“…!”

Through the narrow, almond-shaped slit of her vision, Avenne caught sight of a magnificent chandelier.

One familiar scene after another filled her vision.

It was Avenne’s bedroom.

‘…Did I survive?’

Had she received treatment and somehow avoided death?

Driven by instinct, Avenne sat up. However, as soon as the question crossed her mind, she was overcome with an inexplicable sense that something was wrong.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, which opened.

A maid entered, carrying some clothes. The instant their eyes met, Avenne hurried towards her.

“C-call Father!”

“Pardon?”

“That girl tried to kill me…!”

“W-what in the world are you talking about? Someone tried to kill you, Lady Avenne?”

The maid’s demand for an explanation did not reach her ears.

Instead, Avenne suddenly remembered the wedding ceremony that had been scheduled.

“Wait—the wedding ceremony! What happened to it?”

“Th-the wedding ceremony? It is tomorrow.”

“…Tomorrow?”

Avenne repeated, her face draining of color.

Startled by her reaction, which made her look as if she had seen a ghost, the maid clutched the clothes tightly to her and nodded cautiously.

‘The wedding ceremony is tomorrow? What does that mean…?’

Avenne distinctly remembered falling from the terrace the night before her wedding.

Yet now it was broad daylight, and apparently still the day before the ceremony.

She suddenly noticed the dress in the maid’s hands.

It was undoubtedly the same dress she had worn to breakfast the previous day.

“…!”

The next thing to catch her attention was her reflection in the mirror.

She could still vividly remember the sensation of her body shattering as she fell from the terrace.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the woman in the mirror was completely unharmed.

Her face, which should have been covered in blood, was not marred by so much as a scratch.

Finally, Avenne examined the family ledger.

She had helped her mother record the county’s finances and had continued to organize the ledger until the day before her wedding.

Yet the ledger she had opened that morning was far too pristine.

It was impossible for records already entered to simply have disappeared on their own.

Only one conclusion could explain this bizarre situation.

‘I returned to the time before my death.’

Avenne eventually concluded that she had returned to the morning before her wedding ceremony.

Of all possible days, she had returned to the very day she died.

‘I should speak to Father first.’

If this was an opportunity granted by the gods, she would make Victor and Rubier pay for what they had done.

A merciful god must have turned back time to set things right for the unfortunate Avenne Valleris.

Steeling her resolve, Avenne was about to leave her bedroom when the doorknob turned of its own accord.

With a click, the door opened.

“Sister?”

It was Rubier.

The moment she saw Avenne, she smiled brightly and spoke in a voice as clear and melodious as a nightingale’s.

“You are still in your room? I thought you had already left for the breakfast gathering.”

The moment Avenne looked at her, the chilling final scene she had witnessed flashed through her mind.

Those clear, gleaming eyes.

The smooth, upward curve of her eyes.

The white teeth visible between her red lips as she smiled.

It was the face of Rubier Valleris, her cheeks flushing shyly as she watched her sister die.

“…I was feeling unwell, so I decided not to attend.”

Avenne answered only after barely swallowing the nausea rising in her throat.

“Why are you here?”

“Well….”

Rubier drew out the word before producing the letter she had been hiding and waving it lightly.

“I was going to leave this here without you noticing, but you caught me!”

“….”

“Since you already found me, I might as well tell you. Sister, could you come to my room later? I have a gift I want to give you!”

‘A surprise gift.’

When she heard her sister utter those familiar words in a playful voice, Avenne’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Words that she had once found irresistibly endearing now disgusted her more than filth.

Avenne now knew exactly what gift her sister had prepared for her.

“My schedule is rather busy today. I will stop by when I have time.”

“No. You must make time and come, no matter what.”

“….”

“Today is the last day we will spend together. We will not be able to see each other often after this…. I have been preparing something for you for a very long time. I truly want you to accept it.”

With her hands clasped together, Rubier pleaded earnestly, appearing perfectly innocent.

But Avenne now understood.

Everything, from her sister’s gaze and expression to the sound of her voice, was a carefully calculated performance.

“Very well. I understand.”

Behind that pure and beautiful exterior lay nothing but greed, jealousy and a desire to destroy Avenne Valleris’s life.

***

Just as she had done on the way to luncheon, Avenne glanced sideways through the window on the way back.

As expected, Victor’s carriage was parked beside the stable.

Nothing had changed in her second life.

With only one day left until their wedding, her fiancé was betraying her by sleeping with Rubier.

Rubier had dismissed Avenne’s love as worthless pity all the while secretly longing to see her suffer.

Victor pretended to be an affectionate fiancé who loved her, all the while carrying on an affair with her sister.

Avenne wanted to make those hypocrites pay a price they would feel in their very bones.

She had died while experiencing the agony of her body shattering into pieces.

Would it not be fair to make them experience the same pain?

Avenne clenched her fists tightly before finally moving.

She headed towards the study occupied by her father, the county’s head.

***

“…What did you just say?”

Count Valleris’s composed brow twisted instantly.

His face stiffened as he asked again, seemingly unable to comprehend what he had just heard.

“I said that I intend to break off my engagement with Victor Maimont.”

Avenne, despite having delivered such a shocking declaration, remained perfectly calm.

Her excessive composure only fueled the Count’s anger.

“Do you think marriage is some childish game? You intend to cancel the wedding ceremony when only one day remains?”

Bang!

A heavy sound echoed through the room.

The Count slammed his massive fist against the table, his face flushing red with fury.

‘I knew he would oppose it.’

Above all, Count Valleris had been looking forward to the union with House Maimont.

After the birth of their eldest daughter, Avenne, the Countess was unable to conceive again. Consequently, the family was left without a legitimate heir.

The Count could have named Avenne as his successor or transferred the position to a collateral relative, but he refused both options.

Instead, thanks to his close ties with the imperial family, the Count obtained the Emperor’s permission to grant inheritance rights to someone outside the bloodline.

He then decided that Avenne’s husband would become the heir to House Valleris.

The conditions were simple yet demanding.

The candidate had to be the son of a prestigious family and possess the ability to lead House Valleris.

The person who fulfilled all these conditions was Victor, the second son of Count Maimont.

Their marriage was arranged entirely in the interests of the future of House Valleris.

Avenne could therefore understand why her father was so enraged.

However, she firmly believed that his anger would subside once he learned the full circumstances.

“Victor has been unfaithful to me. And the woman involved is none other than my sister, Rubier.”

She could not imagine her father forcing her to marry a man who had betrayed his daughter.

Moreover, as someone who valued the family’s honor above all else, he would surely regard Victor’s affair as an insult to the entire family.

“For such a….”

But—

“You intend to break off your engagement for such a trivial reason?”

Avenne’s expectations were completely shattered.

As always, reality was mercilessly cold.