: Rebirth

In my past life, on the day of the Vexwood Frontier's Saintess selection, my sister pushed me into the Maw of Scourges.

She thought I would be devoured by the Scourges and left to rot in the Maw.

But after seven days and seven nights, I climbed out alive and became the Saintess.

She, however, was thrown into the Dungeon for the crime of attempting to murder the Saintess.

Harboring a deep-seated hatred, she murdered me when my guard was down.

The next time I opened my eyes, I had returned to the day of the Saintess selection. But this time, I saw my sister leap into the Maw first.

I knew it instantly. She had been reborn, too.

She had no idea what a horrifying hell the Maw truly was.

Nor did she know that the so-called Saintess was nothing more than the Emperor's golden canary.

If she wanted to be the Saintess in my place, I couldn't be happier.

...

The night was pitch-black, the only light a ghastly white glow from the hanging moon.

In the moonlight, something could be seen writhing in the depths of a bottomless pit.

An Elder of the tribe, leaning on his staff, spoke.

"Moira Arden, Lira Arden. Whichever of you two jumps into the Maw of Scourges will become our new Saintess."

But merely standing on the edge of the Maw, I felt a wave of nausea.

That slick, nauseating feeling... a soul-piercing, bone-gnawing horror—

'I didn't want to recall it.'

Lira Arden grinned at me.

"Sister, it would be better for me to be the Saintess."

Before she even finished speaking, she leaped into the Maw.

At that very moment, I knew.

She had been reborn, too.

It had been the same in our past life.

As Descendants of the Vexwood Frontier, dealing with the Scourges was unavoidable.

It's almost laughable, but I'm terrified of insects—of anything with too many legs.

'They make my skin crawl.'

Lira Arden knew that.

She always used to console me. "Don't worry, Sister. When it's time for the Saintess selection, I'll jump in your place."

But when the day of the selection finally came, she caught me off guard and shoved me in.

She assumed that I, with my fear of insects, would certainly die.

But I survived seven days and seven nights in the Maw before finally crawling out.

I was immediately declared the Saintess. In three days, I was to enter the Imperial Palace and attend the Emperor.

Lira Arden, meanwhile, was thrown into the Dungeon for pushing me.

After entering the Imperial Palace, I returned to my clan once to visit her in the Dungeon.

I never expected that she would have a Dagger hidden on her, just waiting for me to arrive.

I didn't hate her for pushing me into the Maw.

I knew I was better suited to be the Saintess than she was.

The Imperial Palace is a treacherous place. Lira Arden wasn't cunning enough; she would never have survived in the harem.

It was just...

It was just that we were both reborn.

And since she had made her choice...

I would let her have a taste of the Maw. I would let her become the Saintess.

Seeing this, the Elder exclaimed in astonishment, "Lira Arden will surely be a worthy Saintess."

As for me, I merely glanced back at the Maw.

The pitch-black Maw swallowed Lira Arden's tiny form, consuming her from sight.

The next time I saw Lira Arden was three days later.

She dragged her battered, wounded body back to the clan, alive.

The clanspeople were ecstatic, running to spread the news.

"It's Lira Arden! The Saintess is back! The Saintess is back!"

In an instant, celebratory torches blazed to life throughout the clan.

The Elder stroked his beard. "Moira Arden, go and welcome your sister."

"Yes."

Lira Arden stood at the center of a crowd, surrounded by endless cheers.

"Saintess! Saintess!"

Amidst all the jubilation, only I noticed—

the faint, dark mark that had appeared between her brows.

Back then, to survive, I had to fight off starvation.

I had stuffed all the Scourges I could find into my mouth and swallowed them, not knowing if they were poisonous.

By fighting poison with poison, I had unexpectedly gained Immunity to all poisons.

It seemed Lira Arden had done the same.

Except, it seemed her luck wasn't quite as good as mine.

When she saw my face, Lira Arden shot me a triumphant smirk.

