I Am the King’s Human Shield

The day the King was ambushed, my husband—the Captain of the Royal Guard—was busy placating his childhood sweetheart, who had stormed off in a fit of pique.

I did not light the signal flare in my hand. Instead, I stood before the King, my belly swollen with child, and became his human shield.

I made this choice because, in my previous life, I had lit that flare. My husband had abandoned his precious Elara to rush to the King's side. He was hailed as a hero, named Lord Protector of the realm for his valor. But Elara, left alone, fell into the assassins’ trap and was killed on the spot.

My husband said nothing at the time. But on the day I gave birth, he threw me into the Beast Pit.

As the creatures closed in, I screamed at him, demanding to know why.

He gave me a single, cold glance.

“The King has a legion of guards. Why did I, and only I, have to return? It must be that you, with your eyes only for power and wealth, deliberately summoned me!”

“If you hadn’t lit that flare, would Elara have died? The suffering she endured… I will make you repay it, tenfold!”

The beasts tore me apart, devouring even the newborn child from my womb.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back on the day of the King’s assassination.

…

1

“Protect the King!”

The black-clad assassins moved with deadly precision. I took a reflexive step back.

I was truly reborn. And it was right at the beginning.

My eyes fell to the signal flare clutched in my hand. While no one was watching, I hurled it into a nearby lake. Then, with all my strength, I threw myself in front of the King, who was locked in a desperate struggle with the attackers.

I saw the shock in his eyes as I became his shield, absorbing blow after brutal blow meant for him. I watched as the confusion in his gaze slowly gave way to disbelief, then to a dawning sense of awe.

I knew, in that moment, that my gamble had paid off.

My husband, Lord Valerius, was the Captain of the Royal Guard. He was meant to be by the King’s side at all times. Yet today, with the King’s life in peril, he was absent.

He was chasing after his pouting first love, Lady Elara.

In my last life, I had lit the flare, fearing he would be reprimanded for his absence. Instead, after being showered with titles and honors, he decided I was a power-hungry shrew who had orchestrated Elara’s death. He had me thrown into a pit of wild beasts he had “prepared” just for me, a final, gruesome end for me and my child.

Since the heavens had granted me a second chance, I would not walk that same path to ruin.

I shielded the King with my life. Blades plunged into my body, but I gritted my teeth and refused to make a sound. The King had other guards nearby; if I could just hold on until reinforcements arrived, I would live.

The King understood this. Though it pained him, he took shelter behind me. The assassins, realizing my intent, exchanged a look. Then, one of them drove his sword deep into my abdomen.

My child. I was eight months pregnant. I felt him move wit...