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Chapter 01
“Eva Blanche, for the treasonous crime of poisoning His Highness, the 3rd Prince Claude Elihu, you are hereby sentenced to death.”
Again.
Again, it happens.
Again, I die.
The dirt floor scraped against my knees as I was forced to kneel.
“The Blanche Count family shall be excommunicated from the Vegen Agei Empire.”
The execution—already familiar after only the second time.
As the executioner slowly walked toward her, Eva forced her heavy head up like lifting a boulder, looking around.
The nobles had gathered to watch the execution of the only daughter of the Blanche family.
Quite the spectacle, isn’t it? She cursed in her mind, even as her eyes searched quickly for him.
But of course, just like before, he was nowhere to be found.
Lai Castro. You’re not coming this time either.
Even though we’d broken off the engagement, he was once my fiancé. Not even at the very end was he on my side.
Well, he hated me so much, so of course this is how it would turn out.
“For heaven’s sake, stop it already! How many times do I have to tell you? I hate you!”
“The engagement was commanded by His Highness, but don’t you dare expect love from me. Once I no longer need you, I’ll break it off immediately.”
“Don’t you dare touch Julian. If you lay a hand on her again, I won’t stand for it.”
“Eva Blanche, I despise you.”
The cruel words he had once spoken still filled Eva’s heart, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.
“If you hadn’t been greedy, you could have lived a long life, but you chose to throw it away.”
The executioner, now right in front of her, spoke in a tone full of scorn.
“Ha…”
Eva lifted only her eyes to glare at him.
Honestly, in this life I had tried so hard to live a long, quiet life. I practically lived with nothing.
“Everything is your fault, so don’t you dare feel wronged.”
How am I not supposed to feel wronged when I’ve done nothing wrong, you bastard?
She wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him until he shut up, but her body was so exhausted she couldn’t even move a finger.
“…Shut up and just get it over with.”
Her head, which had been tilted up to face the executioner, dropped limply.
At her final request, the executioner drew his sword.
Whoosh—
He raised the blade high into the air, then swung it toward the back of Eva’s neck.
Eva Blanche.
Her second death.
Her third life began against her will. She thought it would be no different from before.
By now, everyone hating and despising her didn’t matter anymore.
Fine—if this is how it’s going to be, I’ll live exactly how I want! If I just avoid the main characters, then I won’t get involved with them!
But—! Why is the male lead in my bed?!
Lai was lying in Eva’s bed, his face flushed red.
“Wh-Why are you here? Why are you in my bedroom? Duke, why are you here? This is my bedroom.”
“Bedroom…?”
“Ugh, you reek of alcohol. Did you drink? Where’s your bedroom? Tell me now.”
Still half-asleep, Lai was slow to process her words, but eventually mumbled:
“South Palace, third floor… second room from the left…”
“South Palace, third floor… Huh? That’s my bedroom.”
Don’t tell me he unconsciously named my room? Feeling awkward, Eva held her head in her hands.
“…Sorry. I’m sorry.”
His voice was low, his breath warm, his words slightly slurred—but Eva heard them clearly.
Surprised by the unexpected apology, she lowered her hand and looked at him.
“Weren’t you angry with me?”
“How… how could I dare be angry with you?”
“But when you were with the princess, you treated me like I was invisible.”
She took the chance to bring up something that had been bothering her.
He slowly reached out, took her hand, and looked up at her.
“Eva, when you collapsed… I thought my heart had stopped.”
His eyes began to turn red at the corners, as if tears might spill any second.
“Were… you worried about me?”
“I was scared. I was terrified I might never see you again.”
His lower lip trembled. Eva gently caressed his cheek.
Feeling her warm touch, he leaned in closer to her.
“I’m fine. Sir Bridget examined me and said I’m completely fine.”
Just moments ago he had looked ready to cry, but at the mention of Bridget’s name, his expression instantly darkened.
“Please… look at me. Even when you’re in my arms, it feels like you could disappear at any moment. It makes me so uneasy.”
“…”
Held tightly in his firm embrace, Eva’s eyes wavered.
“How can I make this fear go away? Would it help if I took you away right now, somewhere no one could find us?”
“What?”
“It would just be the two of us there. Somewhere those who desire you could never reach.”
“D-Duke…?”
“Eva, stay by my side forever.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lai’s face drew closer to hers.
This was not the kind of third life I had in mind!
