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Chapter 01…
A Second Chance
“Albus!”
Amid roaring flames, a young woman in her early twenties cried out, her face drenched in tears.
“Albus Hamil, you… Did you ever truly love me, even once? Or… or at least, was there ever a moment when I made your heart race?”
With raven-black hair and captivating red eyes, the man standing tall in the garden looked at her with nothing but cold indifference.
He was Albus Hamil, the crown prince of Astra and the kingdom’s most handsome man.
“Ophelia Lares, what kind of trick is this? How dare you try to harm Elia!”
Albus’s icy gaze cut sharply into Ophelia.
He carefully pulled the trembling Elia—shaking like a startled fawn—into his arms, and cruel words spilled from his lips.
“I should never have taken you in from the beginning. If you want an answer, I’ll give it to you now. Listen well. Not once have I ever thought of you as a woman.”
Crash! Thud!
A beam fell from the ceiling.
At the same time, Ophelia’s heart collapsed along with the burning wood.
“Ha… hahaha! So this is the love I chased for two years.”
She cried out like a wounded beast.
“Albus Hamil. I love you. That’s why I hate myself for still loving you even now. Hahaha… ah… sob…”
“Ophelia, that’s an order. Come out of there at once!”
“No, I can’t! I won’t! I’ll burn everything I have right here and now. I’ll turn it all to ashes so it can never burn again!”
Ophelia pounded her chest wildly with her fists.
In the fierce flames, the man’s beautiful face seemed even more dangerously enchanting.
Albus’s brows twitched faintly as he looked at her.
There was no more time to hesitate.
Without realizing it, he stepped forward—but a pale, slender hand caught his sleeve.
“Your Highness!”
When he turned, Elia’s emerald eyes were brimming with tears.
Albus barely suppressed his anger and spoke gently to the woman he loved.
“Elia. I’ll be right back. Wait here.”
“No!”
Elia threw her arms around his waist from behind and clung desperately to his back.
“I don’t want Ophelia to get hurt… but I want even less for Your Highness to be in danger.”
Boom!
While Albus hesitated, half the ceiling collapsed.
By now the flames had completely devoured the house.
“Ophelia!”
Just as Albus shouted in alarm—
“No! Miss!”
Someone dashed straight into the collapsing house.
“I’ll save you. Please, just hold on a little longer.”
Through the hot, choking smoke, as Ophelia’s consciousness faded, a small figure flickered before her eyes.
“Ti…na…”
“Ugh…”
Ophelia grimaced in pain.
Her skin burned agonizingly, and the sharp smell of charred flesh stung her nose.
She was burning alive.
“Ahhh!”
Thrashing on the bed, Ophelia suddenly sat bolt upright with a scream.
“Hah…!”
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and looked around.
It was the dim, silent hour before dawn.
She hurriedly struck a match and lit the candle on the bedside table.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A gray-brown moth kept throwing itself against the window.
That foolish moth, obsessed with flying into the fire, reminded her of her past self—who had recklessly charged toward a love worth nothing.
Her head throbbed.
Pressing both hands to her forehead, Ophelia murmured softly,
“It’s alright… it’s alright. This time I can do better. There’s still time. There’s still…”
It had been four days since she had returned to two years before her death, and every night she dreamed of burning to death.
Vividly.
Everything was chaos.
“Albus Hamil…”
His name escaped her lips like an old habit.
Whispering the name of the man who had ruined everything, Ophelia walked to the large mirror standing in one corner of the room.
“Your flowing black hair is like the night sky unraveling, and your eyes are as mysterious as amethysts.”
It felt as though she could hear his voice.
It was the finest compliment he had ever given her.
She studied herself in the mirror, brushing her black hair gently.
Ordinary.
If you looked closely, she could be called pretty—but not enough to rival Elia’s breathtaking beauty.
For someone with looks like hers to become the mistress of Albus Hamil, the most handsome man in Astra, people called it nothing less than pure luck.
“Prince Albus is only repaying the life debt he owes you. That isn’t love, Ria. Please wake up!”
The harsh words of her friend Nea echoed in her mind and twisted her heart once more.
Ophelia shook her head violently, trying to fling away Albus’s lingering image.
She looked back at the mirror and stared directly into her own eyes.
The woman in the mirror parted her lips.
“Money.”
“Power.”
One after another, strange words slipped from her mouth.
“A legitimate wife.”
The amethyst-like eyes trembling in the mirror slowly hardened again.
On the first day after her return, she had sworn to accomplish three things in this life.
With immeasurable wealth, and with enough power that no one would ever dare touch her, she would protect the family she had so foolishly lost in her previous life.
And in this life, she would throw away that cheap, meaningless thing called love, hold the most splendid wedding imaginable, and proudly live as a legitimate wife.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of knocking, Ophelia slowly unclenched her fists.
The door opened, and in came a red-haired maid with freckles across her nose.
“Tina!”
“Miss, you’re awake?”
Ophelia’s eyes stung as she looked at Tina.
“Oh my, Miss. You’re drenched in sweat. And why are you so pale? A warm bath will make you feel better. Shall I prepare one?”
“Yes… Tina.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For always staying by my side.”
“Oh, Miss…”
As Tina hurried off shyly to prepare the bathwater, Ophelia’s violet eyes curved softly.
Warm water slowly eased the tension in her body.
“Tina, Father and Brother must have arrived safely at the duke’s estate, right?”
