and explorers who tried to map them missing and were never seen from again. Others returned but spoke of strange monsters. Despite this, the princess peered closer and stroked her chin. According to survivor's testimony, they claimed that beasts of legend lived there with incredible properties.

"I wonder if the smugglers experimented with hallucinogenic drugs," Rishe said. She remembered studying the effects of such plans in her second life as an apothecary and hearing about merchants selling them on foreign markets in her first life as a merchant.

"Perhaps, but we should be careful, Rishe. Don't forget that my father is getting older. He has already spoken to me about retiring with the two of us taking up the regency. Theodore has no interest in ruling so we cannot afford to needlessly risk our lives. Not when we have an empire to rule, and its future to secure."

Arnold caressed Rishe's stomach and her cheeks turned pink. She had almost forgotten about that particular detail. The empire did need an heir. Butterflies started to fly in Rishe's stomach again when she pictured herself and Arnold with several children. A blissful smile spread over Rishe's face the longer she thought about it.

"Well, this could be our final adventure. After that, we dedicate ourselves to the next adventure, our family," Rishe said, and Arnold's smile grew.

"Rishe, who says that part of our lives won't be an adventure too," without another word, he lifted Rishe up and carried her to the bed.