Chapter 1

"Ortencia Remi Verite. Charged with the attempted assassination of the Dendarne Countess..."

Faced with the cold recitation of her crimes, the girl—Ortencia—trembled and pleaded.

"It's not true, I didn't do it... I would never have planned an assassination—"

The princess selection event, which gathered the daughters of noble families to choose a bride for the crown prince, was underway.

During the event, one of the countesses was poisoned and collapsed.

The culprit was a notorious duchess's daughter.

Desperate to become the crown prince's wife, she had resorted to assassination to eliminate the countess who had caught the crown prince's attention.

However, her crime was exposed, and now she was about to face the executioner's axe...

(It's not true, I didn't do anything...!)

The duchess's daughter—Ortencia—was on the brink of despair.

After all, Ortencia had done nothing.

She had only been summoned to the court as a candidate for the crown prince's wife to fill a quota.

She had expected to return home uneventfully after the selection.

But then... an assassination attempt on one of the candidates occurred, and before she knew it, she was accused of the crime.

She was captured, thrown into prison, interrogated, and then—

"You are sentenced to beheading."

"Ah!"

The moment the sentence was read, terror overwhelmed her, and a scream escaped from the back of her throat.

(No... This is ridiculous!)

"Please, investigate again! I absolutely did not—"

"Stop making a spectacle of yourself. Come along!"

She was dragged almost forcibly to the execution platform.

The dull gleam of the guillotine blade caught her eye, and she shivered in fear.

"No, no...!"

Many nobles watched as Ortencia was dragged to the guillotine, as if it were a spectacle.

"Ah, that's the one—"

"The daughter of a courtesan who tried to take over the duchy, right?"

"Indeed, it was a mistake to bring someone of such low birth into the family."

"Poor the late Duke... Perhaps he was killed by that woman too?"

Scornful and amused gazes, baseless slanders, and mocking laughter...

To them, Ortencia's downfall was merely entertainment.

The more she resisted, the more they would enjoy it.

Overwhelmed by her humiliation, she almost bowed her head, but then a familiar figure caught her eye, and she instinctively cried out.

"B-Brother! Please help me!! It's a miscarriage of justice! I didn't plan any assassination!!"

Gerald Adnacion Verite, the young head of the Verite duchy.

With his lustrous silver hair and cool, ice-blue eyes, he was known as the "Ice Prince" and the "Cruel Duke," Ortencia's stepbrother.

Since becoming a foster daughter of the duchy, she had only spoken to him a handful of times.

Still... he was her brother. He would surely help her...!

Clutching to this last hope, Ortencia desperately called out to her stepbrother.

But the response was a chillingly cold gaze and a cruel, dismissive remark.

"Silence, disgrace to the duchy. ...I have never once considered you my sister."

Those words left her mind blank, and before she knew it, her body was being pushed onto the guillotine.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto the guillotine.

...Why did it come to this?

Where did I go wrong in my life?

(When I was chosen as a candidate for the crown prince's wife and summoned to the court?)

(When I was taken in by the duchy as a bastard daughter and became a countess?)

(Or... was my very birth a mistake?)

(What should I have done...?)

Despair overwhelmed her heart, and her vision blurred with tears.

The voices of the crowd, calling for her execution, echoed in her ears.

(God, why... why are you so cruel to me?)

(If you have mercy, please give me another chance...)

The guillotine blade gleamed even more as the signal was given.

With a whoosh, it cut through the air, and then...

"Ahhhhhh!"

Overwhelmed by terror and shock, Ortencia screamed and bolted upright.

She lost her balance and fell, hitting her bottom hard on the floor.

"Ouch!"

"Ortencia, are you okay?"

She was quickly helped up, and despite her confusion, she looked up at her rescuer.

She was surprised to see who it was.

"F-Father...?"

The one who had lifted her was the late Duke of Verite—her stepfather.

He was supposed to have died of illness shortly before Ortencia was falsely accused.

(Ah, is this heaven? Did I get executed and meet Father in heaven—)

"Yes, Father. I'm glad you call me that, Ortencia. From today, we are family."

...Huh?

Something seemed off about Father's words.

Only then did Ortencia manage to calm down enough to look around.

The scenery outside the window was passing by with a clatter.

This place was familiar. She was in the Verite duchy's carriage.

And "From today, we are family"...?

(What, what does this mean...? It's like... like the past—)

Tentatively, Ortencia looked down at her body.

It was much smaller than she remembered, like that of a young child.

Confused, Ortencia was easily lifted and carried back to the seat by her father.

"Look, that's your new home."

The carriage was heading to the Verite duchy's mansion, where Ortencia had lived after being taken in by the duchy.

Faced with the ridiculously large mansion, Ortencia was speechless.

(...Wait, this situation is familiar!?)

"From today, you are my daughter, a countess. My son is a difficult child, but I believe you will do well. I expect great things from you, Ortencia."

Father repeated the exact same words she remembered.

Hearing them, Ortencia felt dizzy.

(No way, this can't be true! I did want a second chance, but not from here!)

"His Excellency the Duke and Lady Ortencia have arrived!"

While she was in shock, the carriage had passed through the gates of the duchy, and Ortencia was led out by her father.

On either side, the duchy's servants were lined up.

In the center, a person was staring at Ortencia with cold, unfeeling eyes.

"Ortencia, this is my son and your brother, Gerald."

Her stepbrother, whom she had seen just before her execution, was looking at her with the same icy gaze.

...This scene was also very familiar.

The first time, his eyes had been so terrifying that Ortencia had avoided facing him.

(Ah, God. Is this a punishment? Or a chance?)

To think that time had been reset to the day she was taken in by the duchy!!

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