2.

The medicine she swallowed in one gulp, the burning sensation in her throat and chest, and fading consciousness……

Death was easier and quicker than she expected. Just before dying, Elia learned the truth that was more terrible than the poison.

‘Mother, why……’

The emperor’s suspicion was correct. Back then, young Elia delivered the medicine to Cecilia, who secretly drank it two days later, and the deadly poison instantly took her life. She probably felt the same pain in her final moments.

‘Sister, I’m sorry……’

The poison that killed Cecilia also killed Elia. The emperor knew everything.

‘I was…… a criminal after all.’

She had never been innocent from the beginning. Nothing was unfair.

Elia was, as Rockfort said, an evil woman who helped kill her sister with her own hands. Whether she knew it or not…… the fact remained that the medicine delivered by her hands killed Cecilia.

‘I was…… receiving…… the punishment I deserved.’

The emperor had already found and kept this poison. That’s why he could only look at Elia with contempt and horrible eyes.

What about her mother, the duchess? She knew all the circumstances yet wanted Elia to endure as empress. How terrible must the mother and daughter have looked in Rockfort’s eyes?

‘It’s enough now.’

The pain would end. Death was rather a relief.

Elia’s long punishment finally came to an end. It had been an empty and lonely life.

‘It’s all over.’

The woman who had been beautiful and elegant like a lily ended her short twenty years of life.

……Or so she thought.

‘……lia.’

Someone seemed to be calling her name.

‘Elia.’

A voice calling from far away.

Elia desperately squeezed her eyes shut in the darkness. Could it be that she had barely survived the deadly poison?

No. She didn’t want to return to such a life anymore.

“Elia!”

Death was peace. So please, let no one call her anymore.

But the darkness was shaking violently. No, it was her body that was shaking.

“No, I……”

I don’t want to live. Let me die like this.

However, as her consciousness gradually awakened, a bright scene appeared. It had clearly been evening, but had dawn broken in the meantime?

“What do you mean ‘no’? What kind of speech is that?”

It was her mother’s strict voice, who shouldn’t be here.

“Why, Mother……”

Elia stumbled over her words, then realized that her throat and lips were no longer burning.

Not only that, nothing hurt anywhere. At the same time, she felt strangely frightened.

“Because you’re dawdling, I had to come myself! Really……”

The familiar bed, the open window, her mother looking younger than she remembered. Above all, seeing her own portrait hanging on the wall, this was the Theon duchy residence.

“You’re not a child anymore, how long are you going to linger in bed in the morning?”

“Miss Elia loves to sleep in.”

Elia’s throat tightened at the familiar voice. It was Hannah. Just as lively and kind as before she entered the imperial palace.

“Madam, I’ll take care of Miss now.”

“Alright, I’m completely overwhelmed…… We absolutely cannot be late for the imperial ceremony!”

Her mind seemed to freeze for a moment. But everything around her continued busily.

“Miss, please wake up! Today is the wedding day.”

“Today is…… my wedding?”

“Oh my. What dream were you having? It’s Miss Cecilia’s, no, Her Majesty Empress Cecilia’s wedding!”

Only then did she bolt upright, and she could feel that all her bodily sensations were real.

“Everyone’s going crazy trying to hold the wedding and the empress’s investiture ceremony on the same day. Miss Cecilia must be doing well after entering the palace, right?”

“Sister Cecilia……”

“She’s such a composed person, so she must be meticulously preparing for the ceremony. So, Miss Elia should hurry and go congratulate her, right?”

Hannah smiled brightly. Beyond her, Elia could see her room at the duke’s residence in detail.

The sunny weather outside, the vague excitement she had felt…… everything was exactly as it had been that day.

Only Elia was different.

“Today is the day!”

Elia exclaimed blankly.

“Yes, today it is.”

In the mirror, Elia still had her fair, soft cheeks.

“Today is…… the day Sister Cecilia becomes empress……! Right?”

“Yes, aren’t you too excited? Let’s hurry and get ready. We’ll be late.”

How could she forget? That beautiful day, a day full of blessings when everything was warm.

And the very day when all the misfortune began.

“Yes, it was today……”

Elia had returned to this unforgettable day after traversing back from her miserable death.

And now the emperor’s wedding and the empress’s investiture ceremony were about to begin simultaneously.

* * *

The ducal residence was quiet after the grand event. Perhaps because the place she returned to was the life she had originally lived, adapting was surprisingly fast.

