“Elise, I wish to annul our engagement.”
Today, roses blooming for the first time bask in the sun’s gentle light, fragrant and full of life.
Some are grand, heavily bowed as though weighted with gold and silver.
Some have petals with a velvety texture.
In the royal palace garden’s gazebo, a sea of roses of diverse colors stretch proudly to the tips of their fresh green leaves, blooming gloriously.
The first words spoken by my fiancé, the Third Prince Christoph, who arrived an hour late, were these.
One hour earlier, I suddenly recalled my previous life without warning.
Crash.
The teacup slipped from my hand.
As I sat in the elegant gazebo chair and nearly collapsed, my guard, Lyzectus, quickly caught me. His movements were as swift and fluid as a wild beast.
“Thank you. I think I’m just a little tired from the strict schedule of princess education lately,” I said hastily.
At my quick excuse, Lyzectus’ clear, sky-blue eyes clouded with concern.
Lyzectus, my ever-kind guard.
Tall, with the disciplined physique of a bowstring drawn taut, his posture was always courteous. His finely-chiseled face and silver hair, tied neatly in a single braid, gave him an air of gentleness.
In my current life, memories of my past life began flowing through my mind like scenes from a movie.
It felt like watching the records of another person’s life in a theater. My personality wasn’t affected—I am still me. It was as if those previous memories had merely been added as information, like dew clinging to the night.
Among those revived memories was Lyzectus’ figure.
He appeared in the popular novel “Blue Rose Garden”, which was later adapted into an anime. I played the role of the tragic villainess who dies early on, and Lyzectus appeared as the guard who abducts me.
I held my breath, my cheeks stiffening.
As I tasted the warmth of a freshly arranged tea with my fingertips and sipped, I calmed my unsteady breathing. The fragrant aroma flowed smoothly through my nose.
Tomorrow, Lyzectus will abduct me.
But Lyzectus isn’t at fault.
He was only trying to save me.
My name is Elise. My father is the king’s younger brother, sharing the same bloodline.
My fiancé is the Third Prince Christoph.
And if the kingdom’s finest knight, silver-haired Lyzectus, is here, then this must undoubtedly be the world of “Blue Rose Garden.”
The kingdom’s name, the other characters—everything matches perfectly. Therefore, I am undeniably the villainess Elise.
The villainess Elise.
My mother, who had a difficult labor, passed away soon after my birth. Because of this, I grew up hated by my father and brother, labeled “mother-killer.”
Now that I possess the knowledge of my past life, I understand just how foolish I’ve been until yesterday. I believed that enduring everything would be enough.
Even when my father and brother ignored me.
Even when Christoph cheated on me.
Even when my father and Christoph smeared my name with malicious rumors, casting me as the villainess to justify themselves. I thought if I endured it all—without complaining, without defying them—I would eventually be rewarded. That someday I would be loved.
I kept telling myself this, like a curse.
Raised to be controlled, managed, and obedient—trained to never rebel—I had been truly foolish.
My past life knowledge taught me this:
It’s foolish to care for people who don’t care for me.
I don’t need to cherish those who do not cherish me.
It was such a simple truth, and yet I hadn’t realized it.
But I won’t take revenge.
I don’t need to. In “Blue Rose Garden”, Christoph and my father… fufu, their story only begins after mine ends. Unlike me, whose role concludes at the start of the novel.
However, I have no intention of dying.
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