Boom!

Rain poured down in torrents. **Isolde Greywood** struggled to climb up from the ground. Drenched in blood, her face still revealed a trace of joy.

It was done, it was finally done!

She had helped her adopted father eliminate the traitors, and her husband would surely be rewarded for this...

Before she could draw her sword, the sound of familiar footsteps came from behind her. Turning around in surprise, **Isolde Greywood** exclaimed, "Husband, the Wen clan rebels have been wiped out. You needn't worry about them anymore—"

*Squelch!*

A sword pierced right through her heart.

**Isolde Greywood** never imagined that what awaited her would be death!

**Cole Greywood** gazed at her with calm, gentle eyes. His refined and elegant face curved into a smile. "My dear, the task is complete. It’s time for you to step back~" In one swift motion, he withdrew the blade, fresh blood gushing out instantly.

**Isolde Greywood** staggered back a few steps and collapsed to her knees, staring at him in disbelief. "Why...?"

Why would he kill her?

How could he dare kill her?!

She was a princess of the Great Sheng Dynasty and the adopted daughter of **Clifford Voss**, the Grand Eunuch. Where did he muster the audacity to kill her?!

Her fiery gaze was filled with searing anger. Picking up on her thoughts, **Cole Greywood** chuckled lightly and said, "You misunderstand, my dear. This... is precisely at the Grand Eunuch's orders."

Boom!!

Thunder roared, lightning streaked through the sky, and the rain poured down heavier than ever.

Cole Greywood's words were like venomous snakes, slithering their way deep into her heart.

"Madam, do you really believe the Grand Duke sincerely cared for you and took you in as his goddaughter? No, all of this was just for today."

"Do you know who the man lying on the ground is? The traitor of the Wren faction, Sebastian Wren?"

"Hahaha, he’s not a Wren. His real name is Adrian Calloway."

Adrian Calloway?!

Her second brother, Adrian Calloway — the family member she had been searching for all these years?

Isolde Greywood struggled to lift her face, her shock and disbelief quickly turning into a boiling rage.

"Cole Greywood!!"

It was him. He had deceived her!

He had told her that Sebastian Wren had plotted against her adoptive father, an unforgivable crime. He had also promised that once she killed him, glory and peace would follow...

*Thud!*

A mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips as Isolde collapsed heavily to the ground.

"…How dare you…"

*Cough, cough…* "How could you?!"

Four years of marriage, four years of love and trust—she had helped him rise from a lowly captain in the Embroidered Guard to Commander-in-Chief. How could he treat her like this?!

Cole Greywood wore a soft smile, his words like blades slicing through hearts: "Do you know, dear Madam, stupidity itself can be a sin."

An eerie, death-like silence followed.

"Hah... hahahaha!"

Suddenly, Isolde Greywood burst into hysterical laughter.

Yes, stupidity is indeed a sin.

She was stupid, which led to her being manipulated by him, causing her brother’s death.

She was stupid, so after being used, she was cast aside, with a single sword piercing through her heart.

Cole Greywood looked down upon her from his lofty position. Seeing her reaction, he shook his head.

"Fine then. Considering just how utterly foolish you are, let me share one last secret with you." He gracefully bent down, his voice dripping with pity and mockery. "The one who slaughtered your entire family back then... was none other than your adoptive father."

Boom!!

Thunder roared angrily across the skies.

Isolde Greywood's eyes widened, shock flooding her face as her body, lying on the ground, convulsed violently. She pressed her hands against the floor, desperately trying to rise, but every movement made blood gush from her chest. After several futile attempts to lift herself, she finally collapsed face-first into the mud, completely motionless.

"Pathetic."

Cole Greywood muttered indifferently, unfazed. Holding his umbrella, he turned and walked away.

Rain began to pour, the drops falling like soybeans and crashing onto the abandoned courtyard with a rhythmic crackling sound.

