My Wedding Became My Exile

On the day I married the heir apparent of the Belladale Kingdom, Elijah Hale, my mother chose me to go to the Ravelle Empire in my sister's place. Still wearing my wedding dress, I boarded the carriage bound for Ravelle without looking back even once. In my previous life, my family had sent my sister in my place because I was set to marry Prince Elijah. They never imagined that the Ravelle Emperor would be so depraved as to give her to his chief chamberlain as a wife. My sister was tortured to death, calling for our mother with her final breath. When my mother learned what had happened, her hair turned white overnight. She even said she should have sent me to Ravelle instead. After my father and brothers led an army against Ravelle and suffered a crushing defeat, they proposed exchanging me for my sister's remains. Prince Elijah declared that my sister was the woman he truly loved and forced me to go to Ravelle to bring her home. I was eight months pregnant when they sent me to the border. The grueling journey sent me into premature labor, and I begged them to find a physician to help deliver my baby. Instead, they accused me of being jealous of my sister and said there was no need to pay me any attention. In the end, I struggled through childbirth alone and died on the road to Ravelle. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day I married Prince Elijah. And there stood my mother, handing me a royal decree that ordered me to go to Ravelle in my sister's place. Chapter 1 The pain of childbirth had barely begun to fade when, through a haze, I saw my mother lift the baby from beneath me and squeeze the life out of him. She said, "Willa, we can't keep this child. If the King of Belladale learns you've given birth to a boy, he'll summon you back to the palace. Then your sister won't be able to come home." I could only watch helplessly as she climbed out of the carriage and announced that I had given birth to a stillborn child. Then the carriage set off again, carrying me toward the Ravelle Empire, where I was to be exchanged for my sister's remains. Resentment consumed me. Blood poured endlessly from between my legs, and in the end, the relentless jolting of the carriage caused me to bleed to death. … When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day I was supposed to marry Prince Elijah. It was also the day the Ravelle envoy had specifically demanded that the Ellsworth family send one of their daughters to marry into the Ravelle royal family. After the royal decree arrived at our estate, my younger sister, Miya, barely glanced at it before throwing herself into our mother's arms. She sobbed, "Mom, I don't want to go to Ravelle. I don't want to leave you." My mother looked at her with unmistakable tenderness. But when she turned to me, most of that warmth disappeared from her eyes. I took the royal decree from her hands. "I'll go in her place. Let Miya marry Prince Elijah." In my previous life, I hadn't taken the decree. With only an hour left before I was supposed to marry Prince Elijah, my family had gritted their teeth and sent Miya to Ravelle instead. To make her life there easier, my mother had taken all my wedding gifts and half our family's fortune and sent them with her, hoping the Ravelle royal family would treat her well. But the Ravelle Empire was powerful and had never taken our Kingdom of Belladale seriously. When the Ravelle Emperor received Miya, he handed her directly to his chief chamberlain, Bowen Prembroke, a cruel and twisted man. After taking possession of Miya's money and belongings, Bowen tortured her to death. When my mother learned what had happened, her hair turned white overnight. She said that if she'd known Miya would meet such a fate, she should have sent me to Ravelle instead. My father and brothers launched an unauthorized war against Ravelle in an attempt to recover Miya's remains. After suffering a crushing defeat, they fled back to the capital. Prince Elijah had always loved Miya. He proposed using me as a hostage in exchange for her remains, but by then, I was already eight months pregnant. After much deliberation, Ravelle agreed to exchange Miya's remains for me. My parents personally escorted me to Ravelle. The journey was rough and exhausting, and when we reached the border, I unexpectedly went into labor and gave birth to a baby boy. The King of Belladale had decreed that if I gave birth to a son, I would be summoned back and allowed to raise him in the heir apparent's household. My mother wanted Miya's remains back so desperately that she cruelly strangled my son and told everyone I had given birth to a stillborn child. This time, as I looked at the tears in Miya's eyes and at my mother, whose expression toward me had already begun to sour, I tightened my grip on the royal decree. My mother was still hesitating when Prince Elijah suddenly barged into the room, completely disregarding proper etiquette. He stepped in front of Miya and shielded her behind him. "Lady Ellsworth, the woman I've always wanted to marry is Miya. I only agreed to marry