It only took my veil slipping off for a stranger to see my true face, and suddenly, everyone was pointing fingers at me. They said I’d ruined my purity, and now even my father, Andrew Thomas, wants me dead.

But why?

Just because a man saw my face, I was supposed to die? If I didn’t, I was not virtuous? And if I didn’t apologize, I was not a dutiful daughter?

I had to fight for my right to live. In this corrupt kingdom, I had to keep fighting!

For three days, I had been kneeling in this cold, abandoned house.

Three days without a drop of water.

Right on time, my father came in, holding a whip. Behind him were my mother, Sofia Thomas, my brother Ronald, and the uncles who watched me grow up.

Ronald tried to help me up, but my father shoved him back.

“Aren’t you going to admit you were wrong?” My father demanded.

Exhausted, I could barely hold myself up, but my voice was hoarse and firm. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?”

“You.” My father’s face twisted with rage as he shouted. “Fine, you ungrateful daughter! I’ll beat you to death until you admit your mistake!”

The small, cold house was crowded with more than twenty people, but not one of them spoke up for me.

I bit down hard on my lip, refusing to make a sound as the whip lashed across my back.

One strike, two. fifteen.

Finally, I couldn’t hold back any longer and coughed up blood.

“Please, stop!” My mother couldn’t take it anymore. She fell to her knees, weeping as she held me.

Lying in her arms, all I could do was silently curse the injustice of it all.

“Emily, just admit you were wrong. At least you’ll die quickly.” My mother’s voice trembled as she spoke.

Tears of disbelief filled my eyes. “Mom, do you really think I’m wrong?”

My mother had always loved me more than anyone. How could she ask me to admit to something I didn’t do?

Doesn’t she know that even if I confess, I’m still going to die?

My mother’s sobs echoed through the room. “I don’t want to watch you die! You’re a part of me. but there’s nothing I can do. This world is so cruel! Emily, don’t worry. If you die, I won’t go on living. I’ll follow you. I’ll be with you, okay?”

I forced a weak smile and struggled to speak. “Mom, I won’t admit to something I didn’t do! If the world is wrong, why should I apologize?”

After days of starvation and taking fifteen lashes, I couldn’t hold on any longer and passed out.

Three days ago, I went out with my best friend, Viola Louis.

Someone behind us tripped and, in their panic, accidentally pulled off my veil.

Viola tried to help me, but her veil slipped off too. It all happened so fast.

And just like that, Viola and I were unmasked in front of everyone.

My first thought? We’re doomed.

The second? Panic. I looked at Viola, desperate and frantic.

“Viola, under no circumstances can we admit we messed up, got it?” I said.

In this country, the law is clear: from the time she’s three years old, a woman’s face is only for her family and husband to see. If any other man catches a glimpse, she’s deemed impure and can be drowned in the spit of the crowd.

This barbaric custom has been around for over two centuries, taking countless women’s lives. Even women in their forties or fifties have been killed simply because a man saw their face.

When this happens, a woman has two possible fates.

The first is to confess. She must write a ten-thousand-word apology and then be taken to the public square to end her own life in front of everyone. Most women choose this path because it allows them to hold onto a shred of dignity, and after their death, they’re praised as "loyal and virtuous."

The second option is to refuse to admit guilt. These women cling to the hope of survival, refusing to accept death so easily. If they’re lucky, their family will help them escape to start a new life elsewhere. If they’re not, they might be beaten to death by their own kin, their body left outside to be spat on by passersby.

According to the law, anyone who tries to bury her will be thrown in jail.

*****

I woke up in my room, weak and unable to move.

My maid, Wendy, was crying beside me. “Miss, you’re awake! I thought I’d lost you.”

I was shocked. Where is everyone? I asked, “Wendy, where’s my father and the others?”

“Mr. Andrew and Mr. Ronald went to the palace. Don’t worry, they’ll figure something out,” she said.

I forced a bitter smile. How could they possibly change laws and traditions that have been in place for over two hundred years?

I grabbed Wendy’s hand and asked, “What about Viola? Is she okay?”

“There’s been no word from the Louis Residence, so Ms. Viola should be fine,” she said.

Thank goodness...

I managed to drink some thin oatmeal. I had spent three days kneeling in that cold, abandoned house, followed by two days of unconsciousness—meaning I had only five days left.

