My elder sister, the crown princess, died on the road while searching for medicinal herbs to save me. The obsessive merman, cunning fox spirit, and unhinged lion shifter she had entangled herself with all came looking for her.

Each one believed he was her true love, and they immediately began fighting among themselves until all three were gravely wounded.

When they learned that my sister had died because of me, they turned their fury to me, seeing me as the root of all their suffering.

The merman brutally ripped out my spiritual core. "You killed her, so you don't deserve to live either."

The fox spirit forced deadly poison down my throat. "Simply dying would be far too merciful for you."

The lion shifter imprisoned me and tortured me daily. "That face of yours that looks like hers is the only reason you're still breathing."

I carried the guilt of my sister's death, and I suffered in silence to keep my parents safe from their wrath. Three years passed, and I had become nothing more than a broken shell.

I fought desperately to escape and return to the royal palace, only to hear familiar laughter echoing from the inner chambers. It was my sister's voice.

"Thank heavens you came up with this brilliant plan, Mother. I certainly wasn't about to keep dealing with those disgusting beastmen forever."

Rage consumed me. I burst through the doors, determined to kill us both, but her personal guard cut me down with a single strike.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my sister staged her own death.

When Mother's lady-in-waiting brought me to the funeral hall, she was weeping inconsolably before the coffin.

"Vee, why did you have to fall off that cliff? Open your eyes and tell me this is all just a nightmare. The heavens are blind to take such a wonderful daughter so young."

She collapsed to the floor in apparent grief, but I watched with cold detachment, finding the whole scene laughable. In my previous life, I was completely fooled by her masterful performance.

My elder sister, Victoria Songworth, had always been vain about her beauty. She frequently used royal expeditions as excuses to visit the beast kingdoms and seduce their nobles.

However, after having her fun, she would claim that even the most powerful beast aristocrats were still crude foreigners beneath her station.

Knowing she could not end things cleanly, she left those three beastmen with ambiguous parting words before conspiring with Mother to stage this elaborate performance.

She got her clean escape, but I was left to bear the consequences when those three beastmen marked me as the killer of their beloved. I paid the price for everything.

While I was lost in these thoughts, Mother suddenly grabbed me roughly. "How dare you just stand there? Kneel and apologize to Vee. This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been searching for medicinal herbs for you!"

She tried to use force on me, but I dropped to my knees willingly and even pulled her down with me.

"Vee, may you rest in peace."

"What are you doing?" Mother demanded, furious at being yanked to the ground.

I ignored her question and began weeping dramatically over Victoria's 'fate'. "Oh, Vee, you suffered such a cruel fate. If only Mother hadn't given away all the herbs to the other consorts, you wouldn't have had to go searching for more.

"My life is worthless. I went without that medicine for over ten years and have always been fine. Why did you have to sacrifice your life for me?"

Mother had not expected me to say such things. I seized the moment and grabbed Victoria's soul tablet, preparing to smash it. "Take this fragment of your soul with you, dear Vee. Rest well."

Mother snapped back to her senses, her expression instantly changing as she lunged forward to catch the tablet. "Stop! Who gave you permission to send your sister off?"

Seeing her panic, I smiled coldly. All members of the royal family possessed soul tablets that housed their spirits. When someone died, the tablet had to be shattered for their soul to move on properly.

However, if the person was still alive and their soul fragment was released, they would not be able to survive much longer.

With Mother refusing to break the tablet, she was practically revealing her deception to everyone present.

Her suddenly raised voice caused everyone around us to drop to their knees. I pretended to be frightened, wiping away my tears without daring to speak.

Father quickly stepped forward to embrace Mother, then turned to scold me, "Kneel immediately!"

Before he had even finished speaking, I began sobbing again. "Mother, I know you don't want Victoria to leave us either. But the sooner her soul returns to her body, the sooner she can find peace."

Some of the bolder ministers who had come to pay respects spoke up. "Your Majesty, this concerns whether the Crown Princess can rest in peace. We must not let emotions cloud our judgment."

Their words backed Mother into a corner, leaving her with no choice but to agree. I reached for the soul tablet again, pretending I was about to shatter it and force Victoria to own up to her act.

However, Mother kicked away the elderly ministers kneeling around her and charged toward me.

This time, she did not dare snatch it away directly. Instead, she controlled her fury and said, "This isn't your responsibility. I'll handle it properly after the ceremony ends."

I did not argue further. After all, I had not presented my real gift yet.

After dismissing the ministers, Mother breathed a sigh of relief. However, when she saw my eyes that were dry of all tears, she immediately seized the opportunity to lash out.

"You're truly selfish and cold-blooded. Vee died because of you, yet you show no gratitude for her sacrifice."

Her sacrifice? I scoffed inwardly. In my previous life, she knew that relations between humans and beastmen were strained, yet she deliberately provoked beast nobles for her own selfish desires.

When she grew bored of them, she left behind ambiguous words that made all three believe they were her true love, causing them to fight endlessly over her.

When they finally got tired of fighting each other, they blamed everything on me. They decided I was the one who had killed their beloved and caused them to turn against each other. With nowhere to vent their rage, they all agreed that I was the one who deserved to die the most.

First, the merman brutally tore out my spiritual core and abandoned me in the frozen wasteland. When wild animals came to gnaw at my flesh, he had simply watched coldly from the sidelines.

Not only had he watched, but he had also summoned lustful snow serpents, wanting to crush both my body and spirit into dust. When I fought desperately to kill him, he just said, "You killed Vee. Even killing you 10,000 times would be justified."

Eventually, I fell into a ravine. I was barely alive, but the fox spirit still grabbed me by the throat. He forced poison down my throat but kept me alive with healing elixirs.