Willa because we'd been promised to each other as children. "If you'll agree to let Miya marry me and send Willa to Ravelle, I'll report it to my father immediately and have Miya formally recognized as my princess and consort." At Prince Elijah's promise, my mother's conflicted expression gradually hardened. "All right. Miya will marry Prince Elijah, and Willa will go to Ravelle." She looked at me as though it were the most natural arrangement in the world. "You're the older sister, so naturally, you should give way to your younger sister. "The journey to Ravelle is dangerous, and your sister is young and frail. How could we possibly send her there? Naturally, you should go instead." But my mother had forgotten that Miya and I were twins. I was only one minute older than her, yet that single minute had made me the elder sister who was expected to yield to her in everything. I didn't argue. I simply removed the gold hairpin from my hair, gathered my belongings, and prepared to leave the city. Annie grabbed my hand tightly. "Lady Ellsworth, how is that fair? This engagement originally belonged to the elder daughter. "She was only half an hour away from marrying into the heir apparent's household and becoming his princess. Why should she be sent to Ravelle, that den of wolves and tigers?" Chapter 2 The moment Annie finished speaking, Miya dropped to her knees in front of my mother and burst into tears. "Mom, if Willa doesn't want to go, then I'll go instead. The journey ahead is so long. I won't be able to fulfill my duty as your daughter anymore." When my brother, Cedric Ellsworth, heard her crying, he stormed into the room and kicked Annie hard in the chest. "The mistress hasn't even said anything yet. Who gave you permission to butt in, you servant?" The blow sent Annie stumbling into my arms, a thin streak of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. My mother wiped Miya's tears and gently coaxed her. "Your sister is willing to go. When did she ever say she didn't want to? "Look, she's already taken off her jewelry. You're the bride today. You should be happy. You'll ruin your pretty face if you keep crying." With that, they took Miya to another room to get her ready, leaving Cedric behind to watch me and make sure I didn't take any of the jewelry or hair ornaments I'd worn for today's wedding. Unlike in my previous life, when Miya had married into the Ravelle royal family, the Ellsworths gave me nothing for the journey this time. I was allowed to take only Annie with me to Ravelle. When my nanny and the butler heard about it, they came to me with the few dozen silver coins they'd managed to save over the years. Lorraine held my hand, tears streaming down her face. "It isn't much, but if you get hungry or thirsty on the road, don't deprive yourself. Buy yourself something to eat." She still had more to say, but Cedric had already grown impatient. He pushed her aside and urged me to leave. Miya would be leaving in half an hour, and he needed to hurry and hand me over to the Ravelle troops so he could return in time to see her married. I boarded the Ravelle carriage without even changing out of my wedding dress, and the Ravelle troops escorted me toward their empire. As evening approached, the convoy came to a stop. I lifted the curtain and saw Cedric standing at the front of the procession, speaking with the soldiers. Despite the injury she'd suffered from his kick, Annie excitedly got to her feet. "Miss, your brother still cares about you. He must be worried you'll be mistreated in Ravelle, so he came to give you some money for the journey." I watched Cedric walk toward the carriage, but somehow, I knew it couldn't be that simple. Sure enough, he didn't give me any money. Instead, he handed me a small bottle. I opened it and took a cautious sniff. It contained a highly potent poison. He said, "Mother said Miya is a princess now. If you marry well in Ravelle, then so be it. But if you're given to some unsavory person, you could bring shame upon our family and Miya. If that happens, this bottle will at least make things easier for you." It was true. Ravelle had only sent word that they wanted to marry a daughter of the Ellsworth family. They hadn't specified whom that daughter would marry. Whether the marriage turned out well or badly would depend entirely on whom the emperor chose for her. In my previous life, Miya had been given to the impotent grand chamberlain. Yet when my mother heard that Miya had married an impotent man, she'd been heartbroken. She'd sent her plenty of money so she could live more comfortably. When it was my turn, all I got was a bottle of poison. I rolled the bottle between my fingers and let out a cold laugh. Then I splashed the poison across Cedric's face. The corrosive liquid immediately ate away part of his skin, and he roared, "Willa, don't push your luck! If you don't have a good life in Ravelle, don't expect me to come save you!" I threw the bottle to the ground. It shattered with a sharp crack. "I won't expect you to save me. From this day forward, consider me dead. Whether I live well