From the moment Stella could recall, everything was completely pitch dark. She remembered the first sound that entered her ear, the sound of the carriage in the background. Her eyelids felt so heavy that she couldn’t lift them. A lot of things that happened in the past felt like a long dream, but she remembered every single detail and feeling she had experienced. Many anguishes, happiness, and regrets still lingered in her heart. The moment the sound of the moving carriage stopped she could feel her body start to wake up from its long sleep.   

“We have arrived, Lady Stella.”

The servant sitting opposite her notified their arrival before the carriage door opened. Without any words, she stepped out of the carriage and was greeted with the bright light that almost blinded her clear blue eyes. Her silky pitch-black hair reflected the sunlight giving it a subtle glistening glow. As the scene before her gradually became clear, she saw a huge white manor right before her.

“This is the main manor of Chevalier where the main family branch resides including yourself. Both Marquis and Marchioness had been waiting for your arrival.”

“I see, then let us not keep them waiting. I would love to give my sincerest greetings to them for their generous and warm welcome.”

“Very well, ma’am. Please follow me.”

Once they arrived at the door to Marquis Chevalier’s study, the butler informed him of Stella’s arrival before opening the door for her to walk in. She stood right before the marquis and marchioness who watched every move of hers with such gaze that was difficult to interpret. First and foremost, before anything else, Stella bowed respectfully at both with a friendly smile.

“It has been a while, Marquis and Marchioness of Chevalier. It is my pleasure to see you two again and I hope you two have been well.”

“Thank you, Stella. You’ve grown so much from the last time I’ve seen you.”

Marchioness giggled and gazed at the young alpha as she remembered the last time they met at the party when she was still a little girl standing next to her father and brothers. As of right now, Stella was 15 and had grown up so much that she became quite a charming alpha for her age. Before they started talking about other matters, Marquis Hugh passed his condolences to Stella for losing her father, Duke Cedric Albrecht, a week ago.

“First and foremost, we would like to offer our condolences for Duke Cedric’s passing. It must be very hard for you and your brothers on the duke’s sudden departure.”

Stella’s father is the Duke of Northland that governs the whole North territory, which made the young alpha the youngest daughter of the Duke. He passed away in an accident as he was traveling back home in the middle of the night. It could only be speculated that the carriage slipped and fell off the cliff. As there were no survivors from the unfortunate tragedy and no one knew what truly happened, the incident was currently under investigation by her eldest half-brother Anthony who was now the newly appointed Duke Albrecht of the Northland.

“We understand everything must be very sudden for you as well. We hope that you’ll be able to make yourself and home and if you need anything please don’t hesitate to inform our butlers.”

“…I genuinely appreciate your offer, Marquis.”

Her father’s passing was very sudden, and she barely had time to grieve before she was sent off by her eldest brother to marry the daughter of Chevalier. It was a political marriage to further establish Chevalier and Albrecht’s long-standing allegiance. Anthony and his mother, Duchess Yvette, made these secret arrangements without her consent or acknowledgment, and not long before she was removed and used for political marriage. She knew that this was intentional and that Anthony despised her and her mother for years. Now that he had power as the duke, he showed no hesitation in getting rid of them. As she was sent off to the Chevalier family, her mother was exiled and returned to her family which was the opposite of her direction. Before they could continue the conversation any further, they all heard the knock followed by a firm familiar voice…

“Father, I heard that Stella has arrived at our manor?”

It was the feminine, yet affirmative tone of an aristocratic lady and Stella instantly recognized that voice. The marquis told his eldest daughter to enter and officially introduce herself to Stella who would be her fiancé from today onwards. The alpha’s blue eyes narrowed as she turned around to see the omega lady giving her a formal bow with a calm smile. 

“Lady Stella, I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Ophelia Chevalier, she is your fiancé.”

“—!”

She was at a loss for words and the moment their eyes met, an image of a bloodied pink-haired woman in her arms flashed right in her head. Even though she was stunned for a couple of seconds, it felt like an eternity to her, and she couldn’t take her eyes away from the pink-haired omega. There was a mix of emotions stirring violently inside her heart and it was mainly guilt that she felt towards her.

“It has been a while, Lady Stella. You can just address me as Ophelia. I hope we’ll get along with each other.”

“Ah…r-right. You can call me Stella as well.”

“Oh my, how cute. Is Lady Stella stuttering at our daughter’s beauty?”

The marchioness teased the younger alpha since she clearly noticed that Stella was staring at her daughter without blinking an eye. It was a good sign indeed for the marquis and marchioness since they wanted and hoped for both to get along with each other. Stella was slightly embarrassed since it wasn’t her intention to stare at her like that and she was quick to respond to Marchioness. 

“My apologies. It is that…Ophelia has changed so much since the last time I remembered.”

“That’s true! You two were still young when you last met each other. Ophelia, how about you take Stella to her room and give her a tour around the manor? This would be a good time for you to know and bond with each other.”

“I will, mother.”

Ophelia asked her to follow as they headed down the hallway to her bedroom which was next to hers. The older omega led the way and Stella followed right behind her as she couldn’t take her eyes away from her. Having a chance to see her alive once again made her feel relieved mixed with guilt at the same time. Following right behind her, it was inevitable she would smell Ophelia’s pheromones. It was the same scent as she remembered, the fresh scent of lavender of the morning spring. None of this came as a surprise to Stella because everything was going exactly as she remembered in her previous life.

Right from the moment she woke up in the carriage Ophelia gave her a tour around the manor. As of right now, Stella wasn’t even focused on the tour Ophelia was giving her since she already knew the entire layout of the Chevalier manor since she lived here for 3 full years in her past life. At first, she thought that this might just be a dream that she manifested out of pure guilt for Ophelia. But the more she felt the surroundings through her five senses, the harder the realization struck her that she was back in the past before everything happened.

“So that’s a general layout of the manor, it may feel overwhelming at the beginning but I’m certain you’ll get used to it soon. If you’re unsure, please don’t hesitate to ask me. We also have two gardens as well. One in front and one at the back, would you like to check it out?”

It didn’t take that long for Ophelia to finish giving a brief tour around the manor and introduced her to the important areas to remember such as the kitchen, dining hall, and the library. The pink-haired omega offered to show her the gardens as well and she nodded with a smile.

 “I would appreciate that.”

“Then let us go before our lunch hour. It would be nice for you to join us as well, so you get to meet with my brothers and sisters.”

“Sure, then we should get going.”

As they headed to the garden together, Stella would recall the image of the bloodied pink-haired woman. She still remembered how cold Ophelia’s body was in her arms and that piece of memory reminded her of the reason she was here. Her focus was no longer to survive in this hellhole as she was no longer the same Stella back in the past. She stood right here with a new focus in her heart and that was to save Ophelia from her ending.

“…It’s my turn to return the favor and save you.”