IGBD 01

Chapter 1

Sereret Inohater was poisoned to death by her husband the very moment she gave birth to their child.

She had expected that one day her husband might divorce her, but she had never imagined that she would be killed so miserably.

Her lips trembled faintly.

“Cough…”

A stream of blood gushed out between Sereret’s lips.

“Tch.”

Across from her, Lydia’s face twisted. In those blue eyes, narrowed as if looking at something filthy, was only disgust.

“Lydia… you… knew… all along….”

Sereret could no longer form words. Too much blood poured from her mouth, and her paralyzed tongue refused to function.

Her head swam, her vision blurred. Her throat and chest burned as though she had swallowed fire. Death was closing in on her.

“I’ll raise the child well, Sereret.”

“……”

Through her dimming vision, Sereret stared at Lydia, clutching the hem of her skirt.

Her husband’s beloved woman.

Dying before her, Sereret was consumed with regret.

I should never have trusted him.
I should never have married him.
I should never have loved him.

Countless regrets accompanied her to the end.

“Though, who knows if the child will grow up properly, tainted with your stupid blood.”

“My child… my baby…”

Tears streamed from Sereret’s eyes. Just the thought of her baby crushed her heart.

She had given birth but never seen the child. She had begged her husband to let her hold the baby, but he never once showed it to her.

“If the child is Yuan’s, then it’s mine too. Yuan and I will raise it together.”

Lydia let out a cold laugh, her blue eyes glimmering.

Her husband had said he loved those eyes. He said blue eyes were the most beautiful. Sereret gave a hollow, broken laugh.

“At least the child’s eyes are blue. Fortunate it resembles me, at least a little.”

“……”

Blue eyes. My child has blue eyes…

Sereret tried to picture the face of the baby she had never once seen. If only she could see it, even once, before she died.

“How fortunate that your child’s eyes are the same color as mine.”

“……”

Lydia’s voice began to fade. Sereret’s consciousness was slipping away.

“We’ll be a perfect family. Yuan, me, and the child.”

“……”

So this is how I die. Just like this…

In the final moment of her life, Sereret made one last wish:

May my husband and Lydia fall into the fires of hell. May they suffer the same hell I did. And if I am ever reborn, I will never, ever love Yuan Frekthuster again.

“So hurry up and disappear, Sereret.”

Lydia burst into laughter. As the sound rang in her ears, Sereret collapsed to the floor.

Thus ended the tragic first life of Sereret Inohater—
poisoned by the gift of her husband,
mocked by her husband’s mistress.

“Young Lady. Young Lady.”

A familiar voice—Hannah’s. Hearing it, tears welled in Sereret’s eyes. Hannah, the maid who had always been by her side in her maiden days.

But not long after Sereret’s marriage, Hannah had fallen ill and died young.

So… I must be in heaven. Hannah came to guide me.

Sereret opened her eyes. There was Hannah’s face.

“Young Lady, are you feeling unwell?”

Seeing Hannah’s worried expression, Sereret sat up, grasping her arm, swallowing her tears.

“Hannah, are you alright? You couldn’t get proper medicine, that’s why you…”

Poor Hannah. If only you had come with me to the duke’s estate, I could have saved you.

No… perhaps it’s better you died first. At least you never knew the hell I suffered.

“Hannah.”

Burying her face against Hannah’s waist, Sereret sobbed.

“Young Lady? Are you truly unwell? You feel a bit feverish.”

Hannah laid her hand on Sereret’s forehead, frowning, gently stroking her shoulder.

“Oh dear, you must have caught a cold. I told you to close the window before sleeping.”

Hannah moved away to shut the wide-open window, grumbling.

“Where… am I?”

Sereret looked around. This was her old house—the one she had lived in with her family before marriage.

The small room was filled with old furniture her late mother had left behind. Though the walls and floor were faded from the sunlight, Sereret had loved this room.

“My house… it’s my house.”

Back in the place she had cherished, Sereret covered her mouth, crying.

“Oh, Young Lady, you’re being dramatic.”

Hannah smiled helplessly and came closer.

“Have a light meal and take some medicine. Today’s an important day.”

“Important day?”

