Chapter 2

The villainess who was supposed to be locked away in the tower, crying and screaming, now stood before my eyes.

With the dagger in her hand plunged into my heart…

The moment I realized it, a burning pain spread through my chest. The cruel sensation left me unable to do anything but groan.

“Ugh… Rienette. How are you….”

It hurt. Even in my previous life, I had never experienced pain like this. That death had been entirely different—when I had fallen asleep and simply never woken up, everything had ended. This was on another level.

Even in the midst of unbearable agony, a thought surfaced in my mind. Then… was it Rienette who sent the assassins after Seiden? If she had plotted treason while imprisoned in the tower…

Why does Rienette hate me this much? I still didn’t know the reason. I couldn’t understand it. What could possibly have made her choose to become the villainess?

The burning pain was so overwhelming, I couldn’t continue thinking. Not even a plea for help, not even a curse, could escape my lips—it hurt that much.

Rienette, drenched in my blood, threw me to the floor. As the knife that had been lodged in my heart slid out, it felt like my flesh was being pushed apart.

It felt as if something was draining out of me.

It hurt—as though something inside me was leaking away.

“It wouldn’t be fun if you gave out so quickly. The gift I’m giving you isn’t mere physical pain.”

My body curled up on its own. My torn heart kept pumping out hot liquid. As the thick warmth surged through me, my slip began to soak, slowly but steadily. I could feel the hot blood soaking my whole body.

“Keep living… as you go mad. Sadly, I won’t get to see it, but just that thought is satisfying enough.”

As her hand caressed my cheek, everything before my eyes went pitch black.

“I wish you could live my life. My miserable, painful life.”

Rienette’s voice echoed dully, as though it were coming from very far away.

“Farewell, Elise Sihen.”

* * *

So this is what death feels like. The pain that had consumed me vanished in an instant.

In this strangely peaceful sensation, I cautiously opened the eyes I had kept tightly shut. My blurred vision cleared, and the things before me gradually came into focus.

It was a familiar place. Seiden’s garden. The grass and flowers there, the large trees, the antique stone walls.

The very place where I had just died.

And lying before me was none other than—

My body, the limp figure of Elise Sihen, whom I had lived as for 24 years.

“You’ll ruin the fun if you give out already. The gift I’m giving you isn’t something as simple as physical pain.”

“I wish you could live my life. My wretched, painful life.”

Rienette’s voice—what I had faintly heard before dying—echoed over and over again in my ears. The voice of the woman who killed me.

Only then did I realize I was holding something in my hand.

The dagger. The very one that had pierced my heart was now gripped tightly in my hand, as though refusing to fall.

The dark red blood dripping from the blade soaked my sleeve. A white dress. The fabric it seeped into was not the slip I had worn earlier, but the white gown symbolizing the saintess.

“This situation right now…”

Had I become Rienette?

Far off in the distance, I saw flickering lanterns. At least a dozen, maybe more.

“There! Search that area!”

A familiar voice. The voice of the captain of Seiden’s royal guard.

I had to run. I couldn’t face the knights with my dead blood splattered all over me. Especially not in Rienette’s body.

I turned and ran in the opposite direction from where the knights were gathering. Still gripping the dagger that had killed me tightly in my right hand.

My breath came fast and shallow. Everything was moving too quickly for me to make sense of the situation.

After running for some time, I began to see a figure in the distance.

“…Seiden?”

I knew instantly. The one standing at the garden entrance was none other than Seiden.

Hadn’t he been attacked by Rienette as well? But contrary to what I’d expected, Seiden looked unscathed, perfectly fine.

I stopped where I was, my legs frozen in place, and stared at him. With trembling hands, I wiped the blood off my face.

I held my breath, trying desperately not to make a sound. I didn’t want him to notice me.

“Rienette?”

But my efforts were in vain. He called out Rienette’s name and started walking toward me at a quick pace.

I instinctively stepped back, retreating a few steps before stopping in place.

Dying like this might not be so bad. If it meant not leaving behind the guilt of an unresolved murder for my family and Seiden to bear.

Meeting my end at their hands wouldn’t be the worst possible ending.

While I was still lost in that thought, he had already come quite close.