I lost all five senses, and my nerves were severed one by one. The bone-deep agony had even made me wish for death. Later, when he grew bored, he thought of ending me with a single sword strike.

However, when I woke up again, I found myself in the lion shifter's hands. He hung me in a dungeon and used every torture device imaginable until I became nothing but rotting flesh.

"If not for that face, you would've died long ago."

For three years, I used every method possible to escape, just hoping to see if my parents were safe. However, after fighting desperately to crawl back to the palace, I was met with betrayal from my entire family and a sword through the heart.

At that moment, I was staring coldly at Mother. My gaze unsettled her, and she was about to question me when a group of people suddenly poured in from outside.

Mother looked at them in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"The crown princess was wise and benevolent, beloved by the people. She died so suddenly. We subjects only wish to mourn and pay our respects."

Mother watched helplessly as her maternal relatives went to pay their respects before Victoria's coffin, her anxiety barely concealed. "Who told you to notify them?"

"Vee had always loved lively gatherings. If she knew how beloved she was, she'd surely be happy," I said sincerely.

Mother clenched her teeth in anger, furious that I had brought so many people here, creating future complications for Victoria's resurrection.

She could not lose her temper, though. She had only herself to blame for delegating trivial matters to me while she enjoyed her luxuries. As it appeared that I was acting with good intentions, my actions were deemed perfectly reasonable.

After Mother's relatives finished paying their respects to Victoria, they began consoling her. "The crown princess's sudden death is truly a tragedy for the people. Your Highness, do take care of your health and try not to wallow in grief."

They spoke earnestly, and Mother was forced to divide her attention to deal with them. She did not even notice when I brought in the professional mourners. It was only when they began beating the drums that someone exclaimed in amazement.

"The crown princess truly has lasting blessings. She's responding to the funeral songs so quickly."

The great hall fell silent for a moment. Mother's expression changed as she rushed forward to carefully examine the burial cloth covering Victoria.

"Who invited you people? Does a princess need lowly commoners like you to mourn for her?"

The mourning troupe stopped and quietly turned their gazes toward me. I quickly stepped forward and knelt, saying pitifully, "Mother, I invited them from the beast kingdoms to send Vee off. I heard Vee had always wanted us to be at peace. I just hope she'll be happy now that she has passed on."

Mother pointed at me angrily. "You..."

She was too furious to speak. Everyone kept their heads lowered, and the implication was obvious. Even so, she still refused to back down.

"Serena Songworth, just how many times have you acted without my permission?"

A ruler's suspicion had always been deadly. I hurriedly knelt down, tears glistening in my eyes. "Mother, everything I've done has been for the sake of keeping relations between our kingdoms. I have no ulterior motives.

"Now that Vee has passed on because of me, I feel such regret that I want to do more for her."

Seeing my sincerity, the others also tried to persuade Mother. "Princess Serena means well. There's no need to be so harsh on her."

Mother had not expected me to respond this way. Her expression darkened, but she had no choice but to watch as I made my arrangements.

I waved my hand, and the mourning troupe immediately began their cacophonous performance with drums. I watched with great interest from the side.

This mourning troupe consisted of beastmen I had hired. They were energetic and could cry and wail for an entire day without stopping. Moreover, they did not fear human royal authority and only cared about the money I paid them.

How would Victoria endure this?

More people continued arriving to pay their respects. The mourning troupe's drums pounded near Victoria's ears repeatedly, each strike loud enough to burst one's eardrums.

From morning until night, Victoria could not eat, drink, or relieve herself. She suffered in agony, occasionally shifting her position slightly.

Mourners came and went constantly, and inevitably, some noticed the movement. They looked puzzled, their investigating gazes sweeping over Victoria again and again.

Mother gritted her teeth, her sharp nails digging into her flesh. Victoria's trembling form caught her peripheral vision, and her gaze grew increasingly cold.

The burial could not be delayed any longer. She had to deal with this quickly!

Just then, Victoria suddenly convulsed.

I cried out in alarm, "Is Vee's soul perhaps restless?"

Mother's heart jumped as she saw that the cloth covering Victoria had clearly changed shape. Everyone around naturally saw the cloth move as well. The crowd immediately erupted in chaos.

Mother angrily scolded me, "Why are you making such a racket? Where's your dignity as a princess?"

I acted as if I had not heard her and just looked at her with tears in my eyes. "Mother, I just heard strange sounds from the coffin. Vee's passing was so sudden. Maybe she has returned to visit us."

Mother's expression darkened as she said coldly, "Nonsense! How can the dead come back to life?"

I was too intimidated by her glare to speak, but Victoria could not bear the pain in her abdomen and quietly moved again.

"She must be reluctant to leave," I murmured softly. "After all, her death was so sudden. It's natural she'd have regrets."

The crowd also found this believable. Mother nodded with an ugly expression and shot me a hateful glance.

I seized the opportunity and volunteered, saying, "I've heard that beastmen are quite knowledgeable about pacifying souls."

Mother said urgently, "I'll find someone. How can those crude beastmen possibly..."

Before she could finish, an elderly relative quickly stopped her.

"Don't! It's so late already. Why create more trouble?" He turned to the beastmen. "Please begin."

The mourners nodded and surrounded Victoria, beginning to chant incantations.

Seeing that it was only chanting, both Mother and the fake-dead Victoria breathed sighs of relief. However, at the next moment, a strong wind began blowing through the funeral hall.

Victoria's coffin was lifted into the air, and the yellow cloth covering her was blown away. Victoria was instantly exposed to everyone's view.