I placed a Charm of Devotion upon the General, making his world revolve solely around me. But the charm’s power was fleeting, lasting but a single day. Each time it faded, he seethed with a murderous rage. Later, I was captured by the enemy and bound to the city walls. Fearing I would cast my charm, he didn't wait for their demands. An arrow flew from his bow, straight into my heart. As I watched the blood trickle down the shaft of his arrow, a rare smile touched my lips. "System," I whispered, "is it time for me to go?" 【Tallying rewards. Estimated completion: ten days.】 I sighed. "Ten more days..." 1 There was barely a breath left in me as I hung from the city wall. The staff, the brand, the whip—all the agonies Marcus suffered in the last life, I endured in this one for him. On the verge of death, I saw him below. A flicker of joy sparked in my heart. So, even when it was me on the wall, he still came. I summoned every ounce of my remaining strength, my lips parting, wanting to shout to him, to tell him to ignore me, to save himself. But before a sound could escape, the arrow left his bow without a moment's hesitation. It was a perfect shot, not a hair's breadth off. Right in the heart. He wanted me dead. The smoke of battle billowed and the war drums thundered, but my world fell silent. A void opened in my chest, blood pouring out, yet I felt no pain. He cradled my broken body, a tenderness in his eyes I had never seen before. "I could not risk the soldiers and the people behind me. I would have done the same for anyone. I had no choice. Elara, in this life, I owe you." I laughed. He probably didn't even realize it himself, but what he owed me was far more than just this one life. Once, in the same scene, facing the same impossible choice, he had thrown down his weapons, dismissed his army, and walked into the city alone to be tortured to death. But that was because the person hanging on the wall was Livia, not me. It wasn't that he had no choice. It was that I was not his choice. "System, the mission is complete, isn't it? I can leave now." 【Affirmative... Please wait for the System to complete its tally. Estimated time: ten days.】 "An arrow is sticking out of my heart, and I have to live for ten more days?" The System was uncharacteristically silent. "What's wrong?" 【Host, you could choose not to leave. The mission is successful. You can choose to stay here, to not return to the Wastes.】 I smiled, but my voice was inexplicably bitter. "Here? This place is worse than the Wastes." Yes, Marcus had lived past his twenty-seventh year. My mission was a success. I could return to my own world, and I, too, could live past my own twenty-seventh year... I wanted to go back. I wanted to go back right now. After a long pause, the System finally spoke. 【Understood, Host. I guarantee that for these ten days, you will feel no pain or suffering. You can live healthily, happily, and bid a proper farewell to this world.】 This was the System's final gift to me. It wanted this broken woman, with an arrow in her heart, to live well for ten more days. 2 I had never truly lived well. This was already my second attempt at saving Marcus. I was transported from the Wastes, my mission to ensure the great general, who was fated to die young, survived past the age of twenty-seven. Once he passed his twenty-seventh birthday, I could return to my own world with a lifetime supply of food. Starving to the point of death, I had accepted without hesitation. The System told me that starting from the age of twenty-three, Marcus faced a death curse every year. So, I traded one of my eyes to the System for the Charm of Devotion. Though I lost sight in one eye, whenever I invoked the charm, his world would narrow to only me. He would do anything I said. On the day of his fated death, I just had to keep him from going anywhere, and the mission would be complete. So, in four years, I used the charm five times. He called me a sorceress, a witch who bewitched and controlled him. But every time I chanted the spell, it was to keep him alive. What I didn't know was that the charm could fail. That day, he had rushed to the city walls without a care in the world. Because hanging on that wall was the moonlight of his youth, Livia. To save her, he entered the city alone, was tortured, and died. My mission failed. We were both reborn on the day we first met. The System's rule was that upon mission restart, skills were nullified, but traded items were not returned. So this time, I traded my sense of smell for the charm once more. Everything that followed unfolded just as it had before. Except the one captured by the enemy and hung on the wall was me. I finally understood. Marcus's fated doom wasn't a series of accidents. It was always Livia. 