The Price is Everything of Yours (76 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 2
Neris Trude woke from sleep, tears streaming down her face.
The dark prison, reeking of festering wounds, was gone without a trace. In its place was a small sunlit room, filled with the scent of geraniums drifting through the window; the bed wasn’t plush but clean.
No one was in the room. Instead, she found household items long forgotten yet deeply familiar.
A simple wardrobe and basket adorned the walls of the house—wood grain still visible—built by her father. Even the worn rocking chair where her mother used to sit.
Was this a dream? Or perhaps heaven?
If this was heaven, nothing could be more perfect. Neris rolled off the bed and slipped on her slippers.
Then she noticed her body was different from how she remembered and examined her arms and legs.
This wasn’t the body of a woman past thirty. It was much slimmer and smaller, yet brimming with vitality—just like a child before school age.
“Liz?”
Just then, the door opened, and a woman’s voice came from outside—exactly the voice Neris had longed to hear for so long. Neris ran toward its owner, crying out.
“Mom!”
“My baby, why are you crying?”
Her mother entered, wiping her wet hands on her apron, and her eyes widened at the sight of her daughter’s tear-streaked face.
Her mother looked younger than in her memories. Every summer vacation home, Neris had seen her mother grow gradually older. Now she wondered—had her mother been under constant threat all along while she was away at school?
Threats demanding she hand over her daughter, the bearer of violet eyes.
Her heart ached with guilt. After raising her alone through so much hardship, her mother didn’t deserve such an end.
Afraid this vision might vanish, Neris clung tightly to her mother, who embraced her back with unmistakable warmth and patted her gently. Her mother’s familiar scent—something Neris could have breathed forever—filled her senses.
It was far too vivid to be just a dream—but could it truly be real? What about the prison? Valentine? Where were those despicable traitors?
Neris looked up at her mother and asked,
“Is this heaven?”
Her mother burst into laughter, kissed Neris tenderly on the forehead, and asked with affectionate eyes,
“Does home feel so much like heaven you don’t want to go to school?”
That was answer enough. Yes—it must have all been a nightmare. Such horrific things could never have truly happened. Neris hugged her mother again and sobbed.
Her mother, flustered, held her even tighter.
“I worry too, sending you so far away. My little one, leaving home for the first time to live among noble families.”
…But wait—was it truly just a nightmare?
She distinctly remembered hearing these exact words before, in this same tone and voice. Neris shuddered.
She could vividly recall the despair, rage, and agony she’d felt in her final moments.
Everything before that was just as clear—as if it had happened only yesterday.
She’d never heard of dreams like that. Then this must mean—
She had come back. For reasons unknown.
From her mother’s words, Neris realized she was now twelve—the age all noble children of the Empire of Vesta entered the Noble Academy. Her fists, clutching her mother’s skirt, turned white.
Soon, she would depart for that place again.
The Academy—where her first nightmare had begun.
“Mom.”
Neris looked up at her. Her mother’s face fell at her daughter’s cautious, sorrowful expression.
At this point in time, mother and daughter had never looked at each other so sadly. Young Neris had always been bright and cheerful—just like her mother.
“What’s wrong, my baby?”
Why hadn’t she realized it back then? Her mother must have felt lonely and heartbroken too, sending away her only family.
Yet she’d endured humiliation, borrowed money from distant relatives to pay the tuition, and sent Neris off—despite being disowned by her own noble house, which had told her to sever ties if she insisted on marrying a lowly knight.
She’d believed school would be good for her daughter’s future.
“You know…”
Yes, she had to go to the Academy. But this time, she wouldn’t let those hateful people have their way with her.
“Yes, my baby.”
“I love you. I’ll do well.”
Her mother immediately brightened and smiled broadly.
The silver strands of her mother’s hair gleamed smoothly in the sunlight—and for a moment, Neris recalled another person with that same silver hair.
Nelusion Elantria.
A flash of hatred crossed Neris’s face. Her mother, startled, looked at her daughter in confusion.
But Neris quickly smiled back, feigning innocence as if she’d never worn such an un-childlike expression.
“When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning. You know you’ll need to wake up early, right?”
“I always wake up early anyway.”
Her mother laughed.
“You say that, yet here you are, sleeping in so late again today.”
Now that she thought about it, after being adopted into House Elantria, Neris had changed all her habits to avoid disappointing the Duke and Duchess—waking earlier than anyone, studying all day, and going to bed later than the rest.
Nelusion had once casually teased her about her short stature, saying she’d stopped growing long ago.
During her lonely years in the imperial palace, even such trivial memories had been more precious than jewels. But now, they were nothing but repulsive.
It would never happen again. Neris spoke gently to her mother.
“I can wake up early if I want to. You’ll see tomorrow.”
“Of course you can—when my girl says she’ll do something, she follows through, doesn’t she?”
Her mother whispered kindly, rubbing Neris’s back, then gave her bottom two playful pats as if to say it was time to let go.
“Alright! Now let’s finish packing your things, shall we?”
“Yes. I’ll pack them right away.”
So please stay well and wait for me, Mom.
If I’ve truly returned to the past, perhaps the gods have given me a chance to save you.
Silently murmuring this to herself, Neris held her mother’s warmth one last time.
[This is the timeline separator]The city where the Academy stood was called Katen, named after Princess Katerina, its founder. It was only fitting, as the city was sustained entirely by the revenue generated from the Academy’s students and instructors.
When Neris stepped off the carriage at Katen Station after a long journey, she saw children around her age nearby.
