At the Harvest Banquet, my sister drank a drugged wine, and I was made to be her cure. Afterward, our mother revealed we shared no blood and insisted I marry her. But my sister, Seraphina, believed this decree of fate had ruined her life. In a drunken rage, she tried to end her own life with a sword. I lost the use of my hands saving her. Finally, her eyes red with tears, she agreed to the marriage. But once we were wed, she locked me away, forcing me to work as the lowest stable hand. She watched as my ruined hands were followed by crippled legs. After she had my last rib broken, the physician declared I was on death’s door. So she gouged out my eyes and had me thrown into a mass grave, left for the wild beasts. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she was drugged. This time, Seraphina, I will let you have your love. 1 A hot, wet kiss landed on my ear, and my eyes flew open. I was met with the sight of my sister, Seraphina, her clothes in disarray, her face flushed from the drug coursing through her veins. Her eyes were glazed over with a feverish haze, on the verge of losing all reason. “Cedric, I’m so hot…” A burning hand slid to my waist, and it was then I realized: I had been reborn to the day she was poisoned. All the tragedies of my past life began on this very day. At the Harvest Banquet, someone had drugged her. By a cruel twist of fate, I was the one who walked into her chamber. One night of passion led to a lifetime of torment, my legs broken, my dignity shattered as I was treated like an animal. I shoved her away, hard. The jolt of pain seemed to bring a sliver of clarity back to her. Her gaze dropped to my own disheveled collar, and her eyes filled with an unspeakable contempt. “Cedric Valerius, do not think for a moment that by disgracing me this way, you can win my affection!” she spat. “My heart belongs to Tristan, and Tristan alone!” A thousand tiny needles pricked at my heart. I pushed her away again, fighting the sickening heat rising in my own body. “I’ll go get Tristan now.” A flicker of surprise crossed Seraphina’s face, replaced by a sharp, scrutinizing stare. “You’d really be so kind?” I simply grunted in affirmation and pushed the door open. It took less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to return with Tristan. He saw Seraphina on the bed, her face flushed and beautiful, and his eyes immediately reddened with theatrical tears. “Cedric… I know you love her, but how could you do this? She is your sister!” I ignored his deliberate, poisonous words. “She needs you right now. Once you are bound as husband and wife, Mother will no longer stand in your way. Go to her. She’s about to lose control.” In my past life, while Seraphina still had a shred of sanity, she had bitten her own tongue until it bled and broken several of her own fingers trying to resist the drug’s pull. In the end, she still succumbed. But now Tristan was here. She wouldn't have to endure that agony again. Soon, I heard my sister’s shy gasp from within the room, followed by the sound of fabric tearing. Tristan’s low, guttural moan was audible even through the door. “Seraphina, I love you, I truly love you…” I had heard those same impassioned sounds countless times in our past life, but her eyes had only ever held hatred for me. When had there ever been love? I took a deep, shuddering breath. The stone in my chest finally settled. In this life, the twisted fate between Seraphina and me would not continue. Tristan was once a stable hand I’d rescued from the hunting grounds. I had treated him like a brother. But he had repaid my kindness by destroying the entire field of poppies Seraphina had planted for me. Only Tristan knew what those flowers meant to me, and only he knew of my secret, forbidden affections for my sister. When I confronted him, he’d cried, sliced open his own palm, and knelt at my door, begging for his life. Seraphina had stumbled upon this scene. Her heart moved with pity, she took him in as her personal attendant. From that day on, Tristan repeatedly played the victim, feigning weakness and sorrow in front of her, turning her against me with each passing day. I tried to tell her what he’d done, but she had only raged at me. “A privileged lord like you could never understand the helplessness and pain Tristan has endured.” Remembering the defiant glint in Tristan’s eyes, I finally understood. It had all been his design. For a lowly servant to marry into the noble House of Valerius, this was his only path. In my last life, I had ruined his plan. This time, I would watch my sister walk right into his trap. The poison in my own veins began to burn. The other reason I hadn't been able to refuse Seraphina in my past life was because I, too, had drunk the drugged wine, my reason stripped away. While I still had some control, I pushed open the door to a nearby chamber, not noticing the woman already inside. Before she could speak, my arms were around her waist. Her skin was cool against mine, and