Everyone said I was a fool. As a child, I drank a sip of poisoned soup meant for my mother and my mind was addled ever since. My fiancé, deeming me a simpleton, refused to marry me, yet he secretly tumbled in the sheets with my sister, leaving her with a child. Later, when my sister was chosen to be the Crown Prince’s betrothed, she pushed me in front of our father, her voice dripping with scorn. “The Prince is a dead man walking anyway. Just let Lyra marry him.” But I wasn't a fool. “If sister doesn't want him, Lyra doesn't want him either.” My father coaxed and cajoled. “Lyra, my dear, the Royal Palace has delicacies beyond your wildest dreams.” My eyes lit up. “I’ll marry him!” They all sneered, convinced I was truly an idiot. But as I sat in the royal carriage on my way to the palace, my mind clear and my gaze steady, they would all come to regret it. Deeply. 1 “Don’t, Gareth. Not on the boat… the fool is watching.” My sister, Lady Annelise, feigned resistance, shooting me a disdainful glare even as her arms wrapped languidly around Gareth’s neck. Gareth scoffed. “What does that simpleton know?” He cast a cold, contemptuous look my way. “Lyra has been a fool for years. If she had a single thought in her head, she wouldn’t be sitting here watching her own fiancé with her sister.” “She’s just a mindless idiot.” Feeling Annelise’s fingers tracing patterns on his chest, he suddenly pulled her close, pinning her against the hull of the boat. They were soon lost in a tangle of limbs and whispers. I sat in the corner, contentedly eating my biscuits and trailing my fingers in the water. Hearing the commotion from inside the small cabin, I curiously peeked in. It was too dark to see anything. When I emerged, I was holding a piece of her silken lingerie. After they had finished, my sister couldn’t find her undergarment anywhere. She turned and saw me wearing it on my head, running around and giggling. Shame and fury contorted her face. The moment we returned to the manor, she had me locked in the woodshed. “You useless fool! Why didn’t you die with that wretched mother of yours? You’re an eyesore!” “You walked right into this yourself. Don’t blame me for teaching you a lesson…” She had the servants tie me up and beat me. I wailed and cried, but no one paid me any mind. Even my father, passing by, heard my cries and only shook his head with a sigh, quickening his pace. “Sister, don’t hit me! Whatever you want Lyra to do, I’ll do it…” Annelise’s expression shifted. “Stop.” The stout serving women immediately ceased. In the House of Verne, the word of the eldest daughter was more powerful than a royal decree. This was because her mother, the late Countess, had saved the King’s life ten years prior and was still honored in the royal crypt. After my own mother’s death, Annelise had wanted me dead too, but seeing my vacant-minded state, she kept me around as a plaything. Besides, she had her eyes on my fiancé, Gareth. She used the pretense of taking me boating on the lake to carry on her sordid affair with him. Now, she smiled languidly and yanked my hair. “You want to live, do you?” Annelise extended her foot. “Then lick my shoe clean. If I find a single speck of dirt, you can forget about keeping that pathetic life of yours.” I recoiled in disgust, but before I could even kneel, a servant kicked the back of my knees, sending me sprawling before Annelise. They forced my head down. “You little peasant! It’s an honor for you to lick the young lady’s shoe!” My body was a canvas of bruises from their kicks. I fought back the bile rising in my throat, ready to submit. Suddenly, a loud voice called from outside. “A messenger from the palace! My lady, the Lord requires your presence!” Annelise finally released me, but not before giving me one last vicious kick. “Lock her back in the woodshed. No food or water until I say so.” As I watched them leave, the foolish smile on my face slowly faded. Annelise. The real game is just beginning. Everyone said I was a fool. They didn’t know I was pretending. The poisoned soup that addled my mind? That was my past life. The Countess couldn’t tolerate my mother, her husband’s beautiful mistress, so she poisoned her medicine. I drank it by mistake. In my past life, I became a true simpleton, deeply in love with a fiancé who despised me for my foolishness while sleeping with my sister. I was a daughter of the house, yet I lived worse than a servant. Annelise not only tormented me to death but had me violated by a dozen stable hands before I drew my last breath. Thank the heavens, I was reborn. This time, I pretended to drink the soup, hoping to save my mother, but she was killed anyway. Since then, I’ve lived on, playing the fool, waiting for my chance at revenge. If I remembered correctly, it would be less than three days before Annelise herself came to beg me to come out. Just as I was about to faint from hunger, the woodshed door creaked open. “Sister…?” I looked up groggily. A man’s leering chuckle echoed in the shadows. It was the steward. “You wretch. You’re locked in a woodshed. The Lady Annelise is of high birth. You’re just a lowborn bastard. What right do you have to call her sister?” He spoke, but his eyes roamed over me with ill intent. I narrowed my eyes. Annelise had forbidden anyone from calling me “Lady Lyra.” I was to be called “wretch.” She had dismissed my personal maid, leaving me vulnerable to the staff’s abuse. In my past life, even the servants could enter my chambers at will. I was pregnant before I was even married. I remembered this steward’s disgusting face well. He rolled up his sleeves, a cruel grin spreading across his face. “Wretch, at least you’re pretty. Why don’t you have a little fun with me, and I’ll give you something to eat…” I tightened my grip on the dagger hidden in my sleeve, aiming for his throat. Just then, the door was thrown open. “You insolent dog!” Annelise stormed in with her retinue. The steward immediately fell to his knees, terrified. “How dare you disrespect the Lady Lyra! Drag him out and flog him!” Her guards rushed in and dragged the steward out, beating him half to death. He looked at her in disbelief. “My lady, but you ordered it! You said we could do anything to the