Chapter 3

Kathia had only desired two things in her past life:

The leftover affection of her younger brother.

And just one doll to hold at night.

They weren’t grand wishes, but until her life of a short 18 years had ended, she received neither.

Her being a daughter was the sole yet irrational reason why.

“Kathia, our pretty daughter.”

Even when she was reborn as a poor widow’s daughter, she didn’t have any complaints.

Although it was difficult to make ends meet, it was more than enough for her to have a loving mother.

Even if not having a doll in this world was unfortunate, who cares.

Every night, she had a mother who kissed her forehead good night.

Kathia was happy.

When the kids of the village made fun of her or there wasn’t much food around and was starving, she was still content. It was enough to pray to God to keep this way of life.

“H-Hannah! Please accept these flowers!”

An unexpected change of events happened when Kathia turned 9-years-old.

A seemingly-pampered man started to follow her mother around. But that fact alone wasn’t surprising.

Kathia’s mother, Hannah, was one of the most beautiful women in the empire, and men continued to try and win her love before and even after she became a widow.

The problem lied in the man being the only son of the family of Viscount Haze.

The child of an aristocratic family chasing after a widowed commoner with a child. One could only expect what would happen next.

Conflict, rumors, threats, isolation…

The conflict was quite eventful, but as no child could win over his parents, the Haze couple permitted their marriage and the incident was finally settled.

Although there were ups and downs, Hannah’s remarried life was unexpectedly smooth thanks to Kathia, who ironically, was considered to be the biggest obstacle to the marriage as well.

Think about it. Imagine an old couple who only had one son, and in front of them was a little girl with pink hair and sky blue eyes hopping around.

Moreover, she was a child who was fed well, looked neat and clean, and out of awe, ‘undoubtedly, she’s the daughter of a stunning beauty!’

How could she not be lovely? It didn’t take long for the reserved Haze couple to turn into doting, loving grandparents.

Kathia became even happier.

My loving mom. And my dad who loves her. And my warmhearted grandma and grandpa.

After a long, winding journey, we finally became a proper family.

Of course, upgrading her status overnight was also an added bonus. She wore pretty dresses, and for every meal, she was able to eat delicious dishes and sweet desserts!

Truthfully, it couldn’t be any more perfect than this. Or so she thought.

Until a new storm crashed in.

“Mom, you’re really, REALLY pretty today!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Just like a princess!”

After Hannah’s father received the title of Viscount, Hannah’s mother attended the banquet at the imperial palace for the first time as the wife of the Viscount that day.

Kathia still remembered that day clearly. Because Hannah was so beautiful dressed up.

Her mother, who was more beautiful than any other princess in a fairytale, held her father’s hand, who looked like he fell in love again, and left.

Kathia, who was 11-years-old at that time, greeted the carriage with her parents and grandmother.

“Our Kathia can also attend a magnificent party when you turn 18-years-old.”

As she listened to her grandma’s kind whisper, Kathia looked forward to the age when she, in her previous life, closed her eyes forever.

That day, it was like that.

She realized that there was a problem as soon as she looked at her parents’ faces when they returned from the banquet.

Their faces were pale as if they had drunk from a poisoned glass. After hearing the details from her parents, the previous Viscount couple, her grandparents, reacted no differently than her parents.

The adults were beating around the bush with young Kathia, but she could sense what had occurred as she had the memory of a past life.

The Emperor desired the beautiful Hannah.

He wished to plant Hannah, his prized rose, in the flower field of his harem.