The low heels of a lady clicked firmly down the long palace corridors, while a crowd of maids hurriedly followed behind her.
Her hair, shining under the silvery moonlight filtering through the thin curtains, swayed with each quickened step. Between gasps and a throat parched from exertion, she urgently wondered if she could take off those bothersome heels—but the haste didn't allow her to stop for even a moment.
Without hesitation, she ran to the highest point of the east wing, to the spacious balcony of her room.
"Miss Vinsent, please stop!" shouted the guard who had accompanied her all his life since she herself had chosen him. His eyes, like sapphires, reflected fear as he saw her drawing her sword in front of him.
"Can a loyal dog bare its teeth at its mistress?" Abril murmured in a weary voice.
"Miss, make this easier for everyone and confess why you did it."
"Do I have to repeat myself? I didn't do anything to Anelle. I didn't poison her."
In a final, desperate cry seeking solace, she begged the moon goddess to believe her. But she could see in everyone's eyes the resentment, that silent condemnation for supposedly having harmed her younger sister, Anelle.
Like precious pearls, tears fell, sparkling in the moonlight.
Though disheveled, she had not lost an ounce of her elegance or beauty. She would not allow herself to be accused so unjustly. Determined, she slipped off her shoes and climbed onto the concrete railing, causing a muffled scream among those present.
"Abril Vinsent, get down from there this instant!" The Duke's powerful shout shook everyone.
"Not even my father believes me," she whispered bitterly.
Amidst the heart-wrenching cries, Abril Vinsent gazed at the brightest stars she had ever seen. In her last breath, she implored the goddess Selene for a better life.
That was my last memory before falling asleep.
When I woke up, I was no longer myself. The high ceilings and the comfort of that bed completely disoriented me.
The name of my previous life faded from my memory, but the name of this new life was impossible to forget: I am Abril Vinsent, the eldest daughter of the Vinsent family... and the villainess of this story.