Chapter 1 A Torturous Death

The cold wind whistled and blew into a dilapidated chapel on the outskirts of the city.

"Where else do you think you can run, Aurora?" a man asked. His tone was calm and composed, but his voice was cold and as rough as sandpaper. It grated on one's ears.

Another gust of cold wind blew into the chapel and rattled the broken windows. A figure in silver and black stepped inside. As his robes billowed in the wind, the image of a dragon embroidered in threads of dark red and gold came into view.

The dragon seemed to move with the robe; it almost looked like it was coming alive. Although it was only partially visible, it was enough to show that the embroidery was flawless and the robes delicate. It was a stark contrast to the dilapidated chapel.

A group of men in silver soft armor followed the figure. They were well-trained members of the Moondrake Forces, and they lightly placed a heavy-looking chair in the chapel.

Once the man sat down, they swiftly and silently retreated to different corners of the chapel. Despite their soundless actions, their tension and deathliness were palpable. No one could escape them!

They were indeed well-trained by their commander, the Prince Regent!

A heavily-injured woman, Aurora Grant, coughed lowly before chuckling, her breath hitching as she did. She looked horrific, and if anyone else were to see her like that, their hearts would be in agony for her.

Left with nowhere else to run, she'd dismissed the people who'd brought her to the chapel and remained alone there while waiting for the Prince Regent.

Her martial arts cultivation had been destroyed, and her limbs had been broken. She'd been tormented in the Prince Regent's death cell for half a month and had finally escaped after pulling all the strings and using all the wealth she possessed.

Yet he'd still managed to track her down. The fact that she could laugh under such circumstances made the Prince Regent think a little higher of her.

"Don't forget, Lucian… I'm still your sister," she said hoarsely. She looked up, her eyes glinting with ice and mockery.

Lucian Grant sneered, a trace of mockery flitting past his eyes. He held his head up and looked down at her imperiously, his demeanor cold and oppressive. "My sister? All I know is that you have to die if that's what she wants."

To his surprise, his words merely made Aurora laugh harder. She coughed while gasping for breath, and a hint of malice flashed in her eyes. "So… is that why you sent her to another man's bed? Because it's what she wanted?"

This made Lucian's pupils constrict. He exuded a palpable frostiness, making everyone else present hold their breaths in fear. He waved a hand casually, and Aurora felt a gust of energy come her way.

It sent her flying, making her cough out a mouthful of blood. There were blood clots within the blood, which made the sight even more horrific.

Lucian growled, "You're courting death."

The current Aurora had nothing left. She was someone he could get rid of just by waving a hand.

Meanwhile, Aurora gasped at the pain shooting through every fiber of her being. She knew very well that with how heavily injured she was, she wouldn't survive this, even without Lucian around. Still, she couldn't help feeling resentful.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and snapped, "What? Did I say anything wrong? Sometimes, I really wonder whether you really have feelings for her. All I know is that I love Christopher, and I won't allow him to have any other women in his life!"

Before Lucian's rage and murderous intent could explode out of him, she slumped to the ground. It was as if the mere mention of Christopher Grant had sucked all the life out of her. She fell silent before suddenly laughing bitterly. It sounded particularly miserable as it reverberated around the chapel.

After a moment, she mumbled, "Maybe that's why I've ended up like this while you're still fine… In the past, I've heard people saying that the highest form of love is to fulfill your loved one's dreams…"

But even the mere mention of fulfilling dreams made her stomach roil.

She was a powerful martial artist and had a secret realm in her body. Her life was supposed to be one of freedom and happiness, yet she'd done everything she could to change her identity and marry Christopher.

To help him, she'd gone against her conscience countless times. She'd even introduced him to technology that didn't belong to this era, causing countless tragedies and deaths!

She'd helped him murder, put herself in danger, and had willingly given him her everything. Yet after Christopher had achieved his goal, he'd kicked her to the curb. He'd even claimed that she'd only done what she'd done because of her own greed—that she wanted to take the throne for herself.

He'd also said that she was an evil, unscrupulous woman and that his true love had always been another kind, gentle woman.

How laughable! For whom had Aurora become like this? She hadn't wanted to murder anyone—she used to be a kind woman, too!

She could still remember the day Christopher had come to her with his arms around his true love. His tone had been almost charitable as he said, "Mel has assisted me much, and she's a kind, gentle woman. She's the one I truly love!