3 When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in Marcus's room. In four years of marriage, I had never once set foot in here. The sound of a woman's weeping came from the doorway. "If I had known this would happen, I would never have let Lady Elara fetch the medicine for me. That day, she was craving the berry tarts I make, and I spent the whole day in the kitchen." "If only I had gone myself, then my lady wouldn't have..." "Don't say that. It's not your fault." Marcus's voice was cold, but the tone was uncharacteristically gentle. "It is my fault. I am the daughter of a disgraced official. My life is worthless. It should have been me who died..." "Nonsense! "Don't you dare speak of yourself that way!" I had heard enough. I pushed the door open. "My... my lady... You're not..." Livia, her face a canvas of tears, was nestled against my husband's chest. She stared at me, utterly shocked. Marcus seemed just as surprised, frozen in place. So, this was the scene that played out while I was dying. The System had promised the wound wouldn't hurt. Why, then, did my heart still twist in agony? I walked past them and called out, "Anna." The young maid scrambled in, looking as if she'd seen a ghost. But her face held a joy that was starkly absent from the other two. "I'd like some tea." I don't know what possessed Marcus, but he suddenly grabbed my arm. "You're not dead? Your wound..." I slapped his hand away. "That's right. Much to your disappointment, I didn't die." His chest was still smudged with the powder from Livia's makeup. The sight of it nauseated me, and I took a step back. But the man who usually wouldn't deign to touch me suddenly gripped my wrist in a vice. "I was worried about you. Why must you be so hostile?" I struggled, wanting nothing more than to be free of his touch. "My lady, you misunderstand. The General and I... it's nothing. I was just worried about you, that's all... Please don't quarrel with the General because of me." "You think too much, Lady Livia. I am simply thirsty," I cut her off. She was about to say more, but Marcus waved his hand. He swept me up into his arms and carried me straight to the bed. The moment he set me down, he began untying my clothes without a word. "What are you doing!" "Don't move! I need to see the wound." In the middle of our struggle, we heard a thud from outside. "Lady Livia! Lady Livia, what's wrong?" Marcus's body tensed instantly, his head snapping back in alarm. "I'm fine. The General should go and see. Lady Livia is frail." I used to be consumed with jealousy over Livia. Now, this show of understanding surprised Marcus. He awkwardly patted my head. "Don't be angry. I'll call for the physician to check on you." I smiled and nodded. The second he closed the door, I grabbed the nearby curtain and vigorously wiped the spot on my hair where he had touched me. 4 "The physician said her wound is almost healed, she's perfectly fine. She's just pretending to be gravely injured to make the General feel guilty and dote on her more." "A self-inflicted wound. I heard she went to that den of thieves on her own. It was probably all a deliberate act." "But she almost died!" "What do you know? It's all an act. She's fine." "You haven't heard the rumors. What good could come to a woman in an enemy camp? The General is just too kind. It's a miracle he didn't just gift her a silken rope to hang herself." Because of Marcus's attitude towards me, the servants in the General's manor never treated me with respect. I was outside getting some air while Anna brought me my favorite fruit. Just as Marcus walked in, the fruit "accidentally" slipped from my hand and hit the gossiping old woman. He picked it up and dismissed the servants. "Why are you still so ill-tempered?" I didn't answer, merely complaining to Anna that the fruit here was terribly sour. He walked over to me, took out a jade bracelet, and slipped it onto my wrist without asking. "This bracelet is of the finest quality, soaked in the best perfumes. The fragrance is exquisite. It suits you." I looked up at him. In the depths of his dark eyes, there was a flicker of hope. If this were before, my eyes would have reddened with joy. But now, this fragrance, my nose couldn't smell it. And this blind eye of mine could no longer turn red. I slid the bracelet off. "I don't care for such things. The General should give it to Lady Livia." He frowned. I braced myself for a tirade, but instead, he just clenched his jaw. "Very well. I will find something else you like." I knew. That arrow at the city gate. He felt guilty. That's why he was acting like this.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "392951", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel