Chapter 2

Giselle Rushton had never belonged in this world to begin with.

Seven years ago, she had just finished her SATs and gone camping on a mountaintop with a friend to witness a once-in-a-century alignment of seven stars. The moment the stars aligned, everything went black.

When she regained consciousness, she found herself standing on an unfamiliar street in a world that seemed to belong to a distant past.

She had no money, could not speak the language, and had nearly been burned alive for being some kind of freak. At her lowest point, she encountered Lythas, the Lord Regent, who was returning to the capital of Valadoria in triumph.

He took her back to his keep, clothed and fed her, and taught her to read and write in the local language. Little by little, he came to cherish her as though she were his own daughter.

Before long, rumors spread throughout the capital that the cold, stone-faced Lord Regent had taken in a girl of unknown origins and doted on her like the apple of his eye, almost as though he were grooming her to become his future wife.

The rumors terrified Giselle.

Afraid of how he might react if they reached his ears, she hurried to explain herself. "My lord, I did not start those rumors!"

Lythas was reading at the time. At her words, he lifted his gaze and studied her for a long moment before a smile suddenly crossed his face.

It was the first time she had ever seen him smile. The transformation was like watching a frozen river thaw, and his handsome face left her momentarily dazed.

"Why are you so frightened? They're not wrong."

He watched her eyes widen before he continued, each word clear and deliberate, "I am indeed raising myself a wife. After all these years of war, it's time I settled down.

"I always thought I'd marry someone dignified and virtuous, or perhaps a woman renowned for her beauty. But after meeting you, I realized something. What I truly want is someone strange and clever, someone like you."

He asked, "Gigi, will you be my wife?"

Her eyes widened in shock, and she fled from him on the spot.

But a man who had found her among a sea of strangers once could find her again, no matter how many times she ran.

His kindness toward her knew no bounds, and he doted on her beyond all reason.

Once, when she impulsively ran away from the keep and found herself in danger, he took a potentially fatal arrow meant for her and nearly lost his life.

As she sat beside his sickbed, he gripped her hand tightly. His face was pale, but his eyes remained fixed on hers with an intensity that bordered on frightening.

"Giselle, I don't believe you feel nothing for me."

At that moment, the walls she had built around her heart finally crumbled.

She burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

"I've fallen for you," she choked out. "But Lythas, I come from a world very far from here, and I'm still searching for a way home. Where I come from, marriage is for life, and people have only one partner."

Lythas held her close and let out a low laugh. The movement aggravated his wound and sent him into a fit of coughing, but even that could not conceal his delight.

"What's so difficult about that?" He kissed the top of her head, his tone light. "When the time comes for you to return home, simply take me with you. As for spending your life with only one partner..."

He cupped her face in both hands, gazed into her tear-filled eyes, and made a solemn promise. "In this lifetime, I, Lythas Valeraine, have never intended to marry anyone but you. Having more than one wife is far too troublesome. One is enough."

She believed him, so she married him.

During the early years of their marriage, they truly did enjoy a harmonious life together.

He was the Lord Regent, a man who held the entire court in his grasp, yet even on his busiest days, he never forgot to bring her apple tarts from a street vendor.

He was a cold, merciless judge whom the people feared, yet all she had to do was mention, "The apple blossoms in the courtyard have bloomed," and he would set aside his affairs of state to sit with her in the snow, warm wine, and admire the flowers.

He was a man who valued rules and propriety above almost everything else, yet he allowed her to do as she pleased in his study. He even let her smear ink across his face without a word of complaint.

Everyone envied her. They said she must have accumulated good fortune over several lifetimes to earn such devotion from a man like Lythas Valeraine.

At the height of their love, she gave birth to their eldest son, Leoric.

Three years later, she became pregnant again.

It was then that she discovered Lythas had been keeping another woman outside the keep. Her name was Viviana Chrysanthe.

The discovery devastated Giselle. She shut herself in her room and cried for an entire day and night. Eventually, she decided to confront Viviana herself and told her to leave.

The following day, Lythas returned. His face was ashen, and for the first time, he regarded Giselle with such coldness.

"Giselle! Why did you drive Vivi away? Do you have any idea what happened to her? She encountered bandits in the mountains on her way out of the villa and nearly lost her life!" he shouted.

Giselle stared at him, her blood turning to ice.

"So..." Her voice was hoarse, and she trembled without even realizing it. "She really is the woman you've been keeping outside? Lythas, you promised me we'd be each other's only partner for life!"

"I did promise you that! Vivi is an orphan I found on the battlefield near the border. She was just as alone and helpless as you once were!

"All I wanted was to find her a safe place to live. But one night, I drank too much, and through an unfortunate turn of events, she gave me her innocence. I can't simply abandon her now!

"Gigi, haven't I loved you enough? Because of that one promise to spend my life with only one partner, I've kept her outside this keep for years! I never brought her here. I never even let you find out about her.

"Can't I give her even a small share of the love I have for you? Must you really go so far as to drive her to her death?

"Whatever your reasons, I won't allow you to force her out. Take some time to calm yourself."

That demand for her to calm down turned into six long months of cold silence between them.

Lythas stopped returning to the keep. He refused to see her and did not even appear when she gave birth.

Worse still, on the day Giselle took her newborn child to the church to pray for blessings, assassins ambushed them.

In her panic, she fired the signal flare Lythas had given her. He had placed it in her hands himself and promised that whenever she lit it, no matter where he was or what he was doing, he would rush to her side.

But she waited in vain.

She waited as an assassin's blade descended, as her guards fell one after another, and as she suffered wound after wound in her desperate attempts to shield her child.

In the end, the assassins dashed her newborn child against the ground, killing the baby.

And still, Lythas never came.

Only afterward did she learn that he had been at a private residence not far away that very day, with Viviana clinging to him and pleading for his attention.

He had seen the signal flare. He had hesitated for a brief moment, but Viviana's warmth had drawn him back into her embrace.

He had chosen Viviana and abandoned Giselle and their newborn child.

At that moment, something in Giselle's heart died for good.

Fortunately, just as her heart had turned to ash, the Royal Astronomer informed her that another alignment of seven stars would occur before long.

She could finally go home, and she decided to take Leoric with her.

But when she found him and said, "I am going to take you somewhere wonderful," the five-year-old Leoric pulled his hand from hers.

The little boy's face held a coldness and impatience far beyond his years. "Mother, how much longer are you going to keep this up?

"It's perfectly normal for a man to have several wives and mistresses. You keep claiming you came from another world, but I've never once seen you travel between worlds.

"Father told me long ago that there's no such thing. You're only saying that to keep his heart for yourself. He doesn't believe you, and neither do I.

"Besides, Lady Chrysanthe is gentle and considerate. What's so wrong with letting her serve Father alongside you? Can't you be a little more generous?"

Giselle stood frozen, as though struck by lightning.

She had only just lost a child of her own flesh and blood, a loss that had torn her heart apart.

And now, she would have to sever her bond with the son she had carried, given birth to, and raised with her own hands.

From that day forward, Giselle changed.

Whatever they wanted, she gave them.

As for herself, there was only one thing she wanted anymore: to go home.