When I Died, He was Indifferent

After successfully winning over the second male lead, I chose to stay in the Glar Dynasty.

Huston treated me very well, promising me a lifetime together.

Just when I thought the story had come to a perfect conclusion, war broke out at the border, and the emperor sought peace.

Huston exchanged his military achievements to allow me to stay in the Glar Dynasty, sending me as a hostage to the enemy nation instead of the female lead.

"It's what I owe you; you don't need to feel guilty." He still cared for the female lead.

I begged Huston to let me stay, but he brushed it off. "It's only for a while, dear. I'll come to fetch you home personally."

Later, I endured endless humiliation in the enemy country. In my despair, Huston went mad.

He delayed my return and love.

***

"Your Highness, just hold on a little longer. The three years will soon be up. The general will come to take you back."

Melanie was crying uncontrollably, rubbing my cold hands, which were covered in oozing frostbite.

I was already critically ill, barely hanging on. I was unwilling to accept it.

From the day I was sent to Fensville, I knew I wouldn't return alive. It was worse than I had imagined, like a living hell!

Rashes spread across my face, and my lower body felt as if it were splitting apart.

I had lost all strength to endure.

Throughout the three years as a hostage, Huston had not even looked at me once. I wrote countless pleas for help, all falling on deaf ears.

How could I still hold onto hope as I lay on my deathbed?

The biggest mistake of my life was staying here for the sake of so-called love after my conquest.

I coughed up blood, and Melanie panicked, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was futile.

"If I were given another chance, I wouldn't stay."

"Your Highness!"

Images from the past flooded my mind.

In my previous life, I was an orphan who suddenly traveled to the Glar Dynasty after a car accident. A system appeared in my head, urging me to win over the devoted male lead, Huston.

To prevent the second male lead from becoming a stepping stone for the main couple's love, I intervened.

As the novel approached its climax, a coup erupted in the palace, blood flowing like rivers. Huston didn't shield the female lead but instead came to find me.

He fought his way through, protecting me, and asked if I would marry him.

Looking back, I had tried to win his affection like a puppy, seducing him, but his heart was unyielding. He remained faithful to the female lead, often risking his life to shield her. He merely said I didn't need to interfere.

To my surprise, at the moment I nodded, his affection skyrocketed. I realized Huston had always loved me.

"Your Highness, I'll go ask them for a physician. You're the princess of the Glar Dynasty. If you die here… how will they explain it?"

Melanie ran out, but it didn't help.

Outside, I heard curses. In the past, I still had some value. With my beauty, even the king would desire me, and so would others.

On my first night in Fensville, they planted a heart-devouring insect inside me, leaving me no escape, forcing me to be their plaything!

"I'm useless."

Melanie knelt before me.

I reached out and it felt like pear blossoms were falling all around. I seemed to see the young princess of the Glar Dynasty sneaking out of the palace.

I died on a night when snow fell heavily, and in the end, I never got to see the pear blossoms bloom.

"What bad luck! With the deadline approaching, how did she die here in Fensville?"

"Burn her! She's covered in scars and has a filthy disease. If those from the Glar Dynasty find out, we're finished."

My soul floated in the air, hearing their discussions.

They approached to take my body away, and Melanie rushed over crying.

Those people showed a cold and sinister expression.

"Almost forgot there's a little maid here."

Fensville was known for its use of venomous insects and a small bug flew into Melanie's ear, rendering her blind and deaf, collapsing in the snow.

I floated in front of her, wanting to help her up, but my hand passed through her body. I was already dead.

"Your Highness, please don't take her away!"

They built a fire and burned me clean in the blazing flames.

I felt a hint of warmth beneath the snowy ground, not realizing I could feel that warmth only as my body was burned away.

I didn't know how long the fire burned and my body turned to ash, but one rib refused to burn.

The person in charge found it too eerie and decided to wait until the next morning.

That bone was still there, causing him to sit down in shock, and he finally had it buried somewhere.

……

The promised day soon arrived.

But I didn't wait for Huston, the man who had promised to come to fetch me home in three years.

I remembered our first meeting when I was the most beloved little princess, my father still alive, and my mother was the favored consort, reigning supreme in the harem.

The female lead, Nina, was born of a discarded concubine, suffering endless humiliation. She and Huston were childhood friends.

He often sneaked through a dog hole to bring her food. He was the devoted second male lead.

While I was merely his admirer.

That day, Huston was beaten mercilessly by a group of eunuchs, and I protected him, even though he didn't say a word of thanks and cursed me instead, saying I was just like my wicked mother.

