Chapter 01
Clink… clink…
Ariella’s gaze dropped to her own feet, to the horrific sound they made.
With every step, the iron chains binding her ankles scraped mercilessly against open wounds, tearing them anew.
Smack!
A gauntleted hand struck her across the face without warning, the metallic thud ringing in her skull.
Blood filled her mouth in an instant.
She had lost count of how many kicks she had endured on the walk from the top of the tower to the execution grounds.
When her legs finally gave out, the soldiers crossed
On the pure white snow, a trail of bright red blood stretched behind her like a ribbon.
Her frail, wasted body now stood beneath the pale winter sun.
The world around her lay buried in white.
The world she had returned to… was winter.
But ten years ago, that day had been in spring.
Through the murmur of the gathered crowd, a voice cut the air with cold precision the executioner.
“Prisoner, lift your head.”
Slowly, Ariella obeyed.
High above, as if standing just beneath the sun itself, was a man.
Dmitry Christopher Kaiden Hachliteri.
From the imperial House of Hachliteri, which had produced emperors for seven centuries.
The man he most perfect” in the Triphina Empire.
And the most infamous tyrant in its history.
Ariella had seen him only three times before.
Once, on the day she first set foot in the Empire for their marriage.
The second was when she learned her homeland had fallen.
And now this moment.
The Dmitry she faced now was a far more fearsome figure than she remembered.
Golden hair that seemed to swallow the sun itself, and eyes as black as if forged from pure darkness.
Just meeting that gaze was enough to make one’s heart seize in fear.
He tilted his head at the sight of her, as though he were seeing her for the very first time.
The sunlight shifted with the motion, stabbing into her eyes.
“If the prisoner has any last words, speak them now.”
Last words?
A bitter laugh slipped from her lips before she could stop it, the blood pooling in her mouth spilling down her chin.
The past few days were a blur.
There had been torture.
Whenever she fainted, cold water would jolt her awake only for her to lose consciousness again.
She vaguely recalled signing several documents, their words swimming in and out of focus, before being put on trial.
And then… the judge’s voice reading the final verdict, each syllable steeped in.
A ringing filled her ears, the world warping at its edges.
Only one word remained sharp and clear.
Execution.
Through every moment leading here, Ariella had wanted to know only one thing.
Why?
For what reason?
Why had the tyrant dragged her into the Empire, locking her away in that tower for ten years?
Why had he slaughtered her innocent family, drenching her beautiful homeland in blood?
And now, why would he scatter her blood across this filthy land as well?
Her gaze lifted to the two tall wooden pillars before her.
Between them, a heavy, slanted iron blade hung from a rope.
And beneath that blade stood the tyrant.
His expression was one of faint boredom.
Did he have any reason at all?
This man who killed without mercy, who erased everything that lived was she nothing more than his passing amusement?
But what did it matter now?
She swallowed her questions and closed her eyes.
Behind her lids bloomed the golden waves of her homeland’s fields beautiful, endless, and warm.
Better to die here than continue this wretched existence.
What meaning could there be in dragging out such a life?
Someone shoved her forward, forcing her to her knees.
Rough hands pressed her cheek against the execution block.
Though it was the dead of winter, the blood staining the wood was still warm.
Ariella opened her eyes slowly.
Black, unreadable eyes met hers, hitting her like a physical blow.
Even in that fleeting glance, his suffocating arrogance made her stomach turn.
“Your soul will find no peace in life or in death,” he said.
Keeping her gaze locked on him, she parted her lips and began to speak a curse.
It was the only thing that kept her eyes burning with defiance her faith that the words of the dying never truly vanished.
“Even when my head falls to the ground, my words of damnation will never touch the earth.”
For the first time, Dmitry’s perfect mask cracked.
He leaned forward, as if to catch every word.
Ariella gathered every last shred of her strength and hurled her voice at him.
“Your flesh will never rot, not even in death and in the endless flames of hell, you will burn for all eternity without ever being consumed!”
The executioner hurriedly swung his axe, severing the rope.
With a crash, the blade fell.
In the instant her eyes closed, she saw it.
The tyrant’s faint, mocking smile.
Her breath caught, the world slowing to a crawl.
His smirk faded.
A white butterfly took flight.
Perhaps it was only a hallucination but to her, it was the last flutter of a spring long lost, refusing to let go.
Even with her eyes shut, she followed it.
Then came a slicing sound, half-dream, half-reality, and everything ended.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
That should have been the end.
“Princess, it’s time to wake up.”
…Hm?
