The smile she'd forced onto her face slowly disappeared as memories she had buried beneath years of pain clawed their way back to the surface. She remembered this morning with terrifying clarity. She remembered every word Lyra had spoken, every gentle smile, every affectionate touch that had convinced everyone watching that the Solis sisters adored one another. Most of all, she remembered the beautifully wrapped gift Lyra had carried into this very room.

A bracelet. A Simple, Elegant yet Deadly.

No one had ever suspected it.

Not the physicians who examined her months later. Not the servants who watched her grow weaker by the day. Not even Kira herself until it was far too late. The alchemical poison coating the bracelet hadn't been designed to kill. It seeped into the skin so slowly that no one would ever think to blame a piece of jewelry. Over the following months, her body gradually weakened. She grew pale, her hands occasionally trembled without reason, and she often found herself exhausted after attending court for only a short while. Physicians blamed overwork. Noble ladies whispered that Lady Kira lacked the health expected of a future Crown Princess. By the time her engagement began falling apart, everyone already believed she was too frail and emotionally unstable to stand beside Prince Julian.

Lyra had never needed to destroy Kira all at once.

A moment later, Lyra entered the room carrying a beautifully wrapped box tied with pale blue ribbons. Her cream-colored dress swayed softly around her ankles as she hurried toward Kira with the warmth and excitement of a younger sister who had been waiting all morning for this moment.

"Elder Sister!"

Before Kira could even rise from the vanity, Lyra wrapped both arms around her shoulders in a gentle embrace. The fragrance of fresh jasmine lingered around her, sweet enough to hide the faint medicinal scent Kira had never noticed in her previous life.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Lyra said, laughing softly. "Father has already begun welcoming the guests, yet you are still hiding in your room. Do you know how worried I was?"

Anyone watching would have believed every word.

Several maids smiled to themselves while quietly arranging Kira's skirts. One of the younger girls even sighed with admiration.

"The young ladies truly love one another."

Kira almost laughed.

If only they knew.

She gently returned the embrace before taking a small step back, allowing just enough distance to study Lyra's face. She looked exactly as she remembered. Soft brown eyes, delicate features, and a smile so naturally innocent that people trusted her without thinking twice. Even Kira had once believed there wasn't a kinder person in the Empire.

What a convincing lie it had been.

"I kept you waiting," Kira apologized with a faint smile. "Forgive me. I woke later than I intended."

Lyra immediately shook her head.

"There's nothing to forgive. Today is the happiest day of your life. Any bride-to-be would be nervous."

The words sounded harmless.

Yet Kira noticed the careful way Lyra watched her eyes after speaking.

Kira lowered her gaze at exactly the right moment, allowing a shy smile to appear across her lips.

"I suppose I am a little nervous." Relief flickered through Lyra's eyes before disappearing almost instantly.

There she is. The same timid Kira. The same sister desperate for everyone's approval.

Nothing had changed.

"I'm so glad," Lyra said warmly. "I was worried you might be feeling overwhelmed. After today, everyone will see you as the future Crown Princess. It's only natural to feel frightened."

"I've never attended such an important banquet before," Kira admitted quietly. "I'm afraid I'll embarrass His Highness."

"You never could." Lyra reached for the gift she had brought and carefully placed it into Kira's hands.

"I chose this especially for you. I wanted you to have something beautiful to wear today."

Kira lowered her eyes toward the elegant wooden box.

Her heartbeat remained perfectly steady.

Last time... She had opened it immediately. She had admired the bracelet before allowing Lyra to fasten it around her wrist herself.

She had worn it proudly throughout the banquet. And she hadn't taken it off for months.

This time, she slowly untied the ribbon and lifted the lid.

Nestled against dark blue velvet lay a delicate silver bracelet set with tiny moonstones that shimmered beneath the morning sunlight. It was beautiful enough to steal anyone's attention, crafted with such care that no one would ever imagine death hiding beneath its polished surface.

"It's gorgeous," Kira whispered sincerely.

That much wasn't a lie. Lyra's smile widened.

"I knew it would suit you." Kira gently lifted the bracelet from its box, allowing the light to dance across the silver before carefully placing it back inside.

"Thank you, Lyra. I love it." The younger woman's expression softened.

"I'll help you put it on."

She stepped forward naturally, already reaching for the bracelet.

Kira smiled. "Not today."

The words came so gently that no one in the room thought anything of them.