Isolde Greywood lay motionless on the ground, her face smeared with rain and mud. Her eyes widened in shock, staring fixedly at the direction where Cole Greywood had disappeared into the distance—

She could not rest in peace!!!

Gurgle, gurgle.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Bubbles kept rising to the surface as Isolde Greywood felt herself growing weightless, being pulled upward.

“Where is the master?”

“He’s still in the medicinal pool.”

“The Imperial Guards are here. They said they wish to meet the master; what should we do…”

“Don’t disturb the master, I’ll handle them myself.”

The two voices grew fainter as the speakers departed. Her mind felt muddled, her breathing increasingly labored.

Suddenly, she noticed a glimmer of light above her and struggled desperately to swim towards it.

*Splash!* She broke through the water’s surface.

There was no time to savor the fresh air—what she saw before her instantly stunned her.

A man was reclining against the edge of the pool, stark naked, his eyes closed. Steam from the hot water rose around him, gently lapping at his shoulders, leaving only his flawless, alabaster neck and exquisitely chiseled jawline exposed.

Though his complexion was slightly pale and a faint furrow marred his brows as if he were enduring some kind of pain, his sharply defined lips and bold, dark eyebrows exuded an air of resolute defiance. It was as if nothing in the world could ever bring him down.

Isolde Greywood stared in a daze, momentarily lost in her own thoughts.

She had died, hadn’t she? So why was she here?

Where was this place, and who was this man?

A delicate mist rose between the two of them, and she noticed crystalline droplets condensing on the man’s eyes. Without thinking, her hand reached out to touch them.

Suddenly, those tightly closed eyes flew open—

A flash of icy light shot forth!

Isolde Greywood's heart jolted, and she instinctively withdrew her hand.

*Smack!*

Her right wrist was caught by a pale, slender hand. The man opened his eyes to quietly assess her.

His deep, calm gaze was like the coldest, darkest night. Just a casual glance carried an overwhelming sense of dominance. After staring for a moment, he furrowed his brows slightly. Then, bringing his left fist to his mouth, he murmured, “It’s you.”

His voice was low, cool, and pleasing to the ear.

Isolde Greywood blinked, dumbfounded. “You know me?”

That was impossible. Why didn’t she have the slightest memory of him?

As the man parted his lips as if to reply, his thick, dark brows suddenly knit together.

His tall, well-built figure swayed and collapsed backward.

“Hey, you—”

Isolde Greywood watched him plunge into the water, when suddenly, a familiar voice came from outside the door: "Carlton Ashgrove of the Imperial Guard greets Your Highness!"

Carlton Ashgrove?!

Her eyes widened in astonishment.

This Carlton Ashgrove was a trusted confidant of Clifford Voss—steady, resolute, and deeply relied upon. Yet, two years ago, he was executed, punished by Clifford Voss for failing to suppress a rebellion. How could he possibly be alive now?

Unable to wrap her head around it, Carlton Ashgrove spoke again: "The Duchess of Yinyue is the apple of our lord’s eye. She left the estate without authorization and accidentally went missing. The lord is gravely concerned. I humbly ask that, for his sake, you allow us to conduct a brief search nearby. The moment she is found, we will leave without delay!"

Left the estate without authorization... and accidentally went missing...

Isolde Greywood stared blankly at the surrounding pool of water and suddenly recalled something.

When she was fourteen, she had secretly sneaked out of the estate without Clifford Voss’s permission, only to get lost and wander into an unfamiliar manor, where she ended up falling into a pond. Isolde Greywood couldn’t swim, so after being rescued, she had remained bedridden for half a month. Later, she heard people say it was Clifford Voss who sent out a search party everywhere, and it was Carlton Ashgrove who ultimately saved her...

Isn’t this scenario exactly the same as what’s happening now?

Isolde Greywood gazed at her reflection in the water, her eyes brimming with ecstasy.

She was alive again—she had come back to life!

Reborn as her fourteen-year-old self. She hadn’t married Cole Greywood, nor had she encountered her second brother. Everything could still be undone!