Chapter 1

I transmigrated into the wife of a powerful general.

I thought I was in a sweet romance, until I discovered that locked journal in his secret chamber.

"I was gentle with her again today. She bought it—so naive. As long as she stays fooled, Ida will be safe."

"I prepared a birthday gift for her. It's the style Ida likes. She won't suspect a thing."

So every bit of his tenderness toward me was just a ploy to protect another woman.

I pretended to know nothing, just watching him play his part.

Until fate came full circle—when the blade struck, I took the blow for her.

With my last breath, I smiled at him and said, "Alexis, you can stop pretending now."

March seventh, Year three of King Edward's reign, Vanessa Morton was wrenched awake by a piercing headache.

She blinked up at a fancy canopy, tassels swaying above, embroidered with winding vines—stitches so familiar she could trace them blind.

This was Alexis Estrada, the Great General of Ulchin's bedroom, where she'd spent her entire first year as his wife.

She shot upright, feeling her blood freeze in an instant.

She touched her cheek—soft and baby-smooth, not a trace of age anywhere.

She threw back the quilt. Her nightgown was moon-white silk, embroidered with tiny lavenders—the exact style she'd adored when she first got married.

Even the sounds outside matched perfectly: the butler was directing the servants to sweep the courtyard, exactly like that morning ten years ago, not a thing out of place.

She was back.

Back in year three of King Edward's reign, in Ulchin—she'd only been married to Alexis for a year, and there was still a whole year before the kidnapping that would destroy her life, not just once, but twice.

Tears fell without warning, splashing onto the cool quilt and spreading into small, damp patches.

She was Vanessa Morton, just an ordinary college student from the twenty-first century, a nerd hooked on historical romance novels.

One night, after binge-reading the opening chapters of a new novel, she blacked out from low blood sugar and woke up inside the very story.

She'd become the male lead's wife, Alexis Estrada's original spouse, a total throwaway character who only survived three chapters and was barely even named in the original plot.

When she first transmigrated, she was scared out of her mind. In this strange world, she had no one to count on—her only lifeline was her husband, Alexis Estrada, the ruthless Great General who basically ruled the kingdom with an iron fist.

Back then, she thought she'd landed the script for a fluffy romance novel.

Alexis was stunning—thick brows, star-bright eyes, and a perfectly sculpted nose. In full armor, he was the battle-hardened general of Ulchin; out of it, he was the gentle, elegant young lord.

He showered her with affection. He remembered everything she liked, always stood up for her when she was wronged, held her close, and whispered comfort when nightmares struck in the dead of night.

He even took her hand before the whole court, boldly declaring, "You're the only weakness in my life."

She was completely swept off her feet.

Just a lonely girl thrown into a foreign world, no way she could not fall for a man who was both powerful and endlessly gentle with her.

She poured her heart out for him, using her modern know-how to treat his wounds from the battlefield, whipping up little modern treats, and sharing stories from her own world. To her, he was the only light in this unfamiliar place.

She thought that if she loved him with everything she had, she could stay by his side forever—and avoid being cannon fodder like in the original plot.

But she was wrong.

Two years into their marriage, on March seventh, she and Alexis's childhood sweetheart, Ida Harrison, were taken hostage by his political enemies and brought to a rundown church outside the city.

The bandit leader held a knife to their throats, grinned at Alexis, and said, "You can only save one. Choose—one lives, the other dies."

In that split second, Alexis chose her.

She survived, but Ida—so gentle and kind she couldn't even bring herself to step on an ant—was brutally stabbed in the heart, right in front of her.

In her final moments, those eyes that always carried a gentle smile stared at Alexis, overflowing with despair and disbelief.

That scene became a nightmare that haunted her for the rest of her life.

Having grown up believing in equality, she couldn't accept that her survival had come at the cost of another innocent woman's life.

Even though Alexis was to save her, even though everyone insisted that the general's wife was supposed to be more valuable than some average heiress, she just couldn't make peace with it.