“You really need to wake up now we’re almost there.”
A voice familiar yet strange echoed in her ears, followed by another jolt and that same rattling sound.
And then, in the pitch-black void, a faint light began to seep in.
She could have sworn she’d heard the horrific sound of her head being severed…
“Goodness, your hair’s a mess.
Quickly now honestly, who falls asleep that deeply in a carriage?”
Another jolt shook the vehicle, tossing Ariella upward in her seat.
She startled violently, eyes snapping open only to find Reina’s freckled face, framed by bright red curls, right in front of her nose.
“Aaah!”
Reina yelped in turn, stumbling back at Ariella’s scream.
Ariella clutched her neck smooth, whole skin met her palm.
“W–what… what is this?”
“You.
You were dead.”
Dead… ten years ago.
Reina had tried to stop Ariella from being dragged to the tower and, for that, had been thrown into prison.
Not long after, word had come that she’d died.
So was this heaven?
Or hell?
“Princess, that’s an awful thing to say,” Reina chided.
“You said you felt like you’d die from this long carriage ride, but still…”
She let out a heavy sigh, pulled out a handkerchief, and began gently wiping Ariella’s forehead.
It had been ten long years since anyone’s touch had felt soft against her skin.
It was so unfamiliar… and so real.
Ariella seized her hand.
“Reina?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
She glanced at the sweat beading on Ariella’s brow
“What a rough dream you must have had.
Not that I blame you anyone would be nervous.
It’s not just anywhere we’re headed.
It’s the Triphina Empire.”
Before Ariella could gather her thoughts, Reina barreled on.
“Who would’ve thought the princess would become the Empire’s crown princess?
We all assumed you’d marry young Count Brandon.
Oh! Listen to me shouldn’t be saying that now.”
She gave a playful grin, the bright, innocent smile of a young girl.
“The marriage contract must have already reached the temple by now, so I’ll have to stop calling you Princess and start saying Your Highness.
What a bother it doesn’t roll off the tongue at all.”
What will the dress look like here?
How will the wedding be held?
Will it happen as soon as we arrive?
Her chatter tumbled on, distant and hazy, as if in a dream.
“Oh!
Look there it’s the Imperial Palace!”
And in that moment, a dreadful sight pierced Ariella’s ears and eyes all at once.
She instinctively followed Reina’s gaze.
Through the thick branches, she saw it rising like a spike into the sky.
The tower.
The monstrous prison where she had been trapped for ten years.
Gooseflesh rippled over her skin.
Should she throw herself from the carriage now?
She pressed her hand to the window, leaning in close.
The carriage thundered ahead at a murderous pace, Imperial knights of Triphina galloping in a line behind them the very same men who had come to fetch her.
As she hesitated, the carriage rolled back into the cover of the dense forest, and her reflection appeared in the glass.
A thin, youthful face still bearing the traces of a girl stared back at her with sharp clarity.
And then, Ariella understood completely.
She had gone back.
Ten years in the past.
To the moment right before arriving in the Triphina Empire.
***
“Don’t you dare let them intimidate you.
I don’t care if this is the Triphina Empire it’s still just a place where people live.”
Reina’s words were bold enough, but her voice trembled like sugar crystals in a cup of tea.
“Remember, you’re here representing the Duchy of Forenze.
The wedding may not have happened yet, but you are already the Crown Princess.
That means you must carry yourself with dignity.”
The carriage door opened at last and the same Reina who had just urged her to stand tall went wide-eyed.
Even Ariella, though she had seen it before, was struck breathless by the sight.
The Imperial Palace loomed vast before them, its size so great that no single glance could take it all in, the jagged spine of a mountain range standing behind it like a colossal backdrop.
“Welcome.”
Ariella’s eyes dropped to the hand extended toward her by the imperial attendant who had come to greet her.
Exactly as it had been ten years ago.
Too precise, too tangible to dismiss as a dream.
How could this be happening?
Back then, she’d felt a rush of mingled excitement and nausea an emotional knot so vivid she could recall it perfectly now.
She swallowed hard and lifted her gaze to the palace.
Its towering structures and needle-like spires seemed to lay claim to the very sky.
The banners held by the guards at the main gate bore Triphina’s emblem a black dragon clutching a golden shield and s
word.
It looked as if, at any moment, it might turn and unleash a torrent of scarlet fire upon her.
Lightly brushing her fingertips against the attendant’s, Ariella chose to ascend the steps under her own power.
Was this… a gift from the gods?
A second chance?
Or simply the chance to walk straight into the dragon’s jaws?