wretch! Why are you…” Annelise smiled and helped me to my feet, ordering a change of clean clothes for me. “From this day forward, Lyra is reinstated as the second daughter of House Verne.” Everyone was stunned. Annelise, however, simply smiled and led me to our father. “Father, Lyra is of marrying age. Since the Crown Prince has requested a daughter of House Verne as his bride, let us send Lyra.” My father frowned, looking me over. “But Lyra is a simpleton. If she makes a fool of herself at the palace and offends the Prince, what then?” Annelise sneered. “Why worry, Father? That boy, Prince Alaric, is a dead man walking. He may hold the title of Crown Prince, but he won’t live much longer. The entire kingdom will belong to the Third Prince one day! If I am to marry, I will be a queen, not the wife of some short-lived invalid.” “Since he asked for a daughter of House Verne, well, Lyra, simple as she is, is still a daughter of this house, is she not?” My father sighed, his gaze falling on me as I greedily devoured a pastry. For a rare moment, his face held a hint of paternal affection. “Lyra, would you be willing to marry the Crown Prince?” I looked up at him, bewildered, then went back to my pastry, shaking my head firmly. “No. If sister doesn’t want him, Lyra doesn’t want him either.” The two of them exchanged a knowing smile. “But the Royal Palace has mountains of candied fruits and rivers of sweet wine,” my father said, pointing to the cake in my hand. “And every kind of delicious pastry you can imagine. Enough to last a lifetime.” My eyes instantly lit up. “I’ll marry him! Lyra wants to go to the palace!” With my consent, my father and Annelise began preparations for the wedding. The whole household knew: Lyra was no longer the despised bastard, but had been elevated to the status of a true daughter of the house. The day before I was to be married, Annelise took me for one last boat ride. I was cast aside while she rushed into the arms of Gareth, who was waiting nearby. “Gareth! I’ve missed you so much…” He held her, his face etched with worry. “Annelise, I heard the Prince had chosen a daughter of House Verne. I thought you would be the one to go. I haven’t slept for nights.” Annelise giggled. “Why would I marry Alaric? Of course, the fool is taking my place to marry that walking corpse. Everyone knows the Crown Prince is a sickly weakling, out of favor with the King. The King intends to make the Third Prince his heir. Marrying Alaric is a death sentence.” She placed a hand on her belly, her expression coy. “Besides, I’m carrying your child…” Gareth’s face lit up. “Truly? Then your… ‘chance encounter’ with the Third Prince must be moved up. Just… when you are the Third Prince’s wife, don’t forget me…” “And when our child inherits the throne, the whole kingdom will be ours!” I sat in the corner of the boat, munching on lotus seeds, leaving a pile of shells for them. And I heard every word. No wonder Gareth wouldn’t marry me. He was playing a much bigger game. Not only was he having an affair with Annelise, but he planned to pass his child off as royal blood. Once that child took the throne, he could be the power behind it. A bold plan. I wondered if it would cost him his life. The next morning, I was carried from my home in a royal palanquin. The moment I was inside, I began to vomit uncontrollably. Just moments before, in front of our father, Annelise had fed me a poison pill. “Lyra, remember,” she had hissed, “do not say what should not be said. If you betray father and me, this poison will be your end.” I shoved my fingers down my throat, forcing myself to retch until I coughed up the bitter pill. But a burning sensation lingered in my stomach, and I frowned, worried. After what felt like an eternity, the palanquin stopped. A fit of sharp coughs came from outside, and a long, slender, almost frail hand lifted the curtain. My face was covered by a red veil, but I could make out the figure of a sickly man, so weak he was seated in a wheelchair. “Lady Lyra. I am sorry you are burdened with marrying me.” His voice was deep and pleasant. This must be the Crown Prince. As I stepped down, I nearly stumbled, but the Prince’s hand shot out and steadied me. I was instantly alarmed. That grip… it was far too strong for a sickly man. This Prince, I realized, was also pretending. I dutifully followed Prince Alaric through the wedding ceremony. When the noise from outside finally died down, he slowly entered the bridal chamber. He paused in front of me, seeming to hesitate for a moment before lifting my veil and reaching to touch my face. I pulled away, meeting his eyes directly. “Your Highness, I have been poisoned.” He looked surprised, but I told him everything. “My father and sister do not favor you. To pledge their allegiance to the Third Prince, they have poisoned me. If you and I were to… consummate our marriage, your life would be in danger.” Alaric studied me for a long moment, a low chuckle escaping his lips. “You are remarkably honest. But you… why betray your own family to tell me this?” I lowered my head, my voice sincere. “Your Highness is my husband now. I only hope that when the House of Verne falls, you will protect me.” The look in Alaric’s eyes slowly changed. The initial suspicion vanished, replaced by a spark of amusement. “It seems that in refusing to send Annelise, they have sent me a treasure instead.” That night, the Prince slept fully clothed and did not touch me. He was a man of few words, silently observing my every move. The next morning, as I was about to prick my finger, he stopped me. “A lady should not have to do such things.” He took the dagger from my hand, sliced his own finger, and let the blood drip onto the white linen sheet on the bed. Sensing his gaze, I blushed. “Your Highness, please be assured. Once the poison is gone, we will not have to…” Alaric said nothing, simply turned and left. In the days that followed, I showed the Prince my complete loyalty. If I was going to drop the act of being a fool, I needed to secure my position by his side. I didn’t care that he was sickly, or that he spent his days in a wheelchair, half-dead. I served him with all my heart.
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