The Emperor had gifted the General with a beautiful wife and a delicate concubine.

As a concubine-born daughter, I naturally held the role of the delicate concubine.

The wedding ceremony didn't involve me, which left me with plenty of peace.

The matchmaker had arranged for me to stay in my room.

In my last life, Danica, eager to have me and Rolando produce a child for her to switch, didn't just send Rolando to my room on our wedding night. She even spiked our wine with a love potion.

She had to ensure that every time Rolando was with me, we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gradually, Rolando showed more affection toward me.

The bond between Rolando and me was evident. In my last life, after I was drowned, Rolando, who was grief-stricken, went to the battlefield and, despite his undefeated record, died at the hands of a mere foot soldier.

In my previous life, I restrained my love for Rolando in the name of sisterhood.

But in this life, I not only wanted to reclaim everything that belonged to me, but I intended to claim his love entirely.

I waited for a long time, but Rolando never came.

Danica, for the sake of the child in her belly, should have sent him to my room by now, right?

I was confused. Could something have gone wrong?

Could it be that with my return, the script had changed as well?

"See? Ms. Tanner was all talk. She made it sound so nice yesterday, but today she's still hogging Mr. Lowe all to herself."

My maid Lara Webb grumbled indignantly.

"It's not Mrs. Lowe's fault. It was the General's decision. He said it wouldn't be proper to spend the wedding night in a concubine's room."

The matchmaker chimed in, having just returned from overseeing Danica and Rolando's wedding rituals. She overheard Lara's complaints and decided to explain on Danica's behalf.

I wondered, Had I failed before the battle even started?

The war hasn't even started, and yet I've already lost the favor of my husband?

In this new life, I saw things more clearly.

Survival was more important than love.

If Rolando didn't come to my room, then I wouldn't have to worry about getting pregnant.

Several days passed, and Rolando remained in Danica's room each night.

This began to unsettle Danica.

"Gianna, you need to do something to catch the General's attention! I've been doing everything to help you, but you've got to make an effort too!"

"I know you care for me, Danica, but love is not something you can force. It's my fault for not being good enough to catch the General's eye."

I pinched my thigh hard, making tears well up in my eyes.

It gave me the perfect look of pitiful misery.

As we both pretended to share a bond of sisterly affection while secretly scheming...

Rolando approached. He tenderly draped a cloak over Danica's shoulders.

His voice sounded teasing. "Honey, are you trying to push me into the arms of another?"

Another? In this life, had I become the "other woman" in the eyes of my loving husband?

At that moment, my emotions were in turmoil.

I quietly lowered my head, hiding the disappointment that threatened to show.

"My husband adores me, and I am happy beyond words. But my sister is a pitiful soul. Her mother was just one of my father's servant girls. I share a deep bond with her, and I don't want her to suffer the same fate as her mother."

Danica gracefully rose and spoke softly, "The Emperor arranged for her to marry you as my maid. I have a request, though it may be too much. Could you consider giving my sister a better title?

"That way, when you're away on the battlefield, she'll have some status to protect her and won't be looked down upon by others."

"You're really something, honey. Since you've asked for it, how could I refuse? You decide then. Should I raise her status to concubine, or make her my equal as a secondary wife, alongside you?"

In my previous life, even though I shared a deep affection with the General, I remained nothing more than a maid.

Danica, the legitimate wife, had promised me that if I bore the General's first child, she would raise my status.

Looking back, I noticed how desperate she was to manipulate me. Before the General had even said anything about me bearing his child, she was already rushing to entice me with status and position. She just wanted me to cherish the child I was carrying, hoping I would give her a healthy baby. That was likely her true intention all along.

"Let Gianna manage the household alongside me," Danica chirped. "We will be equals as the General's wives!"

Her eyes sparkled with delight as she spun her web of lies.

I knew her real plan was for me to die after giving birth. For now, all she needed was to push me toward the General, to make me pregnant. She would promise anything to ensure that.

"Fine then, let's do as you say."

Rolando chuckled, playfully pinching Danica's nose.

He turned his gaze toward me, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Gianna, what are you waiting for? You should thank you your kind-hearted sister!"

This was the first time Rolando had spoken to me since I was reborn.

I was a bit dazed until the maid, Lara, nudged me. It was then that I came back to my senses and performed a respectful gesture toward Danica.

