To pay off her kingdom's debt, Psyche is sold to the Demiosis ducal family of the empire. The head of the Demiosis family is Ikali Demiosis, known throughout the empire as a ruthless killer—the man who twisted the neck of his foster father and paraded his head, and crippled his stepbrother.... more>>

Despite this, Psyche has harbored feelings for him since she was a child. Even though she's being sold to a mu*derer to settle a debt, she gives him her heart, remembering the gentle boy he once was.

However, shortly after their marriage, Ikali leaves to fight in the empire's four-year war. Psyche, now the Duchess, waits desperately for his return, but the message that finally reaches her is an imperial decree: all members of the Demiosis family who plotted treason are to be executed.

***

Imprisoned in a cold cell, Psyche waits only for her husband. Then, on the night before her execution, Ikali, who had been missing and presumed dead in the war, appears before her under the moonlight, carrying the family's treasured sword.

"This sword is the family's treasure. It separates the body and soul. If you are cut by this blade, you can die without pain."

"...After four years, is that all you have to say to your wife?"

Her fleeting joy, a vague hope that he had come to save her, quickly fades.

"...I will follow you. If we are reborn, then this time, curse me, Psyche."

Ikali swiftly cuts down the wife he hasn't seen in four years. Psyche is killed by his hand, which holds neither compassion nor pity, but the power of the treasured sword sends her back in time to the night of her marriage. <<less