"Sister, in our past life, you were in the Maw for seven days. I only needed three." She leaned close and whispered in my ear, "Doesn't that prove I'm more qualified to be the Saintess than you?"

I simply smiled and said nothing.

Three more days passed, and it was time for Lira Arden to enter the Imperial Palace.

The Palace sent many servants to greet us.

But in front of all those servants, Lira Arden extended her delicate hands and pointed right at me.

"I want Moira Arden to be my handmaiden and accompany me into the Palace."

'I'd assumed Lira was going to brave this treacherous path on her own.'

'I never imagined she'd drag me along as her shield.'

Although the clan Elders looked displeased, they deferred to her status as the Saintess and accepted on my behalf.

The journey from the Vexwood Frontier to the Palace was long.

Though I traveled with Lira Arden, I was not allowed to ride in the carriage.

As her handmaiden, I could only walk the entire way.

Walking on the rugged mountain roads, my feet blistered, and the pain was unbearable.

I don't know how long I walked, or how much blood soaked through my shoes.

In a daze, I finally saw the glittering gold of the Imperial Palace.

But to me, the Imperial Palace looked like a gilded cage.

"The Saintess has arrived—"

Standing at the very back of the procession, I saw Julius Valerius in the distance, dressed in his Dragon Robe.

Lira Arden was beautiful. With her face half-veiled, she descended from the carriage and glided gracefully to the side of Julius Valerius.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Julius Valerius took Lira Arden's hands to help her up, and the two entered the hall together.

I don't know what happened after that.

I only know that for several nights afterward, Julius Valerius stayed with Lira Arden, lost in nights of revelry.

During the day, Lira Arden always punished me with grueling, menial labor.

And at night, I would be left alone in her quarters at the Serenity Hall.

A smile was often on Lira Arden's face.

However, good times never last.

Lira Arden, after all, was the Saintess of the Vexwood Frontier clan.

The "saint" in Saintess signified purity and flawlessness.

The court ministers began submitting memorials, one after another, arguing that the Saintess of the Vexwood Frontier should not be treated like one of the concubines, nor should the Emperor show her such exclusive favor.

Slowly, Julius Valerius began to heed their counsel.

To be favored or to be cast aside—it all depended on a single thought from the Emperor.

For more than ten days straight, I didn't see Julius Valerius visit the Serenity Hall.

Instead, many of the other concubines came to "offer their congratulations."

Among them was the familiar face of Imperial Consort Crestwell.

In my previous life in the Palace, she had poisoned me countless times.

If not for my Immunity to all poisons, I don't know how many times I would have died.

Facing Imperial Consort Crestwell, Lira Arden was utterly disdainful.

"You see me and do not bow?"

Imperial Consort Crestwell, rather than getting angry, just laughed.

"You're just some girl from the backwoods, and I should bow to you? Even the Princess from the Western Reaches has to serve me tea. But you—you've been in the Palace for a month and haven't once paid your respects to me!"

"Insolence! I am the Saintess of the Vexwood Frontier!"

Imperial Consort Crestwell casually picked up a nearby cup of tea and violently splashed it at Lira Arden's feet.

"When His Majesty favors you, you are indeed a Saintess. But now, you have lost his favor."

She smiled, examining the empty teacup with a puzzled look.

"Oh? Why is there no tea in this cup? Little sister, your hospitality is so lacking. Why don't you serve me some tea?"

I saw Lira Arden's knuckles turn white as she clenched her fists.

The fury on her face was impossible to hide.

"Sylvia Crestwell, don't you go too far!"

Imperial Consort Crestwell stood, took the hand of her handmaiden, and swaggered out of the Serenity Hall.

As she left, she tossed a final sentence over her shoulder.

"Lira Arden, if you want to live a long life, don't make an enemy of me."

Lira Arden watched Imperial Consort Crestwell's departing figure.

Overcome with fury, she reached out and swept the teacup beside her off the table.

The teacup shattered, and Lira Arden began to cough violently.