The law states that if a woman is caught in an act of impurity—like having her face seen by a man—she must be dealt with within ten days.

Today, my father and Ronald still hadn’t returned.

In the dead of night, I dragged my heavy body out of the house through a doghole and made my way straight to Awakening Manor.

Awakening Manor was founded fifteen years ago by a woman who stood for equality and against the rigid social hierarchy. Her ideas sparked a wave of support among women.

But her radical beliefs caught the attention of the authorities, and they found an excuse to have her killed.

However, her death didn’t stop her ideas from spreading.

The remaining members quietly moved Awakening Manor to a new location and continued to secretly recruit like-minded women.

Viola and I were among them.

In the darkness, I hurried as fast as I could and soon arrived at a door.

“Emily, you’re finally here. We were so worried about you.”

I smiled weakly.

My friend Janet, who was also part of the organization, grinned at me. “Emily, you’re going to be saved. You won’t die, I promise.”

I looked at her, confused when two people emerged from behind her—it was Viola and her mother.

Viola ran to me, tears streaming down her face. Only then did I realize Viola’s mother had known all along about her involvement with Awakening Manor but had turned a blind eye. Now that everything had gone wrong, she didn’t hesitate to join us to protect her daughter.

“Thank you, but Viola did this because of me,” I said to Viola’s mother.

“You’re Viola’s best friend. I’ve watched you grow up. I’ve been fed up with those unfair, ridiculous rules for a long time!” Viola’s mother said.

I broke into a tearful smile, the warmth of their hands grounding me.

On the sixth day, my father and Ronald still hadn’t returned from the palace, and everyone at home was on pins and needles.

Some people were even bold enough to toss notes over the courtyard wall, urging me to write a confession to protect my family.

My mother came in with a plate of cookies, her eyes red and puffy. “Emily, try these. I made them just for you.”

Seeing her like that made my heart ache. “Mom, you need to rest. If nothing changes by the tenth day, I’ll do what you all want. I’ll write the confession and end my life in public. I won’t bring shame to our family.”

My mother broke down, sobbing. “Emily, I can’t bear to lose you, but what choice do I have? If you don’t confess, what will happen to your father and brother’s futures? What about the rest of our family? I’m truly at my wits’ end.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and gently touched her face, now so worn with worry. “Mom, have you ever thought about fighting back against all this?”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Fight back? How? Emily, the world is what it is. We can’t afford to dream too big.”

I lowered my gaze and let out a bitter laugh. “I get it, Mom.”

My mother loves me more than anything. She’d stand in the scorching sun just to bake me an apple pie, and she’d stay up all night by my bedside whenever I was sick.

But like most women of her time, she doesn’t fight back. She accepts her fate. They resent the world but believe that’s just how it is.

I couldn’t help but think of Viola’s mother. Last night, she held Viola close, ready to risk everything. She said, “Viola, don’t worry. Even if it costs me my life, I’ll keep you safe! I’ll beat the drums and take our case to the king. These cursed laws should’ve been changed long ago.”

I couldn’t eat. The places on my body where I’d been whipped needed fresh bandages every hour, but I felt no pain at all.

Finally, news spread like wildfire through the streets.

At this morning’s court session, Viola’s father, Adam Louis, submitted a petition signed by a hundred people, denouncing the unjust laws and the lack of respect for women. He passionately called for the abolition of these oppressive laws.

His words sparked outrage. Most people saw him as selfish, willing to abandon traditions passed down by our ancestors for his own gain.

But a few officials agreed with him, acknowledging the unfairness and supporting the call for change.

The king was furious and had Adam and the other officials whipped ten times each before releasing them.

However, the incident caused quite a stir among the people.

Meanwhile, the members of Awakening Manor had already planned to post large banners in the streets after dark.

Each one would bear the same message: Fight to the end.

That afternoon, my father and Ronald returned, limping.

My father’s face was a mix of emotions, while Ronald looked utterly defeated.

“Emily, I couldn’t protect you. I failed,” Ronald said, his voice heavy with guilt.

I quickly helped him sit down and called for someone to tend to his wounds.

I had thought they’d given up on me, but it turns out that during the three days they were missing, my father and Ronald had been pleading with the king. They had knelt outside the palace for three days straight, only fainting from exhaustion this morning, which finally led the king to send them away.

