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.

The banquet grew livelier as the evening wore on, and with every passing minute, Kira became more certain that someone was waiting for her to make a mistake.

Lyra.

Although her smile remained as gentle and flawless as ever, Kira noticed the subtle changes almost immediately. Every few moments, Lyra's gaze drifted toward the crystal goblet in Kira's hand before quickly looking away again. She laughed at conversations a heartbeat too late. She checked the ballroom clock twice within a few minutes. To everyone else, she appeared as calm and graceful as always.

To Kira, she looked like someone whose carefully arranged schedule had begun falling apart.

"By now, I should already be dizzy," Kira thought, keeping her expression pleasantly composed as she thanked another elderly countess for her birthday blessing. "The medicine wasn't meant to make me collapse immediately. It only needed to cloud my thoughts enough that I wouldn't question where someone led me afterward."

Instead...

She stood before hundreds of guests without the slightest sign of discomfort.

For the first time since returning to the past, Kira realized something encouraging.

The future wasn't fixed.

Lyra excused herself from her conversation and drifted naturally through the crowd, never approaching Kira directly. Instead, she greeted nobles, introduced acquaintances, and subtly encouraged guests to gather around her sister.

"My elder sister has always been too shy," Lyra laughed sweetly to a visiting duchess. "Please don't let her hide in the corner all evening."

Within minutes, another group approached Kira.

Then another. Then another.

She barely had enough time to finish one conversation before someone else politely requested a moment of her attention.

At first glance, it looked perfectly innocent.

A future Crown Princess attracting admiration from the Empire's most influential families was only natural.

But Kira quickly understood what Lyra was doing.

She wasn't trying to make Kira popular.

She was making sure dozens of witnesses could later testify that Lady Kira had been smiling, speaking normally, and moving freely throughout the banquet.

If Kira disappeared later...

Everyone would believe she had left of her own accord.

"You changed the plan quickly," Kira admitted silently. "The moment one move failed, you built another."

That alone told her something important. Lyra wasn't simply cruel.

She was adaptable.

The realization made Kira even more cautious.

Across the ballroom, Julian rose from his seat as a servant struck a small silver bell, drawing the guests' attention. The lively conversations gradually faded until only the musicians continued playing softly in the background.

Julian stepped onto the raised platform with effortless confidence, his warm smile earning approving nods from nearly every noble present. Even after living through one lifetime, Kira had to admit he possessed a rare charisma. He knew exactly when to smile, when to pause, and when to lower his voice so people leaned forward to hear every word.

"I'd like to thank everyone for joining us tonight," he began. "Today celebrates not only Lady Kira's birthday, but the future of two families whose loyalty to the Empire has never wavered."

Applause echoed through the ballroom.

Kira listened quietly.

"Our Empire stands because honorable men and women continue protecting its traditions. Loyalty is the foundation of every great family. Integrity is the foundation of every great marriage. And purity, both of character and conduct, is the foundation upon which trust is built."

Her fingers tightened ever so slightly around the stem of her glass.

The words settled over the ballroom like gentle snowfall, earning approving murmurs from countless nobles.

Everyone admired the speech.

Everyone except Kira.

She remembered it.

A year later, after she had been accused of sharing another man's bed, Julian had stood before the Imperial Court and repeated these same ideals almost word for word.

"A Crown Princess must remain beyond suspicion."

"The people deserve someone worthy of respect."

"Even the appearance of impropriety weakens the throne."

Back then...

She had still believed he was trying to protect her. Now she understood. He hadn't been defending her.

He had been preparing everyone to accept her downfall long before it happened.

Every noble applauding tonight would remember this speech when the accusations surfaced.

How tragic.

The prince who valued honor above everything...

Forced to abandon the woman who failed to uphold it.

The story had already been written.

While the applause continued, movement near the western corridor caught her attention.

A young servant carrying a tray of crystal glasses hesitated in the middle of the hallway. Another servant walked past him without slowing, casually adjusting the cuff of his sleeve before brushing two fingers across the side of his neck.

The gesture lasted less than a second.

The young servant's face immediately paled.

His hands began trembling.

A crystal goblet slipped from the tray and shattered loudly against the marble floor.

The sudden crash drew dozens of curious glances.

"Oh, you foolish child," an older steward scolded, hurrying forward. "Clean that immediately."

The frightened servant apologized repeatedly while dropping to his knees.

Within moments, the music resumed and conversations continued as though nothing had happened.

No one questioned it.

Except Kira.

Her gaze lingered on the western corridor.

The servant who had made the signal was already gone.

Too smooth.

Too practiced.

That wasn't coincidence.

It was communication.

"So the next stage has begun."

Instead of unease, an unexpected calm settled over her.

She had spent an entire lifetime wondering how everything had unfolded so perfectly against her.

Now she was finally seeing it. No single person had ruined her. It had taken dozens.

Servants. Witnesses. Messengers. False evidence. Carefully timed conversations. Every piece moved into place with frightening precision.

Which meant there was only one way to dismantle the trap. She had to see all of it. Not part of it.

Every piece.

Kira quietly placed her untouched wine glass onto a passing servant's tray before approaching Lord Solis.

"Father." He glanced at her impatiently.

"What is it?"

"I've been greeting guests for quite some time. Would you excuse me for a few moments? I'd like to freshen up before the birthday dance."

Lord Solis barely looked at her.

"Don't be long. His Highness dislikes waiting."

"Of course." Kira offered a graceful curtsy before turning toward the eastern side of the ballroom where the ladies' retiring rooms were located.

She didn't hurry. She didn't hesitate. She walked exactly as Lady Kira had done in her previous life.

If someone happened to be watching...

They would see nothing unusual. Behind her, Lyra's shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.

"She's going," the younger woman thought with quiet satisfaction. "Everything is finally back on schedule."

Kira continued down the beautifully decorated corridor lined with polished mirrors and fresh flowers. The cheerful music from the ballroom gradually faded until only the soft rustle of her skirts accompanied her footsteps.

She reached the ladies' lounge without incident.

Empty. Exactly as she remembered.

She stepped inside.

The room smelled faintly of lavender and rosewater, its elegant furnishings untouched despite the celebration filling the manor.

Kira walked toward the window.

Waited and Listened.

Then... A quiet metallic click echoed from somewhere behind her.

Not loud nor dramatic.

Just enough.

Someone had locked the corridor door from the outside.

The trap had officially begun.