When Beauty Destroys The BL World

Chapter 99~Her Second Life IV~

True to his word, the next day, Nickolai was nowhere to be seen.

And for Dacia, that absence was more of a blessing than a concern.

He disappeared from her world as if she didn't exist-and Dacia found comfort in that silence. His absence granted her something she desperately needed: space to breathe. Space to process the horror of what had happened. Space to come to terms with her terrifying new reality.

She even found herself grateful for the bitter concoction the physician had gave her to drink. The thought of bearing the child of the man who once condemned her without mercy-who slaughtered her heart and reputation-sent shivers down her spine. She would never allow herself to be tied to him that way.

All she could think of was escape.

Escape from this gilded cage.

Libby, however, worried endlessly. "Your Highness... the Crown Prince hasn't visited even once. Doesn't it seem he's neglecting you?"

Dacia smiled faintly, her voice calm. "It's all right, Libby. Truly, I don't mind."

Still, there was something odd. Despite the Crown Prince's absence, the servants remained polite-more than that, they treated her with great respect. No one dared to speak out of turn. Even the Queen had shown signs of satisfaction with her, though Dacia couldn't quite understand why. Hadn't the crown prince had abandoned her?

Unbeknownst to her, whispers had already spread through the palace-rumors of the royal couple having consummated their marriage. That alone had solidified her position, giving her a protective barrier in a court where power was fragile and perception was everything.

As the days passed, Libby brought up something that stirred Dacia's thoughts.

"Your Highness...the day to visit the dukedom is approaching. Should we make some preparations?"

And with those words, memories came crashing down.

To visit the dukedom.

Her mother...

The woman who had been a ghost for most of her life. Absent. Silent. Distant. In her childhood, Dacia had long since accepted that the Duchess of Wickson wanted nothing to do with her. That the woman who birthed her and her brother had simply never cared.

But then, in her dying moments-lying in a pool of blood, breath shallow and weak-she remembered hearing her mother's voice. Screaming. Crying. Praying to the Goddess to save her.

"My daughter... my poor daughter..."

"Please... Goddess above... our family has served you for generation... please... have mercy on her. She doesn't deserve this fate..."

Could that prayer be the reason she was here again?

Could it be her mother is the reason she returned back to the past?

The idea shook her. If her mother truly had that kind of ability... what else had she never known?

Did I misunderstand her all along?

Did she actually care about her?

Dacia's heart ached with unanswered questions. For the first time in her life, she wanted to see the Duchess-not just out of duty, but from a need deep inside her chest. She had to know the truth. She had to see her.

Dacia thought of sending a letter to the crown prince merely to inform him of her departure, as required by etiquette.

In her previous life, Nickolai had ignore her and letting her gone to the dukedom alone.