The man was like a black panther.
A black panther that strode through a vast grassland, head held high in pride.
With every step he took, the large muscles beneath his clothes rippled sensually, as if alive.
His slightly sun-kissed face bore a small cut along his jaw, as if from a blade.
His thick brows were furrowed, giving him a heavy, imposing air—but if one looked closely, it was clear his features were strikingly refined.
His sharp, black-fringed eyes were a silvery gray tinged with the pale blue of a snow-covered sea.
“Haa…”
He walked over with heavy steps and sat down beside me, letting out a deep sigh.
A large hand, heavy with fatigue, swept down his face.
His messy black hair rustled as it fell forward, casting a shadow across his features.
For a long while, he sat with his head bowed, before straightening his back again and muttering in a low voice.
“It was my choice… but it’s exhausting.”
That voice—rich and molten, like thick, melted chocolate—sent a tremor through my fingertips.
His gaze shifted toward me.
My body tensed instinctively, wondering if he might reach out to touch my face.
But he didn’t extend a hand toward me.
He simply gave a quiet, subtle smile.
“Lying there like that, you must not be tired at all. But surely it’s about time to get up, isn’t it, lazy young lady?”
Lazy? Me?
I had simply been listening in silence, but now I slowly opened my mouth.
“‘Lazy young lady’—that’s a bit much, don’t you think? I wasn’t expecting you to call me Sleeping Beauty, but still.”
“…?!”
He clearly hadn’t expected me to answer.
He jerked upright in shock, and in that brief moment, both his hands snapped up into a perfect defensive stance.
“What the hell? An assassin?”
The word made me snort out a laugh.
Me?
Against him?
Those forearms looked about the size of my thighs.
“If someone were trying to kill you, they’d probably send someone a lot more intimidating than me.”
“…Are you actually talking right now?”
“Who else would it be if not me?”
I slowly pushed myself upright.
My arms trembled after having lain still for so long.
“I’ve answered you honestly. Won’t you answer my question, too?”
I asked with a faint smile.
“Who are you?”
Seriously, who the hell are you, walking into someone else’s bedroom and starting a conversation like it’s the most natural thing in the world?
A brilliant sorceress—with no magic.
An enormous inheritance—surrounded by vultures eager to claim it.
In this situation, how could I protect both my life and my fortune?
“Sis, what are you thinking about?”
What do you think?
I’m wondering if you’ve poisoned this tea or not.
I let out a sigh and stared down at the teacup in front of me.
When I lifted my head again, a cute face with sparkling ruby eyes and hair of deep gold tilted its head in curiosity.
Diana Fairway.
My precious little sister.
There was a time when I loved Diana as though she were my own flesh and blood.
How could I not?
She was such an adorable, radiant child.
But the only thing I feel now, facing her again, is—
‘Disgusting.’
Her smile, those star-like eyes—they all looked like nothing but masks to me.
In my last life, she killed me for my fortune.
I’m sure she poisoned this too.
It probably won’t kill me instantly—she wouldn’t risk suspicion like that—but there’s no way it’s harmless.
There are so many poisons she could use.
The kind that blinds you.
The kind that paralyzes your legs.
‘Then she can push me down the stairs again, just like last time.’
Weakened by the poison, I hadn’t even been able to resist before I tumbled to my death.
‘I’m not going through that twice.’
As I quietly stared at the teacup, Diana nudged me impatiently.
“Why are you just sitting there? Drink up, Sis. It’ll warm you right up and make you feel better.”
“It’s summer.”
“Huh? …Ah! Oh, did you want it cold? You should’ve said so! Hold on, I’ll have someone bring ice—”
“There’s no need.”
I tipped the teacup over right in front of Diana.
The untouched tea streamed down, staining the pristine white tablecloth.
Diana’s brow twisted.
For the briefest moment, she failed to hide the truth behind her mask, and seeing that flash of her real self made me smile without thinking.
“I only drink plain water.”
Plain water, my ass.
I used to love tea.
I’d spent every bit of my allowance on fine teas and porcelain cups. My only real break during long hours of magical research was teatime.
My colleagues had learned that the fastest way to calm me down was to quietly set a teapot in front of me.
Well, that was all in the past.
After dying once from poison, just looking at a teapot made my stomach churn.
‘At least I’ll save money now.’