Seiden said nothing as he continued walking toward me. I held my breath and waited for him to fully see me.

To cut my throat and end this twisted story once and for all.

I slowly closed my eyes. Hoping to dull the pain of death, even just a little.

“I’ve been waiting.”

But what I felt next wasn’t the chill of a blade.

Seiden—

He kissed me.

Me, who had become Rienette—no longer Elise Sihen.

* * *

Through my closed eyes, a faint light seeped in. I instinctively frowned, and a shadow fell across my face.

Sensing the presence, I gently opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was Seiden.

Lying across from me on the bed, he was the one casting that shadow over my face. His gentle voice whispered in my ear.

“Good morning.”

He smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened. As if everything from yesterday had been just a dream.

Had it all truly been a dream?

But even that last glimmer of hope was soon shattered.

This was the castle where Rienette had been imprisoned. The place I had awakened in was her bedroom.

A lavish, extravagant room—far too luxurious to belong to someone in confinement.

“Why am I… here…?”

There was a time when I had wondered: If the gods were to take away all my luck, and I had to live another wretched life, what would I do?

Could I endure such a life? Even now, I still didn’t have an answer.

And truthfully, I didn’t want one. I hadn’t thought something like that would ever happen again.

Reincarnation—I’d already experienced it once, so it didn’t seem so remarkable anymore. All the confusion had ended 24 years ago, the day I was reborn.

But never had I imagined I would possess the body of the woman who killed me.

“Rie, are you really okay? The physician said it was just from overwork, but I can’t trust that.”

His voice, so warm, as if the last thing I saw before losing consciousness had been real after all.

Seiden’s voice called me “Rie”—a nickname he had never once used for me, but now whispered tenderly to Rienette.

Everything was pointing to a single, undeniable truth.

Seiden had betrayed me. No—had he ever truly been on my side to begin with?

So this was the ending I had wished for so desperately. The happy ending… this was it.

“I took care of the woman’s body myself. There won’t be any suspicions. Everything ended exactly as planned.”

His pleased smile made me sick. I forced myself to stay composed and walked to the mirror.

“So this is really… me…”

Jet-black hair, deep and shadowy green eyes, a seductively unholy appearance unbefitting a saintess.

Rienette Seriatina.

The reflection in the mirror was her body.

“It’s a good day, isn’t it, Rienette? That boring noble girl is dead, and the damn duke’s house will soon fall.”

“…”

“Finally, the air in this world feels a bit clearer, doesn’t it?”

He approached me and kissed my forehead.

In the mirror too, Seiden kissed Rienette’s forehead softly.

These gentle lips—were actually meant for Rienette.

“Let’s get ready for the funeral. You’ve been looking forward to it.”

I stood there silently, staring into the void, unable to respond to his words.

To think… I’m to go to my own funeral. To stand in front of my own corpse, decorated with white flowers…

I rose, my body trembling uncontrollably. I had to remain cold and composed.

The damn duke’s house will soon fall—Seiden had said that.

He said my family would soon be destroyed.

“In the name of the saintess, I offer a prophecy. The pitiful noble lady will, in the end, be killed by her own family.”

My death would now be blamed on my family.

That, at the very least, I had to stop.

I barely gathered myself and boarded the carriage. I humored Seiden’s chatter with just enough effort.

“Let’s get out, Rienette.”

Through the window, I could see the estate where I was born and raised. Since my engagement, I’d been living in the palace, so it felt strangely unfamiliar.

I never imagined I would return to this place in Rienette’s body…

Still unable to believe it, I stared out the window in silence. Seiden fiddled with my hand and spoke softly.

“By now, everything should be over.”

He pulled out a pocket watch and checked it before speaking again. His sudden comment made me frown slightly and turn my eyes toward him.

“Even the youngest of the duke’s children should’ve been executed by now.”

He cupped my cheeks with both hands and smiled.

The youngest child of the duke… executed.

A foreign ringing buzzed in one ear. My mind felt like it was being shaken apart.

“Executed…?”

A wave of nausea swept over me.

“It means there’s no longer a duke’s house in this empire. Everyone bearing the name of House Sihen is dead. Elise Sihen, those detestable duke and duchess, and even the sweet little Xenia Sihen—every one of them.”