She was irritated by the condescending looks of sympathy from the lower-ranking servants. However, when it came to Theodora, the favouritism was overwhelming and undeniable.

‘Especially when compared to Ariana Aberdeen.’

Of course, the moment she’d heard that that woman would become the Duchess, Theodora had been utterly dumbfounded.

‘It was laughable that a woman like her, who could barely be considered real nobility, was ever named Crown Princess.’

At first, she was consumed by a fierce, seething rage. However, once she had calmed down, she realised that the turn of events wasn’t so bad after all.

From Theodora’s perspective, Ariana Aberdeen had simply become a convenient shield. The one who would take the first bullet.

‘Who knows when the Cliffords will be swept up in another disaster?’

Thanks to the tragic scandal that had rocked the ducal family, the upper class of Cremisan was finally forced to confront the harsh reality of their era.

On the surface, the world glittered with grandeur and elegance. But beneath that shine lay a far more brutal truth.

In this age, survival meant shooting your rival in the back rather than waiting for justice to take its course.

‘Once everything settles down, I can simply get rid of that Aberdeen woman.’

Theodora wanted to live a life without a single blemish on her record.

When the time came, she was fully confident that she could persuade Ariana Aberdeen to step down.

Even if Kenneth himself refused to dismiss her.

With a confident smile, Theodora nodded gracefully.

“I’ll tell you about the upcoming banquet on the way, shall I? I know how much you hate wasting time.”

Kenneth still made no move to offer his arm.

But Theodora didn’t mind.

What mattered was walking closely behind him and showing everyone that she was the true future duchess.

***

As Ariana had feared, it started to rain.

However, thanks to the tea and scones she had enjoyed earlier, she was warm.

The damp wind didn’t quite chill her to the bone.

Holding a bundle of scones to her chest, Emily beamed.

“Thank you so much, madam! And thank you for getting some for the others, too.”

“Just say you bought them.”

Ariana said with a soft smile.

Emily blushed and whispered hesitantly,

“But you were the one who gave them to me…”

“It’s all right. It doesn’t matter.”

Ariana’s casual tone made Emily hesitate even more.

Everyone always said the Duchess was greedy, wasteful and vain.

But if that were true, why would she go out of her way to be kind to an ordinary maid?

‘She seems so devoted. Maybe she isn’t as bad as everyone says. Ugh! Who knows anymore?’

However, Ariana paid no attention to Emily’s nervous glances. Her thoughts were consumed by something far more urgent.

She had to solve the most fundamental problem before leaving. Bibi had been conceived in the autumn of that year.

The child, who was not yet a year old, had died of whooping cough.

‘But is it possible to recreate the exact conditions in which Bibi was conceived? Is that even possible?’

How complex a woman’s body is! Even the slightest changes — what she ate or how she felt — could affect everything.

So, no matter how precisely she remembered the night she had spent with Kenneth, there was no guarantee that her body was in the same state as in her previous life.

‘No matter how I look at it, I’m not confident that I can control all the factors.’

And so, the only logical conclusion was—

But before she could finish her thought, Ariana gasped sharply, and a flash of red overtook her vision.

“…..!”

At first, she was simply stunned by the sudden blow to her forehead. A heavy, blunt object had hit her with a dull thud.

But the confusion was quickly replaced by a sharp, tearing pain. It was as if her skin had been ripped open.

The thick scent of blood also made it difficult to breathe. She couldn’t open her eyes properly.

After staggering a few steps, she collapsed to the side and crumpled to the ground.

“Madam!”

“Ugh…”

“Madam, you’re bleeding!”

Emily frantically pressed a handkerchief to Ariana’s right temple.

The pure white fabric quickly became soaked through with blood.

“Are you all right? Your eye—”

“I… I’m fine. I can still see…”

Someone had thrown a small rock at her. Fortunately, it had hit her just above the eyelid, leaving a painful bruise but sparing her vision.

However, when she tried to get up, a sharp pain shot through her left ankle. Had she twisted it in the fall?

‘Unbelievable. Just how pathetic can I get…’

She felt a cold shiver of shame run down her spine. Behind her, Clifford’s attendants were restraining a man. He was still shouting with frothing rage.

“Let me go! I said let go! She’s the criminal — why are you grabbing me?!”