"Still, I'll be kind and let you off the hook for everything you've done to harm her, including making her miscarry. If you know what's good for you, you should beg me for mercy and suggest that you be removed from your position as Queen. I'll kindly bestow upon you the position of Noble Consort."

Oh, how kind of him to allow his Queen to settle for being a Noble Consort!

It was too bad Christopher had underestimated Aurora as well as the seemingly kind and gentle Melody Sawyer. After hearing that Christopher was willing to keep Aurora around as his noble consort despite the lies Melody had woven about her, Melody immediately decided to kill Aurora.

And so, after once again framing Aurora and making her end up being banished to the palace of exile, Melody had also instructed Lucian, who was powerful and wholly in love with her, to kill Aurora.

But an immediate death wasn't what Melody wanted for Aurora. She wanted the latter to be tormented before she could die! What a kind woman indeed!

Aurora looked at her hands. Her fingers were broken after the torture she'd been through. The torn shoes she wore revealed half her feet—her toes had been sliced off, and the wounds were festering.

She also had burns, whip marks, and lacerations all over her body. She wasn't far from death—her willpower was the only thing keeping her going because she genuinely resented dying at Lucian's hands.

Her plan had been to go into hiding so no one could find her. That way, Melody would never be able to rest easy. It was too bad she was no match for Lucian, the Prince Regent, who was also known as the Hidden King.

"Are you done? If you are, it's time for you to die." Lucian sneered and waved a hand, making his sword shoot out of its sheath. He could easily end her with that.

It looked like she was out of options. Aurora subconsciously glanced at her fingers, where there was an image of a lily. She smiled bitterly.

She'd transmigrated into this life and had been given a realm of her own. It was too bad the realm couldn't store any living objects. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up in such a horrible state.

In the past, she'd thought that with her realm and martial arts cultivation, she would be akin to a goddess in this time-space. Yet things had turned out differently—Melody, with the two most powerful men in this time-space by her side, was the goddess-like one.

It was a shame that Aurora had done so much for someone else to enjoy the fruits of her labor while a terrible death was all she was getting in return. She couldn't bring herself to accept it…

Lucian smiled for the first time that night as he pierced Aurora's throat with his sword. He was sure this was enough to please Melody.

As the blood flowed from Aurora's throat, she spent her final moments staring dazedly at the kind yet sympathizing smile on the face of a saint's statue in the chapel.

If she were lucky enough to reincarnate as a human being in her next life, she swore… she wouldn't fall in love with anyone ever again.

Chapter 2 Reborn at Age Seven

There was pain everywhere, and Aurora could feel the blood flowing from her neck. She thought she would've already died of major blood loss, but the blood seemed to be endless. It kept flowing, and she wondered how long it would take for her to die. The pain was enough for her to remember for a lifetime!

Suddenly, she jolted awake and cupped her neck while gasping for breath. The asphyxiation she'd felt during the nightmare enveloped her, seemingly etched into her bones. It looked like this would haunt her for life.

Aurora was dazed as she looked around at the palace of exile, a rundown and eerie place. Yes, she remembered now. It had been three days since her rebirth—at the very last moments of her previous life, she vaguely remembered seeing the lily on her fingers glow.

Then, the next thing she knew, she'd been reborn at the age of seven. She was back to being a child, and she'd yet to flee the palace of exile.

Why was she in the palace of exile? That was a long story.

The empire she was in was in a time-space similar to the Toulouse Empire. History had taken a different path in the Hansellate Empire, forming what was now known as the Davendish Empire. It had already been around for two generations—the current king was the third.

The first king's reign had been filled with wars and battles as he'd fought for territory to build his empire. The second king's reign had been the age of expansion and development. Now, in its third age, the empire was at its peak.

The king, Samuel Grant, was in his prime. He had boundless energy and ambition—he was also at the age where he wanted to make his dreams and visions come true.

Since ascending to the throne close to two decades ago, he'd conquered several smaller countries around the Davendish Empire and had expanded its territory. He'd also successfully proven the empire's might and made many wise decisions. He was widely regarded as a wise leader.

He loved his country, but he also loved his women. Samuel was a king who paid a lot of attention to his harem—past kings had only had a dozen concubines or so, but he had 300 of them. It also looked like he wasn't going to stop there.

