Whitney hurriedly left the greenhouse and headed to her room. As she approached the door, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand upon seeing Rael waiting for her. Her fingertips trembled as she tried to compose herself, pretending nothing was wrong.

Rael, who had been waiting in front of Whitney’s room, scolded her angrily.

“Where have you been? Lady Melissa will be here soon, so wait inside. I’ll prepare some warm tea for you.”

[I went out for some fresh air because I felt stuffy.]

Whitney showed Rael what she had written. Rael furrowed her brow, looking as if she wasn’t even curious, and pushed Whitney into the room.

“Hurry and set up.”

Rael nodded towards the maid. The maid standing beside her brought over a tray and placed teacups and cookies on the table.

“Don’t go anywhere else and wait here. Understood? Don’t make me search for you again.”

[……I will. Don’t tell my sister I went out. You’ll only get scolded for no reason.]

“Hmph, I wasn’t planning to anyway.”

Rael glared at Whitney as she left the room. Only after the maid had left did Whitney slump down in a chair.

‘What should I do? What should I……’

Her throat felt parched. Her mouth was dry with anxiety, and her mind was in chaos. Whitney poured tea into a cup with trembling hands.

‘It’s okay. I have to pretend I don’t know. Then I’ll meet His Majesty the King and tell him everything.’

But what would change? What difference would it make?

The King now had only one son left. It meant Prince Karl was the only heir to succeed the throne.

Whitney let out a hollow laugh. Everything had already been carefully planned.

Where did it all go wrong?

Perhaps it was from the moment she discovered and saved Prince Karl. Whitney moistened her throat by drinking the tea.

At that moment, she felt a searing pain throughout her body.

‘Ugh!’

It hurts, it hurts so much. She fell to the floor from the chair, silently screaming. She clawed at her chest, writhing in pain, but it was no use.

Her breath was slowly being cut off, and the pain intensified. Whitney crawled towards the door, reaching out her hand.

‘Please, someone… he-help…’

Shouting was useless. Whitney saw the door opening as her consciousness faded.

“Whitney’s not here. I told her to wait, but she’s nowhere to be seen. What can we do?”

Melissa spoke in a gentle voice as she closed the door. Then she approached Whitney. Whitney gathered all her strength to grab Melissa’s ankle.

“Just die quietly. You have nothing to resent. The problem lies with the one who gets taken from, not the one who takes. Who told you to trust people so easily? You’re such a fool who learns nothing even after being deceived once.”

As Melissa pulled her foot back, Whitney’s hand fell to the floor. She smiled and stepped on Whitney’s hand.

“Don’t grab my ankle. If only Father were still alive, it would have been easier. You ruined everything. I won’t let you ruin it this time. How could I let go of this opportunity? So please, just die quietly.”

Whitney closed her eyes, watching Melissa’s feet move away. As her breath choked, her consciousness gradually faded.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Huff, huff.”

Whitney clutched her throat as her breath caught up to her chin. The moment of suffocation kept replaying in her mind, as if the pain continued.

As she hastily inhaled, a large amount of oxygen entered her nostrils.

There was no time to comprehend the situation. She curled up, clutching her chest and groaning at the pain still felt in her body. The sensation of drying up every last drop of moisture in her body was vivid.

As the pain gradually subsided, her eyes opened.

‘How did this……’

When she opened her eyes, she saw her room. Only then did she realize something was wrong and sat up.

She had certainly died. She had drunk the poisoned tea Melissa had prepared, and she could still feel the touch of Melissa’s slender ankle that she had desperately grabbed at the end.

“……Melissa.”

My voice is coming out? Whitney carefully spoke again, grasping her own throat.

Whitney felt strange hearing her own voice after so long. It had only been a few days since she last spoke, but her voice was welcome.

“Melissa. Melissa.”

She clenched her fist. The image of Melissa, who had caused her death, was vivid in her mind. She could faintly hear Melissa’s footsteps moving away as she lay dying.

“Am I really alive?”

It was unbelievable, but everything was so vivid that it was hard to deny. Carefully getting out of bed and going to the mirror, Whitney burst into tears when she saw her reflection.

‘I’m alive. I’m… alive. But… something’s strange.’

A slightly youthful face, clear green eyes. Messy hair from just waking up, and a worn but frilly nightgown.

The nightgown Whitney was wearing was a gift Melissa had given her on her 19th birthday.