I pressed myself against her, desperate for relief. The woman stiffened, seeming to frown as she tried to push me away. “Help me…” I pleaded. As I fumbled with my belt, I vaguely heard her speak my name. “Cedric Valerius, this is of your own free will.” So noisy. I closed my eyes and silenced her with a kiss. A soft sigh escaped her lips. “Since you’re the one who came to me, you’d better not regret it.” The next moment, I was pushed onto the bed, and a storm of kisses descended upon me. After the feverish night, I found myself drifting back to a memory of my past life. It was the Lantern Festival. Seraphina had taken me to release lanterns on the river, and I had slipped and fallen in. She had dived in after me without a thought for her fine clothes, pulling me from the freezing water. When I brought her home, I saw a gash on her arm so deep I could see the bone. My face was a mask of fury as I cleaned the wound, but she just smiled and said that protecting me was her honor. At that moment, I was lost in the sweet, swelling affection in my heart, completely blind to the jealousy and venom hiding in Tristan’s eyes. I don’t know how I got back to my chambers. When I woke, I was already in my bed. Looking around at the familiar furnishings, a bitter laugh escaped me. Everything in this room was arranged according to Seraphina’s tastes. For more than a decade, she had been my world, and I had spent every ounce of my being trying to please her. I tried to sit up, but my body ached with an unbearable soreness. The memory of yesterday’s reckless abandon brought a flush to my cheeks. Just then, the door opened. It was Seraphina, carrying a bowl of medicinal soup. “You had a high fever yesterday. Mother asked me to bring you this.” She reached out to touch my forehead, but instead of leaning into her touch as I always had, I recoiled, my face cold. Her expression instantly soured. She slammed the bowl down on the table. “I come to check on you, casting aside my grievances, and this is how you act?” Yes. In my past life, a single glance from her was a gift I should have been eternally grateful for. But this time, I didn't want it. “Is this some new game of yours? Playing hard to get?” Seraphina sneered, assuming this was just another ploy for her attention. She grabbed my wrist, her voice sharp. “Cedric, get rid of these filthy thoughts you have for me! And stop these disgraceful schemes.” She paused, then threw a small packet of powder at my feet. “What happened yesterday concerns Tristan’s honor. You will keep your mouth shut. And also…” Honor? In my past life, after I had been her cure, she had broadcast the affair to the entire capital. Everyone in Cynebury knew I was a shameless deviant who had forced himself on his own sister. No one would associate with me again. Mother had fallen ill from the shame. I had wept and begged her, but she’d simply said I had brought it all upon myself. So she did understand the power of gossip. She knew the sting of rumors. She just didn't love me. “Seraphina, believe it or not, what happened yesterday had nothing to do with me. It was—” She cut me off with a cold laugh. “Who else would do something so disgusting?” “Whether you like it or not, I am going to marry Tristan.” Meeting her scornful gaze, I bit my lip until I could taste blood. “Seraphina, I stopped loving you long ago!” She snorted, knocked over the medicine bowl, and stormed out. I got up and began to pack away everything Seraphina had ever given me. The room was instantly bare, but for the first time, I felt a sense of peace. So this was what it felt like to let her go. It wasn't so hard after all. After that day, I moved to our family’s country estate, avoiding Seraphina completely. Even at the inescapable banquets in the capital, I would find a seat as far from her as possible. Mother visited me several times, telling me that Seraphina thought I was deliberately avoiding her. I didn’t know how to explain, so I just silently accepted the accusation. One day, Mother summoned me back to the main house for dinner. The moment I stepped inside, I saw Seraphina and Tristan in the side hall. Mother was seated at the head of the table, her face a thundercloud. Tristan looked as if he had been crying. Upon seeing me, he immediately stood. “My lord, let me get you some soup…” Seraphina yanked him back down, her voice laced with a gentle indulgence I had never heard before. “He has hands, doesn’t he? Why are you serving him?” Tristan answered meekly, “It is my duty. I am used to it.” Seraphina’s face darkened, and she snapped at a nearby servant for being blind. Before she could say more, Mother threw her spoon down. “Is it not a servant’s duty to serve his master?” Seraphina bristled. “He is my man—” “As long as I draw breath, he will never marry into this house!” At this, Tristan’s eyes welled with tears. “Seraphina, I can do it. Please, don’t anger the Matron on my account.” Mother, furious, swept out of the room. Seraphina turned a