The Duchess, my sister-in-law, had just shoved her own son and daughter from the gallery window. I, who had witnessed the entire thing, did not scream. I did not call for help. I simply sat, calmly sipping my tea, and watched the tragedy unfold. I watched, my expression serene, as one child was impaled on the wrought-iron fence below, and the other shattered upon the cobblestones. I did this because, in my previous life, I had screamed for a physician the very instant it happened. But I was too late. The children died, and the Duchess, Theresa, swore to everyone that I was the murderer. My mother, returning from a pilgrimage, rushed back to the manor with a hand-picked witness and, without a moment’s hesitation, condemned me. Helpless, I turned to my brilliant scholar husband, begging for his support. He tore his hand from my grasp. “You venomous snake!” he spat. “You lured me away just so you could commit murder!” Then my brother, the formidable Lord Regent, his face a mask of incandescent rage, ran me through with his sword. He ordered my body to be dragged to the public square and drawn and quartered. As I died, I couldn't understand. Why? Why did my husband and my own mother bear false witness against me? Until I opened my eyes again and found myself back on the very day the children died. 1. “Fanny, darling, you take the gifts back to the manor. The children must be waiting. I’m just going to pop into the tavern next door for a bottle of wine.” The sound of my husband Alexander’s voice sent a jolt through me. I was reborn. It was real. In my last life, Alexander and I had been returning from the Winter Ball at the palace. Halfway home, he had made the same excuse to stop at the tavern. The moment I had stepped through the doors of the manor, I’d seen the children screaming as they fell. I had sprinted forward, desperate to save them, while simultaneously shouting for a servant to fetch a physician. The Duchess, Theresa, was collapsed on the floor, paralyzed by fear. Seeing me was like seeing a lifeline. “Fanny, save me!” she’d sobbed. “The children weren’t focusing on their studies, I only meant to punish them by making them stand at the window for a while… I never thought… please, you have to help me!” By the time I reached them, the children were already gone. My brother, Alistair, the Lord Regent, had lived a life of impeccable discipline. He had taken Theresa as his second wife but had no other mistresses. These two children were his only heirs. He would want blood for this. The commotion drew the neighbors. They pointed at me, accusing me of murdering the young Lord and his sister. I tried to explain that I had just returned, that Theresa was the one responsible. But then Alexander rushed in, his finger pointed at my nose, his voice thick with hatred. “Fanny, you are a monster! You tricked me into leaving so you could kill children!” Amid the chaos, my mother, who was supposed to be on a religious retreat, burst in with her so-called witness, her eyes demanding my life. “You poisoner! Give me back my grandchildren!” Before I could form a word, my brother Alistair, home at some unknown point, ran me through with his sword. He roared for his men to drag me to the executioner’s square to be drawn and quartered, and they tore my head from my body as I watched in horror. To my dying breath, I never understood why they did it. The phantom terror of being torn apart still lingered. I swore on my trembling hands. This time, I would uncover the truth. And I would make every single one of them pay in blood. I calculated the time. The children’s "accident" was still half an hour away. As Alexander turned down the alley towards the tavern, I saw him exchange a subtle, knowing glance with Theresa’s handmaiden, Rosalind. A chill of pure ice cascaded down my spine. My husband, who had sworn he loved me more than life itself, was in league with my sister-in-law. I couldn’t fathom why. But I would not be a lamb to the slaughter. “Darling,” I purred, forcing a playful pout. “I want to see the new collection at the jeweler’s. Won’t you come with me, please?” Alexander, caught off guard after his signal to Rosalind, flinched. He quickly recovered his gentle, coaxing tone. “My sweet girl, just tell me what you’d like. I’ll bring it back for you.” A wave of revulsion washed over me. I fought it down and linked my arm through his. “No, I won’t have it. Your taste is so dreadfully old-fashioned. If you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you go back first?” Did he think I was still a fool? My mother and sister-in-law were already waiting at home, ready to spring their trap. In my last life, they had been the ones to hold me down, allowing my brother to deliver the fatal blow. 2. The jeweler had many new designs on display. As I browsed, Alexander grew increasingly impatient, urging me to leave. I pretended not to notice, my hatred for him a burning coal in my gut. He had the audacity to set a trap for me. If I didn’t still have a use for him, I would have had him cut down where he stood. Finally, I saw my loyal maid, Clara, give me the signal that all was arranged. Only then did I casually select a set of jewelry. “Fanny, that’s a man’s set…” I was already walking out of the shop. “I like it,” I said dismissively. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading home now.” He was practically giddy with relief. He couldn't wait for me to go back. In my last life, he had used every trick in the book to lure me home, straight into their web. This time, I was eager to see what pathetic games they would play. As my carriage departed, I glanced back and saw Rosalind slip furtively into the shop. The two of them put their heads together, whispering. I smiled coldly and settled back into my seat. Just like last time, the Regent’s manor was eerily quiet, the servants all dismissed. The moment I walked in, I saw the two children falling from the gallery. This time, it was a few minutes earlier. Theresa was already collapsed on the floor. The second she saw me, she crawled towards me on her knees, her face a mask of terror. “Fanny, save me! The children weren’t focusing on their studies, I only meant to punish them by making them stand at the window for a while… I never thought… please, you have to help me!” I wrenched my arm from her grasp and called towards the door. “I’m afraid that’s no use, Sister. I’ve already sent Clara to fetch the city guard and a physician.” This time, I had no intention of saving anyone. At the mention of the city guard, Theresa’s feigned panic turned to genuine horror. She began to stammer that it wasn't on purpose. She was a brilliant actress. If I hadn’t seen that same face screaming for my death in my past life, I might have even believed her. The guards and the physician arrived quickly. As we descended the