2. Family

She thought she had been released from all the burdens of the world, and had been freed from the shackles of fate that gave her toothache. 

When she opened her eyes, she thought this was already in the afterlife. But the ceiling that appeared before her eyes felt somehow familiar, like a copy of the boudoir from when she was single. Not to mention, when she turned her head to the side, she found that the angel guarding the afterlife somehow felt similar to her dowry maid when they were young.

"Faye…" Sianna Marie said the name half-consciously, not really meaning to call it out.

Contrary to her intentions, the young maid hurriedly replied, "Yes, Eldest Miss."

If not for her calm and polite personality, Sianna Marie would surely have jumped in shock and let out a series of violent expletives to show how unbelievable the current situation was.

Sitting up quickly, Sianna Marie tried to process the current situation with her head spinning.

Her eyes heated up, and she covered her mouth tightly.

Is Faye still alive?

Is she still alive?

Then, where is Maximilian?

"...Maximilian! Where is Maximilian?" she called out nearly desperate.

If she was still alive, or at least, if she was still dreaming, at least let her see Maximilian one more time.

Sianna Marie was about to get out of bed to look for him when another familiar maid moved to stop her.

"Eldest Miss? Calm down. You just woke up after fainting two hours ago."

It's Lana. The girl who also became her dowry maid soon after she married the Crown Prince.

"... Faint? " Sianna Marie looked at the pretty girl's face in confusion.

Only then did she begin to become aware of her surroundings with slightly more clarity.

Lana died at the age of 17 to protect Sianna Marie from poison sent by the empress dowager. At that time, the clash for the throne was still a serious matter. The Crown Prince, her husband, was the son of the late Empress. And the second prince, better known as Prince Lorillis, was the son of Empress Osiris and the direct grandson of Empress Dowager Osiris. Thus, when Sianna Marie became pregnant with the Empire's first grandchild, the empress dowager was very determined to abort her. And Lana was the one who took the poison instead.

If she didn't have the habit of holding back and keeping everything in her heart, Sianna Marie by now would probably cry herself blind.

Certainly, Sianna Marie wasn't born with a calm, polite, and calculating personality. Only, she had acquired this kind of characteristic because she grew up in Marquis Nesia's residence which was a bit… Odd.

Moreover, after she lived in the Imperial palace which was always filled with misleading intrigues, like it or not she had to join in sharpening. The mistake last time was probably because her heart unexpectedly softened, when she was treated to poison just for the sake of meeting her son for the first and last time. Other than that, Sianna Marie precisely is very careful and not easy to please. And she is determined not to repeat the same mistake a second time if given the chance to start over.

Her hand pinched her other hand, and it hurt.

Really... Is it true that she's back to life now?

Sianna Marie moved her right hand randomly in a calling posture. And Faye, a girl who was only a year younger than her, instantly rose from her position and knelt on the edge of the bed.

"What year is it?" she asked.

"28th-year Elarian. 10th day of the 10th month."

Elarian... It was the name of the government that belonged to the Emperor who ruled before Crown Prince Kaizen ascended. The Emperor was still quite young, but sadly died in a sick bed due to a sudden illness. The exact situation is not well known, because the official information only describes it there.

Great, not only did she come back to life, she was even allowed to redo everything from the beginning. Even though it wasn't too far before her first meeting with the Crown Prince, there was still at least some time to avoid that disastrous fate.

"What day is it today? "

"Monday, Eldest Miss."

Sianna Marie got up from her bed. First, she put down one leg, which looked smooth and soft, off-white with a little redness on the sole. The white satin nightgown slid freely from her shoulders and pooled in her lap. With alacrity, two other maids who previously stood in the corner of the room approached with a basin filled with warm water. 

Faye, whose status was higher than the two maids, was one of the few people who had the opportunity to wash their master's feet. She tucked up the bottom of her skirt, rolled up her rather long sleeves, and assumed a solemn and neat posture as she did her job. Lana, on the other hand, was preparing what Sianna Marie would wear today.

Because the Marquis Nesia's residence was in the capital's border area that leaned towards the North, the start of the tenth month here wasn't the beginning of autumn, but rather the start of the long, long winter. Because of this, most people's bathing routine, which is usually done at least once every other day, becomes only twice a week. However, Sianna Marie prefers to leave the majority and bathes every day until her bones freeze.

