She mimicked my appearance, settling demurely on my bed, waiting for my husband to join her.
My parents also hoped she would share a harmonious and fruitful marriage with my husband, blessed with many children.
My husband pushed open the door, and my sister, her face flushed, stepped forward to help him undress.
She had no idea that the man standing before her was far more terrifying than she could ever be.
I floated in the air, watching Caspian push open the door. His battle armor was stained with blood and dust.
Two months apart, he looked a little thinner, but also more imposing.
My sister, Elara Sterling, nervously clutched her dress, then steeled herself and rose from the bed, approaching Caspian. She spoke softly, “My Lord, let me help you undress and bathe.”
Her voice was almost identical to mine.
But our voices were originally different.
Seven days earlier, when I was on the verge of death, she had told me, “Lyra, I went through hell to change my voice. Don’t you think it sounds just like yours?”
It certainly did, because even someone as cautious as Caspian hadn’t realized that the wife before him was an imposter.
Caspian removed his armor and opened his arms. Elara’s face flushed, and her soft, delicate hands reached for his belt.
She wasn’t naturally fair-skinned, but to match my complexion, she had taken whitening potions daily for two years and avoided the sun completely. In the end, she became as fair as I was.
Not just my voice and skin, but she had perfectly mimicked my expressions and gestures too.
She said she had spent two full years preparing.
She said she was determined to have it all.
Caspian looked down at her. “Did you change your perfume?”
Elara paused, then softly replied, “Yes, My Lord. How do you find this scent?”
Caspian frowned. “It’s too strong. Not as good as the one you used before. Change it back.”
Elara quickly said, “Yes, My Lord.”
Caspian turned and walked towards the bath. Elara eagerly followed, joy in her eyes.
She hadn’t been discovered; naturally, she was thrilled.
I didn’t want to go near the bath, because I knew what would happen next.
Caspian had joined the military at twelve and had served for thirteen years. His passion in the bedroom was intense, unlike any other.
Though I didn’t know if any women had served him during his two months away, whenever he returned after several days, it was always more than I could bear.
He was never gentle with me, even nonchalantly saying, “Your parents sent you to please me, yet I see little effort from you.”
Later, Nanny Eliza advised me to be more accommodating, and I followed her words, which made him less brutal.
But in truth, it was Elara who was originally meant to marry Caspian.
Yet, that year, when Caspian returned to the Capital with his army from the Northern Territories, five severed heads hung from his saddle.
Though he told the King he had merely encountered and slain bandits along the way, everyone knew those five heads represented the five prominent families who had brought charges against his family years ago.
Our Sterling family was one of them.
The Sterling family had bled profusely due to those accusations, and Caspian was naturally out for revenge.
So, the five families offered rare jewels and stunning beauties, hoping to appease his fury.
Elara, my sister, was one of those stunning beauties.
She feared she would be tortured to death by Caspian and begged our parents not to send her.
Our parents doted on her, and ultimately, they made me take Elara’s place and marry Caspian.
Though Elara and I were twins, a seer had prophesied at our birth that one of us would bring ruin to the Sterling family.
So, when I was born quiet and cried little, I was declared the ill-fated twin.
They planned to drown me.
My mother couldn’t bear it and threatened her own life to save mine. I survived but was confined to the deepest, smallest courtyard in the Sterling estate, with only Nanny Eliza to care for me.
From then on, outsiders only knew of Elara Sterling, the eldest daughter cherished by the Sterling family, and were unaware of another daughter named Lyra Sterling, who grew like a weed in that tiny, secluded yard.
The Sterling family never gave me a name. Lyra was given to me by Nanny Eliza.
Nanny Eliza said that on the day she carried me to the small courtyard, the pear blossoms there were in full bloom, the most beautiful she had ever seen. So she named me Lyra.
Lyra, a name that sounded so much like “farewell” in the old tongue.
It perfectly foretold my brief life.
My soul drifted uncontrollably towards the bath.
Caspian was already in the water, leaning against the edge of the tub, enveloped in the rising steam.
His body was a map of jagged, crisscrossing old scars. Elara’s eyes darted away in fear when she saw them.
She was scared.
I found it laughable; she hadn’t hesitated for a moment when she killed me.
I floated to Caspian’s side, waving my hand before his eyes.