He had a special fondness for stealing women into the palace—Aurora's mother had been one of them. Unlike his past conquests, by the time Lily Snowden had entered Samuel's life, she'd already been a month pregnant.

At the time, he'd been too busy returning to the palace with his troops, so he hadn't noticed a thing. When he did, it was already too late.

He didn't care whether his conquests were chaste virgins, but it was definitely a humiliation to him if any of them were to already be pregnant with children that weren't his. So, he'd ordered Lily—or the new Consort Snowden—to get rid of the child. But Lily had retaliated by threatening to take her life.

To everyone's surprise, Samuel had given in despite always being a stubborn, arrogant man. He'd ultimately ordered all the people he couldn't kill to keep their mouths shut about the pregnancy and had recognized Lily's baby as his own. Once the baby was born, he'd named her Aurora.

This name wasn't just a name for a princess—Samuel was using it to proclaim his love for Lily. Aurora meant "new beginnings" or "dawn", and Samuel wanted Lily to know that this baby symbolized the beginning of his everlasting love for her.

And with Aurora's birth, Lily's status in the palace had skyrocketed and reached its peak. Unfortunately, she wasn't good at scheming. Despite Samuel protecting her at all times, she'd still fallen prey to other consorts' schemes.

She'd died of poisoning when the young princess had only been three years old. Before her death, she'd also told the latter the truth of her lineage.

Samuel had been in despair and furious over Lily's death. Meanwhile, the young princess had become thoroughly despised after losing her mother and because of her awkward identity.

Samuel had refused to see her after Lily's death, and the other consorts, who'd been jealous of Lily, were delighted to take the opportunity to pick on the young princess.

Without her mother and a maternal family to back her up, the young princess was quickly banished to the palace of exile. She'd fallen sick two months after that. It was at that time that Aurora had transmigrated into the princess' life.

Aurora had experienced all of that in her previous life—her first life after transmigration. This was now her second life after transmigration, and she'd transmigrated four years later than in her previous life.

In her previous life, she'd been lucky enough to meet her mentor, Leslie Moore, who'd been visiting the Davendish Empire. Leslie had accepted her as an apprentice and taken her to Mt. Cloudpeak.

In this life, Aurora had only been reborn at age seven. She'd long since missed the opportunity to meet Leslie. In the memories she'd gained after her rebirth, she knew the princess had been sick throughout her four-year stay in the palace of exile. It was easy to imagine how weak she was now.

She was starting to get hungry after being caught in her thoughts for so long. She was in a child's body, and no child could go hungry.

Aurora pinched her skinny arms and her malnourished face. She was practically skin and bones now—to think she'd been all lean meat and muscles in her previous life after practicing martial arts for almost her whole life!

She looked at the leftover food that had been brought to her last night and sighed. Then, she lifted the ragged, dirty cotton blanket on her and got out of bed. She found a pair of ill-fitting shoes and cautiously left the room.

The pillars of her chambers had exquisite carvings on them, but that didn't change the fact that it was in the palace of exile. Aside from the beautiful buildings and a few maidservants and attendants, there was nothing else.

A main path split the palace of exile into two. To the right of the path were the chambers meant for banished consorts and their maidservants. To the left of the path were the chambers meant for children of the royal family who'd been banished there after making mistakes or after losing the king's favor.

In her previous life, Aurora hadn't spent long at the palace of exile before being taken away by Leslie, so she had no idea who her "neighbors" were. She searched for a long while before finding some food and water in the supervising maidservant's chambers.

She stole some and returned the way she'd come as she pondered the meaning of life. It looked like the heavens had treated her quite well, really. Including the life she'd lived before her transmigration, she'd already lived two fulfilling lives.

Though she'd died young and horribly in both those lives, at least she now had the advantage of knowing what would happen in her third life. It would be ridiculous if she failed to live a long life this time around!

Now, what was she going to do from here on out? Get revenge?

She would be lying if she were to say that she didn't hate and resent the people in her previous life. But it would be such a waste to use her third life on taking down those scumbags. If she had the chance in the future, she would avenge herself. She didn't want to spend her life obsessing over revenge, though.

Aurora had been reborn a little too late, so she'd missed the chance to meet Leslie. The palace was heavily guarded, and she was weak and powerless. It was impossible for her to flee the place alone.

Besides, human trafficking wasn't illegal in this time-space. If she couldn't protect herself, it wouldn't be a good thing for her to leave the palace.