or suffer, don't come looking for me." With those words, I completely severed my path home. That was where Cedric and I parted ways. … That night, the Ravelle soldiers gathered around my carriage and whispered among themselves. "Who do you think they'll give a girl abandoned by Belladale, with no family left to rely on, to?" "Probably some lowlife. They only asked for a Belladale bride to humiliate Belladale in the first place. What kind of good ending could she possibly have?" "That's true. She's pretty, though. Might as well let me have her." Chapter 3 The soldiers discussed the matter among themselves day and night. Finally, in the middle of the night, one of the guards leading the escort worked up the nerve to sneak into my carriage. He pinned me down with a lecherous grin. Annie pounded at him with all her strength, but he refused to let me go. "You're all alone. You won't come to a good end once you reach Ravelle anyway. Why don't you come with me? I'll protect you along the way." I slipped a needle from my sleeve and casually ran one hand over his body. Mistaking the gesture for encouragement, he grew even more excited and impatiently tore off my outer robe. Just as his hand reached for the clothes underneath, I drove the silver needle into the nape of his neck. His entire body went limp on top of me. His eyes remained wide open, but he couldn't move a single muscle. That one needle was enough to leave him paralyzed for the rest of his life. I threw him out of the carriage and faced the soldiers gathering around me. "I know what you're thinking. However, the Emperor has always been unpredictable. "If he doesn't take a liking to me, then so be it. But if he does and decides he wants to make me one of his consorts, only to discover that I'm no longer a virgin, I'm afraid every last one of you will die. "The next person who sneaks into my carriage will end up just like him." I had already thought everything through during the journey. If I could please the Ravelle Emperor, perhaps I'd have a chance of being married off to a prince or an influential official. If I couldn't, the worst that could happen was that I'd be given to a servant or sold into a brothel. As long as I stayed alive, I'd have a chance to find a way to rise again. … Three months later, I arrived at the Ravelle royal palace. The Emperor didn't even spare me a glance. "Bowen, you've served me faithfully all these years. You must be tired. I'll give this woman to you." Bowen Prembroke was the grand chamberlain who had married Miya in my previous life. After marrying her, he'd sent a letter to the Ellsworth family. When my mother found out, she'd been heartbroken for Miya but hadn't dared say anything. All she could do was send him plenty of gold and silver and beg him to treat Miya well. This time, things played out differently. Bowen wrote to my family, but their reply contained no gold or silver. There was only my mother's reproach. She said I'd enjoyed wealth and privilege for more than a decade. Now that something like this had happened, I should've taken my own life instead of shamelessly asking my family for money. Bowen read her letter aloud to me. Once he realized that the Ellsworth family of Belladale had completely abandoned me, he beat me viciously. Then he went outside and summoned dozens of guards. He sneered, "I may not be able to perform in bed myself, but that doesn't mean I can't make sure you have a good time. No need to thank me. From now on, you can make plenty of money for me this way." He actually sold me to the guards. As I watched them approach, I clutched my clothes tightly around myself. I had studied medicine under my grandmother since childhood. Dealing with a few men was still well within my abilities. I pulled long, thin needles from my sleeve. The moment the guards stepped forward to grab me, I struck, driving the needles deep into several of them. When the men behind them saw the guards at the front collapse and scream in pain, they had no idea what had happened. One after another, they rushed forward to investigate, and the room instantly descended into chaos. Taking advantage of the confusion, I knocked Bowen to the ground and fled with Annie. One of the guards spotted us and swung his sword viciously at Annie from behind. She shoved me forward with all her strength, then spun around and wrapped both arms around Bowen's legs. "Miss, run! Get out of the palace! Run as far away as you can. It's the only way you'll survive!" she shouted. Rain poured down outside. Even through the downpour, I could smell Annie's blood. I raced through the palace corridors in the rain for what felt like an eternity. I had no idea where to go or where I could possibly find safety. In my panic, I crashed into a young man. I couldn't make out his face. All I knew was that I dropped to my knees at his feet and begged him to save me and Annie. He bent down, and once he got a clear look at my face, he scooped me into his arms. Then Bowen's shrill voice rang out behind us. "Your Highness, why are you holding that filthy thing? Hurry up and throw her out!"