Chapter 2

After moving out of the main palace, I took up residence in the dilapidated mage tower at the very edge of the Dawn Court.

Every day, I sat by the window at the top of the tower, gazing toward the distant palace.

It was brightly lit every night. To win a smile from Lilia, Carlos even dipped into the treasury's mana crystals to bloom dazzling spectacles of fireworks across the night sky.

Exhaustion washed over me. The obsession of my past life had been like a long, grueling illness; now that the fever had finally broken, all that remained was an empty, battered shell.

However, my retreat was not enough to satisfy Lilia.

To a greedy usurper, as long as I drew breath and carried the title of the "former fiancée," I would always be a thorn in her side.

Half a month later, the heavy doors of the old mage tower were obliterated by a violent blast of magic.

Amidst the flying stone debris, Carlos strode in, cradling a blood-soaked Lilia in his arms.

Flames of pure fury raged in his eyes. The volatile surges of his mana threatened to collapse the already crumbling tower.

"Cecilia!" he roared my name, his voice dripping with undisguised murderous intent.

I set down the ancient tome in my hands and looked at them calmly.

A gash deep enough to expose bone marred Lilia's left arm, its edges rimed with the telltale frostbite of ice magic. It was the undeniable signature of my spell—Winter's Blade.

"Cecilia..." Lilia leaned weakly against Carlos's chest, large tears spilling down her cheeks. "I don't know why you hate me so much... If my existence causes you this much pain, you can kill me... But please, don't take your anger out on His Majesty..."

She really was a phenomenal actress.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Carlos gently laid Lilia on a nearby chaise lounge before turning and closing the distance between us.

His gaze was like a poisoned, ice-cold blade, scraping across my face inch by inch.

"If I said I didn't do it, would Your Majesty believe me?" My tone didn't carry even the slightest tremor.

"You think I'd believe your lies?" Carlos sneered. His hand shot out, seizing me by the throat and lifting me off the ground. "Lilia is so purehearted. How could she possibly use such ruthless methods to hurt herself? Cecilia, I thought you were merely arrogant and spoiled, but I never imagined you could be this venomous!"

Suffocation set in as my feet grappled at empty air.

Faced with the frame-up and his misunderstanding, I didn't offer a single hysterical defense.

My silence only seemed to infuriate Carlos further.

He stared into my dead, emotionless eyes, a flash of frantic rage crossing his own.

"Since you love using ice magic to hurt others so much, I'll let you get a good taste of the cold yourself." Carlos violently released his grip. I crashed heavily onto the stone floor with a muffled groan.

Towering over me, he slowly raised his hand.

A cluster of pure, golden flames danced in his palm. It was the primal essence of the Dawn Court—the Dawnfire Seed.

A century ago, when I was lingering at death's door with frost poison invading my body after saving him, he hadn't hesitated to tear away half of the fire seed from his very soul and plant it into my heart.

He had said to me, "Cecilia, as long as my heart still beats, this fire will always keep you warm."

And now, he was taking it back.

"Lilia is gravely injured. She needs pure fire essence to purge the frost." Carlos's voice lacked even a shred of warmth. "That half-seed in your body belonged to me in the first place. Now, I am taking it back."

Sprawled on the floor, I tilted my head up to look at him. His face was still as breathtakingly handsome as a god's, but to me, he felt like a complete stranger.

"Fine." I uttered only a single word.

Carlos's movements faltered for a second. But he quickly scoffed, his fingers suddenly forming a claw as he aimed directly at my chest.

An indescribable agony instantly ripped through my chest.

It felt as though an invisible iron vice had clamped down onto my heart, forcefully tearing out the fire seed that was tied to my very bloodline.

I bit down ruthlessly on my lip, swallowing my screams down into my stomach as a trail of blood snaked down the corner of my mouth.

I could feel it—as the fire seed was extracted, the frost poison that had been suppressed for hundreds of years surged back instantly like a breached dam, frantically eroding my mana pathways and internal organs.

It was an irreversible process of destruction.

Without the fire seed, my life had officially entered its countdown.

After what felt like an eternity of torture, a faint cluster of golden flame finally drifted from my chest and landed in Carlos's hand.

He stared at the flame in his hand—the fire that belonged to me, tainted with the breath of my life force—and a fleeting look of disorientation crossed his eyes. But he swiftly turned away, gently guiding the fire seed into Lilia's body.

Lilia let out a sigh of relief, her pale face visibly returning to a rosy hue.

"This is merely a small punishment," Carlos said coldly, his back turned to me. "From this day forward, without my permission, you are not to take a single step out of this mage tower."

They left.

I curled up on the freezing stone floor, my entire body trembling violently, unable to stop.

Outside, to celebrate Lilia's recovery, Carlos once again ignited the sky with radiant fireworks.