That left her with only one option—she looked toward the middle of the palace, which was the center of the country's power. She slowly formed a plan.

Whatever it was, she had to pick up her martial arts cultivation before anything else.

As she pondered this, she heard the sound of someone yelling. She quickly darted behind a corner and perked up her ears. It seemed the yelling wasn't directed at her.

Aurora climbed a tree with difficulty so she could look over the wall. Then, she raised an eyebrow—it turned out she had siblings in the palace of exile! Well, it made sense. Samuel had an abundance of children, after all. She wondered who it was who was unfortunate enough to end up here.

"Do you think you're still a high and mighty prince? Listen up, you brat. Over here, I'm the one who calls the shots! If I tell you to drink something, you'd better damn well drink it!" a shrill voice rang out.

Aurora saw a eunuch grabbing a little boy by the collar. He wore the uniform meant for low-ranked eunuchs, and she could see the anxiety in his expression despite him pretending to be fierce. He held a bowl tightly—a lot of its contents had spilled out.

The boy was good-looking, and he wore exquisite robes that were evidently too small for him. The eunuch threw him aside, and he glared at the former, his eyes filled with stubbornness. It was too bad his face was pale from malnutrition—his glare had no effect on the eunuch.

Despite that, he uttered words that would incense anyone. He rasped, "You castrated trash!"

Chapter 3 Saving Her Enemy

"How dare you insult me!" The eunuch glared at the little boy. Who else could he be calling castrated trash? He glowered menacingly at the little boy before sneering. Since the little boy was so headstrong, he would teach him a lesson and take him down a notch!

"You called me castrated trash, huh? You're not much better than me—you're just a little bastard that no one wants around! Are you still waiting for Dina to come back?" the eunuch snarled.

The little boy's eyes lit up a little at his words, but they dimmed when the eunuch continued, "Dream on, brat. She's gone somewhere better and has forgotten all about you! Did you think she was genuinely treating you well?

"She was just sucking up to you because she thought life would be good by a prince's side. His Majesty hasn't even thought of you for the past two years, so it's obvious that you're worthless now. What made you think she would stick around?"

The eunuch's words incensed the little boy. He glared at the former and snapped, "Dina wouldn't abandon me! She told me she would never leave me!"

Dina Little was a maidservant, and his mother had once helped her. How could Dina betray him so easily?

The eunuch burst into derisive laughter. "There's nothing wrong with someone wanting to find a better path for themselves. Don't tell me you expected her to die with you! Now, drink this up. If you please me, I might just let you live!"

His words made despair and hatred surge in the boy's eyes. He glared daggers at the eunuch as he thought about how he hated the world and everyone in it.

After his mother's death, he'd been framed and banished to the palace of exile. Over the course of one night, his life had turned upside down. He'd experienced the harshness of reality.

Officers of the imperial harem had sent people who were supposed to care for him, but they'd tormented him to no end. Once he was heavily injured, they would be taken away as scapegoats to answer for the injuries.

Meanwhile, certain attendants or maidservants who treated him well would die for no reason. Despite everything he'd been through, he never would've expected Dina, whom his mother had helped, to leave him in a short month.

No matter how resilient he was, he couldn't help hating and fearing the world. At the same time, he felt lost after being betrayed by everyone he trusted. It was all he could do to suppress the anxiety and insecurity inside him.

He thought he'd been through enough, but it looked like he was wrong. The people out there were forcing him to ingest poison!

Aurora, who'd been watching everything from the sidelines, had initially been worried for the boy. But when she saw who he was, she immediately pushed all thoughts of wanting to help him out of her mind. Flames of fury burned within her.

It was him—Lucian! She would recognize him even if he'd been burned to a crisp, let alone the fact that he was just a little boy now!

His lips were pursed, and she could vaguely see traces of the handsome man he would grow into in the future. His eyes were filled with resilience and anger, but his clenched fists belied his fear and insecurity.

She supposed that no matter how outstanding he would become in the future, he was nothing but a six-year-old now. He was too weak to do anything about his life.

Regardless of how pitiful he was, it didn't take away from how terrifying and ruthless he would become in the future. The memories of the torment he'd put Aurora through were still painfully vivid, and they would traumatize her for life.

Her eyes glinted ruthlessly. She wondered whether it would be alright for her to kill him before he could kill her.

The eunuch started to lose his cool when he saw Lucian refusing to budge. He was supposed to carry this out in secret and couldn't afford to delay this any longer.