She recognized all their faces—and felt strange seeing them now so innocent and timid, unlike the spiteful, cruel versions who had mocked her later.
Knowing the city layout well, Neris strode confidently and deftly despite carrying a bag as big as herself. Other children, still bewildered and looking around for directions, turned their eyes toward her.
First because of her demeanor—and second because of her violet eyes.
Violet eyes were rare; lilac hues occasionally appeared. But no one present had ever seen eyes like Neris’s—iris of a flushed Tyrian purple.
After all, wasn’t it precisely because of the symbolic power of her violet eyes that House Elantria adopted her and later designated her as Crown Princess? They were the emblem of Elantria, one of the three ancient heroes who had defeated the evil dragon and laid the Empire’s foundation.
The current House Elantria claimed direct descent from that hero—but none among them possessed violet eyes.
Neris found it odd that she, unlike even her mother, had inherited this trait—but distant kinship might still carry the bloodline.
By the time she turned eighteen and her gem-like eyes fully manifested, gazes toward her had grown even more intense—whether with admiration or malice.
“Hey!”
A woman’s voice called out nearby. Neris looked around. A fine carriage had stopped at the roadside.
A tall woman stepped down. Her attire suggested she was a lady’s maid, though Neris didn’t recognize her—perhaps an attendant for someone about to graduate?
The maid approached and looked down at Neris. Her lack of reaction to the violet eyes suggested she wasn’t from an exceedingly high-ranking house.
“Are you a local child around here?”
The maid assumed Neris was a commoner—seeing no attendants with her and the large bag she carried. Indeed, after such a long journey, Neris’s clothes weren’t particularly neat.
Neris set her bag down and lifted her chin.
“I am a knight’s daughter. Is it so bold of you to look down on me and speak like that?”
The maid’s eyes widened in shock, and she quickly bowed.
“My apologies, miss.”
A laugh came from inside the carriage. Moments later, a smiling girl peeked out through the open door.
The girl, with chestnut hair, had an unfamiliar face. Neris tilted her head, surprised—she seemed to be her age.
Of course, Neris didn’t remember every young lady in society—but she should have known all her contemporaries, having shared classes with them from enrollment to graduation.
By imperial law, “narrowly defined” nobles—those directly descended from barons or higher—were required to attend the Academy.
“Broadly defined” nobles—collateral relatives of noble houses or children of knights—could enroll only if they could afford tuition and chose to attend.
Neris fell into the latter category. Some children in that group even disappeared mid-term when they could no longer afford fees.
Was this girl one of those?
Yet judging by the carriage and maid’s attire, she clearly came from a wealthy family. While Neris pondered this, the maid hurried back to her mistress.
“Miss, be careful.”
“I’ve got a good hold.”
The girl spoke resolutely, as if her pride had been wounded, and addressed Neris.
“You’re clever. You speak well.”
“You seem clever too.”
Neris, at a loss for words, gave a vague reply. The girl beckoned to her.
“If you’re heading to school, ride with us. Isn’t your bag heavy?”
“It’s heavy, but I don’t want to owe anyone a favor without reason.”
Though it was still before enrollment—meaning the days when others would shun her on sight hadn’t come yet—Neris instinctively remained cautious.
She had learned the hard way: never trust anyone.
Undeterred by the rejection, the girl’s eyes widened innocently.
“So what? We were going to ask you for directions anyway—we don’t know the way. Are you a second-year?”
“I’m enrolling today.”
“Same as me! My name is Diane MacKinnon.”
“Neris Trude.”
House MacKinnon didn’t have a long lineage but held significant influence among the upper circles.
Though it would decline by the time Neris reached adulthood, she recalled that at this time, the MacKinnon Trading Company was still one of the Empire’s top three merchant houses.
But had she really attended school alongside the Earl MacKinnon’s daughter? Truthfully, in her early years, Neris had paid so little attention to those around her—she’d been buried in books—that she couldn’t be sure.
She hadn’t memorized all her peers’ names until the latter half of second year, and even then, matching names to faces required more shared time in class.
One thing was certain: Diane hadn’t been among those who tormented her in later years.
House MacKinnon had remained prosperous until Neris’s death—so how had this girl ended up leaving school midway?
In any case, Diane’s offer—to give her a ride in exchange for directions—was reasonable enough. The maid kindly took Neris’s bag and handed it to a neatly dressed servant, and Neris climbed nimbly into the carriage.
Once inside, Neris understood why the maid had reacted so protectively—Diane walked with a limp.
Seeing Neris’s gaze, Diane smiled brightly.
“My leg’s a bit troublesome. Adults said I might not be able to keep up with school.”
“Does it still hurt?”
“Not really—but they still worry.”
Neris grasped the situation roughly. Children instinctively sensed weakness. Though not as powerless as she’d been, Diane might also struggle to fit in.
The carriage slowly moved in the direction Neris indicated. Neris quickly looked away from Diane and fixed her eyes on the Academy building, drawing ever closer.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
The male lead being so proud of his wife is honestly adorable, even when he gets jealous.
And the female lead is so elegant and beautiful—I can’t wait to see this scene illustrated
Haha, did the ML really just say that to the FL? He’s so cute when he gets a little jealous.
Can’t wait for next chapter
The ML is so considerate of his wife. He treats her with so much care and gentleness, even when she doesn’t say a word—he just understands her. He’s honestly so perfect, I can’t 😭
I really hope the FL can overcome these painful feelings soon. I can’t bear to watch her suffer this much. 💔