Chapter 1
“Come to think of it, I’ve never once written you a letter, Sister.
By the time my memories begin, you were already gone from the imperial palace, and after you ascended the throne, there was never really a chance to write something like this leisurely, was there?
Still, I do remember the day you left the palace.
I whined to Father.
I begged him to let me see you.
I asked why I wasn’t allowed to.
Back then, I was too young to understand concepts like divorce or half-siblings.
I only realized later, after growing up a little more, that ours was an uncomfortable relationship.
I felt terribly sorry for that.
So when Mother and Edward died from illness and you ascended the throne, I was sad, but at the same time… how should I put it? It felt as though a burden I had always carried was finally lifted.
Like I no longer had to feel guilty toward you anymore.
It was a kind of relief.
A foolish thought, really.
Even an arrow that loses its target must land somewhere eventually, and it was obvious where your rage would turn once the original objects of your hatred were gone.
You may not know this, Sister, but there was once a time when I truly tried to devote myself to you.
Of course, no matter how sincere I was, to you I was nothing more than a target for revenge.
I’m a slow learner, aren’t I?
And when I opened my eyes once again, that was when I swore it.
Never again would I pretend to be virtuous.
I would think only of my own happiness and survival.
So Sister, I hope you won’t feel too wronged about being dethroned.
I may not have been the one who made you unhappy, but you were the one who made me miserable.
—From your younger sister, Evelyn.”
Unlike the warm spring air outside, the imperial tower where Evelyn stayed was filled with biting cold.
The old windows failed to block the chill creeping in throughout the dawn.
The rattling frames scraped noisily against one another, making her frown instinctively.
“Again?”
Her low voice fell heavily to the floor.
As Evelyn gazed around the familiar interior, her eyes slowly lowered.
Smooth, pale skin untouched by hardship.
Worn, frayed sleeves.
Looking at those two mismatched things together, she let out a hollow laugh.
How tiresome.
What kind of curse am I trapped in, to repeat this endless suffering over and over again?
Just moments ago, Evelyn had been burned alive by her half-sister.
Strictly speaking, before regressing.
The accusation had been conspiring in rebellion.
But she swore she had never attempted such a thing even once.
She pleaded desperately for her innocence, even clinging to her fiancé, but it was useless.
“Poor Evelyn.”
“Rob, please, save me! Sister—no, Her Majesty must be misunderstanding something!”
During the horrific execution by fire, he had come to visit the imperial tower where Evelyn was imprisoned.
Desperately clinging to the door, she reached through the narrow bars and grabbed the edge of Robert’s sleeve.
“Yes, I know. I know how kind you are.”
“Ah, yes… then please…!”
Robert took a step back.
Because of that, Evelyn lost her tenuous grip on his sleeve.
“Robert?”
Frowning, Evelyn hurriedly knelt down.
Trying somehow to see his face, she pressed herself against the tiny food slot in the iron door.
“Where should I even begin?”
After moving her head around frantically, she finally managed to see her fiancé’s face.
But his expression was completely different from what she had expected—what she had hoped for.
“That I never loved you even once? Or that I’m grateful you fell in love exactly as planned?”
He chuckled softly.
Even in that moment, his red lips curved with the same enchanting beauty as always.
“Ah, right.”
Perhaps sensing her stare, Robert lowered his gaze.
The moment their eyes met, a vivid light flickered within his blue eyes.
“Yes… that expression.”
His smile widened as he bent closer.
“When she sees you like this, how delighted she’ll be.”
“Rob…?”
“How beautiful she’ll look after finally achieving her revenge!”
“W-What… what are you saying? Why me? Why would Her Majesty do this to me? What did I do wrong?!”
“Well, it’s not exactly your fault. But there is such a thing as original sin, isn’t there?”
As he leaned closer, she caught the faint scent of cape flowers.
The fragrance of the place where they had once promised each other a future.
“But the dead can’t be punished anymore, can they?”
“Please!”
“So instead, you’ll have to be destroyed in their place.”
The moment Evelyn realized that even the fiancé she had trusted with all her heart was merely a pawn of her half-sister, she fell into complete despair.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never escape this cycle.
If this was what life meant—if every death would only lead to this pain repeating again and again—then she begged for there to be no more regressions.