I met Diana’s tightly twisted expression with a soft smile.
“Thanks, little sister.”
Apparently truly angry, Diana couldn’t even force a smile as she stomped out of my room.
I exhaled through my nose.
‘Satisfying, sure, but not smart. Now that she knows I won’t drink tea, she’ll just try to poison me through other dishes instead.’
By refusing that cup, I’d turned a manageable problem—avoiding just tea—into a situation where I might have to avoid every meal.
‘Still, there are some things in life you just can’t endure. And the tea she offers me? That’s one of them.’
I didn’t regret spilling the black tea.
On the contrary, I was impressed with my own restraint.
‘She’s lucky I didn’t just throw it in her smug little face.’
From the moment I saw her again after turning back time, my hands had itched to smack her.
But I couldn’t.
If I lashed out recklessly, I’d only put myself at a disadvantage.
I could already imagine Diana’s tearful act outside these walls.
My sister must’ve lost her mind at the Academy.
She throws things for no reason, she hits me without warning…
And after painting me as unhinged, she’d get exactly what she wanted.
“We can’t entrust the Fairway estate to my unstable sister. Your Majesty, please recognize me as the rightful heir instead of the one who’s lost her mind.”
‘Though, persuading the Emperor might take time. Maybe she’d choose more… practical method.’
Locking me away for “mental instability,” slowly poisoning me—it felt more plausible.
A mind weakened by madness, a body that follows soon after.
Early death wouldn’t even raise suspicion.
‘Either way, the ending’s the same. I die.’
How the hell had my life turned into this death-defying spectacle?
Not so long ago, the most pressing thing I worried about at the Academy was whether I needed to duck right or left to dodge the professor’s flying textbooks.
‘Then again, maybe my life was under threat every day there too…’
Some of those grimoires were thick enough to crack a skull.
I thought of the Academy’s magic professors, who treated their students like untamed beasts.
‘Ugh, my stomach’s churning. I need some air.’
Just a moment ago, I’d been nostalgic for the Academy.
But remembering the brutal, overworked days there made a sharp ache bloom in my gut.
I walked over to the window and opened it.
That was when it happened.
“Nellie! It’s your aunt! Your aunt, remember? I used to play with you when you were little!”
“You two are too young to handle this alone! You need a strong guardian—like me!”
“Everyone else, get lost! In times like these, the maternal family comes first!”
The moment my face appeared in the window, relatives clinging to our garden wall started screaming to be let in.
“…!!”
Horrified, I slammed the window shut.
Then I yanked the heavy blackout curtains closed, plunging the room into instant darkness.
“Ha.”
What the hell am I even doing?
A bitter laugh escaped me as my legs gave out and I slid to the floor.
I ran a rough hand through my hair.
No matter how many times it happened, I could never get used to the way relatives swarmed like lunatics the moment they smelled inheritance.
“…Seriously, aren’t they all just too much?”
They’d all ignored us when my sister and I lost our parents.
But the second the hidden inheritance was revealed, here they were, hammering at my door.
‘And yet, the one who hurts me most is still Diana.’
When our parents died, we only had each other.
People used to call us the closest, most loving sisters in the world.
But the moment a distant ancestor’s hidden fortune fell into my hands, that bond flipped like a coin.
To seize the inheritance for herself, Diana fed me a poison that paralyzed my body.
Then, when my movements slowed, she shoved me down the steep staircase.
Even with my head cracked open and my limbs broken, I didn’t die instantly.
I lifted my bewildered eyes to see my little sister looking down at me.
[Diana… how could you do this to me…?]
[You said you loved me more than anyone. That you only wanted my happiness. Was that all a lie?]
As I spat blood and collapsed, Diana gave me a sweet, crescent-eyed smile.
[This is my happiness, sister. Goodbye.]
A life betrayed by the sister I adored—over a legacy from some archmage I’d never even met.
That was my previous life.
The House of Fairway.
Long ago, it was the family of a great archmage who helped found the Empire.
But magical talent wasn’t a guaranteed inheritance. It was only a probability, not a promise.
Over time, the descendants of Fairway failed to match their illustrious forebears and drifted far from the path of magic.
Except for me—Nellie Fairway.
I was different.
The first person to recognize my talent when I was a child was none other than our private tutor.
“Your daughter is a prodigy.”
