After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

"Burn it; I won't look at it."

Another plot point that conflicts with her memory emerges: Annie doesn't remember Oswald writing to her during this period, almost every two weeks.

Not to mention the tall figure standing outside the window in the night, the flickering firelight shining through the smoke; it was the first time Annie had ever seen Oswald so shattered…

The envelope was tossed into the fireplace by the maid, and Annie felt a pang of regret; she was eager to know what Oswald had written.

Sigh, at that time, I hadn't experienced the harsh realities of life. In fact, compared to the various disasters that followed, having my home ransacked was nothing.

If you don't take the opportunity Oswald offers to help you, wait until he sweeps away the nobles, becomes himself again, and wreaks havoc in the northern territories, leaving countless heads rolling, then you'll be obedient.

Looking at Oswald standing alone until late at night, Annie was caught in a huge dilemma. Could it be that Oswald really loved her?

Why is this different from what I experienced?

The Oswald I encountered was clearly a violent and tyrannical political monster who led his people around the clock, would kill at the slightest provocation, and taught his subordinates all sorts of bizarre ideas every day?

Love? Perhaps only if she herself becomes a curse will Oswald even glance at her.

Why can the same person be so different?

Annie couldn't accept it; she even began to suspect that she had been brainwashed. What kind of life had she lived back then? Not only were there layers of security, but anyone who dared to send a message into the Marquis's mansion would be beheaded that very day.

Now look at this ancestor, he was provided with good food and drink, and his conditions and treatment were top-notch. He even sent maids to the street to help him buy things.

Girl, which timeline's wife are you from?!

Despite her complaints, time flew by, and Annie still hadn't seen the letter Oswald had written to her. But...

She saw her own heart blinded by hatred, saw the once again bustling Ice City, and saw the increasingly frequent war mobilizations.

Until one day, Oswald, who had completely seized military power, reappeared before her.

"What do you really want?" he asked softly.

"I want you to die." She heard her own cold reply.

……

Everything seemed to return to normal, and her memories returned to normal. Annie used all available power, with the help of the king and the hero's party, to successfully eliminate Oswald.

This time, Oswald had no one to assist him. The red-haired maid had long since disappeared, and Luna, far away in the royal city, was also under control.

They succeeded, but Annie, who quietly watched this illusion, only felt a sense of loss after their success.

The people were overjoyed; they had finally rid themselves of the tyrant, and the hero, hailed as the chosen one of the goddess, would lead them to a brighter tomorrow.

What the brave team didn't know was that the Northern Territory was a location, a situation.

If, like Oswald the Third, the aristocratic class cannot be completely eliminated, productive forces cannot be liberated through the distribution of the means of production, and wealth cannot be plundered through various war decisions, then all the good things are just empty talk.

Annie thought she had found true love, and she had once become a slave to desire, until Nicole awakened her.

Nicole's eyes betrayed her disappointment and exhaustion. "Help me, Annie. The annual grain harvest is declining, and we've granted too many nobles. The Northern Territory is about to collapse."

As the nominal administrator of the Northern Territory, Annie was well aware of what this situation meant.

With no time for pleasure, she resolved to surpass Oswald. She rallied and worked tirelessly until the entire Northern Territory was as decadent as a hero's room.

All hope is false, all love is false, even all hate is false.

The hero, oblivious to everything else, took Lilith on an adventure. Meanwhile, the elusive Maria returned to the capital to assume the position of archbishop. The princess's banquets were a nightly affair of revelry, as if she wanted to squeeze the last drop of blood from the northern territory.

Amidst the sounds of revelry that lasted all night, she saw the weariness in Oswald's eyes and understood his isolation and helplessness.

She wanted to emulate Oswald by shifting the financial burden to the nobility, but she quickly received a cold stare from Princess Diana.

The Northern Territory is rotten, before the next war of the Demon Race arrives.

Nicole was also on the verge of collapse. The heavy responsibility was suffocating her. Even if she emptied the entire treasury of Nicole's family, it would not be enough to fill the financial hole of the Northern Territory.

"What exactly do you want?"

Oswald's words echoed in Annie's ears once more. On several sleepless nights, she picked up the beautiful dress and wept uncontrollably.

Finally, just as he built his towering edifice, feasted his guests, and watched his edifice crumble, the demon known as Famine swept across every inch of the Northern Territory.

The lush grasslands turned into endless yellow sand, the tall coniferous forests withered and collapsed, and locusts devoured every single crop growing in the ground.

The cries of agony were scattered, and white bones covered the plains for miles. Women who had starved to death threw their emaciated children to the ground, and even in their dying moments, they were still scavenging lice from the corpses.

Natural disasters are followed by man-made disasters. Banditry intensifies, and all able-bodied men who can still move regard each other as food, turning the world into a hell of hunger.

The princess arrived again, and she gave an incredibly simple command, casually instructing Ni to use the Wishing Star to solve the famine.

His Majesty Frank did everything in his power to help the Northern Territory, but the locusts that had devoured the Northern Territory swept southward in a massive swarm, and the Central District soon fell into crisis as well.

They have lost all their options.

With things having progressed to this point, Nicole and Annie were both in despair. The two talked for a long time in the room, and Nicole decided to use the Wishing Star to turn back time and go back to ten years ago.

In their next life, neither of them wanted to join any hero team; they just wanted to live their own lives.

So on a moonlit night with few stars, Nicole made a wish.

As the light shone brightly, Annie, with tears in her eyes, clasped her hands together and quietly made her own prayer.

Two beams of light shot straight into the night sky, and the moon suddenly opened its eyes at that moment.

……

Annie, who witnessed this scene, was speechless with shock. That eye replaced the moon, gazing down upon the creatures on the ground with its radiant light.

Light and endless magic intertwined, erosion occurred, time actively found a warp point, and the world instantly changed. The earth silently cracked, the sky no longer obscured the stars, the blazing light of the stars pulsed, and everything before our eyes collapsed.

When magma erupted from 100 kilometers below the Earth's surface, the world seemed to be put on pause.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Annie heard a sneer coming from the void in the stagnant space-time.

The moon closed its eyes, and time was probably still flowing. Annie, who had not waited for the ending, suddenly returned to the phantom of the fork in the road.

What did I just see?

A wave of extreme fear and unease washed over her, and as she came to her senses, a terrible thought immediately formed in Annie's mind.

This is the first life in the true sense. The previous life she knew was caused by Nicole's time travel! And she didn't know what wish she made that led to the collapse of the world and the fate of a god-level power!

No wonder Maria, now cursed, called them traitors. Nicole didn't eliminate the famine; instead, she turned back time and changed their ideal ending.

For some reason, the goddess erased their memories before the second life began... Annie realized that she had messed everything up again. She had promised Nicole that she would live her life well, but she had ended up on a path of no return.

But if that's the case, wouldn't Diana be the only one left who hasn't used the Wishing Star in the second life? And Maria and Lilith clearly used it once, so why didn't it become a curse in the second life?

The more I think about it, the more questions arise; there are still many mysteries surrounding the second life. What aspects are they...?

Oswald! Oswald has undergone a significant change!

Pain tore through her entire body. Even in the illusion, Annie could still feel the throbbing pain in her heart and recall the moments from her first life, when those eyes had once gazed at her with such tenderness.

But is the person in the second life still the original Oswald?