She reached out her hand, staring at her reflection in the mirror for a moment.

‘It’s not that the poisoning failed. This is… I’ve come back to the past.’

She was 21 years old when she attended the royal banquet and saved Prince Karl.

Not only had she come back to life, but she had also returned two years into the past?

How could this be possible? The sensation on her hand was clear, and she no longer felt any pain.

Despite the unbelievable situation, she remained calm. After all, the things that had happened to her before she died were even more unbelievable.

However, if an unbelievable situation had occurred, she hoped it would be a bit more hopeful. For instance, going back to a time when her father was still alive.

‘Wait a moment, if I’ve come back two years… that means Prince Cheston is still alive.’

Oh my goodness! Whitney covered her mouth. Perhaps heaven had given her a chance to correct her mistakes?

At that moment, the door opened, and Whitney’s gaze turned towards it. The maid who rudely entered without even knocking was none other than Rael.

“Ah! You startled me. What? You’re awake?”

She casually entered the room and drew the curtains, causing Whitney to squint at the dazzling sunlight.

Whitney barely covered her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Why are you just standing there looking stupid? You’ll eat separately, right?”

“……Yes.”

She wasn’t ready to face Melissa yet. She needed a little more time to prepare herself mentally to confront the woman who had caused her death.

“From now on, you don’t need to come wake me up. I’ll call for you when I need you. That’s more convenient for you too, isn’t it?”

“It’s convenient for me, sure. Do you think it’s easy to climb up to the attic of the mansion? It’s fortunate that the madam is kind, but do you think it’s easy to take care of a child with no blood relation in a place where there’s no duke?”

Rael left the room with a snort. Whitney closed the door and took a deep breath.

‘Will I be alright like this?’

She closed her eyes, leaning against the door. She needed time to calm the anger in her heart and to fully navigate this situation.

[This is the timeline separator]

The next morning, Whitney organized her chaotic thoughts. There was still time left until the banquet.

To save Cheston, who had died unjustly, she needed to build her foundation first. Whitney had been ignored by her stepmother and sister all her life. But of course, she believed everything was her fault. She was used to accepting and agreeing with everything.

Now she realized that all of it was meant to manipulate her easily. They had isolated her to make her believe only their words. The two had meticulously oppressed young Whitney so that she couldn’t even judge what was wrong.

She recalled what she needed to do first. As she was nearing the end of her 19th year, she had to have her debutante ball on her 20th birthday. That might be her chance. There was still half a year left.

‘I need to learn about Prince Cheston.’

To help him, various preparations were necessary. First, she needed to change herself. If only Melissa hadn’t ruined her dress at the debutante ball, she wouldn’t have become someone to be avoided in social circles.

She had always said everything was her fault, but thinking about it now, Melissa was the cause of everything.

The green dress, the only clothing her mother had left her. It had been ruined by alterations in an attempt to follow fashion, but Whitney hadn’t forgotten the day she wore this dress.

She had covered the worn fabric with lace and added beads to create an illusion. It was obviously an altered dress, but Whitney didn’t mind. After all, her stepmother never gave her a decent dress anyway.

While Whitney was making a reluctant expression, Melissa approached and whispered to her.

She should have realized it when Melissa spouted nonsense about how buying a new dress for the debutante ball was extravagant and that a noblewoman should show a frugal life. All of it was Melissa’s ploy to isolate her in social circles.

She looked at her mother’s belongings in the wardrobe.

‘If I alter it well, it might be fine.’

She had no money then, and she had no money now. But she didn’t want to sell her mother’s jewelry to buy a dress. The fabric was of good quality, so it still felt soft despite the passage of time.

There was time left until the debutante ball, so she had to do something. She couldn’t be taken advantage of again.

Even if Whitney didn’t discover Prince Karl, someone else would. It was a trap to eliminate Prince Cheston, so it didn’t matter who became their pawn.

‘If Melissa sees him, she’d gladly become Karl’s pawn.’

If Karl had truly loved her, if Whitney had come back without knowing anything after her death, she would have taken Karl’s hand instead of Prince Cheston’s.

To prevent her from dying, to help her avoid falling off the cliff in the first place. Whitney now owed a debt to Prince Cheston.

He who died because of her, she who was saved by him but eventually died.

‘This time, I’ll save him.’

Whitney closed the wardrobe and left the room. Before that, she had something to do.

She needed evidence to reclaim her rights.