“It’s okay. I still have time,” I told my brother.

My father called me to his study. His face was as pale as a ghost.

“Emily, I’ve done everything I can. I know you feel it’s unfair, but changing the law is nearly impossible. If it ever comes to that.”

I cut him off. “If it really comes to that, I’ll do as you say.”

He nodded, letting out a long sigh. “Don’t tell Ronald.”

“I won’t,” I replied.

The seventh day came.

When the townspeople woke up, they were stunned to find large posters plastered on their doors. The entire city fell into an eerie silence, its usual energy completely drained for the day.

The real shocker came when Princess Angela publicly called for the abolition of the unfair laws against women. Princess Angela, the king’s younger sister, had seen her older sister, Princess Sandra, die after her veil fell off. Despite her hunger strikes and protests, Sandra had never received any mercy from the king.

So, it wasn’t a surprise to me that Princess Angela took a stand against these oppressive laws. The city quickly stepped up its patrols, ripping down the posters. But what they didn’t realize was that the ones on the walls were just a distraction. Many more had been directly thrown into the yards of the townspeople.

We knew that the true power of the country lay with its people, not the officials. Gaining their support was crucial and urgent!

Changing deeply held beliefs wasn’t going to be easy—it needed a bigger push.

Around noon, Janet’s veil unexpectedly fell off as she was leaving a restaurant. The crowd reacted with a mix of fear and anger, some staring in shock while others glared at her with hostility, thinking she deserved her fate.

In her grief and rage, Janet wrote a poem on the spot, then bought a bottle of poison and headed to the crowded market. She climbed onto a platform, tears streaming down her face, and knelt.

She bowed three times and said, “Father, Mother, I am unworthy. I failed to live up to your expectations and let you down in life.”

“Yet what did I do wrong? Just showing my face has cost me my life!”

“In my next life, I’d rather be born an animal than live in this cursed dynasty.”

Then she drank the poison in one gulp. Soon after, she was writhing in pain and bleeding before she died.

After her death, I arranged for two people to handle her body. I was surprised to see that most of the women present had sympathetic looks, with very few showing indifference.

It seemed that the posters had made an impact. In the past, people would cheer and clap for the deaths of those on the platform, but this time, the applause was barely audible.

When I returned to Awakening Manor, Janet told me excitedly, “Emily, did you see? During my death on the platform, nearly seventy percent of the onlookers were women.”

I was surprised. “I’ve seen that in the past, when women committed suicide, the crowd was mostly men, with only a few women. This is a positive change!”

It was indeed a good sign! It showed that even these women were deeply unhappy with the current laws and yearned for freedom.

Janet, the rest of Awakening Manor, and I were all moved to tears. I hugged Janet and said, “You did an amazing job today.”

Using death to jolt people into action—that was Viola’s mother’s idea. Janet had agreed without hesitation, preparing meticulously for her role as the “deceased.”

The poison was fake, and the death was staged. Even the people handling the body were two strong women from Awakening Manor in disguise.

The eighth day came.

Viola’s family was running a fabric shop, a cosmetics store, and a bunch of other businesses. Anyone who shouted “Liberate Women!” inside would get a box of cosmetics or a roll of fabric as a reward.

At first, nobody dared to go in, but the folks from Awakening Manor took the plunge. Once they got their items, the crowd outside surged forward, filling the streets with cries of “Liberate Women!”

The chaos naturally caught the local government’s eye. Adam, who had organized the whole event, was quickly arrested.

We came up with this idea, but Adam took the fall for it. The dark circles under his eyes drove us all to act. “Kids, it’s up to you now. I can only stay with you this far,” he said.

Viola cried her heart out, and her mother’s voice was choked with emotion as she reassured us, “Don’t worry, we’ll succeed.”

I felt like a ghost in that moment. I missed Ronald terribly, but he was grounded by my father. I looked at Viola and her mother, and my resolve solidified.

When I got home, I found vegetable scraps freshly swept over the wall into our yard—clearly a move to push me into a corner!

After calming my sobbing mother, I quietly headed back to Awakening Manor, only to bump into Princess Angela at the entrance.

“So, Awakening Manor is right here. You’re quite bold!” she said. “With such an obvious location, it’s no wonder the king is mobilizing everyone to take you down.”

