Chapter 2

At that moment, a sneer spread across Kairen's face.

"You're so naive. Do you really think your fiancé wouldn't know? Do you think I and Father would have conspired on this alone?"

"…What?"

This was the first time Nadia's expression showed a crack.

She had never expected anything from her father and half-brother, so there was no disappointment. But her fiancé was different.

The fact that he also agreed to such a lowly scheme is unbelievable.

As her expression wavered, Kairen grew even more delighted.

"What's so shocking? Didn't you expect this?"

"It can't be…"

"The situation is different now from when you were engaged to him. He will become one of the most important figures in this country. For a man like that, having a concubine as his wife… it's a bit much, isn't it?"

Ijho was no longer just a foreigner summoned to this world.

His value soared after the war with the demons.

To the point where even Kairen, who once mocked her half-sister's fiancé, would covet that position.

'So… that's why he hasn't come to see me since that day?'

Nadia's mind, instead of denying reality, began to consider the possibility that 'it could be true.'

He often spoke of the hardships he faced when he was first summoned to this world, vowing to rise to power so that no one would look down on him.

His relentless efforts in the battle against the demons were likely driven by this.

Nadia knew very well that the image of a 'hero' as described by the public was far from who he truly was.

The power of a wife's family is crucial for ascending to higher positions.

The likelihood of him passing up the opportunity to have a better wife was low.

Or perhaps, from the beginning, he saw his engagement to a concubine's daughter as a form of discrimination he faced as a foreigner.

'He prioritized success in this world above all else.'

If he had proposed to break the engagement, she would have stepped aside willingly…

Or perhaps he didn't want to be a coward who abandoned his fiancée after achieving success?

Kairen continued to speak to Nadia, who stood like a statue.

"Who would refuse to change a lowborn into a highborn? A wife's status reflects a man's honor. This is the difference in our worth. Do you understand?"

"…"

It was absurd. Everything was absurd.

Her selfish fiancé, her father who used and discarded his daughter like a chess piece, and her half-sister who excitedly came to this humble place.

Nadia tried to suppress a hollow laugh as she asked,

"So… did you come all the way here just to tell me this?"

"Of course not."

Kairen's eyes curved into a smile.

How annoying it was to see the children of concubines treated as part of the noble family.

Only she should be treated as the daughter of the Balazit family.

Seeing her half-sister, whom she had always despised, in such a miserable state made her laugh.

Now was the time to bring the highlight of this brilliant scheme to a close.

Kairen spoke as if singing.

"I came to help you. Which noble family would accept a woman who was engaged and then dumped for fooling around with another man? And you're a concubine's daughter… it would be difficult to marry anyone but a common laborer. Wouldn't it be better to die honorably? I'll help you this one time."

Clap, clap, clap. As she clapped three times, the basement door opened, and male servants entered.

In their hands were thick ropes, strong enough to hold a person without breaking.

Nadia, seeing the ropes, could predict what was to come.

A chill ran down her spine.

"You…!"

"Your resistance is futile."

Soon, a knot was tied around her neck.

The men's hands, tying her to the ceiling, showed no hesitation.

"Choke!"

Her neck was tightly constricted. She couldn't breathe.

Struggling with her bound feet, she found nothing to grab onto.

Amidst the confusion, a sense of injustice arose.

'Really… is this how it ends?'

She had lived her life obediently, doing as her father commanded.

As a child, she never breathed freely, always wary of her stepmother.

Everything good was always taken by her half-siblings.

To be used as a prop all her life and to die with a false accusation at the end. It was a cruel fate.

Through her blurred vision, she saw her half-sister laughing joyfully.

Kairen smiled and waved her hand.

"Goodbye, Nadia. I'll watch your end until the very end. After all, we are sisters, aren't we?"

With Kairen's mocking laughter, Nadia Balazit's life ended.

She was twenty-three years old.

* * *

The moment she realized she had returned to the past, the first thought that came to Nadia's mind was:

This time, I will betray before being betrayed.

* * *

Three years before her death, when she was twenty years old.

Nadia, touching her neck where the thick rope had constricted, muttered,

"I'm back…"

Was she really regressed to the past, or was it just a long dream?

'Such a vivid experience couldn't have been a dream.'

The sensation of her breath being cut off was still vivid.

In her blurred vision, she saw her half-sister smiling joyfully.

Nadia had to listen to her enemy's mocking laughter until the very end.

The helplessness of dying while being mocked and the powerlessness of being unable to do anything in the face of death made her jaw clench.

'This time, I will never…'

"Move, Miss! What are you doing standing there while I'm cleaning?"

Thump!

Someone roughly pushed Nadia, who was lost in thought. Her frail body swayed like a reed.

"Go out until I finish cleaning. You're just in the way."

The one who pushed Nadia was Amber, the cleaning maid of the Balazit family.

She grumbled as she carelessly dusted the shelf behind Nadia.

"Can't you move out of the way when I'm cleaning? How many times do I have to tell you? Tsk."

"…"

In principle, room cleaning should be done when the owner is not present.

If this were Nadia's room, Amber would never dare to enter.

'You're not afraid of a concubine's daughter with no backing.'

Her father, the head of the household, was indifferent to household matters.

He believed that getting involved in household affairs would damage his dignity. Thus, there was no reason to treat her respectfully.

Especially in Kairen's case, she often took special care of the maids who were rude to her half-sister, so there was even less reason to treat her well.

Still, most of the maids pitied her unfortunate situation and tried to maintain a certain level of respect.

Except for someone like Amber.

'Now that I think about it, that girl… she was the one who brought me the cocktail at the masquerade ball.'

Drinking the drink brought by Kairen's lackey and losing consciousness was too coincidental to be a mere accident.

Nadia's gaze, directed at the rude maid, turned cold.

"What, what? What are you going to do by staring at me like that?"

"…"

Amber, who was staring at her, shuddered and opened her eyes wide, as if unwilling to admit that she was afraid of the first daughter, whom she considered easy to handle.

What should I do with this girl? Nadia thought for a moment and then smiled.

"It's nothing. I'll go out for now. Clean well."

"Ah…"

The tension in Amber's face, which had momentarily shown fear, relaxed.

Of course. The first daughter, who was so easy to handle, wouldn't get angry.

"Well, I thought you were going to say something… Go out quickly. I'll call you back when I'm done."

Amber sighed in relief and turned around.

She didn't see the young lady, passing by her, slip something shiny into the back pocket of her apron.

Click.

Nadia, leaving the room, sat by the window in the corridor to pass the time.

This was a frequently used corridor. Someone would come by soon.

"Oh, Miss? Why are you here?"

Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, the housekeeper appeared at the end of the corridor.

It seemed she had come to deliver a message to Nadia.

"My bedroom is being cleaned."

"Excuse me? There's no need to wait in the corridor…"

"Ambertold me it would be better to go out because I wouldn't be able to rest comfortably while the cleaning is being done. I don't really mind…"

"There's a living room next to the bedroom."

Nadia shrugged.

"I guess my presence is bothering her. Can't help it."

"Hmm…"

The housekeeper's face showed a hint of doubt.

A maid chasing the owner out of the room for cleaning was unheard of.