Those words were her last will and final words.

And so, Sesenia died.

‘At that time, I regret not being able to kill my older sister.’

A tear fell from Sesenia’s eye.

That was the last memory of her life.

The Emperor, her husband, looking at her with a relieved expression.

Her older sister Elzere, smirking at her.

Ian, standing behind her sister. The one who, when asked what to do about her sister who had an affair with her husband, said to send them away to a distant place since she wouldn’t be able to kill them anyway… Even her only friend.

‘Love… it’s truly a cursed thing…’

But Sesenia’s life came to an end like that.

‘And I will live again.’

**

“Huh…”

When Sesenia opened her eyes again, her body was intact. She hadn’t been stabbed, and there was no pain.

“I’m back.”

She smirked. As if she had known she would return, she repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fist before approaching the mirror. It was her own reflection. The only difference was a necklace around her neck that she had never seen before.

A pocket watch, a slightly thick pocket watch. When opened, it contained an hourglass inside.

‘The family’s secret.’

A terrible curse passed down in the Bestel family. It was a very old story that even Sesenia’s father, the Marquis of Bestel, didn’t know about. A curse placed on those who wish for their own death, preventing them from dying by their own hand.

What kind of curse it was, and whether there were any side effects, had not yet been revealed. Sesenia had only discovered it just before her death. As if fate didn’t want her to die.

“I would have died anyway, even without this.”

They would have tried to kill her one way or another. It was a bet with her life on the line, but there were no other options in the bet besides death and more death.

Comforting herself with such thoughts, Sesenia ran her hand through her hair. As she stroked her cheek, she felt its wholeness.

“I really am alive.”

At that moment, the door opened and someone entered.

“Ah.”

“Young lady. Are you oversleeping again today?”

“…Rather than oversleeping, I just woke up.”

Pretending as if nothing was amiss, as if she belonged in this time, she looked around.

“Ah. I see.”

The situation where she was called “young lady,” and this place was undoubtedly the Bestel Marquis’ residence. Her room before she got married.

‘Time has been turned back. Quite far back.’

As Sesenia shook her head this way and that to assess the situation, the woman who had entered the room urged her.

“Please get up quickly. You’ll be scolded by the Marquis again at this rate.”

“Ah. Is Father here?”

“What a strange question. Did you lose your senses after drinking a few glasses of wine at yesterday’s coming-of-age ceremony?”

While she had figured out that she had come back to life due to the family curse, other details remained unclear. Whether this was really reality, and when exactly the present was. As Sesenia was flustered, she belatedly realized who was scolding her.

It was Lizbeth, the daughter of her wet nurse and a friend who had grown up with Sesenia, as well as her maid.

However, two months before Sesenia met that fate, Lizbeth had died in a mysterious accident. Besides Ian, she was the only friend Sesenia could open her heart to, but after saying she was going to visit her mother for a while, she never returned.

Remembering this, Sesenia stared at Lizbeth silently. If this wasn’t a dream, had she returned to a time before Lizbeth’s death? Had she regressed? Otherwise, why would Lizbeth be here?

As time passed, more questions filled her mind.

“Lizbeth… are you alright?”

“Of course?”

“Really… you’re not sick or anything?”

“Oh, young lady. Did you have a bad dream? You’re acting strange today. As if you’ve regressed or something.”

Suddenly, Sesenia’s face turned pale.

“Regressed…?”

“Yes. Like turning back time. Why are you so curious, as if you’ve experienced something like that?”

At those words, accompanied by a grin, something in Sesenia’s chest twinged.

‘Regression… indeed… but why would Lizbeth use such an uncommon word?’

Something felt a bit odd. While the word “regression” clarified her entire situation, she couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

“Young lady?”

“Yes?”

“You seem both like your usual self and a bit strange today.”

“I know. I think I’m a bit odd too. Lizbeth, what do you mean yesterday was my coming-of-age ceremony?”

“What do you mean? It means that as of today, you’re 20 years old and a day!”

Sesenia just blinked at Lizbeth’s beaming smile.

It had been 5 years since her coming-of-age when she died. At 19, she was engaged to the Crown Prince. At 20, her father was deeply considering who to entrust the family to.

At 21, Sesenia was handling most of the family affairs, and at 22, she married the Crown Prince she had been engaged to. At 23, the Crown Prince became Emperor, and at 25, she died.