"I had another dress prepared for next week's spring festival. The moonstones will match that gown perfectly. I'd rather save such a beautiful gift for then." She turned toward one of the maids standing nearby.

"Lina, would you place this inside my jewelry cabinet? Make sure it's wrapped carefully. I wouldn't want it to be scratched."

The maid accepted the box with both hands. "Of course, Miss."

For less than a heartbeat... Lyra froze. It wasn't obvious.

Her fingers stopped moving. The smile on her lips tightened almost imperceptibly.

Then it was gone. "So that's what you had in mind," she said with a soft laugh. "I was hoping everyone would see you wearing it today, but next week sounds even better." Kira smiled back just as warmly.

"I want to treasure it properly." Neither sister looked away. For the first time in either lifetime...

Lyra's first move had failed.

Yet what unsettled Kira wasn't the tiny victory.

It was how quickly Lyra recovered. Only another flawless smile.

She had adapted in the space of a single breath. Perhaps...

Kira had underestimated her before.

The conversation drifted naturally toward the upcoming banquet,

"Has Father spoken with you this morning?" Lyra asked while adjusting one of Kira's sleeves.

"Not yet."

"And His Highness?"

Kira shook her head.

"I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"You must be terribly excited."

A faint blush spread across Kira's cheeks. "I only hope I can become someone worthy of standing beside him."

Exactly what Lyra expected to hear. The younger woman relaxed almost immediately.

By the time the conversation ended, Lyra looked completely satisfied.

Nothing had changed.

Her sister was still the same trusting, insecure young woman who would never see danger until it was too late. After another affectionate embrace, Lyra finally excused herself.

"I'll see you downstairs," she said sweetly. "Today belongs to you."

"No," Kira thought as she watched the door close behind her.

"It belongs to both of us."

Silence settled over the room once Lyra was gone.

The maids resumed preparing gowns and arranging jewelry, completely unaware that the room felt lighter simply because one person had left.

Kira waited patiently.

One minute. Two.

Only after the last maid disappeared into the dressing room to retrieve another pair of shoes did she quietly open the jewelry cabinet.

The wooden box remained exactly where Lina had placed it.

She removed the bracelet, then reached toward the vanity and picked up a plain silver hairpin from among the dozens decorating the table. Years ago, one of Wildflower's physicians had taught her a simple trick. Pure silver often reacted to certain alchemical compounds long before they became dangerous enough for the human body to detect.

Holding the bracelet carefully between her fingers, Kira scraped the tip of the hairpin along its inner surface.

For a heartbeat...

Nothing happened. Then, like ink spreading through water, the bright silver darkened into a dull charcoal gray.

Kira stared at it quietly. Poison. Exactly as she remembered. A faint smile touched her lips. She wasn't smiling because she'd proven herself right.

She was smiling because fate had made a mistake.

It had given her back every memory.

Carefully wrapping the bracelet inside a square of white silk, she tucked it into the deepest corner of the cabinet instead of throwing it away.

One day...

It would find its way back to the person who had prepared it.

Closing the cabinet, Kira walked toward the tall window overlooking the front courtyard. Servants hurried across the estate carrying flowers, polishing carriages, and directing musicians toward the grand ballroom where the birthday banquet would begin within the hour.

Her gaze wandered absentmindedly across the bustling manor until one figure stopped her cold.

Near the outer gates, partially hidden beneath the shadow of an old oak tree, stood a hooded courier dressed in dark traveling clothes.

Her fingers tightened against the windowsill.

She knew him. Not his face. Only the cloak.

He wasn't supposed to be here. especially not today. In her previous life...

That courier wouldn't arrive for another three months.

The sight of the hooded courier lingered in Kira's mind long after he disappeared beyond the line of servants crossing the courtyard.

She remained standing before the window, her fingers resting lightly against the carved wooden frame while her thoughts raced faster than they had since opening her eyes that morning. Everything until now had unfolded exactly as she remembered. Lyra had arrived with the poisoned bracelet. The maids had prepared her for the banquet. Even the sunlight spilling across the estate looked exactly as it had a year before her execution.

Only that man didn't belong.

In her previous life, she hadn't met him until months after the banquet, long after her engagement had collapsed and she had been driven from the capital in disgrace. He had been the first person willing to follow her when she possessed nothing except dangerous ideas and an impossible dream. Together they had built the first foundations of Wildflower, gathering forgotten scholars, wandering physicians, merchants, and couriers who believed information could save more lives than any army ever could.

He had never betrayed her.