cold glare on me. “What nonsense have you been feeding Mother now? She comes back and immediately starts attacking Tristan!” I presumed Mother, thinking Tristan was the reason I was hiding from Seraphina, had reprimanded him. Before I could explain, Seraphina took Tristan’s arm and left, not sparing me a single glance. A few days later was Mother’s birthday banquet. The entire estate was decked in lanterns and silks, buzzing with festivity. Seraphina moved through the crowd with effortless grace. I, however, felt suffocated. I slipped away to the small garden for some air, only to see Tristan fawning over a woman. “Your Grace, look how beautifully the lotuses bloom,” he cooed. “I also have some sweet cream pastries I made myself. Would you care to try one?” He smiled charmingly, his body subtly brushing against hers. The woman looked familiar, though I couldn't place her. A passing maid informed me she was Lady Isolde, the only daughter of the Duke of Ashford, the most powerful man in the kingdom. It was rumored she was cold and merciless, unwilling to marry. Even though my feelings for Seraphina were gone, she was still my sister. The honor of House Valerius could not be trampled by the likes of Tristan. I strode forward. “As an attendant, shouldn’t you be with my sister instead of serving someone else here?” A flash of embarrassment crossed Tristan’s face. Knowing he was in the wrong, he quickly put down the pastries. As he turned to leave, his eyes shot me a look of pure venom. With him gone, I was about to return to the banquet when a hand caught my arm. The woman’s face was suddenly very close to mine. This time, I saw it clearly: the small, crimson mole on the bridge of her nose. My face burned. She, however, seemed to expect it, a light, knowing smile on her lips. “What’s the matter? Last time, weren’t you begging me to save you?” Her familiar, exotic perfume filled the air, and the memory of that wild night flooded my mind. I stumbled back a step. “Lord Cedric, are you thinking of—” Before she could finish, a sharp cry came from behind me. Seraphina rushed forward and pulled me behind her, her eyes blazing. “Cedric! Alone with a woman! Have you no sense of propriety?” This was absurd. I shook her hand off, my face a cold mask. This only seemed to infuriate her more. “Do you think you can grab my attention with these cheap tricks? That I would actually care?” Her righteous indignation was so baffling I could only offer a weary explanation. “I wasn’t.” Seraphina let out a derisive snort, her eyes full of mockery. “Are you going to tell me you don’t love me? That you don't crave my attention?” To be humiliated like this, in front of Lady Isolde, my face felt like it was on fire. “I followed Tristan here. He was with an—” But Seraphina would never believe me. She cut me off with a frown. “Enough, Cedric! I know you love me, but that’s no reason to push the blame onto Tristan!” “If he hadn’t told me, I would have never known how shameless you truly are!” Her words choked off anything else I might have said. A bitter sting filled my nose. “Sister,” I said, my voice flat. It had been a long time since she had heard me use that formal title. She froze. I continued, enunciating each word. “I will never love you again.” “I will take a wife, and you and I will be nothing to each other.” After the disaster at the birthday banquet, I agreed to a marriage alliance Mother had proposed long ago. The bride was to be Lady Isolde. Mother studied me for a long moment before sighing and promising she would try. To her surprise, when she arrived at the Duke of Ashford’s estate, before she could even state her purpose, the Duchess herself proposed the match. They had already prepared the dowry, waiting only for my consent. I had chosen Isolde not only because she was the woman from that feverish night, but because of something else. In my past life, as I lay dying in the mass grave, wrapped in a straw mat, she had come for me in the pouring rain. On that cold, wet night, she had held my broken body, her voice choked with sobs. “I’m too late. I’m too late.” Once the engagement was set, Isolde began to visit me often. We went boating on the lake, listened to minstrels in the city, and walked through snow-covered woods to find winter blossoms. One day, she presented me with a sprig of vibrant red wintersweet, her smile as radiant as jade. “Lord Cedric, the plum blossoms in the countryside are in full bloom. Won’t you come see them with me?” I put down my book and snuck out of the estate with her. From a distance, Tristan saw us and pointed us out to Seraphina. Seraphina merely glanced our way before saying dismissively, “That’s not Cedric. He knows I don’t like him getting close to other women.” At that very moment, Isolde and I were drinking wine and composing poetry, completely at ease. Half a year was more than enough time for me to know that Isolde was the woman I wanted to marry.
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