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Chapter 01 …
“Albers!”
In the midst of roaring flames, a young woman in her early twenties cried out, her face streaked with tears.
“Albers Hamil! You… have you ever loved me sincerely, even once? Or… or have you ever even felt your heart race because of me?”
With jet-black hair and mesmerizing crimson eyes, the man standing tall in the garden looked at her with nothing but indifference.
He was Albers Hamil—the most handsome man in Astra and the crown prince of the kingdom.
“Ophelia Laceres, what kind of scheme is this? How dare you try to harm Elia!”
Albers’s icy gaze shot sharply toward Ophelia.
He carefully pulled Elia, who was trembling like a frightened fawn, into his arms, and cold, cruel words flowed from his lips.
“From the beginning, I should never have taken you in. If you need an answer, I’ll give it to you now. Listen carefully! I have never once thought of you as a woman.”
CRASH! THUD!
A beam fell from the ceiling. Along with it, Ophelia’s heart collapsed like the burning wood.
“Hah… hahahaha! So this is the love I chased for two years.”
She howled like a wounded beast.
“Albers Hamil. I love you. That’s why I hate myself for still loving you. Hahaha… ha… sob… sob…”
“Ophelia, that’s an order. Get out of there immediately!”
“No, I can’t! I won’t! I’m going to burn everything here. Turn it all to ashes so nothing can ever ignite again!”
Ophelia beat her own chest wildly with her fists.
In the raging fire, the man’s beautiful face looked even more bewitching.
Albers’s brow twitched slightly as he looked at her.
There was no time left. As Albers unconsciously stepped forward, a pale, slender hand grabbed his sleeve.
“Your Highness!”
Turning around, he saw Elia’s emerald eyes trembling with tears.
Albers barely suppressed his anger and spoke gently to the woman he loved.
“Elia. I’ll be right back. Wait here.”
Elia desperately clung to his waist from behind.
“No. I don’t want Ophelia to get hurt, but I hate even more the thought of you being in danger.”
BOOM!
While Albers hesitated, half of the ceiling collapsed.
Now the fire was consuming the house uncontrollably.
“Ophelia!”
Albers shouted in shock at that moment.
“No! Young lady!”
Someone rushed like a gust of wind into the collapsing house.
“I’ll save you. Please, just hold on a little longer.”
Through the hot, suffocating smoke, a small silhouette appeared in Ophelia’s fading vision.
“Ti…na…”
“Ugh….”
Ophelia frowned in pain.
Her skin felt like it was burning away, and the sharp smell of scorched flesh filled her nose. She was burning alive.
“Agh!”
Ophelia, thrashing in bed, screamed and shot upright.
“Hah…!”
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and looked around.
The dawn before sunrise was dark and silent.
She quickly lit a match and ignited the candle on the bedside table.
Tick. Tock. Tick.
A grayish-brown moth kept crashing endlessly against the windowpane from outside.
It resembled her past self—charging recklessly toward a love that meant nothing—and that foolish moth’s obsession with fire overlapped in her mind.
Her head throbbed.
Holding her forehead, Ophelia muttered softly:
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I can do better this time. There’s still time. Still…”
Today marked the fourth day since she regressed two years before her death. Every night, she was haunted by dreams of burning alive. So vivid. Everything was chaos.
Albers Hamil.
As if by habit, his name slipped from her lips.
Whispering the name of the man who had ruined everything, Ophelia walked toward the large mirror in the corner of the room.
“Wavy black hair like the night sky unfurled, eyes like amethysts holding mystery.”
It felt as if his voice echoed in her ears—the most exquisite compliment he had ever given her.
She studied her reflection carefully, brushing her black hair gently.
Ordinary. If examined closely, she could be considered pretty, but she was nowhere near a breathtaking beauty like Elia.
With a face like this, becoming the prince Albers Hamil’s mistress was, as others said, nothing more than “pure luck.”
‘Prince Albers is simply repaying a debt of life to you. That’s not love, Lia. Please wake up!’
Her friend Nea’s cutting words echoed in her mind, twisting her heart once again.
Ophelia shook her head harshly, trying to erase Albers’s lingering shadow.
She looked back into the mirror and stared at her own eyes.
Her small lips parted.
“Money.”
“Power.”
One after another, meaningless-sounding words flowed from her mouth.
“Legal wife.”
And then, the faintly trembling amethyst in her eyes hardened once more.
Three goals she had sworn to achieve on the first day of her regression.
With unimaginable wealth, wield absolute power no one could dare oppose, and protect the family she had lost so meaninglessly in her past life!
And in this life, she would throw away trivial things like love and live as the rightful legal wife, holding the most extravagant wedding imaginable!
Knock, knock.
At the sound of knocking, Ophelia slowly unclenched her tightly balled fists.
The door opened, and in came a red-haired maid with freckles on her nose and a cute face.
“Tina!”
“Miss, you’re awake?”
Ophelia’s eyes stung as she looked at Tina.
“Oh my. Miss, why are you sweating so much? And why are you so pale? You’ll feel better if you soak in warm water. Shall I prepare it?”
“Yes. Tina…”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For always staying by my side.”
“Oh, Miss…”
Blushing, Tina went off to prepare the bath, and Ophelia’s purple eyes softened as she watched her.
