“I packed some money and jewels. This should be enough to live on without any problems.”

Anais pushed a rather heavy bag into the carriage. Daphne, who was huddled inside the carriage afraid of being seen, whimpered.

“I’ll never forget this kindness.”

“What are you saying, Daphne? Speaking so formally between us? And what kindness?”

Anais shook her head.

Ten years ago, the two had attended the same academy and had simultaneously fallen in love with the same man. As time passed, one married him and became the most noble lady in the Empire, while the other refused the position of his mistress and became a fugitive.

Daphne couldn’t look at Anais and lowered her head.

“Anais, I’m truly sorry.”

“No. It’s my husband’s fault for insisting despite your refusal. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more than this.”

Anais wiped away the tears flowing down Daphne’s cheeks as she spoke.

“When you arrive, your mother and younger sibling will be waiting for you. I hope you live happily.”

“Thank you so much.”

“There’s no time. Go quickly.”

Anais nodded and personally closed the door of the unadorned carriage.

Click!

There was the sound of the door being locked from outside, then Anais smiled through the window. Daphne looked at her in surprise.

‘That smile!’

Anais had smiled just like that when she stole Daphne’s fiancé, who was now her husband.

It was the same when Daphne’s family collapsed and was hounded by creditors. The sneer that suggested she found it extremely gratifying and amusing gradually transformed into laughter that seemed to take her breath away.

After laughing so hard, she wiped away her slightly childish tears and said:

“Ah, I finally get to cut this stubborn ill-fated connection.”

“Anais!”

Daphne tried to open the carriage door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Daphne. Thank you so much. How delightfully entertaining it’s been to torment you all this time.”

“Entertaining to torment me?”

“Yes. Do you think I just stood by and watched when your family collapsed and ended up on the streets? I played a significant part in that. It would be a shame if you died without knowing.”

Then she moved closer to the door and lowered her voice slightly.

“I wanted to torment you for much longer…… How disappointing.”

Anais gave a final farewell to the wailing Daphne.

“Now it’s time for you to go to hell. Goodbye!”

As she waved her hand, the carriage began to move as if it had been waiting for the signal.

Daphne lost her balance and fell at the sudden departure. She tried to get up somehow, but it was useless. The carriage sped along at a pace that made it difficult to even sit still.

Daphne crawled across the floor and opened the bag Anais had given her.

Ha!

It was full of rocks and garbage.

Realizing she had been deceived again, tears streamed down her face.

“Why be so cruel? What did I do wrong……”

Daphne wailed before shaking her head.

No, I was wrong.

Being weaker and more foolish than your enemy was a sin.

Wasn’t it the same even now? To be so desperate that she took Anais’s hand again—wasn’t this the expected outcome?

Throughout the carriage ride, Daphne traced back through her memories.

She had been the daughter of Marquis Armin, the foremost noble house in the Empire. Yet the collapse of this tremendous family happened in an instant.

It all began with a broken engagement.

Her fiancé, whom she had been with since childhood, demanded to break their engagement, claiming he had fallen in love with Anais.

Then her father and two older brothers died one after another, and everything they owned was taken by creditors.

Daphne worked at anything and everything for the sake of her mother and younger sibling.

Starting as a governess, she moved on to menial tasks usually done by maids, then became a spy, and eventually entered a contract marriage.

“What a tumultuous life.”

But the misfortune never ended.

Her former fiancé, who had abandoned her and married Anais, now demanded that she become his mistress.

While running away from him, she had ended up in this predicament.

If he hadn’t threatened the lives of her mother and younger sibling, she would never have sought help from Anais.

Daphne was about to pray out of habit when a surge of resentment welled up inside her.

‘Isn’t it about time you helped me?’

How far away was God that her prayers still hadn’t reached?

‘Now I don’t care if it’s God or a demon. Please, help me! I don’t want to die here!’

Only after the sun had set and darkness had fallen did the carriage stop. The driver opened the door, entered, and threw Daphne outside.

She blinked, looking around. In the moonlight, there was nothing but trees and undergrowth everywhere.

The driver grinned.

“This game must be new for a noble young lady.”

He pulled out a hatchet from his waist and twirled it.