"Well, there's no need for all this formality. We're sisters, after all. We'll be equal wives, and no more formality to each other!"

Danica exclaimed, rushing to help me up, her triumph barely concealed.

Had I not died and been reborn, I would have been overjoyed, and grateful to her for her so-called kindness.

But now, after I learned about the truth, my heart burned with a fierce resolve.

The injustices I suffered in my past life would be repaid in full.

Danica, under the guise of planning a second wedding night for me and the General, succeeded in luring him to my room.

As I looked at the man before me, my heart was filled with mixed emotions. I carried the memories of our past affection from a previous life, but what about him?

He might as well have been a stranger now.

He was pushed into my arms only by his wife's machinations.

As I thought about this, a dull ache began to well up in my chest.

"Please enjoy the wine!"

The matchmaker beamed, her face wrinkling into a wide grin as she handed us the ceremonial cups.

After drinking together awkwardly, Rolando said, "You can go and get your reward. There's no need for you to stay here and serve."

When she heard there was a reward to be collected, the smile on the matchmaker's face grew even brighter.

As soon as she left, Rolando turned to me, suddenly seizing my chin in such a rough grip that my eyes welled up with tears out of pain. His hand forced my mouth open, and before I could react, his fingers thrust down my throat. I gagged, vomiting out the wine I had just consumed.

Making sure I vomited the wine, he followed suit, forcing himself to vomit as well.

"Your dear sister cares for you so much. She made sure to add an aphrodisiac to our wine to let us closer."

As Rolando wiped his hands, he spoke, and although I couldn't see his expression clearly, I could discern a tone of cynical indifference in his voice.

"If that's the case, why did you throw it up? Are you worried about staying loyal to Danica, afraid the aphrodisiac might stir your passions too much?"

I couldn't help but jab at him, remembering our past love yet knowing how he now doted on Danica. My bitterness spilled out in my words.

"That wine is dangerous. Yes, it heightens desire, but it also damages one's health if taken too often."

His voice was soft now full of affection, lacking the syrupy sweetness he used with Danica.

Was this his true face?

His tenderness with me seemed so different from what he had shown in front of Danica.

"Macy Bray found out you had Lara bring contraceptives into the estate, and she told me," he continued, "It's only known to me for now, but be more careful in the future. You wouldn't want to cause trouble for yourself."

My heart sank. Even after being reborn, I was still vulnerable, still under others' control.

Before I could fully absorb this, Rolando continued, "I gave you the status of a legitimate wife because I need you to bear me a child. Starting tomorrow, not only must you stop taking contraceptive medicine, but you must also start drinking pregnancy-promoting medicine!."

As I recalled the way Rolando looked at Danica with such loving eyes, a pang of pain shot through my heart. Could it be that Rolando already knew about Danica's affair with the foreign missionary?

Was he planning to use me to cover for her mistake, switching our children just like before?

In my past life, I thought it was Danica who ruined me.

Could it be that in this life, my beloved husband would conspire with her to destroy me as well?

That night, though we slept together, my heart was a tangled mess of emotions.

The next morning, before Rolando even had a chance to arrange for my fertility medicine, Danica's maid was already at my door with it.

Rolando chuckled meaningfully as he looked at the medicine.

"It seems my dear wife has thought of everything. This household needs an heir."

"If you want children so much, why not have them with Danica? After all, the greatest joy is having a child with the one you love."

I'd always been quite possessive when it came to love. In my previous life, I had a very good relationship with Rolando. On top of that, I was deceived by Danica's feigned kindness, which clouded my judgment. As a result, I had to force myself to suppress my jealousy and not show it.

This life was different. I had no support or backing. To put it bluntly, as long as Rolando and Danica team up to try to replace my child, I will be nothing more than a tool for them to have children unless I die.

Thinking about this, I sensed my nose felt a pang of sorrow.

And a tear fell into the glass full of medicine.

"Do you not want to have a child with me? Or is it that I am not worthy of being the one you love?"

Despite my sarcastic tone, Rolando did not get angry.

Instead, he smiled gently at me, reaching out to wipe away the remaining tear from the corner of my eye.

At that moment, I thought Danica, that wrenched woman, was indeed someone who could actually bear it.