Replaced, Betrayed, Reborn

I had always been a people pleaser.

Yet somehow, I ended up transmigrating into the role of the vicious wife of a general.

After three years away at war, Scott Holden returned and brought his so-called true love back with him.

I handed over the main bedroom without hesitation, cooked for her myself, stayed up all night stitching a pair of matching pillows, and even had all the staff lined up to welcome her properly.

But instead of being pleased, Jennifer Cross burst into tears.

"This is all my fault. I have no name, no status, yet I'm staying here at Holden Residence, letting Lillian humiliate me like this. If that's the case, I'll just leave!"

It hit me all at once. So that was what she wanted. A proper title.

So I drafted a divorce letter for Scott myself, brought it to him, and said with an ingratiating smile, "After you divorce me, could you maybe keep me on the side as a mistress? My parents are gone. I don't have anywhere else to go."

Scott flew into a rage.

"I see right through your little tricks. Jennifer is just staying here temporarily. Are you really that petty?"

From that day on, he never set foot in my room again.

Then one day, enemy forces attacked. Jennifer and I were both captured and strung up on the city wall, forcing Scott to choose between us.

Before he could even decide, I shouted eagerly, "I'll die, I'll die! I'm totally willing! I love that rush you get from falling from high up, that adrenaline spike!"

After all, once I died, I could finally go home.

But for the first time, Scott's eyes turned red with panic.

Chapter 1

Right after the enemy finished making their threat, a string of strange floating text suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Scott, pick our girl! Let the wife die already!]

[Once the wife dies, she can go back to the modern world and get a huge transmigration bonus. Then you and Jennifer can finally be together!]

[I'm so sick of this kind of story where women suffer. Just give us a happy ending already!]

Go back to the modern worldand get paid?

Hanging from the city wall, I instantly felt a surge of excitement.

I started shouting toward Scott Holden again, my tone full of forced eagerness.

"I'll die, I'll die! I'm totally willing! I love that rush you get from falling from high up, that adrenaline spike! Jennifer's hanging there, too. She must be so uncomfortable. Darling, my love, hurry up and pick her!"

Scott's hands trembled. His eyes were bloodshot as he ground his teeth.

"Lillian, don't think acting like this will make me forgive you. Without my permission, you're not allowed to die!"

I was still trying to figure out what exactly I had done wrong that needed forgiving.

But Scott had already raised his bow and shot the enemy commander who was holding us hostage.

He rescued both of us, then led his troops to wipe out the enemy forces. From start to finish, it took only three days.

When I woke up from my injuries, I was already back at Holden Residence.

"Lady Holden, you were hurt way worse than Ms. Cross when you were captured, but General Holden has been staying by her side day and night. It's so unfair!"

My maid couldn't help complaining the moment she saw I was awake.

Hearing that Jennifer Cross was injured as well, my people-pleasing instincts kicked in again.

By the time I rushed to Jennifer's room, my head was still wrapped in bandages, fresh red seeping through the white cloth.

I set down a plate of apples carved into the shape of peonies on the table, coughed weakly, and said, "I learned this carving just for you. You should have some fruit."

If it had been the original vicious version of me, seeing Jennifer injured, she probably would've stabbed her again just to finish the job.

Scott was sitting nearby. His gaze flicked to the cut on my finger, and the coldness in his eyes softened a little.

"Enough. You're still injured, too. Go get some rest. I'll come stay in your room tonight."

The moment he said that, Jennifer's tears started falling in heavy drops.

"Lillian, you don't have to do this. If you hadn't revealed my location, how would I have been captured by the enemy and poisoned with the Widow's Curse? There's no cure for that"

The moment the words "Widow's Curse" were spoken, everyone in the room went pale.

The doctor nearby gasped in shock.

"The Widow's Curse? You mean the one where she has to sleep with a man every single day, or she'll die?"

Hearing that, I was completely stunned.

The next second, Scott rushed forward and grabbed me by the throat.

"Lillian, it seems I really overestimated you. If anything happens to Jennifer, you're going to pay for it!"

Chapter 2

Just as I was about to struggle, those strange lines of text appeared again in front of me.

[Wait, what am I even reading? Is this supposed to be a tragic historical romance or something way messier?]

[To be fair, the setting did mention that the Widow's Curse can be cured with a blood transfusion, but the person giving the blood has to die.]

[Why not have the villainess do it for our girl? If she dies, she can go back to the modern world anyway.]