So, he darted forward to grab Lucian's hands and feet. Unexpectedly, the eunuch knew some martial arts. Though Lucian had also practiced some in his earlier years, he was too young, malnourished, and weak to resist. The eunuch quickly subdued him.

The tussle resulted in more than half the concoction being spilled. The eunuch was incensed, and his eyes glinted ruthlessly. "This is what you get for not doing as I say!"

With that, he started kicking and punching Lucian in spots that would hurt but wouldn't show. Despite the beating, Lucian gnashed his teeth and remained silent.

Once the eunuch had vented his frustrations, he gripped Lucian's jaw and force-fed him the remainder of the concoction while cursing Lucian.

Lucian's eyes widened, revealing the resentment and fear inside. He didn't know what the concoction was for, but he knew it couldn't be good. Unfortunately, he couldn't resist. He had no choice but to swallow the concoction. It was all his fault for being far too weak!

Why was he being treated like this? He'd already lost everything! They'd already taken his mother's life; why were they still coming after him?

Aurora, who was still watching from the sidelines, couldn't stop herself from moving a little when she saw Lucian being beaten up. She had mixed feelings as she watched him being force-fed the concoction. She never would've expected him to experience such torment in his early days…

Prior to her death in her previous life, he'd tormented her like a psycho. Now, she knew it had to be because he'd been tormented as a child. It had warped him and affected him as an adult.

Still, he was just a child at the moment… and one who couldn't fight back…

Aurora felt conflicted. On one hand, she felt she should get rid of Lucian so that he couldn't murder her in the future. On the other hand, she couldn't help thinking that he was just a child. He was already going through hell, and it wouldn't be right to blame him for things he'd yet to do in this life.

The eunuch sighed in relief after force-feeding Lucian the concoction. When he saw the latter roll around on the ground in agony while clutching at his throat, a wave of delight washed over him. So what if Lucian was a prince? He couldn't even defend himself against a eunuch's mistreatment!

"Hmph! That's what you get for refusing to be a good boy. You just had to be taught a lesson! Here's something to put you at ease—the concoction won't kill you.

"It'll just turn you into a mute and render you remain worthless for the rest of your life. That's what you get for claiming Consort Larson framed you. You deserve to become a mute!" The eunuch kicked Lucian twice more and spat on him before running away.

His words made Lucian tremble. The look in his eyes became venomous and filled with hatred. He'd only told Dina about his guess that Jessica Larson had made him end up where he was. It looked like that was what Dina had used to escape the palace of exile.

The people in this place, and the people in the imperial harem… Sure enough, only the most ruthless could survive in the palace!

Aurora jumped off the wall once the eunuch was gone. She remembered now—in her previous life, there'd been rumors of Lucian being banished to the palace of exile at the age of four and even being rendered mute after being poisoned.

It was later, after he'd gained power, that he'd met a miracle healer who'd cured his throat. Then, he'd become the bloodthirsty and powerful Prince Regent everyone had feared.

Still, Aurora knew that even though Lucian could later speak again, his throat would feel like he constantly had a dagger lodged there whenever he spoke. His voice also grated on one's ears.

When Melody found out about this, she frequently made him lockheart broth, which greatly contributed to winning his heart.

Now, a question lay before Aurora—should she save Lucian?

She was reluctant to do it, but if she didn't… she felt a little bad leaving him there like that. Based on what had happened in her previous life, Lucian would continue to suffer in the palace of exile for many more years. He would only leave at 13, which meant he wouldn't die even if she didn't save him…

But the sight of him clutching his throat and whimpering like a weakened cat while curled into a ball made her heart ache. She shuffled forward and eventually came out of her hiding place.

Lucian sensed someone approaching. His first reaction was to put his guard up.

Chapter 4 To Help or Not to Help

Lucian was genuinely afraid now. Everyone in the palace of exile wanted to kill him so the people they reported to could be pleased with them, yet they didn't dare to blatantly murder him.

The people around him had either died, fled, or betrayed him. Now, he was terrified of anyone approaching him.

At the same time, he felt horrible. He felt like all his bones had broken, and his throat seemed to be on fire. He didn't want to become a mute!

"Let go of your throat!" Lucian heard a girl's voice. It was young but harsh, and her attitude wasn't exactly the best. Still, he relaxed after stealing a glance at her.

