Chapter 2

2

After that fight, he left the palace grounds.

The King came to see me later. He wasn't surprised that Silas was missing.

He started talking about the political marriage with the Shadow Moon Kingdom.

"The Shadow Moon Kingdom is powerful. We can't win a war against them. It's time for a marriage alliance."

I remembered what happened in my last life. The younger princess was supposed to go, but she ran away.

That move made the Shadow Moon Alpha furious. We lost three cities just to stop the war.

In the years after that, the Shadow Moon Kingdom became a superpower.

Their land was vast, their people were fed, and their culture was booming.

I tapped my fingers on the table, thinking deeply.

A month later, the autumn hunt began. That was when I saw Silas and Chloe sharing a carriage.

In my last life, I was too proud to let them meet. They had to hide back then.

In this life, I didn't care, so they grew bold. They forgot their place.

They were flirting and laughing. Silas even put his hand on her waist without thinking.

Anyone watching would think they were the married couple.

Chloe saw me watching. She immediately leaned into Silas's chest, acting weak.

"Silas, I feel a bit dizzy. I'm so glad you're here to catch me."

"Oh, the Princess is here! Silas said you'd definitely beg him to come back to the palace. He's been staying at my place, but you never showed up. I've been teasing him about it for days!"

Silas looked a bit uncomfortable as I walked over.

But he didn't let go of her waist.

"You're too late if you came to find me. I promised to stay with Chloe. A gentleman never breaks his word."

I smiled thinly. There wasn't a single spark of jealousy in my eyes.

"The fact that I didn't look for you means I don't need you."

Silas frowned. He thought I was just acting out. He let go of Chloe and stepped toward me.

"I'll look after you so you don't get hurt. Just do what I say."

I felt disgusted and turned to leave.

He grabbed my sleeve, stopping me. His face was full of annoyance.

"I said I'd protect you. Are you really going to go cry to the King again? It's pathetic."

While we were arguing, no one noticed a wild, rabid beast charging at us from the woods.

By the time I saw it, Silas had already pushed me right into the beast's path.

His instinct was to grab Chloe and run to safety.

The beast slammed into me with incredible force. I coughed up blood instantly.

The guards were fast. They killed the beast before it could finish me off.

Silas realized what he had done and ran back, looking panicked.

"Lyra! Are you okay? Don't be scared, I'll get the doctor."

Just as he picked me up, Chloe let out a fake cough and collapsed to the ground.

I looked at the man as he hesitated. I knew exactly what choice he would make.

Sure enough, he shoved me into a guard's arms.

"I'm sorry, Lyra. Chloe is terrified, and she's naturally weak. I can't leave her."

"Take the Princess to the doctor!"

He ran away as fast as he could. He didn't look back at me once.

That shadow of him running away looked just like the boy who used to run toward me.

We met on the battlefield.

My mother died early, so I had to grow up fast. I didn't want to be bullied in the palace, so I went to the front lines.

It was a hard life. We relied on each other to survive. After the war, he used his merits to marry me.

If I had known he loved someone else so deeply, I would have never let the marriage happen.

I was just a stepping stone for their happiness.

As his figure disappeared, I closed my eyes.

It was all just a bad dream.