I wasn't dreaming.
I had truly been reborn.
The confirmation came swiftly with a letter delivered before sunrise.
"From the Imperial Palace," my maid, Eloise, whispered as she placed the sealed scroll onto my breakfast tray.
Even the paper sent a chill through me.
I recognized that wax seal the Virelion crest. A silver hawk with outstretched wings. The same emblem that would eventually decorate my execution warrant.
With trembling hands, I broke it open.
Lady Seraphina von Aurelian,
By decree of His Imperial Majesty, you are summoned to the palace for formal acknowledgment of your engagement to His Highness, Crown Prince Kael Virelion.
May the Empire prosper.
—High Chamberlain of the Imperial Court
It was the same letter.
The same day.
The timeline had truly reset to one year before the court turned against me. Before the poisoning. Before Kael's hatred.
I had one year to rewrite everything.
I dropped the scroll and exhaled.
"Miss?" Eloise asked. "Are you unwell?"
"I'm…" I trailed off. What could I say? I just woke up in my 18-year-old body again after being executed by the man I was supposed to marry?
"…I'm fine," I said instead, my voice steady. "Prepare my riding cloak. We'll visit Father."
If I could convince him to cancel the engagement now, everything else might change.
🏰 The Aurelian Estate War Room
My father, Duke Raelis von Aurelian, had once ruled half the western empire with nothing but a stare and a sword. Now, he spent most days seated in his war chamber, surrounded by maps and memories.
He looked up as I entered, his eyes sharpening.
"Seraphina. You're up early," he said. "Is this about the engagement letter?"
"You already received one?"
"It arrived last night."
Of course it had.
"Father," I said calmly, "I want you to decline the proposal."
His brows lifted. "Decline? You always knew you'd marry into the royal family."
"I've changed my mind."
He laughed a deep, rumbling sound that had once terrified enemy generals. "You've never changed your mind about anything. What's this really about?"
You executed me. You let them take me, and you didn't even flinch.
But I couldn't say that. Not yet.
"I just don't trust the Crown Prince," I said instead. "He's cold, proud, and completely uninterested in diplomacy. He'll make a poor ruler and a worse husband."
Father narrowed his eyes. "You're not wrong. But rejecting a royal proposal will cost us dearly."
"I'd rather lose favor now than lose everything later," I said, my tone sharper than I intended.
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then, surprisingly, he leaned back in his chair.
"…Very well," he said. "I'll speak with the emperor."
My breath caught. He agreed?
"But," he continued, "you'll attend the engagement banquet tonight, as tradition demands. Appear gracious. Let the court see we're still loyal. After that, I'll handle the rest."
I swallowed hard. The banquet...
That was where I first saw Princess Alira in my original life. That was when the poison plot began.
If I show up, everything could begin again.
But if I don't… they'll know something's wrong.
The Imperial Banquet Hall
The hall glittered with chandeliers and silk banners, golden light dancing across polished floors. Nobles, knights, and courtiers whispered behind feathered fans and jeweled goblets.
All eyes turned as I entered.
Lady Seraphina von Aurelian.
The future Crown Princess.
They didn't know I'd already died once in this room.
My heart thundered in my ears as I walked past the nobles who would later turn on me. Countess Varelle. Minister Darius. The sycophants. The liars. The future traitors.
And then I saw him.
Kael.
Standing at the far end of the room, dressed in dark navy robes embroidered with silver hawks, his dark hair swept back like a polished blade. His violet eyes locked with mine.
My breath hitched.
He looked… the same. Unchanged. Cold. Regal. Dangerous.
He did not approach.
Good.
I had no intention of starting our story again.
But then, another presence slid beside him a girl in lilac chiffon, with golden curls and a demure smile.
Princess Alira.
And her gaze was not sweet it was sharp.
She looked at me like prey.
So it begins, I thought.
That Night
Back in my bedchamber, I peeled off the jewelry and dress that made me look like a woman ready to be crowned.
I stared into the mirror into my own crimson eyes.
Then, like a whisper in the dark, something pulsed beneath my skin.
A faint shimmer of gold spiraled up my collarbone.
A glowing rune. A single curved symbol. The first sign of magic.
The mark of a Spellweaver.
I hadn't seen it in my first life not until it was too late.
Now, it had awoken early.