She had to be his "sister", the one who'd been banished to the palace of exile before him. She was also someone who'd been forced into this situation, and she couldn't be in cahoots with anyone because there was nothing about her that was worth manipulating. There was no reason for her to harm him!

Lucian had already been in the palace of exile for two years, but he'd never seen Aurora around before. Rumor had it she was sickly, and he thought she'd died ages ago. Unexpectedly, she was still alive.

When Aurora saw him loosen his grip on his throat, she pulled him over her knee and pried his mouth open without saying a word. Then, she stuck her fingers down his throat and started making him gag.

He was still young, so his throat couldn't handle the stimulation. Lucian soon vomited the concoction, but that wasn't the end. Aurora fed him the water she'd stolen earlier and continued making him vomit. After a few repetitions, Lucian looked ashen, and his lips were devoid of color.

Aurora felt vindicated when she saw how terrible he looked, but a trace of sympathy formed in her heart when he opened his teary eyes and looked at her with a hint of wariness and gratitude.

When she'd made him gag earlier, his protruding bones had stabbed her. His situation was worse than hers, but he still insisted on keeping himself clean. Despite his robes being the wrong size, they had still been washed clean. In fact, they had faded after so many washes. It was hard to hate someone like that.

Aurora's pity for Lucian had only lasted for a second. She'd intended to leave him to fend for himself after doing whatever she could—if he still became mute after her help, then it was written in his fate.

But the thought of the lockheart broth that Melody would make for him daily made her shut her eyes. She gnashed her teeth and pulled out some disinfectant pills and sugar syrup that could soothe the throat from her realm. After some thought, she also left some water and food that she'd found.

The more she used the items stored in her realm, the less she would have in the future. Lucian was lucky she was willing to share them with him!

He'd been beaten, force-fed, and put through a vomiting session. His throat also hurt like hell, so he couldn't speak. He could only sit on the ground and watch as Aurora pulled things out of her sleeves like she was performing magic.

She placed the things before him, then had him consume the odd white pill and dark-colored liquid. There was one thing he didn't understand—he hated people getting close to him and never ate things that came from unknown sources.

But when Aurora shoved the disinfectant pill and sugar syrup at him, the impatience and reluctance in her eyes made him feel oddly smug. He took them from her and consumed them without hesitation.

Weirdly, the moment he swallowed the sugar syrup, the burning in his throat subsided. He tried speaking and could make a few muffled noises.

"Alright, that's enough. Don't try to talk now!" Aurora looked conflicted as she looked around at everything except Lucian.

He watched as she shoved the bottle of sugar syrup into his hands. At the same time, she snapped, "Drink that if your throat starts hurting again, and don't tell anyone about me! I'll leave the food here; that's as far as I'm gonna help you. Here's to hoping that we won't see each other again!"

Her last sentence sounded particularly angry.

Lucian anxiously cried out, making Aurora turn to him with an impatient frown. "What now?"

He stared at her, sweat beading on his pale face because he was so anxious to speak. He pointed at her before pointing at himself. Then, he forced out, "Y-You…"

He wanted to know her name. Lucian had only been two years old when Aurora had been banished to the palace of exile, so he had no idea what her name was. Now, he was so panicked because he wanted to know the name of his savior.

What? What was he saying?

Aurora's face scrunched in irritation. Did he want to know whether she would be back tomorrow or something?

She glowered at him, wanting to mock him for being greedy. But when she saw him tugging cautiously on her sleeve and sitting on the ground with injuries everywhere…

He stared at her with wide eyes, looking like he wanted to get closer but was afraid. She couldn't bring herself to be too harsh to him.

Aurora thought about prying his hand off her sleeve, but she let her hand fall after raising it. She felt like slapping herself.

"I'll be back tomorrow!" She pulled her sleeve out of Lucian's grip and ran off.

He tried to move, but pain shot through him as soon as he did. He couldn't make a sound, so he could only watch as she fled like she was being chased by a ghost.

Aurora couldn't help it. The first thing she'd done upon being reborn was to save the monster who'd tormented her to death in her previous life. The thought of it pissed her off, and she felt like she wanted to strangle herself.

After finally returning to her chambers, she flopped onto the bed irritably. Since she couldn't understand her actions, she would forget about them and just go to sleep. Everything would be better after some rest!