“The day His Grace the Duke takes you to the capital! You were so excited yesterday.”

“Duke… you mean Yuan?”

Sereret’s heart dropped. Just hearing his name made her body tremble. That cruel man who had given her poison through his mistress.

“You must have grown closer after your walk. You’re calling him by name now.”

“Duke Frekthuster? You mean that man?”

Grabbing Hannah’s arm in disbelief, Sereret asked again.

“Yes, who else?”

“It’s really him… Hannah, I don’t want to see him. No, I mustn’t ever meet him.”

Throwing off the blanket, Sereret climbed from bed. The pain of poison still lingered in her memory—her throat burned, her insides torn apart.

The thought of facing the man who caused it was like drinking poison again.

Sereret paced the room, frantic. Just the thought of Yuan Frekthuster filled her with terror.

She had thought him only indifferent, but he was far more—cruel enough to send poison to the woman who bore his child.

“Young Lady, please calm down.”

Hannah took her hand in worry.

“Hannah, tell him not to come. Please, don’t let him come.”

Tears streamed from Sereret’s eyes. She didn’t want to see him. Why had the man who killed her followed her even into heaven?

“Young Lady?”

“Why is he coming? Why must I meet him?”

“Why? Because you’ve been invited to the Imperial Ball! He’s coming to escort you personally—how thoughtful!”

Hannah’s eyes shone as if no better man existed.

“The Imperial Ball?”

The words stirred memories. Before marriage, she had once attended such a ball with Yuan.

Her father had been injured and couldn’t travel, her brother was studying abroad. So, the viscount entrusted her to the duke—her fiancé.

It had seemed proper enough. After all, she was engaged to Yuan, and the invitation had come only because of that.

But it had been the start of her ruin. For it was at that ball she first met Lydia—and learned that Yuan and Lydia were hopelessly in love, and she herself was merely the obstacle between them.

Sereret slowly approached the mirror.

A girl with platinum curls, clear skin, and eyes bluer than sapphire gazed back.

Not the shadowed face of worry, not the dim eyes dulled by sorrow—
but her radiant past self.

It wasn’t the face of the twenty-three-year-old woman who had died so miserably, but the youthful, hopeful face of the girl she once was.

“Hannah, how old am I?”

“Young Lady, really—just after your birthday, you’re twenty.”

So… not heaven, but the past. Before her marriage.

God must have taken pity on her.

“I must have gone back in time.”

She touched her young face, murmuring.

A chance to start over. A blessing—no longer doomed to die so wretchedly.

Her blue eyes gleamed cold. Clenching her fist, she stared at the reflection.

You were a fool, Sereret Inohater. You suffered because you were blind.

Her last life flashed before her—their love games, her sacrifice, her stolen child, her death. Never again.

“Young Lady, wash your face first. I’ll fetch water.”

Hannah hurried out. Even after she left, Sereret kept staring at her reflection.

Then—knock, knock.

Thinking Hannah had returned, she opened the door.

But it wasn’t Hannah.

It was Yuan Frekthuster. Her former husband. That detestable man.

Tall and broad-shouldered, with hair dark as night and deep gray eyes, his striking looks were unforgettable.

Though polished and courteous, he carried a cold aura, always dominating the space around him.

Sereret had always found him intimidating. Even as his wife, she had never once known his affection.

Yet all of it, surely, had been given freely to Lydia.

Hatred surged in her eyes.

“You…”

Meeting him again, Sereret’s rage boiled over, numbing her mind. How could she stay calm before the man who had killed her?

Her hands trembled as she gripped her nightgown, the thin fabric crumpling.

Veins rose on her forehead as fury consumed her.

“Viscount said you’d be awake by now…”

Yuan cleared his throat, looking aside awkwardly, uncertain where to rest his gaze on her nightclothes.

“Yuan!”

Sereret seized a small vase from the nightstand and charged. Blinded by rage, she saw nothing else.

“Die!”

She swung the vase. Caught off guard, Yuan failed to dodge. The vase struck his forehead with a crack, shattering.

Fragments rained to the floor like snow. Blood trickled down his brow—just as Sereret’s own had in her final moments.