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Chapter 5
Not only Edel, but also Kia and the other attendants seemed to be alive again.
And then those words—Imperial Year 300.
That was when Edel had been twenty-one years old. Just a month before her engagement ceremony with Cassian. Three years in the past.
When she first woke in bed, it felt like she had risen from a refreshing sleep. Her body felt light, her mood bright. Everything seemed like a dream.
Until reality struck.
The dreamy haze shattered the moment she saw Kia.
Her memories of her death came flooding back. Everything became real again.
It hadn’t taken long to realize that what she thought was a dream was in fact reality. Those vivid sensations—such a terrible time could never have been just a dream.
After the shock came anger.
Edel grabbed whatever was at hand and vented her rage. Her fury at Cassian nearly made her lose her sanity.
And then, when she confirmed Kia’s loyalty and finally pulled herself together, she found reality almost impossible to believe.
Edel Zedenbark had returned from death. She had come back to the age of twenty-one, right before her engagement ceremony.
Could such a thing even be possible?
From Kia’s reactions, it seemed she remembered nothing of the events before Edel’s death.
Well, if a maidservant truly did remember, she would have dropped everything and rushed straight to Edel.
It was a relief, though in some ways disappointing. If more people already knew Cassian was a traitor, turning public opinion would have been far easier.
Still, regardless—
“This life will be different.”
She would never again lose to the sly Lowen Zedenbark, nor would she let herself be played by the vile Cassian Dwelsen.
Never again.
No matter the circumstances, she would repay the betrayal she had suffered—with even greater vengeance.
Even if it meant becoming a so-called “villainess” who would use any means necessary.
“Your Highness, Princess! May I come in?”
At the sound of knocking, Edel shook off her thoughts and lifted her head. Kia entered with the imperial physician.
When the physician noticed the bloodstained hem of Edel’s sleeve, he quickly guessed the situation and began tending to her wounds.
Meanwhile, Edel took the schedule Kia handed her and slowly looked it over.
Even with her good memory, she couldn’t recall every detail from three years ago. Still, glancing at the list brought some things back.
Most of it consisted of her duties as a princess—hardly things she looked forward to. But one thing unmistakably stood out: her engagement ceremony with Cassian.
“A month from now, the engagement, is it?”
“It really does feel… if I may, forgive me—it feels like sending off a beloved daughter to be wed.”
“It’s just an engagement, not the wedding itself.”
When Edel curled her lips in playful jest, Kia too let out a bright laugh.
“But still, I’m truly happy. At last, Your Highness will have a partner.”
Edel couldn’t help but let a bitter laugh slip.
“A partner, hm…”
“Yes. He is certainly a partner.”
A partner who betrayed her. A partner who cheated on her. A partner who framed her for treason.
He had betrayed and abandoned her—her “true” partner in every wrong sense.
When the physician’s treatment was finished, only Edel and Kia remained in the room.
“Kia, I have something to say.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Kia waited eagerly, but the words that came weren’t what she had hoped for.
“Cassian Dwelsen, Lowen Zedenbark—they will die by my hand. It is my duty to drag them down into the abyss.”
“…What?”
When Edel’s sharp gaze turned toward her, Kia couldn’t help but flinch.
The eyes that had always glowed with a lovely pink hue now brimmed with murky darkness. The veins in her temples stood out with such force that Kia could feel the immeasurable wrath behind them.
“What… what do you mean?”
Cursing her fiancé on the eve of their engagement ceremony—Kia’s pupils dilated in shock.
Edel’s eyes held no hesitation. The certainty there left no room for doubt.
“Do you… not wish for this engagement, then?”
“To be honest, no. But for now, I must bide my time. I’ll see it through to the end.”
She hated Cassian enough to never want to see him again.
But not yet. She had to remain by his side, watching for a chance at revenge. And besides, she lacked a justifiable reason to annul the engagement.
If she alone rejected it, her reputation would suffer while public sympathy turned to Cassian.
Edel flexed her injured hand and asked, “If I disinfect and change the bandages regularly, it’ll heal quickly, won’t it?”
Kia couldn’t answer. Her lips trembled, too shaken to form words.
She had vowed to follow Edel to the end, but she had never imagined it would mean turning against Cassian.
Kia had trusted him deeply, just as Edel once had. And truthfully, apart from the Lowen faction, there was hardly anyone who would wish to drag Cassian to ruin. He held too great a place within the Empire.
Yet such words had come not from anyone else, but from Edel—the very one destined to become his partner. The shock was immense.
And yet—
“If that is what my lady wishes, I will give my all to support you.”
Kia had only one path: Edel.
Explanations could come later. But the moment to pledge loyalty was now.
“It makes me happy and sad at once.”
Kneeling once more with her head bowed, poor Kia waited for her mistress’s next words.
“Tell no one yet.”
“Of course.”
Edel patted Kia’s shoulder gently.
“Now then, let’s prepare to go out.”
“Yes, Your Highness…!”
Relieved, Kia leapt up and quickly helped Edel with preparations for a simple outing.
“Then I shall escort you safely, Your Highness,” said the coachman.
Edel gave a faint smile and stepped into the carriage. The wheels rattled as they began to turn.