Today was the same as usual days. After washing her feet in a basin of warm rosewater, another maid came to bring the frame of the partition panel upholstered in a dahlia-patterned embroidered cloth. Behind the partition panel, there is already a wooden tub filled with warm water decorated with flower petals. Sianna Marie got into her bath and didn't have to do anything as Faye became the one moving in and doing everything for her.

Beside Faye was Lana. If Faye's job was to bathe her, then Lana's job was to comfort her. She massaged her shoulders and temples with feather-soft strength. Don't forget she also lights aromatherapy candles to make her more comfortable until she feels sleepy. However, having so many things going on in her mind, Sianna Marie couldn't sleep no matter how much she wanted to. As a result, she just daydreamed the whole time. And what weighed on her heart the most was still about Maximilian.

Usually, Monday from the beginning to the middle of the month is a mandatory day for all family members to gather and eat together.

Besides, Nesia's Patriarch, Arlo Demos Nesia, despite having the title Marquis in front of his name, wasn't entirely that great of a person. From a financial point of view, he even lost to Baron Rant who managed to buy his peerage with some money from selling sugar.

Arlo Demos' title of Marquis was acquired by his great-grandfather, who in the past had been bestowed upon him by the previous Emperor, Tara Galandra Basilius, for his military accomplishments. Then Arlo Demos' father, namely the late Marquis Selim, also only received the title inherited from his father without any achievements. And the same method is applied by his son, Arlo Demos.

The Marquis title received by the first Marquis of Nesia was bestowed by the late Emperor regardless of fiefdom. Because of that, his title could only last for 3 generations. And if one of the children or grandchildren does not get any achievements, then the title will stop there.

That was why, Marquis Arlo Demos who usually lived a leisurely life while swaying his feet inside Nesia's magnificent mansion, had recently been suddenly busy travelling around to and fro to take care of his first son, Alan Danus, to take the Imperial examination which was about to be reopened soon. Arlo Demos knew his son was not capable in the military field, so he forced Alan Danus to become a scholar. At least if he managed to get into the county legislature, the rest of Nesia's family would still be living in dignity and luxury.

Today was the day that the busy travelling Arlo Demos finally came home.

After checking out the clothes Lana had chosen, Sianna Marie frowned. "Isn't this too simple to wear at a family meal?"

Her finger pointed at the 3 sets of dull-coloured dresses on her bed.

Perhaps the young miss had forgotten, so Lana reminded calmly, "Earlier, the Marquis had reminded you that he would bring you to meet an honoured guest this afternoon, after having lunch together. In secret."

"Guest of honour? Who?"

"He said, someone who can help Young Master Alan pass the Imperial examinations this year."

Sianna Marie was silent for a moment, and her heart nearly stopped in the next second. If she was drinking, she might just spit out her drink and choke to death.

Sianna Marie is currently 14 years old. That means it had been 8 years before she finally turned 22 and died. She wouldn't remember events in the past clearly, let alone be able to predict everything with the precision of a divine being. There was no way she could do it. 

It was true that she had been given another chance at life and returned to her youthful age. Unfortunately, human memory is relatively limited. And Sianna Marie would never have thought that today would be the most defining day of her life.

Damn, it's also her birthday, right?

The person she was going to meet today was Prince Livia, a Grand Marshal, the person who was number 2 in power after the Emperor. He held complete control over the entire Garrison of the Western Borders, and with the lion badge he wielded, which only he and the Emperor possessed, he could mobilize entire armies across the country if he wanted to. In short, he is a dangerous person.

There was no reason for him to come to the outskirts of the capital just to meet that useless Alan Danus. If he wanted to, Alan Danus would certainly be the one to come to him. In that case, what had he come here for today?

The answer is obvious.

That was because the Marquis of Nesia's wife, Nevaehina, owned a strategic dowry plot of land on the North and East border, which connected the two regions under different legislatures. It is the last land in the border area that is not owned by the state. Which allows secret access to run there. In essence, the Grand Marshal needed the land for his own secret access.

In the past life, the same thing also happened. The difference was that Sianna Marie didn't precisely take part, and only accompanied Marquis Nesia's meeting with the Grand Marshal as a display. But this time it will be different. She saw the meeting as an opportunity. And start thinking seriously 1000 steps ahead.