“I’m sure they have.”
Tina washed Ophelia’s back as she spoke.
Ophelia’s father, Jont Lares, was one of the many illegitimate sons of Baroso Lares, one of Astra’s three great dukes.
Life for an illegitimate child in Astra was not easy.
A hundred years ago, the western kingdoms, admiring the culture of the eastern continent, adopted the eastern practice of distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate children, stripping the latter of inheritance rights.
That was how her father, an illegitimate son himself, had been all but driven out to the border city of Naris, a troubled region, with only a tiny sum of independence money and the title of baron.
Which was why, if there had been any other choice, her father would never have considered returning to the main family.
“There still hasn’t been any word from Father, right?”
“No… The butler is worried too.”
“The butler?”
For a fleeting moment, hatred and murderous intent flashed through her eyes.
Samuel.
Not only was he a trusted servant of her parents—he had also been someone Ophelia trusted like family.
If not for Samuel, neither she nor her family would have suffered so much at the duke’s house.
Though Baron Jont was a noble, their home was hardly different from that of commoners.
A modest two-story house with a tiny front yard that could barely be called a garden.
It was neatly kept, but the faded outer walls were cracked here and there.
There were only three members of the family—her father, her older brother Leo, and Ophelia.
Her mother had died of tuberculosis three years ago.
The household staff was sparse as well: Head Butler Samuel, maid Tina, and the cook Bisha.
That afternoon, Bisha knocked on Ophelia’s door.
“Miss, Lady Nea has arrived. She’s waiting downstairs.”
“I’ll come down right away. Serve her tea first.”
After hastily fixing her appearance, Ophelia headed to the drawing room.
When she reached the door, the hand reaching for the knob paused.
It would be the first time she had seen Nea since returning.
For some reason, she felt nervous.
Taking a breath, she opened the door.
There sat the small figure she had longed to see.
Nea was nervously tapping her feet while sitting on the sofa.
Just seeing her face filled Ophelia’s chest with warmth.
Her dear friend, Nea Renat.
Nea’s father, Count Dace, came from a collateral branch of the Renat imperial family of the Apollos Empire.
He was a wealthy merchant who led the empire’s largest trading company, and through trade he had also built considerable wealth and influence in Astra.
“Nea!”
Ophelia rushed over and embraced her.
Nea, however, did not even seem surprised.
She immediately got to the reason for her visit.
“Ophelia, I’ll get straight to the point. In two days, my family is leaving for Asri, the capital. Come with us. There are already rumors that many people have died after being attacked by bandits on the refugee roads. I can’t leave you here alone.”
The situation in Naris, the border city of Astra neighboring the Batous Kingdom and the Apollos Empire, was worsening.
In the past, Batous bandits had often caused trouble in Naris.
But this year, on top of that, dark rumors were spreading that the Apollos Empire and Batous Kingdom were going to war.
Bandits and thieves were everywhere.
That was why Ophelia’s father had gone ahead to find a place in the capital, Asri.
But conditions in Naris had deteriorated faster than he had expected.
On the road to the capital, countless nobles and merchants had already died in bandit attacks.
But in her previous life, Count Dace had managed to protect his family by hiring many mercenaries as escorts.
And if Ophelia and Tina—left penniless because of Samuel—had not hidden among the refugees, they too would never have reached the capital safely.
Watching Nea’s little mouth move rapidly, as though refusing to let her say no, Ophelia smiled faintly.
In her previous life too, Nea had always worried about her and taken care of her.
When Ophelia had tried to become Albus’s mistress, Nea had strongly opposed it.
“A second wife? Haven’t you seen my father’s concubines? Unless my mother, the legitimate wife, permits it, they can’t even have children. And even if they do, illegitimate children are practically thrown out penniless when they come of age. Do you really think you can live like a shadow, serving another woman as the legitimate wife?”
Her friend’s words pierced painfully into her chest.
But blinded by love, Ophelia could not leave Albus.
Nea had wept as she begged her.
“Ophelia, please wake up. Stop obsessing over him and leave the crown prince. Please? Look at yourself. Where did my friend Ophelia go?”
Nea had come to her even on the day her father and brother were executed, crying as though it were her own tragedy.
“I’m sorry. My father said there was nothing he could do about your father and brother. The crown prince and the Lares ducal family had already given up… I’m sorry I couldn’t help…”
Back then, Ophelia had thought—
She should have listened.
If she had, she would never have burned to death because of Albus.
She never would have returned like this.
“Ophelia, did you hear? Prince Albus is engaged to Elia Lares. That wicked girl! I knew it. First she tried to drive a wedge between us, and now she’s stealing her cousin’s man? If you want to leave the prince, just say the word. I’ll help you.”
Just as in her previous life, Nea was willing to help her again.
Looking at Nea’s earnest eyes, Ophelia smiled brightly.
“Nea, thank you. Meeting you is the greatest stroke of luck in my life. Yes… let’s leave together in two days.”
“Really?”
Nea stared at her, trying to judge whether she meant it.
“Whew… thank goodness. I was so worried you’d refuse. Ophelia Lares, do you know how many things I prepared to say to convince you?”
Before Nea had even finished speaking, the drawing room door flew open with a bang.
“You’re leaving? What do you mean by that? The master clearly told us to wait for news!”
Slowly, Ophelia turned toward the owner of the voice.
Butler Samuel.
The first button fastened wrong in her previous life.
And in this life, target number one.