I was stunned and quickly invited the princess into my home to talk. I gathered everyone and introduced Princess Angela.

Princess Angela, ever straightforward, settled into a chair and started munching on nuts. “No need for formalities. I admire what you’re doing, so I came to give you a heads-up. The king knows where Awakening Manor is and is working with generals on a plan to capture you all. They’re aiming to act in three days.”

Three days from now was the eleventh day, and my execution was set for the tenth.

Viola and I exchanged a determined look, seeing the same fierce resolve in each other’s eyes.

I bowed first. “Thank you for the warning. We’ll take steps to stay hidden.”

Princess Angela raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you afraid?”

I managed a smile. “If the laws aren’t changed, I’ve only got two days left. Besides, the people of Awakening Manor aren’t afraid of death. If our sacrifice can wake up the people, we’ll accept it willingly.”

“Willingly accepting it!” Princess Angela suddenly stood up, her expression fierce. “With that spirit, I’m committed to helping you. If my sister had had allies like you, she might still be alive.”

I kept my lips tightly sealed. Life is unpredictable, and so many women have died. We are all victims of the times.

“I came to introduce someone to you,” Princess Angela said.

That’s when we noticed the woman pretending to be a maid behind the princess—Duchess Isabella! Her father was a half-brother of the king, unlike my father, who was the only non-royal noble in the dynasty with no blood relation to the king.

Duchess Isabella’s father, aware of the king’s distrust, had been stationed at the border for years to avoid any direct contact with him. However, Duchess Isabella had been summoned back to the capital, making it clear she was now a hostage.

Duchess Isabella stepped forward confidently. “I’ve heard so much about Awakening Manor but never had a clue where it was. Who would have guessed it was right in a place I pass by every day? The most dangerous place is often the safest. That’s really clever!” she said with admiration.

I offered a faint smile and chose to stay silent.

“I came to the capital when I was eight, suffocating under the rules. If you have any plans, count me in!” she declared.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No need to thank me. I’m doing this for the future of all women,” she replied.

Seeing this, Princess Angela quickly spoke up. “I know there are other noble girls who are unhappy with these laws. I’ll gather them immediately.”

Before we could react, she hurried out the door.

I glanced at the sky and decided to head home to avoid raising suspicion with my family. I always slipped out through a small hole in the wall, and my parents had no idea I was gone.

When I returned through the doggy door, I was stunned to find our yard packed with people. Wendy was tied to a chair, her clothes drenched in blood, her condition uncertain.

“Wendy!” I screamed as I rushed over.

Holding my breath, I nervously checked her pulse. Thankfully, she was still breathing. “Get the family doctor! Quickly, we need the family doctor!”

“She’s had thirty lashes; she won’t survive,” my mother’s heartbroken voice said.

I looked up to see a crowd of faces in the yard, with my father at the front, my mother by my side, and my uncle, aunt, and cousin among them. The scene was a far cry from the cold, deserted house where I had once knelt in silence!

My eyes filled with tears, and the emotional weight of the past few days made me cough up a mouthful of blood.

My mother reached out to help me, but I stopped her. I glared at my father, who had been pleading for mercy in the palace just days ago. How could he be so heartless now?

I struggled to my feet, faced my father, and performed a deep bow. “Father, I’ve always looked up to you and never disobeyed you. But if you don’t get the family doctor to save Wendy today, I will make sure this family is ruined!”

I raised my chin defiantly, like a peacock with its feathers spread.

“You.” After a long stare, my father was the first to give in. “Someone, get the family doctor.”

My uncle tried to stop him but was completely ignored, throwing a resentful glance at me as he left.

With the crowd gone, only the three of us remained in the yard.

“Emily, tell me, are you involved with that notorious Awakening Manor?” my father demanded.

I looked down and replied softly, “Yes, I’m one of them.”

“You’re being reckless!” My father waved his arm in frustration. “You’re dragging the entire family into this mess.”

My mother, equally shocked, looked at me in disbelief. “Emily, listen to me. Tell your father where Awakening Manor is! If he goes to the king and reveals it, maybe the king will spare you for your information.”

“Mom, are you asking me to betray everyone? To sacrifice the lives of dozens for my own safety?” I asked.