…

Aurora was awakened in the middle of the night by a thunderclap. She touched her shoulders, which were ice-cold. As she slowly became lucid, she realized it was because her blanket was far too thin and worn from use. It did nothing to keep the cold out, yet a blanket was the one thing she didn't have in her realm!

The rain poured, adding to the coldness of the early days of spring. The whole palace was frosty and harsh. No wonder it was the palace of exile.

She couldn't help pitying the original Aurora, the owner of this body. Since the age of three, she'd been abandoned in a place where no one cared about her life and death. If she were just a regular child, how could she possibly make it through this? It was no wonder the original Aurora had been sick for so long.

Still, her situation was better than others. She didn't have a maternal family and wouldn't pose any risk to anyone's well-being, so no one cared about her still being alive.

Things were different for princes, though.

Lucian's maternal family was powerful in the northwest of the country, but it had almost nothing to do with people in Ginton City, the capital. His grandfather, George Samson, had been granted the title "Prince of the West".

George's daughter, Rachel Samson, was Lucian's mother. She was pretty and gentle. Though no match for Lily, she'd still been one of Samuel's favorite consorts. Apparently, she and Lily had also been on good terms back in the day.

It was too bad she'd ended up exactly like Lily had—she'd died a young death, leaving behind a powerless child. Because George was far away in the northwest, he couldn't do anything to help her or Lucian.

So, to consorts with sons, it wasn't enough to know that Lucian had merely been banished to the palace of exile or even that he'd become disabled. It was best if he could just die in the palace of exile without anyone realizing it.

That way, even if George were to return to the capital, he wouldn't be able to find whoever had caused Lucian's death. He couldn't possibly blame Samuel for Lucian's death, could he?

Aurora wondered how Lucian had survived in the palace of exile in her previous life—he would only leave the place at the age of 13. From there, it was easy to tell just how resilient he was. It was no wonder he'd become such a psycho later on in life!

Chapter 5 Saving Her Enemy Again

A bolt of lightning lit up half the palace! This was followed by such a loud thunderclap that Aurora couldn't help jolting. She looked out the window, wondering whether Lucian could move after the beating he'd taken.

What if he'd been so heavily injured that he'd fainted after she'd left? Didn't that mean he would spend the night being rained on?

As for whether he would be saved by any of the palace of exile's maids and attendants, she didn't think it was possible. It had been three days since her rebirth, but she'd only seen people bring food to her three times. It was no wonder she was so skinny!

Aurora tossed and turned in bed. The more she thought about Lucian, the harder it was for her to fall asleep. On one hand, she kept telling herself that he wouldn't die—he still had to make it out of there!

On the other hand, she couldn't help thinking that if he were to get a fever after being rained on, what would happen if his throat were to become inflamed? Wouldn't everything she'd done to help him go to waste?

Ultimately, she convinced herself that she couldn't allow Melody any opportunities to suck up to Lucian in the future. So, she got out of bed and ran out into the rain.

The clapping thunder and flashing lightning made the palace of exile look rather terrifying in the night. Aurora wiped the rain from her face and looked at the chambers before her—Lucian stayed there. She didn't know how to feel about visiting the same place twice on the same day…

Why the hell didn't she even have an umbrella in her realm?

She stepped forward and easily pushed the doors open. When she didn't see anyone in the courtyard, she headed inside the chambers. To her surprise, she tripped over something almost as soon as she stepped inside.

A little boy lay on the floor—it was Lucian. Shocked, Aurora leaned down to feel him. He was drenched and burning up. It looked like the beating he'd been given had taken a toll on him, rendering him unable to move or even unconscious.

He'd probably been woken up by the rain before crawling inside his chambers. Aurora couldn't bear to leave him alone at the thought of everything he'd been through. He'd been beaten, left in the rain, and even had to crawl into his own chambers.

She felt his forehead again—sure enough, he was burning up. She didn't have time to consider the situation and just mustered all the strength she had to lift Lucian. Unfortunately, all she could do was drag him to the bed.

It was the best she could do. It had been a few days since she'd been reborn, so she wasn't exactly in the best shape. How strong could she be?

There weren't any lights or candles in the room, and the cold air permeated every inch of it. Aurora shuddered and rubbed her arms. Fortunately, she had a torchlight in her realm. Otherwise, she would be moving around blindly.

Lucian was really burning up. Even if she knew he wouldn't die, she couldn't just leave him with such a high fever. She pinched his face and sighed deeply. "You're lucky to get to use all of this stuff!"