If she remembered correctly, the Marquis Nesia's agreement with the Grand Marshal had gone well. And from then on, the Grand Marshal showed his support not only to Alan Danus, but to the entire Nesia family. As a result, Alan Danus became arrogant and kept causing trouble. Marquis Nesia had always been the one to clean up the mess he made. But in the end, he couldn't help it when Alan Danus harassed a servant girl in the Calvel Noble Household, which was filled almost entirely by educated scholars. Obviously, the news shocked the capital of its time. And Alan Danus was forced to be removed from his position as heir to the Nesia household.

Since women wouldn't be able to inherit the family no matter what, Marquis Nesia had to take a son from the side branch of the family. And so he raised Ahren Vagary, his nephew, as an heir.

And Ahren Vagary is the one who gave Sianna Marie a lot of trouble during their years together. That man was indeed much smarter and more competent than Alan Danus, and soon enough, he managed to restore the good name of the Nesia Household even without the help of the Grand Marshal. And it was people like that that kept Sianna Marie cornered in her own home.

Now, Sianna Marie had to think of a way to prevent Ahren Vagary's arrival through her first meeting with the Grand Marshal. With a note, she inevitably had to let the incompetent Alan Danus remain in his position as heir.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, the Grand Marshal whom Sianna Marie knew was an even more difficult person. He was not on the side of any of the princes during the war of succession to the throne. He remained a neutral person until the end. Such a person, in the end, was slandered and exiled with the second prince on the Western border. With the Grand Marshal leaving the capital, it created an imbalance in many places, especially in the Eastern border area which eventually collapsed a second time at the hands of Verdant. That was what gave their Empire a reason to strike back at Verdant.

In the end, the Crown Prince, who succeeded to the throne, under the guise of offering peace, completely wanted to stab Verdant behind their backs. He was truly dedicated to conquering the land of Verdant at all costs.

And the one who plotted the whole ugly scheme was Sianna Marie, who was hiding behind the tightly closed doors of the Empress's palace.

Indirectly, somehow it sounded like Sianna Marie had brought up herself into the door of her very tragedy...

In that case, what should she do now...

While the maids were dressing her, Sianna Marie stand silently prying for future information from her past life. Parting with little Maximilian was very painful indeed, and she was sure that the pain would never go away in this life. But the pain should not be allowed to drag on. And Sianna Marie must fight for a more decent life in her second chance this time. Everything was done solely for the sake of her little Maximilian too.

whose fate... is unknown.

Her husband probably treated her very badly. But he couldn't be bad to his own son, could he?

But the man had even thought about sending his own son to Verdant as bait...

A stinging pain suddenly struck. And Sianna Marie couldn't help but grip her chest tightly. From an outsider's vision, she looked like someone struggling amidst pain. Her body shook, and her breath shortened. Cold sweat drenched her body in the freezing autumn weather.

Panicked, Faye jumps out and rushes for a healer. Lana, whose demeanour was much calmer and more mature, tried to calm Sianna Marie by patting her back several times. When the family physician finally came and checked, the old man said that Sianna Marie's body was fine, and she was very healthy. The two loyal maids who saw first-hand how Sianna Marie trembled in agony right before their very eyes clearly couldn't believe it. But the old man couldn't lie.

"I'm fine." Sianna Marie reassured the two after she regained her composure. She was sitting in a rocking chair, with Faye and Lana kneeling on either side of her, coaxing her not to go to the family feast this time.

"Eldest Miss, your condition is still not very good. This lowly servant believes Master will not mind your absence."

But Sianna Marie had to go.

If she has decided, then she will do it. She is a very stubborn and principled person. She is very smart and intelligent. Unfortunately, when personal feelings are involved, she tends to be naive and foolish. That was why it was so easy for the Crown Prince to reduce her to an outcast Empress.

All right, don't think about it anymore. Sianna Marie got up from her chair and accompanied by her two most loyal maids, went to visit the dining room on the ground floor.

There is already Nevaehina, her mother, and Naida Yeva, her younger sister. Alan and the Marquis would probably arrive together later.

Normally, Sianna Marie would be the first to wait for everyone. But today it seems not so.

"Good afternoon, Mother, Sister." Sianna Marie greeted before taking her place in the middle of the long table. Not close to anyone. The most suitable place for her.