‘So I’ve been given a five-year grace period.’

“This isn’t a dream, right?”

“Do you wish it were? Well, aging is always sad. I understand completely.”

Lizbeth, who had always been cheerful, smiled brightly at Sesenia. The sight made her heart ache.

‘You really have come back, Lizbeth. I had lost you, but in this time, you’re alive.’

At this moment, Sesenia was happier than ever before.

“You’re right. It does seem sad. But this moment right now is good.”

“Is that so.”

“I should get ready and go to Father.”

Sesenia looked at Lizbeth with a more spirited smile than ever before.

‘I’ll give them everything they want.’

Her sister had wanted everything Sesenia had. So this time, she vowed to give those shitty things to her sister.

Even if those who drove her to death now were different from their future selves, the time Sesenia had experienced remained the same.

With that, Sesenia headed towards her father, still the naive 19-year-old she once was.

**

The Marquis had only two daughters and no son. So he fell into deep contemplation about who to pass the family name to.

The second daughter, Sesenia, who was smart but lacked aegyo, much to the Marquis’s displeasure.

In contrast, Elzere, who was full of aegyo and loveliness itself. But Elzere showed no interest in business.

So Sesenia tried hard to please the Marquis. And she revived the Marquis’s house, making it more prosperous than any other family. Despite this, the Marquis wanted to pass the family name to his daughter Elzere.

But Elzere said she wanted to have a free love life and live freely in the world, so she gave up the family name. In the end, Sesenia took charge of family affairs even after becoming the Crown Princess, and eventually, the family became hers.

‘And yet. Even that family was what my sister wanted.’

Only after everything was completed did she want to have it all without suffering any losses.

No matter how she thought about it, she was truly a despicable person.

Of course, there was no guarantee that such things wouldn’t happen again in this life.

‘In this life, I won’t trust anyone. Not my sister, not Ian, not the Crown Prince. And I won’t even take the family name. I’ll create something of my own, and I won’t let anything be taken away. I’ll bring hell to them… to those who only used me.’

That incident kept coming to mind. Her friend and sister who had mocked her. Her hands trembled. Then,

Someone grabbed Sesenia’s arm as she was heading to the Marquis’s room.

“Sesenia! Are you on your way to Father?”

Sesenia’s body suddenly stiffened. A familiar voice, a familiar action. It was Elzere.

“Sister.”

Unlike Sesenia, who was said to be emotionless, Elzere was loved by everyone. Even her younger sister found Elzere lovable.

Rumored to be the most beautiful in the empire, and known for her intelligence, Elzere was always surrounded by men trying to confess their love and gifts sent to the Marquis’s house.

This routine continued until Sesenia became the Crown Princess and entered the imperial palace. And Elzere loved all these men. In reality, it was different. Elzere used these men, claiming it was free love.

Back then, Sesenia thought her sister was amazing. To be able to control so many people’s hearts at will.

But she never imagined that this free love would extend to coveting her own husband. That it would lead to taking her position, stealing her husband, and ultimately causing her death. Sesenia couldn’t hide her expression.

‘The person who betrayed me in the future isn’t this person… why can’t I calm down? Get a grip. This person is… different from that person in the future.’

Sesenia forced a smile as she looked at Elzere.

“Yes.”

“Were you alright yesterday? It was your first time drinking proper wine. Did you get a headache?”

“Oh.”

“Actually, I prepared that for you. I got something special for you.”

Suddenly, Sesenia felt nauseous. The sight of Elzere gently stroking her hand while talking about yesterday reminded her of when she was paralyzed with a strange substance while imprisoned, making it difficult to calm her heart.

“I see. Sister, you haven’t changed.”

“Hm? What do you mean I haven’t changed?”

It was disgusting to see her look at her with a face that knew nothing.

“No. It’s just. You always look out for me.”

“That’s right! Who else in the world would care for you as much as I do?”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s always been like that.”

At those words, Sesenia truly believed that her sister loved her. That no one in her family loved her as much as she did. She lived trapped in that ridiculous frame of mind. Never imagining that it would be her sister who would ultimately cause her death.

Having an affair with her husband, bearing her husband’s child, and then using that child to cause her death – she never dreamed of such things and believed her sister’s feelings were genuine.

Her mouth tasted unbearably bitter.

‘But now I’ll be the one to use you.’