Countless candles burning in golden candelabra light the ceiling of the great hall, building a stage so dreamlike it makes one forget the passing of time. Tonight's soirée in the royal capital has drawn every noble house worth the name. Waves of gowns and tailcoats sway gently to the orchestra's music, and people trade smiles … Continue reading Chapter 9 — He Hasn’t Even the Means to Buy His Fiancée a Dress →

Once a woman's heart goes cold, it never catches fire again — Chloe has heard that said somewhere, and it describes her exactly. If anything, she's left wondering why she was ever in love with a man like that in the first place. However good-looking he is, however gentlemanly his manners, watching him play the … Continue reading Chapter 8 — What the Maid Thinks →

The next day, Chloe walks through the gardens of House Calendula. Vivid flowers the gardener has raised with painstaking care bloom in every colour. Beside her is her fiancé, Leonardo, smiling the way he always does. That smile used to set her heart racing — or so it should have. ‘Goodness, how thoroughly fake it … Continue reading Chapter 7 — Feelings Going Cold →

A small restaurant sits quietly in a corner of the city. Above the door hangs a rusted iron sign shaped like ivy leaves, and the warm smell of baking bread drifts out through the windows. At the best table in the house — a table for two with a beautiful view from the window — … Continue reading Chapter 6 — A Heart Coming Apart →

The trees in the garden sway in the wind, their shadows wavering across the window. Chloe watches them through the curtain and brings her tea quietly to her lips. In the still of the room, only the faint ticking of the clock marks the passing time. She gazes out at the garden and lets out … Continue reading Chapter 5 — She can’t quite let go of the thought that it might all be a misunderstanding →

Afternoon sunlight filters through the silk curtains and pools softly on the desk in the study. Chloe sits in that light, her jewel-blue eyes fixed on a single sheet of paper.It's a full account of the girl from the city—the one her fiancé, Leonardo, has been meeting in secret.A small photograph is clipped to the … Continue reading C – Chapter 4 →

[Why…… why would he, of all people……!] (C) Chloe asks in agony, knowing full well that no one will answer. There's no answer anywhere. There's only one thing she can be certain of: unless she does something, the future where she is murdered and the daughter she leaves behind is made to suffer is coming … Continue reading C – Chapter 3 →

The moment the memories of her previous life come back, the gears at the back of her mind click and start to turn, smoothly and all at once. ‘This world is that otome game. The one I used to play to kill time. A heroine falls in love with a prince, and the prince's fiancée—the … Continue reading C – Chapter 2 →

‘When was it again? Around the tail end of winter, I think.’ That was when the ‘memories of her previous life’ came crashing back into Chloe, without warning— [I hear a drink called 'coffee' has become all the rage among the nobility lately, brought up from the south. Apparently it's more bitter than tea, with … Continue reading C – Chapter 1 →

Afternoon sunlight spills through the windows and spreads across the tea salon. A man and a woman sit facing each other over a glass-topped table, both of them beautiful enough to turn heads. Before them, fragrant tea is poured with quiet ceremony into cups of polished white porcelain. [Chloe, I picked these leaves with you … Continue reading C – Prologue →