At nine years old, Lili remained trapped within the confines of her castle home, her family treating her more like a rare and delicate creature than a person. No matter how much she pleaded, they refused to let her leave.
With no help in sight, she just became ever more resolved to take matters into her own hands. Escape became an obsession, fueled by the recurring nightmares of being forced into marriage with some grotesque nobleman. The mere thought of such a fate was intolerable.
So she spent much of her days—and sometimes even her nights—studying the guards' movements. They always patrolled in pairs, rotating posts every hour. Inside the castle, two guards continuously roamed the halls every ten minutes, a cycle briefly interrupted during the shift change, when the patrols halted for a full twenty minutes.
The outer doors were always guarded as well, with at least two men posted at the front entrance and the side door leading to the kitchens. With no windows on the first floor accessible enough to open easily and exit through, her only option was to escape through an upper window into the courtyard.
However as simple as climbing out her window was, or simply walking outside might have been. The real challenge came in getting out of the gates and beyond the castle wall's.
And so she kept focusing on the exterior defenses, she observed the guards at the main gatehouse. Six men were stationed there, with two periodically leaving for random patrols around the outer courtyard. This presented opportunities—brief but crucial—to slip away unnoticed, maybe.
She had been secretly collecting bedsheets to fashion a rope out of within her room, which she could use to climb down from her window and possibly down the walls as well. But what then, plus it was extremely risky?
The castle gate was locked at night and heavily guarded, making a direct exit impossible. The walls, towering at nearly thirty meters, sat atop a steep, rocky hillside that plummeted another forty meters downwards. Sharp stones jutted out from the slope, making a descent incredibly dangerous. Additionally, six defensive towers surrounded the walls, their watchmen ever vigilant. Slipping past unnoticed, especially as a well-known figure in the castle, seemed almost impossible. And so this escape plan of hers was really just a last resort. She after all wasn't really that desperate to get away, she wasn't that afraid of some fat noble man. As a former police officer she would just kick such a man on the balls and put him into a headlock if he tried anything on her.
Instead her plans were more revolved around actually getting more freedom's within the castle, and showing her parents that they couldn't control her, she had feelings after all, she deserved to get permission to go outside the castle to see the town there, and the world beyond.
However if she couldn't get her way, well for that she had found a somewhat easier second plan, a plan revolved around the food deliveries to the castle. Every morning, after her etiquette lessons, she observed the supply carts arriving at the castle. The guards rigorously inspected the carts upon entry, checking both their contents and undersides. However, upon departure, no such precautions were taken. If she could sneak onto or beneath one of the carts, she might escape. But if caught, she risked being placed under constant watch, eliminating any future opportunities, plus it would be so embarrassing for her.
Thus she would only have one chance at such a plan. Failure was not an option.
Yet, Lili wasn't entirely ready to gamble everything on escape just yet. She had devised a third, less risky plan—one that, if successful, could grant her more freedom without having to flee at all.
From atop the castle walls, she had watched the farmers toil in the fields. Inspired, she had spent months designing simple but revolutionary agricultural tools. If she could impress her father with these inventions, perhaps he would reconsider marrying her off.
After her evening sewing lesson with her mother, she rushed to her room, grabbed a stack of papers, and made her way through the stone halls lined with portraits of her ancestors. Stopping outside her father's office, she took a deep breath and knocked three times.
A deep, irritated voice called out, "Yes? What is it now?"
Startled, she instinctively took a step back. Realizing her fear, she shook her head and slapped her cheeks lightly to clear her thoughts. She was still adjusting to this new body, to the feeling of being small and fragile. No longer did she feel like a bear among sheep—now, she felt like a rabbit among giants.
Even at nine years old, she was barely 130 cm tall. In comparison, her maid Rose, now thirteen, stood at an imposing 175 cm. Plus Rose's hands, though dainty, looked enormous next to Lili's. Was it simply the effects of her new body's hormones? She didn't know. What she did know was that her confidence had taken a major hit.
Forcing herself to stand tall, she called out, "Father, it's me. May I come in?" Her voice wavered slightly despite her efforts to sound confident.
Loud footsteps approached, and the heavy wooden door creaked open. Her father's stern expression softened into a warm smile. "Lili! What brings you here at this hour? Did you come to watch Daddy work?"
Before she could respond, he scooped her up effortlessly into his arms and carried her inside, settling her onto his lap behind his large wooden desk.
Annoyed at being treated like a child, she lightly smacked his muscular shoulder and shoved the papers toward him. "No, Father. This is serious business. Please, take a look at these—I'm sure you'll be impressed."
Amused, he chuckled. "Oh? And what kind of drawings has my little Lili made this time? Did your Art teacher show you some new drawing techniques?"