Though I had always been somewhat afraid of him, now I hoped he could sense me, or somehow realize Elara wasn’t me.
My body was still buried in the Sterling family’s garden, being devoured by ants and worms.
If he would avenge me, out of respect for our three years together, I would be grateful.
If he wouldn’t, then digging up my body and burning it would also be a kindness.
I preferred warm places; I didn’t want to lie in darkness forever.
Alas, he had no awareness of me.
He simply rested with his eyes closed.
Elara composed herself, lightly bit her crimson lips, and prepared to enter the bath.
Caspian suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Is there something wrong, My Lord?” Elara asked.
Caspian said, “I heard that while I was away, you returned to the Sterling family home?”
Elara immediately knelt. “Yes, My Lord, my mother was ill, so I went back for a few days. Please forgive me.”
At the mention of my mother, a pang of pain still struck my heart.
She had once threatened her own life to save me, yet when Elara wanted to be with Caspian, she tricked me into returning home, allowing Elara to poison me.
I wanted to ask her why.
Why she loved me, yet killed me.
After hearing Elara’s explanation, Caspian said, “Since your mother was ill, returning home is understandable.”
I froze.
Caspian had never spoken such words to me before.
On our wedding night, he had said that since my parents had sent me to him, I was his property, and from then on, I could have no self.
My life was his, and my death was his.
To endure his hardships, to bear his anger.
That night, he had gripped my face and coldly said, “Though you are indeed born to inspire pity, do not expect an ounce of it from me.”
He said it, and he lived by it.
In the three years of our marriage, beyond our intimate moments, he spoke little to me, let alone allowed me to return home.
“Thank you for your mercy, My Lord.” Elara said softly, then rose and went to Caspian’s side, picking up a towel to wipe his body.
Suddenly, Caspian’s aide’s voice came from outside: “My Lord, the King summons you urgently.”
“I understand.” Caspian rose and left.
Elara stomped her foot, watching Caspian’s retreating back, vexed that the King’s summons had come at such an inconvenient time.
Elara returned to the room, happily spinning a few circles.
My former maid, Daisy, entered with tea. “Congratulations, Lady. You successfully fooled the Lord.”
Daisy had been sent by the Sterling family two years ago, after Nanny Eliza, who raised me, passed away.
At the time, I thought my family cared for me, but now I knew it was all part of Elara’s plan to replace me.
They had been planning my murder for two years.
Elara pulled Daisy closer. “Smell me. What do I smell like?”
Daisy sniffed carefully. “Miss Elara, besides the pear blossom scent, I don’t smell anything else.”
Elara was still worried. “Really? But My Lord was only near me for a moment and recognized my old sandalwood fragrance.”
I didn’t understand either. Caspian wasn’t usually skilled in discerning scents; how had he immediately noticed Elara’s change?
Daisy said, “Perhaps the sandalwood you used before was exceptionally good, and the scent hasn’t completely faded. I imagine a few more days of the pear blossom scent will fully mask it.”
“That makes sense.” Elara lit a few more pear blossom incense sticks, then pulled out a voodoo doll and began sticking pins into it. “Forever damned to hell, with no reincarnation.”
My name, Lyra Sterling, was written on the doll.
I thought the sorcerer who taught her this doll-cursing trick must be an incompetent fraud, because despite all those pins, I felt absolutely nothing.
After a while of poking, she spoke to the doll:
“Oh, little sister, don’t feel so unlucky. You had My Lord for three whole years.”
“When I saw him just now, he truly looked like a warrior god. So much better than that bookworm father and mother found for me. No, he’s better than any man in the whole world.”
After I married Caspian, she could no longer live as Elara Sterling.
Our parents had sent her to a secluded place and even arranged a scholar for her to marry.
But now, I wondered what became of that scholar. I imagined he was killed, just like me.
She twisted the doll’s head. “You should be thanking me, actually. If it weren’t for me, how else would you have married My Lord, enjoying his person, his glory, his wealth?”
“Now, it’s all just returning to its rightful owner.”
Once, she feared Caspian and made me take her place.
Later, when she saw that I had lived perfectly well by Caspian’s side for a year, and that he was steadily rising in power within the court,
She became infatuated again.
She couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, like she was possessed.
“Daisy, how often did My Lord sleep with Lyra?” Elara asked again.