Ariana didn’t recognise the dishevelled man.

But the crowd?

They knew her — all too well.

They knew her as Ariana Aberdeen, the ‘one-day Crown Princess’.

The ‘wh*re who seduced two men’.

“Because of her damn brother… my whole family was ruined!”

‘No, I didn’t know what my family was planning. I swear I didn’t know. You’re just looking for someone — anyone — to blame.’

She wanted to defend herself—wanted to say something. But no words came.

Spit!

The man spat in her direction with all his might.

“Filthy courtesan!”

It didn’t reach her; the attendants had restrained him before it could. Even though it didn’t touch her, she could still feel the sting in her heart.

‘But words like that don’t hurt anymore.’

Not unless she let them. As long as she refused to accept it, they held no power over her. No matter how fiercely they fell—like an autumn storm—they couldn’t break her.

She was familiar with this kind of pain. She knew it would heal. But just then, Emily, who had been helping Ariana towards the carriage, came to a sudden stop.

“Emily…?”

“Madam! Look — over there!”

Across the wide boulevard, a familiar deep-indigo carriage cut through the rain, splashing water as it approached.

At the sight of it, Ariana almost laughed bitterly.

‘Kenneth… he came here?’

The carriage door opened.

A man stepped out from beneath an umbrella, which an attendant had swiftly raised.

Kenneth stood there, partially shrouded in the blue-grey shadows of the storm.

Then, as a second figure emerged beside him, Ariana felt her breath catch in her throat.

“Oh.”

Standing next to Kenneth was Theodora Byron.

Not a single drop of rain had touched her: her coat was pristine, and her lavender dress was immaculate.

She looked like a woman who had just returned from an elegant outing with her husband.

Even through the rain, Theodora recognised Ariana immediately.

She raised one hand to cover her mouth.

Despite the downpour blurring everything, Ariana could see it —Theodora’s cold, black eyes scanning her from head to toe.

From the bloodied handkerchief pressed to her forehead……to the soaked, muddy dress clinging to her legs.

To the pathetic mess she had become after falling in the rain.

Ariana knew that the hand over Theodora’s mouth was hiding a smile.

On the final day of her past life, Theodora Byron looked at her with the same expression on her face.

And then she whispered.

“Ariana, you’re a leech. That word suits you perfectly.”

Theodora, the only daughter of a wealthy count, had never included Ariana, who was born into a lowly viscount family, in her social circle.

And yet it was Ariana’s family who had brought Kenneth to ruin.

While Theodora’s family had firmly supported him.

Everyone believed — no, expected — that Theodora Byron would become the next duchess. She believed it too, and she never hid this from Ariana.

“Your family paid with their lives. But you… you’re still here, living under Kenneth’s mercy. Isn’t that shameless?”
“…”
“So the child must have simply given up. In a way, that baby was lucky, don’t you think? Better to die young than be born to a mother like you—dragged through life, cursed, and condemned.”

Theodora smiled then, gently and pitifully. It was as if she was offering sympathy. She glowed with vitality.

Ariana, in contrast, was so thin and frail at the time that she could barely stay upright, even when sitting down.

“What do you even live for now, Ariana?”

“…”

“Don’t you think it’s time to end this on your own terms? Just… think carefully about what I’ve said.”

Had it been any other time, Ariana might have scoffed in her face.

But at that moment, she was just so tired. She was deeply buried in despair.

The gun she later found—she sometimes wondered if it had been planted on her bed by Theodora’s orders.

After all, it had been sitting neatly on top of her bed just days after that visit.

Now that time had turned back, she knew she could no longer run from Theodora, no matter how loathsome she was.

This time, she had vowed to face her proudly.

But on a day like this…in a state like this…

“Let’s go home, Emily.”

“Pardon? But, madam, wouldn’t it be better to wait here for—”

She probably meant that they should wait for Kenneth to collect them.

But Ariana, uncharacteristically harsh, cut her off.

“No, let’s just go. Right now.”

Regardless of how she felt about Kenneth, she was utterly unwilling to confront the woman who had mocked her child’s death.

Not like this. Not while the two of them stood side by side, looking every bit the married couple. Like husband and wife.

And there she was, across the street: drenched, heartbroken and falling apart.