Lucian vaguely sensed a bright light shining around him. Although it was nighttime, it lit the room up like it was daytime. Then, he sensed someone standing beside him.

He subconsciously tensed, his head feeling like it was going to explode. He slowly reached under his pillow, wanting to get the rock that he'd sharpened to the extent that it was almost like a blade.

Just then, he heard someone mutter in annoyance, "Tsk. Why is it that there's never anything that I need but always something for you?"

When he recognized it as Aurora's voice, he immediately relaxed. Even he himself didn't understand why he'd trusted someone he'd only met once so easily.

Soon, he felt her pour a bitter liquid into his mouth. He didn't want to swallow it, but the thought of the difficulties Aurora would've gone through to get medication in the palace of exile made him change his mind. He forced himself to swallow, then scrunched his face from the bitterness.

Aurora was amused by that. She'd dissolved a fever pill in water, and she knew just how bitter it was. But seeing Lucian suffering brought her such vindication.

After that, Lucian sensed someone taking his clothes off. Despite being almost unconscious, he still felt embarrassed. Rachel had told him before that men and women—or boys and girls—couldn't be too intimate with each other, and taking each other's clothes off was definitely too intimate.

But now, he was weak from the fever. All he could do was pretend to be conked out so that Aurora wouldn't feel embarrassed.

Once his clothes were off, Aurora couldn't help sucking in a breath. He didn't just have scars and marks on the parts of his body that were exposed to the eye. His torso was also covered in them.

Aside from some old injuries and bruises, the rest of the injuries were small ones that weren't too distinctive. Still, as someone who'd experienced the same torment, Aurora knew just how painful each and every injury was.

In the palace, there were too many ways to kill someone without even producing a droplet of blood. She wouldn't have expected the people in the palace of exile to be so cruel to a child, though. She pursed her lips, feeling mad.

On one hand, she pitied Lucian for everything he'd gone through. On the other hand, the thought of him giving her the exact same injuries in the future made her hate him.

Still, the pity won out over the hate. She sighed again before rummaging through her realm. She'd brought plenty of medication with her—they were necessities because she'd constantly moved about and roamed the land in her previous life.

Now, they were all being put to good use. She supposed it was good that she could use them on Lucian. In her previous life, she'd been chased down too many times than she cared to count because of these medications. In this life, she had to be more careful.

Lucian was feeling miserable from the cold and pain when he suddenly felt a cooling sensation on one of his wounds. He used to be a favored prince, so he knew how valuable a medication that could act so quickly was.

It moved him. He didn't know why Aurora was treating him so well. Was it because she hoped he would leave the palace of exile after regaining Samuel's favor? He couldn't help thinking dully that she would be disappointed.

It took Aurora over ten minutes to apply an ointment all over Lucian's body. She also pulled out a bathrobe from her realm for him to wear—it was the only clothing item she had that was suitable.

Lucian's head spun when he felt Aurora wrapping him in something soft and fluffy. It also had a faint, comforting scent, but he didn't have the energy to think about where it had come from.

Still, the bright lights and warmth Aurora had given him on this stormy night was enough for him to think of fondly for the rest of his life.

No one had treated him this well for the past two years. It reminded him of his mother and was a feeling he hadn't had in ages.

When he sensed Aurora packing her things, he hurriedly acted like he'd just come to. He opened his eyes, but the sight that greeted him made his nose prickle.

It turned out Aurora had been so busy tending to him that she'd forgotten about herself. She'd been rained on, too, and she was skinny and malnourished. Her clothes were thin, and she looked like an ugly duckling in her current state.

"Why did you…" Lucian pouted. He wanted to say something, but the words became lodged in his throat halfway through the sentence because of his injury. He could only stare at Aurora silently, his eyes filled with disbelief and insecurity.

He didn't expect anyone to treat him so well in his current state. At the same time, he was afraid her kindness was nothing but a façade.

Now that Lucian was awake, Aurora couldn't help thinking about the things he'd done to her in her previous life. Still, she couldn't bring herself to be harsh to him when he was nothing but a boy now.

She suppressed her anger and snarled, "Good, you're finally awake. I'm leaving!"

"Wait—" Lucian panicked. He moved, almost falling out of bed.

Fortunately, Aurora reacted quickly and stopped him. Then, she glared daggers at him.