Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Falling for his warm touch despite his usual coldness, she loved him only to be disappointed and betrayed in the end. When love turns to darkness, it festers to be poisonous and consumes the soul. The naïve Arabella evolved. *** “Thank you for becoming my wife,” was her cold husband’s last words before he died, coupled with a smile that had never before graced his lips. Not on their wedding day. And not even at the birth of their only child. Emperor Ferdinand, someone Arabella loved so much, killed their son. She became a villainess and vowed revenge for her beloved child. For a decade, she used everything she could to make Ferdinand pay. Until finally… he fell to ruin! With her revenge complete, Arabella's life soon ended with her dead husband in her arms. But fate wasn’t done playing with her. All of a sudden, she was back two decades ago right after their wedding. Was it a curse or a blessing? It didn’t matter. Because there is only one thing she needed to do. “I will ruin you in this lifetime too!” This was her hateful promise to herself upon realizing she was reborn. But in her second life, Arabella was unexpectedly bestowed a gift to uncover the truth. Who was wrong and who was right? Only time will tell.
One Step at a Time
[I am? She thinks I'm strong and handsome?] Ferdinand wondered and Arabella caught Alwin giving his lord a look of pity for hanging onto her every word.
Ferdinand, meanwhile, was taken aback by the children's gaze of adoration. He wasn't used to it even though the people in the city were so happy every time they get a chance to see him.
Arabella was glad the children easily changed their minds about Ferdinand. They were not yet as biased as adults whose preconceived notions were hard to change. Thus, it was easy to change their opinion with a few simple words.
Or rather, adults had seen too much of reality and had their hopes and dreams crushed right in front of them when it was finally within their grasp. Thus, they see the world differently and were harder to convince that something or someone could be better when they had already seen and experienced otherwise.
'It would be difficult to improve Ferdinand's image among the adults,' Arabella internally sighed.