Huston told me not to pretend to be kind, and I could only follow him from a distance, afraid he'd reject me even more.

I watched as he stayed by Nina's side, bringing her countless fireflies to cheer her up.

At first, I didn't care. To complete my mission quickly, I even tried to seduce Huston.

But as time passed, my heart yearned for his closeness. My previous life had been so painful, and it seemed this one was no different.

My soul was pulled by a powerful force, and I appeared by Huston's side.

This face I hadn't seen in three years was still incredibly handsome.

He didn't come as promised to fetch me but went to find Nina instead. On the way, he received a secret letter that Nina had been kidnapped, and without hesitation, he turned around with his trusted aides.

Arriving in the desert, he knew it was a desolate area, possibly leading to danger, yet he still dove in headfirst.

Was his heart for the female lead truly unyielding?

Hadn't I successfully completed my mission?

I wanted to ask the system why there was no after-sales service, but it was my foolishness, being greedy for the little sweetness Huston had given me.

He searched tirelessly in the desert for a long time, covered in injuries, until he ran out of water.

One of Huston's subordinates cautioned, "Master, if we go any further, we may not be able to return. We'll die."

"It's nothing and dying for Nina is worth it."

My heart ached deeply. I floated in front of Huston, wanting to ask if he truly had a heart.

"Found her, Master."

They discovered Nina in the quicksand, unconscious and murmuring the male lead's name.

Huston held her in his arms, treating her like a treasure as he brought her out of the desert.

Once she woke up, she realized she had entered the desolate area out of spite for the male lead and almost died in the quicksand.

"Thank goodness for you, Huston. But shouldn't you be in Fensville to fetch Nina?"

"It's fine. I can fetch her any time. Saving you is the most important thing."

How absurd, Huston.

To you, Was I truly that insignificant?

I didn't blame Nina and she was also a woman, and fate was hard to defy. Though she was the destined female lead, she could still be oppressed by absolute imperial power.

But during my three years in Fensville, the only Glar Dynasty person I met was Nina.

She tore up my letters to Huston, teasing, "Sister, can't you endure the pain of longing? A girl shouldn't chase after a man."

She said she wouldn't deliver my love letters, but they weren't love letters and they were cries for help.

Nina claimed she didn't believe the Fensville royal family had the audacity to act so, urging me not to act up. She said Huston didn't like women who caused trouble.

In that moment, Nina crushed all my hopes.

I hated her.

I hated Huston even more, and the useless Glar Dynasty royal family, and the inhuman people of Fensville.

When they finally arrived in Fensville.

Huston excitedly got out of the carriage, but what greeted him was Melanie, dressed in white, holding my urn and unable to say a word.

Melanie was my personal maid. The Fensville royal family could say I died here due to unsuitable living conditions, but if even Melanie died, it would be too suspicious.

So they used venomous insects to silence her.

Melanie cried continuously.

"Where's Nina?" Huston looked around. "Tell her to stop hiding. I know she's angry with me, but let's go home first and we can talk about it later."

Huston knew I had a fiery temper, after all, I was the beloved little princess, used to pampering since childhood. He said he would indulge me.

Even if I turned the Glar Dynasty upside down, he would still support me.

But then he went into the palace, using his military achievements to secure an imperial decree to send me to Fensville as a hostage instead.

Huston lowered his voice, saying I owed Nina, as my mother had caused Nina's mother's death.

In his eyes, I had always owed Nina.

So even when I used the system's points to cure Nina's blindness, they never appreciated my kindness.

Huston staggered forward, gripping Melanie's shoulder and questioning her.

"I ask you, where is Nina?"

He seemed to have realized something. After all, such a large box was hard to miss.

People from Fensville hurried over, whispering something in Huston's ear.

"It's impossible, impossible! How could Nina be dead?"

Huston said calamities last a thousand years. He wanted me to grow old with him and to be entangled with him for a lifetime.

"I need you to tell me what happened to her. Speak!"

Huston yelled at Melanie, his movements causing the urn she held to jolt.

I watched as my ashes fell onto the snow, blending in, but they were not as pure white.

It was still dirty.

Huston knelt down with a thump, and whispered to me in a low voice. "We agreed that I would come to pick you up and take you home, why did you break your promise, Nina."

Not far away, there came a grumpy voice of a little eunuch.

"Where did this dog come from, biting on this burnt bone? Go away, go away, get out of here."

I watched as the burnt bone was kicked to the feet of Huston.

How ironic.