Later, Empress Victoria Sinclair summoned me to the palace, just as I had expected.

Dorian and Celeste's outing had been discovered. Dorian was grounded and forbidden from seeing Celeste again.

Empress Victoria ordered me to talk some sense into Dorian, and I had no choice but to obey.

As soon as I got close to Dorian's quarters, I could hear him throwing a violent tantrum and the sound of things shattering.

The moment I opened the door, I heard him shout, "Get out! All of you get out!"

Right then, with a loud crash, a porcelain vase smashed into my forehead. Everything went black for a moment, and I had to grab onto the door to steady myself.

Dorian saw it was me and froze, looking somewhat concerned. However, his pride kept him from saying anything.

Then, he suddenly said, "Was it you? Did you tell Mother?"

I could feel blood trickling down from my forehead, so I wiped it away with my handkerchief. I looked at him, and he seemed like a completely different person from that night.

I wondered what on earth my past self had ever seen in him.

I pressed my hand against my forehead as I explained. "It wasn't me. Whether you believe me or not, I didn't say anything."

"It really...wasn't you?" Dorian asked skeptically.

"How's Celeste? Did they punish her?" His tone was urgent and filled with regret.

"She's fine. They just won't let her leave the house."

...

That day, Dorian kept me there talking nonstop while drinking heavily. He told me all about how he had fallen for Celeste and the fun times they had shared.

I sat there quietly listening to their story, feeling absolutely nothing. Dorian said he did not care whether she was a legitimate or illegitimate daughter. He only loved Celeste as a person, and he promised to love only her.

Sure, Dorian could claim not to care about her status, but the woman who would stand as his official wife had to be of proper birth.

As I was about to leave, he broke down in tears and begged me to make sure Celeste knew that he would come find her.

...

In my past life, before I died, Dorian came to see me. He even brought what he called good news.

In a voice as gentle as if he were speaking to a lover, he said the cruelest things.

"Do you want to know how your precious mother is doing now?"

My throat was too damaged to speak, so I could only make grunting sounds.

"She's been sold to a brothel, I believe. I wonder if she'll be as tough as you and survive as long."

I thrashed on the ground, but my tears had long since run dry.

"Don't rush. There's more, like your father, your brother, your sister-in-law, and your nephew."

He was a complete monster.

I coughed up blood, lashing out wildly, wanting to kill him.

"Your father and brother are at the palace now. They can only stay inside the palace walls. Do you know why? Because they're made palace servants!"

He laughed maniacally as he said, "Oh, and your sister-in-law, she's so young. The soldiers at the military camp took a liking to her. What do you think happened to her? Don't worry about your nephew. He's so little; what can he do? He's out on the streets begging now. So, how do you like my arrangements? Pretty fair, don't you think? Or should I make some adjustments?"

...

After that day, Dorian realized throwing tantrums was not going to solve anything. He moped around for a while, then he went back to his usual self and stopped mentioning Celeste.

Then, he followed Empress Victoria's arrangements and summoned me to the palace regularly to 'build a relationship' with him, at least on the surface. However, in reality, I was just passing words between the two of them.

Not long after, Dorian took advantage of Empress Victoria letting her guard down and slipped out of the palace.

I stood in the courtyard, listening to their conversation on the other side of the wall.

"Celeste, let's leave. I'll give up being Crown Prince, and we can just be an ordinary married couple. Will you come with me?"

"Dorian, are you really willing to give up your title for me? But what about Seraphina?"

"I'd do anything for you. I'm afraid I'll have to let Seraphina down in this lifetime."

After a tender moment between them, they finally showed signs of preparing to run away.

As they were about to leave, I stepped forward and stopped them. "Here's some money and an escape route I've prepared for you. It'll help you avoid the soldiers who'll be searching for you."

From the moment I was reborn, I had been planning this step, making preparations in advance for their escape. I hoped they could leave successfully, fly far away, and never be caught by Empress Victoria.

This time, I would never report them to her.

I would not repeat what I did in my past life: reporting their escape plan to Empress Victoria.