With each cough, the dark mark between her eyebrows grew more distinct.

"COUGH, COUGH... Sylvia Crestwell, you just wait..."

When she finished coughing, she whipped her head around and glared at me viciously.

"Moira Arden, tell me the art of Scourgecraft, now! Or I'll kill you, just like in our last life!"

I slipped my hand into my sleeve, stroking the restless little creature on my arm.

"If a Scourge is used improperly, it will turn on its master."

Lira Arden took a deep breath and smiled smugly.

"I don't care! I'm the Saintess of the Vexwood Frontier now. All those creatures have to obey me, don't they?"

I didn't answer. I just held out my hand.

A spider crawled down my sleeve and into my palm.

I looked at the spider and said to Lira Arden, "Whatever you want to do, just tell it."

The spider seemed to understand my words.

With a single leap, it jumped onto Lira Arden.

After Julius Valerius ascended the throne, the court was still without an Empress.

And the most likely candidate for Empress was his childhood sweetheart, Sylvia Crestwell, daughter of the Great General.

Relying on her status, Imperial Consort Crestwell was utterly domineering within the palace.

In my past life, she not only poisoned me but also beat a maidservant to death for no reason and forced the other consorts to copy sutras as punishment...

I once told Julius Valerius, hoping he would punish Imperial Consort Crestwell in some way.

But he just sighed and said, "Let her be."

One day, I was watering the flowers in the Serenity Hall.

Lira Arden had been busy studying that spider recently, so she hadn't had much time to punish me.

I glanced at the petals, beaded with water droplets, as butterflies flitted among the blossoms.

It was a peaceful scene, except—

"Help, help!"

I heard faint cries for help coming from outside the Serenity Hall.

I set down my watering can.

I followed the sound until I came to a lake.

Someone was struggling in the middle of the lake, sending ripples across the water.

The sounds gradually died down. The person seemed to be running out of strength.

Strangely, there was no one else around.

My sleeve fluttered, and a butterfly flew out from within.

My finger tapped its wing.

'Don't get wet.'

With that, I jumped into the lake without a second thought.

I forced my eyes open, searching for the person's figure underwater.

Come to think of it, I had Imperial Consort Crestwell to thank for my ability to swim.

If she hadn't pushed me into a lake, I never would have learned.

'Found him.'

It was a handsome young man.

I grabbed the corner of his robe and struggled to drag him to shore.

Thankfully, he could still be saved.

But while he was unconscious, I quickly fled the scene.

It is improper for a man and woman to be so close.

Especially when both of us were soaked to the bone.

When I returned to the Serenity Hall, Lira Arden was standing at the entrance.

"What's this? Did you fall in the water?"

She looked at me mockingly, flanked by a few young maidservants who were snickering behind their hands.

'It seems they saw me jump in to save someone and reported it to Lira.'

"I need to change my clothes."

"Hold on."

She reached out and grabbed my arm.

"Lira, what are you doing?"

She waved her hand, dismissing the young maidservants.

"What you gave me wasn't poison, it was a Love Scourge, wasn't it?"

She was right.

That little spider was neither venomous nor harmful.

I couldn't bring myself to kill someone, nor could I let Lira do it.

"You want me to plant the Love Scourge on His Majesty?"

I nodded.

Lira grabbed my chin.

"But Sister, if His Majesty finds out I used a Love Scourge on him, what do you think he'll do to me?"

"If you handle it properly, no one will ever know."

"Exactly, Sister."

As Lira spoke, she revealed a dagger from her sleeve.

It was just as sharp as the one in the dungeon from my past life.

She grabbed my neck with one hand and held the dagger in the other.

Her smile was brilliant.

"Besides me, you're the only one who knows. So, I'm afraid I'll have to wrong you, Sister."

I struggled to break free.

But the suffocating pressure on my neck only grew stronger.

I saw the glinting dagger lunging toward me.

Just then, the voice of a eunuch from outside the hall shattered Lira's intense killing intent.

"The Emperor arrives—"