Warm bathwater slowly loosened her tense muscles.
“Tina, Father and my brother should have arrived safely at the ducal estate, right?”
“They surely have.”
Tina replied while washing Ophelia’s back.
Ophelia’s father, Jont Laceres, was one of the many illegitimate children of Barroso Laceres, the third duke of the Astra Kingdom.
Life for illegitimate children in the Astra Kingdom was not easy.
A hundred years ago, kingdoms of the western continent, admiring the culture of the east, adopted its customs and stripped illegitimate children of inheritance rights, establishing discrimination between legitimate and illegitimate heirs.
Her father, born out of wedlock, had been nearly driven out with only a small allowance and the title of baron, sent to the border city of Naris.
Because of that, even if there had been another choice, her father would never have willingly returned to the main family.
“Still no word from Father yet?”
“No… the butler is very worried as well.”
“The butler?”
For a brief moment, hatred and killing intent flashed in her eyes.
Samuel, the head butler. A man trusted by her parents, and someone Ophelia had once believed in like family.
If not for Samuel, her family would never have suffered so much at the ducal estate.
Though Jont held the title of baron, their house was not much different from that of ordinary commoners.
A modest two-story home with a small front yard barely worthy of being called a garden, neatly kept but with faded, cracked exterior walls.
The household consisted only of her father, her brother Leo, and Ophelia herself.
Her mother had died of tuberculosis three years ago, and their staff was limited to Butler Samuel, maid Tina, and cook Bisha.
That afternoon, Bisha knocked on Ophelia’s door.
“Miss, Miss Nea has arrived. She is waiting in the drawing room.”
“Tell her I’ll be down shortly and serve her tea first.”
Ophelia quickly finished dressing and headed to the first-floor reception room.
Standing before the door, her hand paused on the doorknob for a moment. It was her first time seeing Nea again after her regression, and she felt nervous without realizing it.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door—and her long-awaited friend appeared.
Nea, with her small frame, was sitting on the sofa tapping her feet anxiously.
Nea Renat—Ophelia’s friend who made her heart warm just by seeing her face.
Nea’s father, Viscount Deis, was a branch descendant of the Renat family of the Apols Empire’s imperial line.
He led the largest merchant guild in the Apols Empire and had built immense wealth and connections even within the Astra Kingdom.
“Nea!”
Ophelia greeted her warmly and hugged her tightly.
Nea didn’t even flinch and immediately spoke with determination.
“Ophelia, I’ll get straight to the point. In two days, my family is leaving for the capital, Asri. Come with us. There are already rumors that many nobles and merchants have been killed by bandits on the escape routes. I can’t leave you behind.”
The border city of Naris, located between the Betus Kingdom and the Apols Empire, was in a dire state.
Bandits from Betus had always occasionally caused trouble, but this year, rumors of war between the Apols Empire and the Betus Kingdom had spread, and bandits were now swarming everywhere.
Ophelia’s father had already left for the capital Asri to find a place for them to stay, and the situation in Naris had deteriorated faster than expected.
Countless nobles and merchants had been killed on the road to the capital.
However, Viscount Deis had survived even in her past life by hiring numerous mercenaries as escorts.
If Ophelia and Tina had not hidden among refugees after being ruined by Samuel, they would not have reached the capital alive either.
Looking at Nea’s lips firing off words as if refusing was not an option, Ophelia smiled faintly.
Even in her past life, Nea had always cared for her.
When Ophelia tried to become Albers Hamil’s mistress, Nea had strongly opposed it.
“A second wife? Have you seen my father’s concubines? My mother, the legal wife, didn’t even allow them to bear children. Even if they did, they’re usually cast out with nothing once they come of age. That’s the fate of illegitimate children. Do you really think you can live as a shadow while another woman is the legal wife?”
Her friend’s words had pierced painfully. But Ophelia, blinded by love, could not leave Albers.
Nea had cried and begged her.
“Ophelia, please wake up. Stop obsessing over him and leave the crown prince. Look at yourself. Where did my friend Ophelia go?”
Even on the day her father and brother were executed, Nea came and cried as if it were her own loss.
“I’m sorry… even my father said there was nothing he could do. Even the crown prince and House Laceres have abandoned everything… I’m so sorry I couldn’t help… sob…”
Ophelia later thought she should have listened to her friend then. If she had, she would not have burned to death because of Albers—or regressed like this.
“Ophelia, did you hear? Prince Albers is engaged to Elia Laceres. That horrible woman! I knew it! She drove a wedge between us and now even stole your cousin’s man! If you want to leave him, just say the word. I’ll help you.”
Nea, just like in her past life, was still willing to help her.
Looking at her dear friend, Ophelia smiled brightly.
“Nea, thank you. Meeting you is the greatest blessing of my life. Yes, let’s leave together in two days.”
“Really?”
Nea studied her carefully, trying to read her sincerity.
“Phew… thank goodness. I was so worried you’d refuse. Do you know how many things I prepared just to convince you, Ophelia Laceres?”
Before she could finish, the drawing room door slammed open with a loud bang.
“You’re leaving?! What are you talking about? The master clearly told you to wait for news.”
Ophelia slowly turned her head toward the voice.
Butler Samuel.
The first thread of tragedy from her past life—and the number one target to eliminate in this life.