Pouting, Lili held up the first drawing and happily began to explain. "This is what I call Lili's little mechanical Reaper. It's a simple contraption—a horse-drawn sled with a long blade and a few spinning parts. As the horse walks alongside a field of grain, the blade will cut the stalks, and the spinning parts will hold the grain in place. All the farmer has to do is gather it up. It's much more efficient than using scythes by hand. With this, farmers can cultivate larger fields and increase production, plus have more time for their families and having fun."
In reality, this was merely a recreation of the McCormick Reaper, a groundbreaking invention from 1831 that revolutionized agriculture in her past life. It allowed farmers to produce more food with less labor, fueling both population growth and possibly even military mobilization.
Her father studied the drawing in silence, his eyes widening as he processed the design. "You made this?"
Scratching the back of her head, she hesitated. "Mmm… Yes, Father. I've spent a lot of time watching the farmers work. Seeing how hard their labor is, I tried to think of ways to help."
Hearing her words he seemed pleased as he patted her head gently, as if she were but a small kitten. "This is incredible, Lili. If this works as you say, our lands—and even the entire kingdom—could prosper. People would never go hungry again."
Encouraged by his response, she excitedly began presenting her other ideas to him. And for hours she and her father talked all the way until the sun started to rise and she fell asleep in her father's lap out of exhaustion.
During this time she introduced multiple products and explained the concepts behind them to her father.
First were the inventions and ideas concerning agriculture. Thanks to her unmarried past self she had managed to accumulate loads of information about old historical inventions in her past selves free time.
One of the inventions she showed her father was the Self-Polishing Steel Plow. That was created in his past by a man named John Deere, in the year 1837.
Back before this invention farmers used metal plows that thanks to their rough surfaces caught tons of mud and soil on their surfaces. Because of this the farmers would always have to stop and clean the plows every once in a while.
And that is when a metal worker named John Deer came up with a surprisingly simple solution to this problem and that was simply to make the plow out of steel and make it as smooth as possible.
With this new plow farmer's no longer needed to stop and clean it as the mud and soil simply didn't stick to the steel. And while simple, it was also one more thing that would save farmers a lot of time.
Third she introduced a machine that would tackle the extremely labour intensive process of separating the wheats usable seeds from the straw. To do this job there was a invention called the thresher.
Or more precisely it was called, the Ground Hog Thresher, circa. A invention originally created in the year 1834.
With this invention not only would the speed of farming increase again but also the efficiency. Normally doing this process by hand, like the farmers here were doing led to many of the seeds being lost in the process, plus the threshing process was slow. But now not only would the process be faster, but with the same amount of farm land they could get much more out of the grain.
Fourthly were the simpler earlier period inventions like the windmill for grinding grain, a pump for a well to help get water, and of course the watermill which was really big as well.
With these inventions the agricultural industry in the kingdom would flourish and grow greatly. The price of food would go down and the population would grow.
Then came her other point of interests to make a good society. Those being clothing for warmth and style, which involved bettering the textile industry.
First was the invention commanly called the Spinning Jenny in her past. A true Productivity Game-Changer by design.
James Hargreaves was the original inventor of the Spinning Jenny. During the industrial revolution in the year 1764 he was able to Patten the invention. This marked another pivotal moment in textile history.
This remarkable machine only required a single operator to spin thread onto multiple spindles simultaneously, greatly reducing the labor required for cloth production.
With this invention the demand for cotton, wool, and other materials will rise greatly.
To counter this she also introduced the Cotton Gin. A invention that would increase cotton production in the kingdom immensely, and reduce the need for slavery which she wasn't sure if it was even a thing within the kingdom.
And with these two things the price of clothes would fall and more and more people could start wearing proper clothes.
And most importantly these inventions were still somewhat simple to make and doable.
Then came a few other improvements concerning health and most importantly hygiene.
For this she introduced a simple toothbrush. It was a toothbrush she had done herself. All there was to it was a animal bone with small holes that held stiff animal hair's in place.
Though not a great product she admitted but her father nonetheless understood the idea behind it.
Originally this was an invention created by a English man named William Addis in the 17 hundreds. Apparently he got the idea after watching a cleaner sweep the floor with an broom.
And because of this invention he started the first mass production of toothbrushes in the world.
After that she showed him her invention of shampoo. Originally used in India in the year 1500 and later it was introduced to a wider audience in the year 1800. Although earlier versions were a thing still, but not in a mass produced form that was accessible for all.
Using a mixture of soap and some herbs she created her very own soap. With this she was finally able to clean her hair properly.
Along with this she also showed her father some vague drawings of aqueduckts and pipes for a sewer system for a city and plumbing for hopeful future toilets, but honestly those things were a bit too sophisticated for her now.