I would not repeat my past life, where I revealed their plan and caused Dorian to be trapped in the palace, unable to meet Celeste. It led to their separation in life and death, and worse, it caused Celeste to die a horrific death, losing both her life and her unborn child; her body was never even recovered.

That was why Dorian held such a grudge against me, and the first thing he did after ascending to the throne was exact his revenge on me. He had captured all the people who had hurt Celeste and made me watch as they were tortured one by one.

Their tendons were cut, their fingers chopped off piece by piece, their eyes gouged out, and their teeth ripped out, drained of blood until they died in agony.

In the end, their bodies were hacked into pieces and thrown to wild dogs.

I did not want to go through any of that again; I would lose my mind if I had to relive it.

...

The news of the Crown Prince eloping with an illegitimate daughter spread like wildfire throughout the capital.

This time, Emperor Roland Ashford himself stepped in and put Dorian under house arrest, forbidding anyone from visiting him.

Empress Victoria was terrified when she heard the news, realizing that even she might not be able to protect Dorian this time. Her body swayed unsteadily where she stood.

"Bring that shameless woman to me immediately."

Before Celeste could even bow in greeting, she was slapped hard twice across the face. Bright red handprints immediately appeared on her cheeks, showing just how much Empress Victoria hated her.

"So, you used that pretty face of yours to seduce the Crown Prince, didn't you?"

Empress Victoria was the legitimate daughter of a prestigious noble family. As a child, she had watched her father being seduced by mistresses while her mother wept herself to death in resentment. Hence, she had always despised illegitimate children with a passion.

Empress Victoria gripped Celeste's jaw tightly with her left hand and extended her right hand, prompting a servant to immediately hand her a sharp hairpin.

Celeste trembled in fear, trying to struggle. However, several guards held her firmly in place so she could not move. To prevent her from screaming, they had already gagged her mouth.

Empress Victoria went mad, slashing Celeste's cheeks countless times with the hairpin as blood poured from the wounds. It looked horrifyingly gruesome, like blood tears streaming from her eyes.

Still not satisfied, Empress Victoria had someone bring salt. Then, she carefully sprinkled it into the open wounds.

"I want to see how you seduce men without this face. Drag her out and beat her..."

"Stop! I dare anyone to continue!"

No one knew how Dorian had managed to get out, but he rushed in, breathless, shouting to stop the punishment.

When he saw Celeste's face, he was visibly shocked. More than anything, his heart ached for her. He gently tried to touch that face he had been longing for, but he did not know where to place his hand.

"Celeste, I'm sorry. I came too late. I'm so sorry..." Dorian said, full of guilt and anguish.

When Celeste saw Dorian, she cried even harder, as if trying to pour out all her grievances. Then, she fainted.

"Mother, why would you do this to her? I hate you! I hate you!" Dorian shouted, holding Celeste as he confronted Empress Victoria.

"Why? You actually gave up your title as Crown Prince for this tramp. Are you trying to drive me mad? If it weren't for her, would you have tried to elope? Is that how you repay your father and me, who've invested so much in you?"

Under her relentless questioning, Dorian was left speechless with shame.

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from behind. "You ungrateful son! Since you're willing to give up your title for this woman, then I'll grant your wish."

"Your Majesty, no! Dorian was just temporarily misled. Please give him another chance!" Empress Victoria immediately fell to her knees, begging for mercy.

Emperor Roland glanced at his rebellious son, who showed no sign of remorse, and felt deeply disappointed. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and walked away.

Later, I brought some high-quality medicinal ointment and showed the guards the Emperor's token, signaling them to open the door.

The first thing I saw was two people holding each other tightly.

Dorian and Celeste were nothing like their former glamorous selves. They were disheveled and dirty, with no trace left of the Crown Prince's former glory.

Celeste's facial wounds had not received any treatment; they had scabbed over with terrible swelling, showing signs of infection and rot.

It was truly horrifying to look at.

"What are you doing here? You were the one who told on us... It had to be you!"

The moment Celeste saw me, she became hysterical.