Daisy replied, “My Lord, unless he was on official duties or away on travels, almost always stayed in Lyra’s chambers when he was at the estate.”
Elara glared at Daisy. “So what? Three years of favor, and not a single child. Clearly, My Lord only used her to pass the time.”
She was right. Caspian had told me not to ever dream of bearing his children.
So I had been taking medicine constantly. I also didn’t want to bring a child into the world who would share my fate.
It’s late at night, but Caspian still hadn’t returned. Elara was tired, telling Daisy to wake her when he arrived.
I floated out of the room and sat on the rooftop, looking towards the King’s palace.
A few days ago, I heard the King was gravely ill. Caspian being summoned to the palace now meant he was likely being entrusted with a mission in this critical time.
Once he was second only to the King, above all others, I wondered if he would then make a move against the Sterling family.
In recent years, he had already been restless.
The Sterling family and the other four families thought offering mountains of treasures and beautiful women would make him forget the past, but how could such things compare to the hatred in his heart?
The day I returned to the Sterling family home, I had intended to warn them of Caspian’s intentions.
But before I could even open my mouth, they poisoned me.
The moon gradually set, and a faint whiteness appeared in the east. The sun was about to rise, and I had to hurry back into the room.
I was a ghost. I feared the sunlight.
My favorite sunlight.
Caspian returned at noon. Elara had prepared a table full of delicious dishes, waiting for him.
I lingered weakly in a corner. I was hungry too.
In two weeks before I died, I could barely ear. Every bite I took, my stomach rebelled. Then, at the Sterling family house, before I could even taste a meal, I drank the poisoned wine Elara handed me.
So, I was practically a starved ghost.
Elara, anxious from waiting for Caspian these past few days, hadn’t eaten much either. Now that Caspian was by her side, her appetite improved.
Caspian, however, did not pick up his fork. Instead, he watched her, his gaze scrutinizing, his fingers idly drumming – a habitual gesture when he was thinking.
Had he noticed something?
“Why aren’t you eating, My Lord?” Elara asked.
Caspian didn’t answer directly, but said, “You seem to have a good appetite.”
Elara immediately realized her mistake. She should have been imitating my quiet, docile demeanor.
She put down her fork, lowering her head. “Please forgive my unladylike behavior, My Lord.”
Caspian then added, “I heard you were unwell last month. The palace doctor will arrive at noon to examine you.”
A flicker of panic crossed Elara’s eyes. I knew she worried the doctor might discover something; after all, while the exterior could be changed, the subtle internal differences could not.
And I was also puzzled. I hadn’t died until last month, so he was clearly referring to my illness.
In these three years, I had fallen ill a few times, but it was always Caspian’s own physicians who treated me. Now he was sending the palace doctor.
Why would he suddenly care so much about my health?
Though Elara was extremely reluctant to be examined, she dared not defy Caspian. So she kept asking Daisy about my symptoms from last month.
Daisy recalled, “Last month… Lyra wasn’t seriously ill. She just had little appetite and would feel nauseous after eating anything rich, but overall, it wasn’t anything serious.”
Elara’s expression turned grave. “What you’re saying, it sounds as if she might have been pregnant.”
I was startled too, but how could that be? I had never stopped taking my medicine.
Daisy reassured her, “Miss Elara, don’t worry. Even if Lyra was pregnant, it doesn’t matter. She’s dead now. Dead men tell no tales.”
Yes, I was dead.
Even if I had been pregnant, the fetus would only have been two months old. Even if my body were dug up, who could tell I was pregnant?
At noon, the palace doctor arrived at the estate on time. After examining Elara’s pulse, he went aside with Caspian.
I floated closer and heard the doctor tell Caspian, “The Lady is not pregnant.”
So Caspian *had* suspected I was pregnant.
That’s why he cared.
If I had indeed carried his child, he would have moved to eliminate it quickly.
“Hmm,” Caspian said faintly.
“My Lord need not worry. The Lady’s pulse is steady and healthy; her body is in good health. If My Lord desires an heir, this year will surely bring news.” The doctor assumed Caspian wanted a child.
Caspian’s eyes moved. “She… is in good health?”
“Yes, perfectly healthy,” the doctor affirmed.
Caspian looked towards Elara in the distance, then instructed his aide, “Go inform the Sterling family. Tomorrow, I will accompany the Lady on a visit to her family home.”