[Come on. She's the evil side character]

I didn't read the rest.

The words "go back to the modern world" had already hooked me completely.

Scott saw the dazed look on my face and hesitated for a second before quickly letting go of me.

I staggered toward the bedside, grabbed a dagger, and sliced it across my wrist. Beads of blood slipped down my pale skin and dripped into a porcelain bowl.

"What are you doing?" Scott shouted.

I gave him a careful, ingratiating smile.

"I heard blood can help ease the poison. Mine should work as medicine for her."

I wanted to say more, to show just how sincere I was about helping him and Jennifer.

But I was already badly injured. Losing that much blood was too much. My vision went black, and I collapsed.

My parents died when I was young. I grew up drifting between relatives' homes.

While other kids lived carefree, I had already learned how to read the room and please the adults around me, just to make sure I got enough to eat each day.

Then I ended up inside this story, cast as the villainess who would eventually be killed by the male and female leads together.

So I made up my mind.

I would play along and keep them both happy to survive the entire plot.

And when I finally made it back to the modern world and got the reward money, I could use it to treat my cancer and actually live my life

Halfway through that thought, I woke up.

Scott sat by my bed, his eyes red from exhaustion. The moment our eyes met, he pulled me into his arms so tightly that I could barely breathe.

"Lillian, I'm warning you. Don't ever hurt yourself again. Your life belongs to me."

Wow. Possessive much?

But he was supposed to belong to the heroine.

I was just about to push him away when a servant stumbled in, breathless.

"General Holden, something's wrong! Ms. Cross says Lady Holden poisoned the blood. She's in severe pain and crying, asking to see you!"

Scott's expression changed instantly. He shoved me aside without hesitation and rushed out toward Jennifer's room.

I hurried after him.

"Lillian, I know you resent me That you blame me for taking General Holden's attention"

Jennifer lay curled beneath the blankets, her face pale.

"But how could you do this? I'm already suffering from this strange curse, and you still poisoned the blood you gave me It hurts so much"

The air around Scott turned ice cold.

He strode up to me, raising his hand. I squeezed my eyes shut on instinct.

But the slap never came.

His expression tightened, his voice low.

"Get out."

I froze for half a second.

Then I dropped to my knees and started slapping myself across the face, over and over.

"This is all my fault! I'm the worst! Just kill me. Let me make up for it!"

I was the master at reading the room. Timing was everything.

Scott's temple twitched. He didn't even want to look at me anymore.

"Lock her up. Don't let her keep acting like a lunatic."

Chapter 3

I was locked away in a side courtyard.

Afraid Jennifer might feel lonely, Scott hired the best opera troupe in Kingsham. Their high, lilting voices carried across three courtyards, clear as day.

Over here, all I had was the dry scrape of fallen leaves skittering across the stone steps.

A maid shoved a bowl of cold oatmeal through the crack in the door, her tone impatient. "Lady Holden, just make do."

I carried the bowl over and sat on the threshold. A thin film had formed on top, the oats so sparse that I could count them.

Somewhere in the distance, a burst of applause rang out. That must've been the best part of the show.

It reminded me of when I was a kid, hiding up in the attic, listening to the warmth of someone else's family downstairs.

What a pointless life. I really wanted to go back.

I found a length of rope in the corner of the room and tied it to the beam overhead, planning to loop it around my neck and swing for a bit.

The second I kicked the stool away, a sharp pain twisted through my lower abdomen.

"Lillian!"

Scott had come to check on me. The moment he saw what I was doing, his pupils shrank, and he rushed forward, slashing the rope in half with his sword.

I collapsed into his arms, clutching my stomach, murmuring, "My stomachhurts"

He immediately called for a doctor. After checking my pulse, the doctor cupped his hands and smiled.

"Congratulations, General Holden. Lady Holden is pregnant."

My heart dropped.

Every time we shared a bed, I made sure to take contraceptive herbal tea without fail. How did this still happen?

Ancient medicine was seriously unreliable.

Scott's hand trembled slightly as he held mine.

He was about to say something when noise suddenly broke out outside.

Jennifer rushed in, supported by a maid, her face pale as she threw herself into Scott's arms.

"Scott My cycle's been late for a long time"

The doctor checked her pulse too, then bowed again.

"Congratulations, General Holden. Ms. Cross is also pregnant."

Jennifer tilted her face up, tears sliding down.

