"Blood tastes sweeter when served cold."
That was the first thought Estellana von Reinhardt had when she opened her eyes, reborn two years before her death.
She gasped for air as if rising from drowning. Her heart pounded in her chest, her lungs burned, and her fingers trembled. She was lying in the rose garden behind House Reinhardt's ancestral estate—the same place her sister had once shoved her into the thorn bushes while their mother had looked on with indifference.
The scent of roses hadn't changed, but Estellana had.
Her hand clenched the folds of her dress tightly. It was the soft silk of her debutante gown—the one she had worn to her first imperial ball. She was sixteen again, untouched by betrayal, not yet married to the crown prince, not yet imprisoned. Not yet bleeding to death in a freezing cell, clutching her stomach, begging for the life of a child who would never be born.
That life was over.
Now, she would rewrite everything.
⸻
Two Hours Later – The Drawing Room of House Reinhardt
Lady Reinhardt stared at her daughter as if she were a stranger. Perhaps she was.
Estellana sat at the table, her spine straight, fingers perfectly interlaced over her lap. Her eyes—once dull and submissive—now gleamed like blades.
"Estellana ," her mother said, clearly irritated. "What was that commotion earlier? Throwing the maid down the stairs?"
Estellana sipped her tea calmly. "She tried to lace my cup with a sleeping tincture. I've grown tired of poison in my beverages, Mother."
"You have no proof—"
"Check her apron pocket."
A servant rushed to do so. A vial clinked against the wooden floor. The color drained from Lady Reinhardt's face.
"But how did you—?"
Estellana looked directly at her. "Do you really want to test me, Mother?"
The room fell silent. Even her younger brother, sitting by the window, stared at her with wide eyes.
Once, she had craved their affection. Once, she had believed that if she just proved her worth, they would love her.
Now? She saw them for what they were: opportunists waiting to offer her like livestock to the imperial family.
Fine. She would go. But this time, she would bite back.
⸻
Two Weeks Later – Imperial Palace Garden
The day she met the crown prince again, the world stood still.
Maximilian von Falkenrath stood tall and cold like a statue carved from obsidian. His black military uniform gleamed under the winter sun. His golden eyes locked with hers—and Estellana felt the old memories claw at her.
He had held her gently when no one else did. He had kissed her forehead when she was sick. He had taken her hand under the table when her sister humiliated her at court.
And then—he had betrayed her.
"I hear you've returned from the countryside," he said coolly.
"I have," Estellana replied, offering a curtsy just slightly too shallow to be proper. "Did Your Highness miss me?"
His jaw twitched. "You've changed."
Good, she thought. Let him see. Let him fear.
"I'm just no longer naive."
He studied her for a moment longer before nodding. "We'll speak more after the banquet."
As he walked away, Estellana smiled faintly.
Let him think she was still his pawn.
She would play her role, wear her gowns, smile for the nobles.
And when the time was right…
She would burn them all.
⸻
Later That Night – Estellana 's Chambers
The room was dark, lit only by the flickering fire. A shadow moved in the corner—her personal physician, the only person Estellana had bribed to her side before even returning to the palace.
"The herbs have been prepared," he whispered. "No one will be able to detect them in the wine. Should I place it in her glass?"
Estellana didn't need to ask who "her" was.
Arlena Reinhardt. Her beloved sister. The same girl who smiled like an angel and whispered like a snake. The one who would replace her in the crown prince's affections.
"No," Estellana said slowly. "Not yet. Let her win some battles first. Let the court adore her."
The doctor frowned. "Why?"
Estellana' s eyes glinted.
"Because I want her fall to echo."
⸻
End of Chapter 1