In our three years together, he had never once voluntarily gone to the Sterling estate.
He rarely even received my parents when they came.
But he must not have discovered anything, otherwise, given his methods, if he found the Sterling family had deceived him, by now, not even a chicken or a dog would be left alive.
Elara was quite uneasy when she learned he was going to the Sterling family home tomorrow. “My Lord has only seen me for half a day. Has he figured out I’m not Lyra Sterling?”
But she quickly composed herself. “No, he hasn’t noticed, otherwise, he would have taken my head by now.”
“But the palace doctor must have said something that aroused My Lord’s suspicion. Daisy, have someone find out immediately.”
She was clever.
The children raised in a prominent family like the Sterlings would naturally not be incompetent.
The next morning, the carriage set off for the Sterling estate.
The spring sun was quite scorching, so I could only float in Caspian’s shadow, trailing the carriage.
His tall figure shielded me completely from the scorching sun.
I had never imagined I would one day need his protection like this.
Upon arriving at the Sterling estate, my parents were already waiting at the entrance. Seeing Caspian, they eagerly welcomed him.
My mother also took Elara’s hand, worry in her eyes.
I felt a pang of sadness. In my memory, my mother had never looked at me that way.
Even on the day I married Caspian, knowing I might die, her eyes were still filled with joy.
Joy that Elara would live.
Sadly, at the time, I couldn’t understand. I always thought that since my mother had fought for my life, she surely loved me too.
“Mother, I would have willingly switched places with my sister. Why did you have to kill me?” I floated beside my mother and asked.
My mother couldn’t hear.
When I was alive, she ignored my pleas; how could she care for me after I was dead?
Her entire heart and soul were for Elara.
My father subtly asked Caspian why he had come with Elara, given the critical political situation, and that Caspian should be in the palace.
Caspian said it was a beautiful spring day, and the Sterling family’s gardens were renowned as the best in the Capital, so he came to enjoy the scenery.
I knew that wasn’t his true purpose, but I still perked up.
Because my body was buried in that garden.
My parents probably hadn’t moved my corpse yet. After all, the Sterling family was a large household, with many mouths, and any carelessness could lead to discovery.
Caspian strolled leisurely through the garden, Elara nervously accompanying him.
My mother gently patted her hand, as if signaling her not to worry.
My father asked Caspian about the current court affairs, but Caspian didn’t answer. Instead, he plucked a crabapple blossom and tucked it into Elara’s hair.
Elara’s eyes lit up, then she demurely lowered her head.
My parents were smiling too; they breathed a sigh of relief.
Caspian used to put flowers in my hair too. It wasn’t that he loved me much; I was merely one of his possessions, and he found some amusement in dressing me up when he was bored.
Or perhaps, he would adorn me to his liking before he… indulged, so he could enjoy himself more.
“Thank you, My Lord,” Elara said sweetly.
Caspian smiled and continued walking forward.
Ahead was where I was buried, my body beneath that tangled rose bush.
But when I floated over, I couldn’t feel my body anymore.
I saw that the soil had been freshly turned. My body had been moved, likely last night.
They simply couldn’t take the risk.
Caspian had climbed his way out of piles of corpses; they feared he would sense something.
But where was I now?
Suddenly, a breeze picked up, blowing countless pear blossoms. A cool fragrance filled the wind.
Pear blossoms fell like snow, a fleeting spring.
Caspian looked in the direction the pear blossoms were flying. At the end of the garden, there was a small courtyard, with a pear tree whose pure white blossoms were in full bloom.
Caspian walked towards it. My father and mother immediately blocked him, saying there was nothing to see there.
Caspian said he had never seen such pure, ethereal pear blossoms and saw no harm in taking a look.
Elara immediately feigned dizziness. “My Lord, it’s too hot. I’m feeling unwell and wish to rest.”
Caspian saw her pale face and sweat on her brow. After a moment of hesitation, he left with her.
I watched my parents’ expressions. I knew my body must be in that courtyard.
In the room, my mother accompanied Elara while she rested, and my father took Caspian to a quiet pavilion for tea.
“Mother, was that ill-fated twin really pregnant?” Elara asked.
My mother nodded. “Yes, last night we… opened her up. She was indeed pregnant.”
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