Please.
Please just let her close her eyes forever.
As she watched Mary smiling brightly before the blazing flames, that was the prayer she offered.
But the heavens ignored her wish completely.
The endlessly familiar, peaceful sky before her once again reminded her of that cruel fact.
“So blood itself is the original sin.”
Whether she fled or obeyed, Mary always carried out her revenge, and Evelyn always regressed.
And this was now her third life.
After dying so many times, even the guilt she once felt toward Mary had faded away.
All that remained now was resentment, emptiness… and the primal desire to survive.
How laughable.
After praying for death, she still wanted to live.
Perhaps the gods ignored me because that wish was too insignificant.
Now, she couldn’t even laugh bitterly anymore.
Only the survival instinct honed through repeated suffering continued to move swiftly.
“What should I do?”
Her once vividly green eyes shifted sideways.
Clouded pupils devoid of any light reflected the rising sun.
The longer the sun stayed in the sky, the later darkness would come.
Thinking of that simple truth, Evelyn murmured quietly,
“What must I do to survive?”
Her gaze drifted outside the window toward the palace servants walking together in groups.
The sight brought back memories from her first life.
“Devil who ruined the Empire!”
“Stop your horrific tyranny!”
“Bloody Mary!”
In just three years, the empire’s political situation would completely collapse.
Because Mary neglected state affairs, the capital drowned itself in decadence while chaos spread endlessly across the borders.
The citizens eventually revolted and protested, unable to endure any longer.
But all of them died beneath Mary’s overwhelming power.
Even then, in her first life, Evelyn had remained loyal to Mary.
She believed the throne rightfully belonged to her.
She thought that if she supported her sincerely, if she advised her honestly, Mary would eventually understand.
But her reward had been execution by hanging.
So in her second life, she did the opposite.
She humbled herself shamelessly.
She silently obeyed every order just to survive.
Yet even then, the ending was death by fire.
Perhaps obeying Mary at all was the mistake.
Now that she looked back on it, everything filled her with regret.
In her first life, her naïve sincerity toward Mary felt pathetic.
In her second, she despised her own cowardice—living in fear of the Empress only to end up burned alive anyway.
As long as Mary remains on the throne, neither I nor this empire will survive.
When she raised her head, she saw the radiant sun blazing overhead.
The light pouring over the world seemed utterly ignorant of darkness.
Slowly, her lips parted.
She repeated the thought once more inside her mind.
I must become Emperor.
To end this cursed cycle of regression—
To save the empire—
Mary could never be allowed to remain on the throne.
And to do that… I’ll use anything.
After two lifetimes, Evelyn had finally realized something.
To defeat a monster, she too would have to become one.
At last, light returned to the eyes once veiled in fog.
The faint glow buried deep within slowly illuminated her pale green irises.
Swallowing the blood welling between her lips, Evelyn engraved the goal of this life into her heart.
At that moment, heavy military boots and familiar dress shoes sounded from beyond the shabby wooden door.
Soon, two low voices stopped outside.
“Open it.”
“Yes, sir!”
Evelyn turned her head calmly.
As though she already knew what was about to happen, she straightened her back and stared at the door.
With the clatter of keys, the old wooden door creaked open.
The scraping sound against the stone floor was sickening.
She wanted to cover her ears immediately, but Evelyn maintained her rigid posture.
At least before him, she refused to look pathetic.
“Your Highness.”
Finally, the door opened fully, revealing a familiar face.
Blue eyes that captured attention instantly.
A proud nose bridge and flawless skin.
And that honey-colored golden hair she had once loved so dearly.
The man who had once been her entire world—her only light in her second life—looked slightly younger than she remembered.
“My name is Robert Edenbarker. I have come to escort Your Highness.”
His languid voice echoed beside her ear.
Crunch.
Her sharp canine teeth bit into the inside of her mouth, and the taste of blood spread across her tongue.
She clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Her torn nails dug painfully into her palms, but she didn’t care.
Because if she loosened her grip even slightly—
She might leap at him and snap his neck right then and there.
To contain her emotions, Evelyn forced a deep breath into her lungs.
Finally, her parted lips released a low, strained voice.
