Chapter 1
To save my imprisoned family, I married the Chamberlain–the man who held sway over the entire kingdom.
On our wedding night, my husband, brimming with fervor, having sex with me again and again.
Each time, he nearly lost control.
But the very next day, the royal decree for the execution of the entire Veyne family arrived at Veyne Castle.
I knelt outside my husband’s chambers for three days and three nights, begging for mercy.
He merely looked at me coldly and said: “Ten years ago, if it weren’t for your father’s treachery, the Kreston family wouldn’t
have lost one hundred and eight innocent lives.”
“I wouldn’t have been sent to the royal palace to serve the king like a dog.”
“This is nothing but retribution–blood for blood.”
For the five years that followed our marriage, he kept me imprisoned in the rear courtyard, tormenting me day and night.
There were moments when I wanted to die, but I clung to life for the sake of the five–year promise I had made to my
mother.
Until he, for his lover, forcibly ended the life of the seven–month–old child growing in my womb.
At that time, there were still seven days left until the end of the five–year promise.
Seven days later, at the top of Nocturne Tower, I stood on the edge, swaying precariously.
His face had gone pale as he dropped to his knees, begging me not to jump.
When Vance kicked open the door, I had just finished placing the candles before our child’s tiny mourning jewelry.
He seized my wrist, his expression fierce.
“Selene, how dare you!”
“I told you before–don’t make trouble for Lena. And yet you keep provoking her again and again.”
“Do you really think I won’t do anything to you?”
He shoved me violently.
My forehead slammed into the wooden table behind me, and a swollen lump quickly formed.
But I barely felt the pain. Slowly, I knelt in front of him and pressed my bruised forehead to the floor.
“I’m sorry.”
Vance’s gaze flickered. He instinctively reached out to help me up, but when he saw my pathetic state, he immediately
withdrew his hand, as if he had touched something vile.
“Selene, what kind of act are you playing this time?”
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I shook my head. My tone was as hollow as death.
“I’m not playing any games. Taking care of Lena is my duty.”
“Whatever happens to her, I will take the blame.”
After all, when it came to anything involving Lena, he never bothered to investigate. He always assumed it was my doing.
Lena got a headache–he said I was a jinx and disturbed her peace.
She twisted her ankle–he said I deliberately scattered stones along the cobbled path.
Just two days ago, Lena suffered a miscarriage. The doctor found rue in her prenatal medicine.
He didn’t care for reason or truth. He simply declared I had poisoned her out of jealousy.
He forced me to drink a powerful abortive potion, personally tore my child from my womb, and buried our unborn baby to
revenge for Lena’s child.
a
Whenever I thought of the child that never saw the light of day, a grief so deep it pierced my soul would surge within me.
Clenching my teeth, I held on to the last shred of dignity I had left before Vance.
I knew from experience that if I showed even the slightest emotion now, he would only suspect me of scheming–of using pity to manipulate him.
The wind blew out the candle on the table. Vance glanced at it and happened to notice the small mourning jewelry of the
baby.
His expression shifted.
He suddenly scooped me up, threw me onto the bed, and reached for the ribbon at my chest.
I caught the scent of the perfume clinging to his neck–the one Lena favored.
I grabbed his hand and looked at him calmly.
“My body hasn’t recovered yet. Maybe another day.”
Vance paused, then looked me up and down, his face twisting into a sneer.
He leaned close, whispering into my ear.
“Selene, besides this body, what else do you have to offer?”
A chill spread through me. Without a trace of affection, Vance ripped away the last of my clothing, ignoring my trembling.
The canopy around the bed fell, dim candlelight flickering in the gloom.
His face, devoid of any desire, was reflected in my tear–filled, vacant eyes.
I couldn’t deny that I loved Vance.
He was the boy who had dazzled my youth, the man I insisted on marrying, even if it meant kneeling outside my parents‘ room for three days and nights.
But I couldn’t help hating him.
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He had lured me into this marriage only to send my entire family to prison, personally executing my parents and over a
hundred members of the Veynes.
He had imprisoned me in the courtyard for five years, humiliating and torturing me without respite.
There were times I wished I could die.
But five years ago, in the death row prison, my mother had clutched my hand and wept, begging: “Selene, promise me–no matter what happens, you must live.”
“I’ll wait for you in heaven for five years. If, after five years, you still can’t find a reason to live, then come find me.”
She had wanted me to use that five–year promise to search for hope.
Even the arrival of the child–I had believed–was a gift from mother.
my
But that faint glimmer of light was cruelly snuffed out by Vance.
Now, only five days remained before the end of the five–year promise.
The next morning, for once, Vance didn’t leave immediately after waking.
He summoned two maids. One of them held a bowl of foul–smelling tonic.
“Selene, that last child was an accident.”
“You should know–you were never worthy of carrying a Kreston heir.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I truly wasn’t worthy of bearing his child.
My father was the one responsible for the wrongful deaths of 108 innocent members of Kreston family.