Even after Wildflower was hunted across the Empire, he had protected its secrets until his final breath.

She still remembered finding the report describing his death.

Captured.

Tortured for eleven days. Executed without speaking a single name.

Yet somehow...

He was standing outside the Solis estate almost months before she was ever supposed to meet him.

Kira drew a slow breath and turned away from the window. The banquet had not officially begun yet. Most of the guests were still gathering inside the grand hall while servants rushed through the estate carrying flowers, wine, and trays of food. If she moved carefully, no one would notice her absence for several minutes.

"Anna," she called softly.

One of the younger maids immediately stepped forward.

"Yes, Miss?"

"I suddenly remembered that Mother asked me to choose another fan for tonight's banquet. The ivory one doesn't match my dress as well as I thought." She offered the girl an apologetic smile before removing the folded fan resting on the vanity. "Would you mind bringing the pearl fan from the east storage room? I believe it's inside the second cedar cabinet."

Anna nodded without hesitation.

"I'll return as quickly as I can."

"Take your time," Kira replied gently.

The moment the maid disappeared through the adjoining corridor, Kira quietly slipped through another door leading toward the servants' passage.

The hidden corridors behind the Solis residence had been designed so servants could move through the manor without disturbing noble guests. Narrow hallways stretched behind the decorative walls, connecting kitchens, storage rooms, and staircases that most visitors never even realized existed. As a child, Kira had often escaped lessons by wandering through these passages, earning endless scoldings from her tutors whenever she emerged covered in dust.

Strange.

Back then she had believed those memories were among the happiest of her childhood.

Now they felt painfully distant.

She reached a small side entrance overlooking the eastern gardens and carefully pushed open the weathered wooden door. Warm spring air brushed against her face as birds sang somewhere among the flowering trees. The estate looked almost peaceful, its carefully trimmed hedges and marble fountains giving no hint that, by sunset, the first thread of a carefully woven conspiracy would begin tightening around her life.

Keeping close to the rows of blooming camellias, Kira searched the pathways until she spotted the familiar hood.

The courier had not left.

He walked at an unhurried pace toward the older section of the gardens where visitors rarely ventured. His plain traveling cloak blended easily among the servants carrying supplies toward the banquet hall, making him almost impossible to notice unless someone knew exactly who they were looking for.

Kira followed from a distance, careful never to step close enough for him to sense another presence behind him.

She wished she remembered his name.

In her previous life, everyone inside Wildflower had abandoned the names they'd been born with. Identities were dangerous things when information became a weapon. Couriers answered only to codenames known by a handful of people, and even Kira had rarely asked about their pasts. Loyalty mattered far more than history.

Still...

She remembered the kind of man he had been.

He laughed loudly despite spending most of his life traveling alone.

He complained endlessly about long roads but somehow volunteered for every dangerous mission.

Whenever new recruits joined Wildflower, he always insisted on eating with them on their first night because, according to him, no one should feel like a stranger in their own family.

He had called every member of the organization "home."

By the time she learned of his death, she had been too late to even recover his body.

Her footsteps slowed as the courier stopped near the abandoned greenhouse tucked behind the eastern orchard.

The structure had been neglected for years. Cracked glass covered its roof, vines climbed over broken stone walls, and rusted iron gates hung crookedly from their hinges. Children from the manor avoided it after servants spread stories about ghosts wandering the old gardens after sunset.

The courier glanced around once before folding his arms.

He wasn't waiting long.

A second man emerged from behind the greenhouse only moments later.

Unlike the courier, this man wore the plain gray robes of an ordinary estate worker. His face remained hidden beneath a wide straw hat as he produced a sealed envelope from inside his sleeve.

The courier accepted it without speaking.

Kira instinctively leaned farther around the trunk of a nearby willow tree, trying to catch a glimpse of the wax seal pressed against the folded parchment.

It wasn't the Imperial crest.

Nor did it belong to any noble house she recognized.

The emblem resembled a flowering vine curling around a circle, though she couldn't make out the finer details before the courier tucked the letter inside his cloak.

A strange unease settled over her.

That symbol...

She had never seen it before.

The two men exchanged only a few quiet words, their voices too low for her to hear across the garden. Whatever had been arranged required no lengthy discussion. Within moments, they separated, each disappearing through different paths leading toward the servants' gate.

Kira hesitated.

Should she follow the courier?

Or the man who had delivered the letter?

Before she could decide, both figures vanished into the bustling streets beyond the estate walls.

