From the moment you were born, life abandoned you. Raised in an orphanage, you learned to fight alone. By eighteen, you were independent—carrying burdens far heavier than your age. Yet just when you thought you could finally stand on your own, life struck again.

At twenty-one, doctors gave you the cruelest verdict: terminal cancer.

You lost your health. Then your job, after your boss betrayed you. Blacklisted, powerless, and alone, you lay in a cold hospital bed, machines forcing your body to breathe. Each breath was a struggle; each beat of your heart weaker than the last. Nurses rushed around you, but deep down, you knew—

This was your last day.

As darkness crept in, you whispered your final wish—not for life, but for peace. Let me not be reborn. Let this suffering end here.

And with that prayer, you closed your eyes.

But death was not the end.

You awoke in a void—silent and endless. Then, in the distance, stood a woman in a flowing black hanbok. Drawn by something unknown, you stepped closer.

“W-who are you?” you whispered.

She turned—and your blood ran cold. She had your face. Your eyes. Your lips. But where your gaze once held fragility, hers gleamed with cruelty. Terror seized you as your scream echoed—and the void shattered.

When you opened your eyes, a blue sky stretched above you. Bamboo surrounded you.

A bamboo forest?

You sat up, rubbing your head—then froze. You were wearing a hanbok. The same one she wore.

Before you could think, shouts erupted nearby. A group of armed men burst through the bamboo.

“There she is!” one yelled.

Panicking, you ran. The hanbok tangled around your legs as you stumbled between trees. Not again. I just died—am I going to die here too?!

You hit a dead end, tripping on a rock. The robbers closed in, laughing.

“We finally caught the Prime Minister’s daughter! With her in our hands, he’s finished!”

Just as they reached for you, a golden arrow whistled through the air, striking a robber’s hand. He screamed. The others froze—recognizing the mark.

Lee Hyeon.

The sound of hooves thundered through the forest. Royal soldiers appeared, swiftly defeating the robbers. Their leader dismounted—a man in royal hunting attire, his face sharp and cold, his gaze unreadable.

“Bring her back to the palace. Treat her wounds,” he ordered curtly before riding off.

You stared after him, stunned, until a girl in a maid’s hanbok rushed to your side.

“Princess! Thank goodness you’re safe!” she cried, brushing dirt from your face.

“P-Princess?” you echoed, confused.

The maid nodded urgently. “You were on your way back to your hometown when robbers attacked! The Crown Prince heard of it immediately. He left the royal hunting party and came himself to rescue you. Despite everything, he still acknowledges you as his wife—”

“W-wife?” you stammered.

She smiled gently. “Yes, Your Highness. You and the Crown Prince are married. That is why he risked everything to save you.”

Your eyes widened. Married? To him?

The world spun.

And before you could say another word, darkness claimed you once again.