“Aren’t you curious where we’re headed?”
Until now, Edel hadn’t told Kia their destination, and Kia hadn’t asked.
But it wasn’t hard to guess.
“You’re going to see Duke Dwelsen, aren’t you? Since you haven’t even had breakfast, there’s nowhere else you’d go but his estate.”
“Correct.”
Edel nodded, satisfied at her accurate deduction.
After that, silence. Edel gazed out the window, lost in thought.
It was necessary to observe Cassian, but she hardly relished it.
To see the face of her betrayer immediately after returning… if she didn’t punch him, that would be restraint enough.
Still, curiosity lingered. What had Cassian been like, right before their engagement? She could barely remember.
“Um… Your Highness?”
“What is it?”
Kia hesitated for a long time, face clouded with conflict, before finally speaking.
“May I ask… why? Just yesterday, you were singing Duke Dwelsen’s praises. How could your feelings change overnight?”
Indeed, anyone would find it strange not to ask.
Edel gave a bitter smile.
“Because of a nightmare.”
“A nightmare? Was it so powerful that it could change your heart toward him in an instant?”
Though she seemed to accept the answer, Kia’s expression was still doubtful.
Edel thought carefully, then let out a deep sigh, fixing Kia with a solemn gaze.
“Duke Dwelsen will kill me.”
“…The Duke? Do you mean—in your dream, he killed you?”
“Yes. Which is why I must strike first, before he does.”
It still sounded vague. Why should a death in a dream carry over into reality?
“They call it regression.”
At those words, Kia’s doubts gave way to understanding.
“My nightmare—all of it was real.”
It was Edel’s second gamble. But this, too, she was certain to win. Since Kia was now bound to her, Edel had to tell her.
Would Kia believe her?
“The Duke… did such a thing? Your Highness, you…”
Kia muttered in confusion, but then began to nod slowly.
“Some kind of sorcery, perhaps…? Could it be that the royal family’s author—”
“We’ve arrived.”
Before Kia could finish, the carriage stopped and the coachman announced their arrival.
Edel waited, almost daring Kia to continue, but in the end she closed her mouth. Her expression mixed unease and welcome, torn between disbelief and hope.
Edel assumed it was simply because Kia hadn’t fully accepted the idea of regression yet.
“Let’s go.”
Speaking more briskly than usual, Edel stepped down from the carriage.
The duke’s butler greeted her with practiced courtesy.
“Princess Edel Zedenbark.”
“It’s been a while.”
It had indeed—but there was no joy in the reunion.
After Cassian abandoned her, Edel had come to despise everyone in the Dwelsen household.
Vile people. How could none of them have warned her until disaster struck?
Those who disliked Cassian must have been silenced one way or another. Though she couldn’t fully blame them, resentment was unavoidable.
Still, she couldn’t afford to let her personal feelings show. To get her revenge, she first had to stay close to Cassian.
Swallowing her anger, Edel followed the butler with a radiant smile and graceful steps.
“Once again, you arrive without notice, Your Highness. Had we been informed, we could have prepared a much grander welcome.”
“No need. I’ve always visited the duke’s house unannounced. If you hosted a feast every time, the estate would be bankrupt by now.”
“Haha, worry not. This is one of only two ducal houses in the Empire.”
With that, the butler led her not to Cassian’s office, but to a reception room.
Edel frowned at the unexpected change.
Looking uncomfortable, the butler finally sighed and explained, “I must apologize—we cannot bring you directly to the Duke at this moment. If you would kindly wait in the reception room, we will fetch him shortly.”
Though suspicious, Edel nodded and sat quietly on the sofa.
But time passed, and Cassian never appeared. The servants merely asked her to wait a little longer.
“Could something have happened to the Duke?” Kia asked cautiously.
Edel, frowning, rose from her seat. Just then, the butler appeared again.
“If you could wait just a little longer…”
“Take me to him. I must see Duke Dwelsen myself.”
The butler hesitated, then seemed to decide that Edel’s presence might help. He turned and led the way.
Ordinarily, no one else would be allowed entry, but Edel was both a princess and Cassian’s betrothed. Thus she was able to reach his private quarters without issue.
“My lord Duke, Princess Edel Zedenbark has come to see you,” the butler announced, knocking.
No reply.
Even after some time, silence. The butler raised his hand to knock again.
“My lord—”
“Do not come in!”
A voice thundered from within—one Edel had never heard before.
She flinched in surprise. The butler, sweating profusely, whispered, “He has been like this since earlier.”
“Clearly something is wrong. Why haven’t you gone in?”
“The door is locked.”
“Then open it.”
Edel’s command was firm.
The butler rushed off to fetch help.
Left alone, Edel tried again.
“Duke Dwelsen.”
“…”
“Cassian Dwelsen.”
Still no answer.
‘What on earth…’
That voice she had just heard—it wasn’t his usual voice. It was closer to the roar of some beast.
Desperate, agonized, at once fiercely aggressive and yet defensive.
“…Ha.”
The absurdity of it all drew a hollow laugh from Edel.
How could she glean so much from just his voice?
The answer, stupidly enough, was obvious.