Silence returned to the abandoned greenhouse.

She remained where she was for several long moments, staring toward the empty gate while countless questions crowded her thoughts.

If that courier truly was the same man she remembered, then someone else had already recruited him.

Which meant one of two things.

Either history had changed before she returned...

Or Wildflower had existed long before she ever believed she created it.

Neither possibility made sense.

The thought lingered uncomfortably as Kira made her way back toward the manor.

She had spent the last hour believing she held the greatest advantage imaginable. She remembered the future while everyone else remained blind.

Now she wasn't so certain.

If pieces of history had already begun shifting, then every decision she made from this point onward carried consequences she could no longer predict.

By the time she slipped back through the servants' corridors, the manor had transformed completely.

Kira paused outside the grand hall and slowly smoothed the wrinkles from her skirts.

For the next several hours...

She wasn't a woman reborn, the future founder of Wildflower. She wasn't someone carrying memories of betrayal and execution.

She was simply Lady Kira Solis.

The obedient eldest daughter. The future Crown Princess. The young noblewoman everyone expected her to be.

Drawing one final breath, she stepped through the enormous gilded doors.

Conversation throughout the ballroom faded almost instantly.

Hundreds of eyes turned toward her. their whispered conversations momentarily forgotten as they watched the birthday guest of honor make her entrance.

Kira lowered her gaze gracefully and offered a flawless curtsy, exactly as years of noble etiquette had taught her.

Then... She saw him.

Prince Julian sat beside the Emperor's table dressed in formal black embroidered with silver thread. The moment their eyes met, the familiar smile appeared on his face. Exactly the smile that had once convinced her he would never betray her.

Her heartbeat faltered.

Without realizing it, her fingers tightened around the fabric of her skirts. The pain grounding her was almost welcome.

She returned Julian's smile with one of her own before lowering her head once more in perfect respect.

This would be the final day...

She ever bowed before Prince Julian.

"Lady Kira."

"You look radiant today."

"Happy birthday."

"Congratulations on your engagement."

Compliments surrounded her from every direction, but Kira heard them differently this time. She had once believed these nobles truly cared for her. Now, standing among the same smiling faces with memories of another lifetime weighing heavily on her heart, she realized almost none of the praise belonged to her.

Their eyes weren't admiring Kira Solis. They were admiring the future Crown Princess. The daughter whose marriage would elevate House Solis even further.

The woman whose value came from the powerful man she was expected to marry.

Lord Solis approached with practiced elegance, resting a fatherly hand on her shoulder as several noble families looked on with approving smiles.

"My daughter," he announced proudly, "has always made me proud. She's intelligent, graceful, and soon she'll stand beside His Highness as the future of this Empire."

Kira lowered her head obediently.

"Father praises me too highly."

He smiled for the guests, but his fingers pressed slightly harder against her shoulder.

"Stand a little straighter," he murmured without moving his lips. "Every noble house in the capital is watching."

Not...

"Are you feeling well?"

Not...

"Have you eaten?"

Only posture.

Only appearances.

The pressure disappeared as quickly as it had come, replaced once again by the perfect smile expected of the head of House Solis.

Kira felt nothing.

She had spent years wondering why her father's affection always seemed just beyond reach. Now she understood.

He had never loved people. He loved what people represented.

Status.

Influence.

Reputation.

Everything else came second.

Across the ballroom, Julian excused himself from a group of ministers. he moved through the crowd with effortless confidence. Everywhere he went, nobles greeted him warmly, servants bowed a little lower, and young ladies couldn't quite hide the admiration in their eyes.

He truly had been the Empire's golden prince.

Even Kira couldn't deny that.

"You've been avoiding me all morning."

"I was preparing for the banquet." Julian chuckled softly.

"So serious already? We aren't married yet." Several nearby noblewomen laughed politely.

Kira smiled exactly as she remembered doing countless times before.

"I simply didn't want to keep Your Highness waiting."

"Then you'll have to make it up to me with the first dance."

"As you wish." The exchange was flawless.

Anyone watching would have believed they were a couple deeply in love.

Only Kira noticed how quickly Julian's attention drifted away whenever another influential noble approached. Every smile, every kind word, every thoughtful gesture came naturally to him because politics had become second nature. Looking back, she couldn't even remember the last conversation they'd shared that hadn't somehow benefited his position.

Perhaps...

She never truly knew the man she had planned to marry.

A burst of cheerful laughter echoed nearby.