grand staircase, we saw the physician shake his head grimly. Outside, a crowd of neighbors had gathered, their curses aimed at me. After all, the world believes in wicked aunts, not wicked mothers. The guards began to question everyone separately. While Theresa was being interrogated, I waited. Suddenly, my magnificent brother, the Lord Regent, stormed back into the manor like a hurricane. He pushed through the crowd and his hand closed around my throat. He had been a warrior in his youth, and his aura was that of a killer. He had adored these two children above all else. Now, believing I had murdered them, he was ready to kill me with his bare hands. “Fanny,” he snarled, “did you loathe them this much? Enough to send them to their deaths?” The neighbors began to spit in my direction. Alexander and I had been married for five years without a child, and the court gossips whispered that I was jealous of my brother and his perfect family. I had denied it, but I knew Alistair had never truly believed me. Now, his eyes were bloodshot, like a beast that had lost all reason. His hand hovered over the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it. “If anything has happened to my children,” he ground out, “I swear I will have your life for it.” The memory of his sword piercing my chest overwhelmed me. I was frozen with terror, unable to speak. Theresa emerged from her questioning and saw the scene. “My Lord!” she cried. “I had just gone up to the gallery when I saw Fanny push the children! When I tried to save them, she nearly killed me too!” She pointed to her forehead, which was now bruised and bleeding. My dear sister-in-law. With a single sentence, she meant to sign my death warrant. 3. Don’t let my sister-in-law’s delicate frame fool you; when she shrieked and lunged at me, she came with the force of a battering ram. I sidestepped her lunge and, in front of everyone, kicked her squarely in the backside, sending her face-first into the mud. I snorted. “Dear sister, you were the one who pushed the children. Why are you trying to frame me?” The chaotic manor fell silent, broken only by Theresa’s muffled sobs. No one had expected me, a high-ranking lady of the court, to resort to such brutish violence. Even my enraged brother instinctively loosened his grip. I seized the opportunity and scrambled away from him. Recovering, Theresa’s voice exploded. “You’re insane! They were my children! How could I possibly harm them?” “Perhaps you’ve forgotten, Sister, but they aren’t your biological children. And since you find my presence so inconvenient, what better way to solve both problems? Frame me for their murder, and you get rid of three obstacles at once.” My words struck her like lightning. Her face went ashen. She shot a panicked look at Alistair, then turned back to curse me. “You fiend! You’re trying to sow discord! Why would I use my own children’s lives to frame you?” “Sow discord? After the palace banquet today, my husband and I went directly to the jeweler’s. When would I have had the time to harm the children?” I watched her face pale even further and was about to press her when a hand clamped over my mouth. “That’s enough!” It was Alexander, who had just rushed in. He shot a pained, protective look at Theresa, then tightened his grip on my mouth. “Fanny, what nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever go to a jeweler’s with you?” My heart turned to ice. Even knowing he was a traitor, facing his open betrayal still sent a shard of pain through me. He had denied me just like this in our last life. The mystery that had haunted me to my death was now, seeing his devotion to Theresa, painfully clear. “Alexander,” I said, my voice muffled as I struggled against his hand, “you were the one who wanted to buy wine. I only begged you to come with me to the jeweler’s. How can you deny it?” I finally broke free, my eyes locking on his, filled with despair and fury. “Why are you lying for her?” Alexander’s eyes darted away for a second before he flatly denied it. “What lies are you telling? We all know you’re the killer. We have witnesses and evidence. Are you trying to blame the Duchess for your crime?” Every word was another nail in my coffin. As I opened my mouth to speak again, my mother, Lady Isolde, burst in, just as she had before. “Damn you, Fanny! You murdered my grandchildren, and I will see you pay with your life!” Her distress seemed genuine, her curses flying from her lips. “Theresa, my dearest girl, do not worry! Mother will see justice done for you today!” My mother, the woman I had respected for twenty years, the Dowager Duchess of the manor, pointed an accusing finger at me. “Call the guards! Arrest this murderer!” A profound chill settled deep in my bones. My own mother, whom I had loved and revered for two decades, was personally accusing me of murder. Before Alistair married, he had doted on me. But after Theresa arrived, everything changed. It was as if she, not I, had become the true daughter of the house. I looked at my mother in anguish. “Mother, are you truly saying I killed them? I am your daughter.” I hoped to appeal to some lingering ember of affection. I was wrong. She wouldn’t even look at me, her face a mask of hatred. “Get out of my sight! This family has no place for a thankless wretch like you!” She dragged a trembling maid forward. “The Regent’s house has treated you well, Fanny! Why did you have to harm the young Lord and his sister? Here! Here is the witness who saw it all! Do not even think of denying it!” At the word “witness,” Alistair lunged at the maid, grabbing her by the collar. “What did you say? Did my sister truly murder my children?” The maid nodded, terrified. Just like last time, my mother insisted I was the murderer. I stared at her, my voice catching in my throat. “Mother… why? Why are you doing this to me?” I thought I might see a flicker of remorse, but all I received was the stinging slap of her hand across my face. “Insolence! You have murdered the heirs of this house! You are not worthy to call me mother! Alistair! Have her executed!” That slap didn’t just strike my face; it shattered the last vestiges of love I held for my mother. Alistair, having heard the ‘confession,’ turned to me, his eyes filled with a murderous light. He charged, drawing his sword and thrusting it toward my chest. A suffocating wave of terror washed over me. My vision blurred, but through the haze, I saw Theresa, hiding behind my mother, a triumphant smile on her face. My husband stood beside her, a protective arm around her. I closed my eyes in despair as the cold steel broke my skin. At the last possible second, a dark object flew through the air, striking Alistair’s blade and knocking it aside. A powerful voice boomed through the manor. “Halt!”
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