“Run as fast as you can. I’ll count to 100 and then come after you. No, since your situation is pitiful, shall I give you a break? 200, 199, 198……”

Even in the midst of suffocating terror, Daphne quickly grasped the situation and sprang to her feet before the driver counted to 197. Then she began running at a speed unbecoming of a noble lady.

Even if neither God nor demon helped her, she couldn’t give up until the end.

But the forest had too many obstacles to run through with only moonlight to guide her. Eventually, Daphne tripped over a stone.

Unfortunately, she fell onto a thornbush. The more she tried to escape, the more entangled she became. No matter how much she struggled, it was like a cruelly tightening fate.

The sound of the driver counting grew closer.

“Young lady, are you running well? It’s no fun if you’re caught too easily.”

Daphne struggled even more desperately to escape.

That’s when it happened.

Arghh!

The driver let out a sharp scream. Soon after, a familiar voice was heard.

“Daphne!”

She shuddered.

Leonhardt.

A longtime friend and former fiancé, and the betrayer who had abandoned her to marry Anais. Not content with that, he now insisted she become his mistress.

She had taken Anais’s outstretched hand to escape from him, only to end up like this.

Leonhardt was the very person who had driven Daphne to this point.

He was more terrifying than the thornbush.

Daphne tore at the thorns entangling her body with her bare hands. Her flesh was ripped and something warm trickled down, but she couldn’t even feel the pain.

After all, no pain could be worse than being caught.

Leonhardt must have brought his subordinates, as rustling sounds came from all around. One of them shouted:

“This way, sir!”

With her injured body, she couldn’t outrun trained knights.

Daphne despaired as she heard the many footsteps rushing toward her.

At that moment, the ground beneath her feet gave way.

She tumbled down, finally managing to stop by colliding with a tree. She might have broken a rib, as tremendous pain washed over her. Embracing the tree while gasping for breath, the pain intensified, making it feel as if her internal organs were twisting.

When she finally regained her senses, she saw a sheer drop below her. The tree she was clinging to stood at the edge of a cliff. The cliff was so high that even the bright full moon couldn’t illuminate its bottom.

She squeezed her eyes shut at the dizzying height. There was nowhere else to go.

‘I can’t die like this.’

Dangling precariously from the cliff’s edge, she couldn’t even breathe properly, yet she refused to give up.

“Daphne, answer me!”

Through Leonhardt’s desperate calls from afar, another voice was heard.

[Do you want to live?]

Daphne opened her tightly closed eyes.

Grrrr, a laugh like a beast growling followed. It was clearly not human.

Though it came from the bottom of the steep cliff, it was as distinct as if whispered directly into her ear.

Daphne looked down the cliff as if entranced. From the pitch-black darkness below, the voice spoke again.

[Isn’t it too disappointing to just be saved? Wouldn’t it be better to go back to the past and change everything?]

As if imbued with magical power, the temptation from below the cliff grew sweeter with each word.

[Save your family, get revenge on your enemies….]

It chuckled softly once more. Daphne found herself nodding unconsciously.

How sweet these impossible words were—tears of sorrow and relief mingled as they flowed down her face.

This couldn’t be the voice of God. It had appeared right after she prayed that she would sell her soul to anyone who would save her.

But what did it matter?

She found herself asking aloud:

“Can you really do that?”

In the dark night, the bottom of the steep cliff was completely invisible. Yet she could clearly sense it nodding.

[I’ll help you go back to the past. Jump down.]

It made no sense.

‘But do I have any other choice?’

All reason flew away as she was drawn to it as if bewitched. The thought of being enchanted occurred to her belatedly, but Daphne couldn’t shake it off.

The temptation was too sweet and intense.

As if trying to break the spell, Leonhardt’s shouts were heard again. At the same time, Daphne’s body, perched on the tree trunk, began to slip downward bit by bit.

[Hurry.]

Just as the voice from below the cliff impatiently urged her, Leonhardt appeared, cutting through the undergrowth.

“Daphne!”

He stopped abruptly upon seeing her dangling from the tree.

“Don’t move. I’ll save you right away.”

But Daphne had already made her decision.

“Daphne. Please don’t do this.”

Leonhardt shook his head, tears streaming down his face.

“Daphne, I’m a victim too when you look into it. I’ll explain everything. Please!”

Leonhardt pleaded tearfully.