Chapter 1

I was Cecilia Blair, the long-lost heiress of the Blair family.

I was also a quick transmigration player.

That morning, Julian Ashford, the crown prince, asked the king to decree our marriage.

But by afternoon, he showed up with my adopted sister, Evelyn Blair.

Right in front of all the nobles of the city, he tossed the royal marriage decree into the fire.

I stood there, frozen in place.

All around me, the nobles laughed cruelly.

"Cecilia, you're such a joke. Evelyn said one word, and His Highness dumped you."

"Look at her face. She's so pale, about to break down completely."

Julian had his arm around Evelyn's slender waist, his voice dripping with tenderness. "The decree is burned, and the engagement is off. Will you smile at me?"

Evelyn giggled, her tear-streaked face finally lighting up.

I wanted to ask Julian, "Why did you do this to me?"

My elder brothers held me back.

Alexander, my eldest brother, was the Great General of the Ashford Kingdom.

He frowned at me with disgust. "Only Julian can calm Evelyn down. Don't ruin the moment."

Edward, my second brother, was the Prime Minister of the court.

He pushed me down, looming over me. "Evelyn's had it rough. You're back home living comfortably now. You can handle losing one guy."

Leonard, my third brother, was the leader of Divine Medics.

He glared at me, a needle glinting in his hand. "Julian should've married Evelyn ages ago. Keep stirring up drama, and I won't treat you like family anymore."

Terrified I'd wreck Evelyn's happiness, they shoved me into a carriage like I was some dirty secret.

The long-dormant System suddenly pinged back online. [Mission completion confirmed. Ready to return to the real world?]

In the jolting carriage, I nursed my bruised elbow from Edward's shove, fighting back a sudden urge to laugh.

This melodrama was finally over.

Count me out of their tangled mess of love and hate from now on.

A series of pleasant electronic tones chimed in my mind.

[The favorability of the three Blair brothers and Julian has reached 95%. The mission to marry Julian is complete. Congratulations, Host.

[Once your physical body dies, you can leave this novel world and return to reality with a 100 million reward. Your original bone cancer will be completely cured.]

I was overjoyed inside, so much so that I almost wanted to roll on the hard board.

I could finally go back.

Forget being Julian's wife or playing the perfect sister. I was cashing in this reward and living it up with hot guys back in the real world.

Alexander and Leonard stayed behind to dote on Evelyn, while Edward was sent to haul me back home.

I instinctively glanced at Edward, the youngest prime minister in Ashford Kingdom.

His face was icy, as if I were his worst enemy.

It wasn't until Evelyn sent someone over to say she was feeling much better that a smile finally cracked his face.

Noticing my gaze, he immediately wiped the smile off his face.

He frowned in disgust, "What? Still not over it?

"Don't tell me you're planning to go back and ruin things for Julian and Evelyn.

"Evelyn's been through enough, lost and struggling all these years.

"You're her elder sister. Can't you give her a break?"

I dug my nails into my palms, barely holding back my anger.

I was a year younger than two-faced bitch Evelyn.

But she'd faked her birth date to pass as the younger sister and get pampered.

Edward glanced at me, noticing how pale I looked.

That so-called scholar's integrity of his seemed to give him a condescending sense of pity.

He sighed, "When we get back, go apologize to Evelyn. Stop acting out.

"As long as you behave, you'll still be a Blair."

He reached out to pat my head, but the gesture was stiff and perfunctory.

I tilted my head away, dodging his hand.

I asked, "Why am I the one who has to apologize?

"What did I do wrong? Getting engaged or getting dumped?"

Edward's hand froze in mid-air, then he snatched it back sharply.

He said impatiently, "Cecilia, don't push your luck.

"Evelyn was too soft to completely humiliate you.

"Otherwise, today wouldn't have ended with burning the decree; you'd be thrown straight into prison."

I shut my eyes for a second.

I'd spent five years here to complete my mission.

Those so-called family members always left a bad taste in my mouth.

I'd cried alone in the dark, over and over, because they always favored Evelyn.

But now, all of that was behind me.

"Once Evelyn takes the crown at the Flowers Ceremony, you'll come with us to apologize to her," Edward said.

He acted like my life was his to arrange however he pleased.

I stayed silent, checking with the System in my head. "System, as long as this body dies, anyway at all, I get to go back, right?"

[Yep, Host. Any way your body dies, the transfer kicks in.]