And while she might have had lots of other things to show her father for instance the miracle of performing CPR it just wasn't possible to do. For she didn't know how she could possibly explain any of it to him without raising great suspicions.
Now all she needed to do was wait and see what would happen. As long as her inventions became widespread and recognised she would for sure get many benefits.
***
Waking up the next morning Lili shifted slightly in her father's lap, the warm glow of the morning sun filtering through the grand windows of his office. She rubbed her eyes groggily, watching as her father continued to study her papers with deep concentration. A satisfied smile tugged at her lips—she had done it. She had captured his attention.
But then, something felt… off.
A strange sensation settled in her lower abdomen, dull at first but growing into an uncomfortable ache. She frowned, shifting again, only for an even stranger, damp feeling to spread between her legs. A flicker of unease ran through her. Something wasn't right. Her stomach twisted with an unfamiliar tightness, an ache that felt foreign yet eerily reminiscent of cramps that she remembered her past lives girlfriend having—but no, that wasn't possible.
Was it? However there between her legs was starting to be the wetness as well.
Panic prickled at the edges of her mind as realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.
No way. No way.
Her body had betrayed her in the most natural, yet horrifying way possible. Her first period.
Face paling, she quickly climbed down from her father's lap, clutching the edges of her nightgown tightly to her thighs. "Father, I… I need to go," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her father looked up from the papers, concern flashing across his face. "Lili? What's wrong?"
"I—It's nothing! I just—" She didn't wait for his response. She turned on her heel and hurried out of the office, heart pounding in her chest.
She needed Rose. Now.
---
Lili practically burst into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her and pressing her back against it. Her breath came in short, uneven gasps. The world suddenly felt too bright, too overwhelming. She had faced death, school bullies, giving an embarrassing love confession to a girl she really liked only to then be rejected and even battle against crazy drug addicts in her past life—but this? This was a whole different kind of crisis.
The sound of hurried footsteps outside her door made her snap to attention. "Lili?" Rose's voice called, a note of worry laced within it. "Are you alright? You just ran off—"
"Get in!" Lili hissed, yanking the door open and pulling Rose inside before slamming it shut again.
Rose stumbled slightly, eyes wide. "What's wrong with you?"
Lili opened her mouth, then closed it. How was she supposed to say this? She—who had once been a grown man—was now a nine-year-old girl experiencing her first period. It was absurd.
Still clutching her nightgown, she glanced down at herself, then back at Rose, who followed her gaze before comprehension dawned on her face.
"Oh." Rose blinked. Then again. "Oh."
Lili groaned, covering her face with both hands. "Yeah. Oh."
For a moment, there was silence. Then, to Lili's horror, Rose started laughing.
"Why are you laughing? This isn't funny!" Lili snapped, her cheeks burning.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Rose wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's just—you looked like you saw a ghost! I thought something terrible had happened!"
"This is terrible!" Lili growled, before letting out a heavy sigh. "What do I do?"
Rose straightened, trying to suppress her amusement. "Alright, alright. It's not the end of the world. You're just… growing up." She smirked. "Congratulations, my lady, you're officially a woman now."
"Ugh. Spare me."
Still smiling, Rose walked over to Lili's wardrobe and pulled out a fresh set of clothes. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. I'll have to tell Lady Isabel—"
Lili groaned again. "No, not Mother! She'll make a huge deal out of this."
"She is your mother. She's going to find out eventually."
Just as Rose finished speaking, a knock sounded at the door. "Lili?" The voice belonged to her mother. "Your father said you left in a hurry. Are you feeling unwell?"
Lili let out a defeated sigh and shot Rose a look. Rose simply grinned and opened the door.
Lady Isabel stepped inside, taking one look at Lili's expression and Rose's barely suppressed amusement before understanding immediately lit up her eyes. "Oh, my darling," she cooed, stepping forward and cupping Lili's face in her hands. "Is it your first time?"
Lili wanted to sink into the floor. She felt so humiliated, as the realisation of actually being a girl began setting into her mind as she shamefully pleaded with her mother. "Please, don't say it like that."
Her mother's face softened with something resembling pride. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, sweetheart. This is an important milestone."
"More like an important inconvenience," Lili muttered.
Lady Eleanor chuckled before turning to Rose. "Prepare the necessary things for her."
Rose nodded and left the room, leaving Lili alone with her mother.
Lili groaned again, burying her face into her mother's shoulder. "I hate this."
Her mother only smiled, stroking her hair gently. "You'll get used to it, my love."
Somehow, Lili seriously doubted that. Although she still felt grateful for her new lives mother's understanding that made her pain and Shane somehow bearable. Still she worried greatly for how her brother's would react, how was she ever to practice sword fighting with them now, with her actually being a real girl?