The Emperor's Only Love

Dorian Ashford was the Empress' only son. From the moment he was born, he was destined to be the Crown Prince. However, after he fell in love with my sister, Celeste Vale, he decided to throw his title away and run off with her to live a simple life together.

I could not stand watching him destroy his future, so I told the Empress everything.

Dorian was confined to the palace and could not make it to meet Celeste. Later, she ended up getting killed by bandits.

After Dorian took the throne, he did not hesitate to send me off to marry into an enemy nation as part of a political alliance. He said coldly, "Consider this repayment for your betrayal back then."

In the end, I was brutally assaulted and killed by bandits on the road to that forced marriage.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to before any of this happened.

In the Rosewood Garden at Winterpeak Abbey, a young man and woman played and chased, laughing as they went.

"That shameless tramp has no decency at all. Miss, you're supposed to be the future Crown Princess. Yet, she still throws herself at His Highness without any self-respect. A bastard daughter thinking she can compete with you for the Crown Prince? Yeah, right. Miss, why aren't you worried at all? What if His Highness actually falls for that tramp?"

I listened to my servant, Lily Woods, as she went on and on. I smiled at her but did not bother answering.

I had always been sensitive to cold, so I sat in the garden pavilion with a hand warmer, perched on a stone bench covered with thick cushions, watching the man and woman chasing each other in the distance.

The man doing the chasing was none other than the Crown Prince, Dorian Ashford, who had been favored and adored since birth. Everything had always gone smoothly for him, with everyone doting on him and worried about disappointing him in any way.

The woman being chased was my sister, Celeste Vale. She was born to a mistress. She was blessed with a face that could captivate any man and a heart full of ambition as she dreamed of rising above her station.

In my past life, I had been so foolish that I could not see that Dorian had already fallen for Celeste by that point. I had stubbornly inserted myself between them and joined their little game of tag.

When we both fell in the snow at the same time, Dorian immediately ran to Celeste's side, helped her up, and looked at her with obvious affection and concern. He saw blood on the snow and carefully checked her over for injuries.

Meanwhile, I became the third wheel nobody wanted around.

"Miss, your leg is bleeding!" Lily said urgently, her voice full of worry.

Even now, thinking back on it, I could still feel the stinging pain from where the tree branch had cut my calf.