Rather, Elia could reawaken emotions she had forgotten about.

“That’s right. I was…… happy.”

Elia had forgotten. That the world could be this kind, that people could be this affectionate.

At eighteen, Elia was the happiest noble lady in the world. Noble status, beautiful looks, a promising future…… Elia had taken it all for granted.

“I knew nothing.”

But when circumstances changed, all the praise and affection directed at her would return as knife-like gazes and words of reproach.

Sometimes she might have to walk barefoot on their painful contempt, and she might suffer to the point of wanting to die.

“But now…… I can undo the mistakes.”

Elia murmured alone on her bed. She had definitely returned to eighteen. As planned, Cecilia became empress yesterday, and the emperor left for the battlefield.

“I’ve already changed some facts.”

What differed from the past was that Elia didn’t attend the reception after the wedding ceremony and returned home, never meeting the emperor.

Just thinking about facing him again made her hands tremble so much she could barely move, so she made an excuse of being ill, and that changed the past facts.

“If there is a god, will they help me this time?”

Perhaps after suffering so terribly, this opportunity had come. A chance to not meet Rockfort, for Cecilia not to die, for Elia to live her own life.

“But it wasn’t a dream. That pain……”

Her chest still felt sore and painful. The poison that took Cecilia and Elia’s lives was truly bitter and cruel.

“If I let my guard down, everything will happen exactly the same.”

There was still a chance. Elia knew what would happen soon, and surprisingly, fixing it was simple. Hadn’t she already avoided her first meeting with the emperor?

“I just need to protect Sister from Mother’s harm. And when His Majesty returns and safely meets Sister again, Mother will give up, and I can live my own life……”

The deadly poison that became the beginning of the tragedy would pass through Elia’s hands this time too.

Of course, Mother would give her the poison again. But she would give Cecilia a medicine changed to a simple nutritional supplement. Even at just eighteen, that much was easy.

“If I set everything right, I can also atone to Sister.”

The beautiful sister who died by poison, trusting the duchess without knowing anything. Thinking about it made Elia’s heart heavy and painful, even though it wasn’t her fault.

“Sister, this time I’ll really…… help you. I’ll do it right this time.”

She would never repeat that misfortune. A resolute determination shone in Elia’s blue eyes.

* * *

Time flowed steadily. Soon, the moment came.

On a day several months after the emperor departed for war right after the wedding…

She had been avoiding running errands to the imperial palace with various excuses, but today the duchess urged Elia with a sterner expression than usual.

“You must go today. Deliver this to the empress. No one must know.”

“What is this?”

Elia deliberately asked the duchess, though she already knew.

“You don’t need to know. The empress secretly asked for it.”

Mother was still not honest. Elia looked at the small medicine bottle in her hand.

To think this small object made everyone unhappy.

“Why…… is it a secret?”

“There are many things to be careful about in the imperial palace. You don’t need to know yet.”

Looking back, ignorance itself could also be a crime. That was the tragedy Elia experienced.

“No one must know, you need to be careful. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Good. My good daughter.”

There was no smile on Elia’s face as she was embraced by the duchess. And her mother’s wishes would not be fulfilled.

In preparation for this day, Elia had prepared medicine to switch. It was truly a moment to change destiny.

“Duke Theon’s daughter has arrived.”

Elia arrived at the empress’s quarters with a composed face. It was still a vibrant and beautiful place.

“Please wait a moment while I inform the empress.”

“Alright.”

Flowers decorated everywhere, countless palace servants moved in perfect order, and a gentle fragrance lingered…… it was the original empress’s quarters.

“Please come this way.”

Following the maid’s guidance, Elia walked with light steps toward the empress’s reception room. Cecilia’s face, sitting on a long, luxurious sofa, was already glowing, but Elia properly paid her respects first.

“Elia of Duke Theon’s family greets Your Majesty the Empress.”

In the span of a few months, Elia had become more composed and elegant, surprising those around her. It was as if she had suddenly matured, and Cecilia’s marriage provided a good excuse.

“Elia, come here quickly!”

Unable to hide her joy, Cecilia personally stood up, took Elia’s hand, and helped her rise. The hand she firmly held was as warm as Elia remembered.

“My sister, Elia. When did you become such an adult? You used to be so full of mischief…… You don’t need to be so formal. When it’s just the two of us, you can call me Sister.”

Cecilia was a kind and affectionate person. She was also deep-hearted and always comforted the childish Elia.

“Yes, Sister……”