Chapter 1

"Ever since I became pregnant, I had to sleep in the room next to the sycamore tree. Otherwise, I can't sleep at all. Sometimes flocks of colorful birds and magpies gather around me, chirping endlessly. It must be the little one in my belly causing all the commotion."

I looked at my sister, Freya Horn, as she feigned distress and made a show out of rubbing her belly while recounting the strange signs that had been happening since she became pregnant.

It was then that I realized I had been reborn.

A pheasant egg having to sleep next to a sycamore tree? Magpies circling a tree? What a joke.

Regardless, I knew better than to call her out on the spot. Since she had been setting up her act since I was pregnant, it would take more than a brisk comment for me to expose her.

I smiled and remarked, "Hey, sis, with all these strange things happening around you, it looks like you’re going to give birth to a little phoenix, eh?"

Freya beamed at the suggestion.

Unbeknownst to her, I sensed the malice behind her smile.

Both of us were legitimate daughters of the Bluebird Clan, but our parents have never loved me.

My mother resented me for not being born a son and blamed me for my father's withholding his affection from her. Since then, she has reserved all of her love for Freya.

Eventually, we both married into the Phoenix Clan. She was wedded to the benevolent and gentle eldest Prince Emmett Songhart, while I was married to the second-in-line, the courageous warrior, Prince Asgon Songhart. Later, we became pregnant at the same time.

When she came to me with a haul of supplements and invited me to Ambrose Hill Villa for a stroll, I did not suspect her of anything.

Little did I know, it would be the beginning of my nightmare.

In my previous life, it was only after my death that I learned that Freya and Emmett had plotted my own death and Asgon's.

Since Emmett was a mixed-bred pheasant born by the adulterous Queen Lysan Songhart, it was no surprise that Freya’s child was bound to be mixed-bred as well.

The aging Phoenix King, King Golan Songhart, longed to see a pure-bred phoenix egg hatch before his death. He issued an order that all eggs were to be brought to the palace for incubation.

Emmett feared his bloodline being exposed. He knew it would spell his death if word got out.

If something ill were to befall Emmett, Freya would not only lose her prestigious position as the princess but also be banished back to the Bluebird Clan.

One way or another, she decided that her offspring had to be purebred.

With that, the wretched couple set their sights on me.

They joined forces with Queen Songhart and drugged me while I was in labor. Then, they swapped out my true pure-blood golden phoenix egg with a pheasant egg.

If it weren’t for me finding out about the truth after my death, I would never have believed that the sister I had grown up with could betray me like that!

After swapping out my egg, they made sure to hide their tracks. They accused me of laying an ill-omened pheasant egg, then had me thrown in a dungeon.

After that, Asgon fought his way into the dungeon to rescue me. Then, the Phoenix King questioned him about his lineage and sentenced him to death by torture.

Even after that, Freya refused to let me catch a break. She came up to me and taunted me, "It’s just like Mom said. You bring bad luck wherever you go! Back home, you were the reason Dad began to resent Mom, and now that you got married, you even got your own husband tortured and killed! You have no right to live. You’re better off dead!"

With that, she ordered the guards to have me thrown into the Daemonic Lands, where I was tortured and eventually dismembered.

When I looked at Freya flashing her smug smile at me, I had to suppress the surging anger within me.

This time, I would protect my child and make sure they got what they deserved!

-

I had just arrived at the villa, so I still had time, as I recalled only going into labor on the third day.

This meant I had time.

Discreetly, I crushed the ruby pendant Asgon had given to me. It contained a fragment of his spirit. The moment I crushed it, he would know I was in danger.

In my past life, when I went into labor, flames erupted all around me. Only then did I realize that I was giving birth to a golden phoenix.