"But I'm suffering from the Widow's Curse The doctor said once the baby is born, I might not survive Scott, this baby is the only thing I can leave you"

Scott pulled her tighter against him. "Don't say that. I'll find a way to cure it."

Then he glanced at me, something complicated in his eyes.

"Lillian, focus on recovering."

And just like that, I was forgotten.

From then on, the entire household revolved around Jennifer. Her tonics piled up like a mountain, while I couldn't even get a bowl of hot soup.

The maids' whispers drifted in through the window.

"So what if Lady Holden's pregnant? General Holden doesn't even come to see her."

"Ms. Cross has it so rough, carrying a child while suffering from that curse Lady Holden's perfectly fine in comparison."

Eventually, Scott remembered I existed and had me join them for dinner.

But at the table, he had an arm around Jennifer the whole time, piling food onto her plate, leaving me completely ignored.

Even the servants couldn't help whispering and snickering.

"Look at Lady Holden's face. She's about to cause a scene again. No way the general's going to listen to her."

Seeing that I hadn't touched my food, Scott looked up, a slight frown on his face.

"Lillian, eat before it gets cold."

I burst into tears and applause at the same time.

"This is so moving. I'm obsessed with you two. It's fine. I'll do everything I can to make sure Jennifer lives."

Under everyone's stunned stares, I got up and went back to my courtyard.

Then I pulled out paper and started sketching a large bathtub, ordering the servants to find a craftsman to build it.

Dripping blood little by little would take forever.

I figured I might as well just cut my wrist in the tub and fill it all at once. That should be enough for a full transfusion.

Chapter 4

While I was going over the design, I kept catching shadows flickering past the window.

I knew they were Jennifer's people. I didn't bother with them.

Until the day Scott stormed into my courtyard, his face dark as iron.

Behind him, a trembling maid followed, holding a filthy cloth doll stuffed with silver needles. A slip of paper with Jennifer's birth details was pinned to it.

"General Holden This was dug up from under the linden tree in Lady Holden's courtyard"

Her voice shook.

Scott's gaze swept the room, then landed in the corner.

The newly made bathtub sat there, long and deep. To anyone in this world, it probably looked super strange.

"What is that?"

His voice was cold enough to freeze over.

I hadn't even opened my mouth when Jennifer was helped inside, looking frail, as if she might collapse at any second.

She glanced at the tub, then covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

"That shape I've seen it in old texts. It looks like something used for blood rituals Lillian, do you hate me and my unborn child that much?"

The veins at Scott's temple bulged.

"That's not it," I tried to explain. "I was going to use it to"

"To perform some kind of curse on Jennifer and her child. Isn't that right?" Scott cut me off, his eyes filled with complete disappointment. "Lillian, I thought you were just jealous. I never expected you to be this vicious."

"I'm not"

I wanted to explain, but there was no way to make any of this sound normal.

"Search the place," Scott ordered.

More "evidence" turned up.

A few sharp knives, some half-finished anatomical sketches I had drawn, showing blood vessels in a modern style, and the small stash of anesthetic herbs I had secretly saved.

All of it was laid out.

"What else do you have to say?"

Scott looked at me like I was something filthy.

"Lock her up."

He turned away, not even willing to look at me again.

"Put all this garbage in there with her. No one opens that door without my permission."

I was shoved roughly inside.

The door slammed shut. The lock clicked into place.

The bathtub, the doll, the knives, the drawings, and the herbs all stayed in that dim room with me.

[I can't believe this. Does this villainess not have a mouth? Why isn't she explaining herself?]

[This is so frustrating! That trash man can go to hell, and honestly, so can that woman who won't even speak up for herself!]

[Our girl is so much better. She's smart and capable. Way out of the villainess's league!]

Reading those comments, the curve of my lips slowly grew wider until I was grinning from ear to ear.

I was finally going home.

Reward money, here I come!

A day later.

Scott's irritated voice came from outside.

"Open the door. I want to see if she's learned anything after being locked up this long."

The lock rattled, and the door was kicked open.

Light poured in.

What greeted him wasn't his stubborn, vicious wife.

It was a tub filled with bright red blood and a pale, lifeless body.

In my hand, I was still clutching a letter with only a few simple lines written on it.

[Use my blood for Jennifer. It will completely cure her Widow's Curse. My love, I wish you and Jennifer a lifetime of happiness.]