Petals and Steel

Echinacea Roaz was once the delicate daughter of a count—graceful, beautiful, and utterly ordinary. Until she touched the cursed sword Valdergiosa. The blade stole her body, turned her into a slaughtering demon, and forced her hands to spill the blood of everyone she loved: her family, her friends, her home. Worst of all, it made her kill the one man who ever believed in her—the silver-haired commander Yurien de Harden Kyrie, who saw the real woman trapped inside the monster and gave her a chance she couldn't take. She broke free too late. Nothing remained but ashes and regret. At twenty-six, in a ruined village soaked in blood, she finally shattered the curse's hold, only to learn the truth from the now-conscious blade: time could be reversed. Collect the ten human-forged Giosa swords, claim the divine Kairosgiosa, and rewrite everything. Fifteen years of nightmare later, she succeeds. She awakens at twenty, back in her soft bed, long pink hair untouched by scars, family alive and breathing. The black mark on her palm remains, Valdergiosa still bound to her soul—but this time, she knows what's coming. No more puppets. No more blood on innocent hands. Echi hides the curse, forges a mana core in secret, and heads straight for Azenka Military Academy—the path to becoming a Celestial Knight, entering the Giosa Hall, and sealing the wretched sword forever. She'll train in extravagant gowns and high heels, shatter every record as the "fussy noble genius," build true bonds with friends, and—against all odds—cross paths again with Yurien. This time, she won't fail him. This time, she'll protect everyone she once destroyed. But the sword whispers. Conspiracies stir in the shadows. The past isn't so easily erased. Can a flower once stained in blood bloom into something unbreakable? Or will the curse drag her back into darkness? A tale of regression, redemption, forbidden power, and a love that defies two lifetimes. Petals hide steel. And steel can cut fate itself. What happens when the cursed blade's master chooses happiness over slaughter? ------------------ Original Title: The Flower with a Sword Author: Eun So-ro Translated by Nyx Virelune