Lyra stood surrounded by several young noblewomen while an elderly duchess praised her newest herbal remedies.

"Lady Lyra's medicinal tea worked wonders for my headaches."

"My grandson's fever disappeared overnight."

"She's talented and kind. House Solis is truly blessed."

Lyra blushed modestly, waving both hands in embarrassment.

"I only shared what little knowledge I have. Anyone would have done the same."

Kira almost smiled.

No.

Almost no one would have.

Lyra understood people better than anyone.

She never performed kindness where it wasn't useful.

Every bowl of medicine she offered...

Every charitable visit...

Every humble smile...

Was another brick carefully laid beneath the image she'd spent years constructing.

The Empire didn't simply admire Lyra.

It trusted her.

That trust would become one of Kira's greatest enemies.

Accepting another glass of wine from a passing servant, Kira allowed herself to drift through the ballroom at an unhurried pace. She no longer listened to conversations. She watched them.

Near one of the marble columns, Duke Harrington quietly excused himself after a servant discreetly handed him a folded letter. The duke's expression remained unchanged until he read the final line. Then, without another word, he left the ballroom through a side entrance usually reserved for palace officials.

Interesting.

In her previous life, she'd never noticed him leaving.

A few steps farther, she caught sight of Marcus Vale, one of the Empire's wealthiest grain merchants. He had spent years competing for contracts with House Solis, yet tonight he deliberately avoided looking in her father's direction. Instead of joining the other merchants gathered around Lord Solis, Marcus quietly crossed the room and disappeared into another circle of guests.

Stranger still.

The man had once been eager to curry favor with her father.

Then another small detail caught her attention.

A palace eunuch approached Julian from behind, leaned close enough to whisper something into his ear, then immediately disappeared into the crowd before anyone else acknowledged his presence.

Julian's smile didn't falter.

But for a fraction of a second...

His eyes shifted toward the western corridor.

Kira followed his gaze.

Nothing.

Just servants moving between kitchens.

Whatever message had been delivered, Julian clearly didn't want anyone noticing.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the stem of her wine glass.

How many moments like these had she overlooked before?

How many pieces of the puzzle had always been sitting in plain sight while she'd remained too focused on pleasing everyone around her?

Perhaps intelligence had never been her greatest strength.

Observation was.

The realization settled quietly in her mind.

She didn't need to know everyone's secrets immediately.

She only needed to notice what everyone else ignored.

A servant approached carrying a fresh tray of wine.

"Lady Kira."

She accepted another crystal goblet without thinking, lifting it toward her lips just as the musicians fell silent.

Julian stepped onto the small platform at the center of the ballroom.

"My friends," he began warmly, raising his own glass, "today we celebrate Lady Kira's twentieth birthday. Before long, she will also become my wife. I hope all of you will continue blessing us as we build a future worthy of this Empire."

Applause filled the hall.

Dozens of glasses rose together.

Kira lifted hers as well.

Just before the rim reached her lips...

She paused.

Something wasn't right.

The fragrance of sweet berries reached her first.

Then came another scent.

Extremely faint.

Almost impossible to notice beneath the expensive wine.

Her heartbeat slowed.

Nightshade blossom.

No...

Not concentrated enough.

She breathed in once more.

Moon poppy.

A mild sleeping herb.

Harmless in small amounts.

Powerful enough to leave someone unconscious for several hours when mixed correctly.

No ordinary guest would ever detect it.

Years spent working beside physicians had sharpened Kira's senses long before she founded Wildflower.

She knew exactly what she was smelling.

This wasn't poison.

Someone didn't want her dead.

Someone wanted her asleep.

Without the slightest hesitation, Kira raised the goblet the final inch and allowed the wine to touch her lips.

She tilted the glass just enough for anyone watching to believe she had taken a proper sip before lowering it naturally beside her.

Not a single drop passed her lips.

The applause slowly faded as conversations resumed around the ballroom.

Kira smiled politely at another noble offering birthday wishes, but her attention had already shifted elsewhere.

If someone expected her to lose consciousness tonight...

Then whatever came afterward had already been arranged.

Across the ballroom, beyond rows of laughing nobles and glittering chandeliers, Lyra stood speaking with the elderly duchess.

Halfway through the conversation, her eyes quietly lifted.

They settled on Kira's wine glass.

The smile resting on her face slowly disappeared.

Just for a moment.

Long enough for Kira to know one thing with absolute certainty.

The game had already begun.