"Charlotte, you've gone too far. Where's your dignity?"

I looked my mother in the eye. "You've spent years raising my cousin to be a proper lady, Mom. Shouldn't she be the one with dignity? So why is she the one taking what belongs to me? Isn't that what you'd call bad manners, Mom?"

She started to snap back, but Yvonne caught her arm and gave her a quick look. My mother swallowed her anger, let out a sharp huff, and turned her head away.

All the young women entering the palace today had been personally selected by the queen, daughters of the finest families in the land. Yvonne was the exception. Her invitation had been arranged by my mother, who'd used my father's name and connections to beg the favor of including her in the bride selection.

Once we were inside the palace, the queen invited everyone to walk freely through the gardens. The other girls spread out in small groups, laughing and chatting. I slipped away on my own.

Relying on memories from my past life, I headed toward a secluded corner of the royal garden. I knew an important figure would appear there.

The rear garden was quiet. With the crown prince choosing his consort today, nobody would come here. Everyone was gathered in the front garden instead, competing to outshine one another in hopes of catching the crown prince's eye.

Soon, I saw him.

A man in deep red stood beneath a bare winter tree, his attention fixed on the branches above him. He looked completely at peace. He had no idea he was about to be killed.

I caught a flash of movement from a distance. A poisoned arrow was flying straight toward him. Without thinking, I lunged forward.

"Watch out!"

My shout alerted the guards in the garden. An arrow from their side struck down the incoming one midair.

But in the rush, the hand warmer I was holding slipped from my grasp. The hot coals inside scattered across the ground.

I landed hard, my waist coming down directly onto the burning coals. The pain was so sharp that tears burst from my eyes.

The man grabbed me and pulled me up in one swift motion.

"Are you alright?"

The guards quickly subdued the assassin. Moments later, a wave of attendants came running from every direction, dropping to their knees across the garden path.

"Please forgive us, Your Highness."

It was the crown prince, Benjamin Winchester.

In my last life, he'd been ambushed here in the back garden, just before the bride selection began. No serious harm had come to him, but the queen had nearly canceled the entire event. This time, I'd made sure to arrive early. I was going to rewrite what happened.

Benjamin kept his hand on my arm, then turned sharply to the attendants behind him. "Get the royal physician. Now."

I'd dressed light on purpose that morning, nothing but a thin dress under my outer cloak. This moment was exactly what I'd planned for.

The fabric at my waist had already been burned through, the skin beneath raw and blistered. I gritted my teeth against the pain, cold sweat breaking out across my body.

"Your Highness, please don't trouble yourself. There are a lot of people moving through the palace today, and it's better not to make a scene. Just send for a female physician to apply some medicine for me."

Lulu came rushing over, her face white as a sheet. She grabbed my arm and dropped her voice to a frantic whisper.

"My lady, weren't you scared that arrow was going to hit you? You're burned this badly. What are you going to do at the selection ball? And when Madam Madeline sees you like this, she'll say you behaved disgracefully and embarrassed the family. And if you don't get chosen as crown princess..."

"Enough," I said sharply. "We're inside the palace. Watch your mouth."

I excused myself and walked away quickly, Lulu close behind.

I glanced back just once as I turned the corner. Benjamin was watching me go, and the worry on his face was plain.

I smiled slightly.

He was a good man, kind and fair. Even if he didn't choose me today, he wouldn't forget what I'd done. He would help me when I needed it.

I endured the pain as my burn was bandaged, then changed into a spare dress and hurried to the main hall.

Eleanor Lancaster, the queen, was presiding over the banquet. She was laughing and chatting warmly with the other consorts. After a little while, she turned to me with a smile and held out the golden rose she'd been holding.

"I've long heard that the daughter of the Duke of Northwatch is gracious, well-mannered, and composed," she said.

"Seeing you today, I believe every word. You please me greatly. The position of crown princess belongs to no one but you."

Every girl in the room was staring as I stepped forward and reached for the rose.

Then Yvonne walked out from the crowd and dropped to her knees in front of Eleanor.

"Your Majesty, please hear me. My cousin's reputation has been compromised. She is not fit to be the crown princess."

She held up a bound booklet with both hands. "When I was browsing a bookshop recently, I came across this. It was being sold openly. The illustrations inside are deeply improper, and the woman depicted in them is my cousin."

It was an erotic picture book. The woman's face was never shown, yet her poses were overtly seductive, and a rose-shaped birthmark was on her waist.

Eleanor frowned. "What is this? How do you know the woman in these pictures is Charlotte?"

Yvonne's voice rang out clearly across the hall. "Because my cousin has the exact same rose birthmark on her waist."

The room erupted. Every pair of eyes turned toward me, and the looks on their faces said everything. One moment away from becoming Crown Princess, and now this. How could a woman with such a ruined reputation be the future crown princess?

I took one step forward, and my voice came out clear and hard.

"A birthmark in such a private place is a deeply personal thing. How would you know about it?"

I looked at her steadily. "You're my cousin, not sister, and we've never been close. So how exactly did you find out?"

Yvonne's face flushed deep red. "It was... it was Aunt Madeline who told me."

I scoffed. "A woman's reputation is everything. What kind of mother goes around telling people her own daughter's private secrets? Or is it that in my mother's eyes, you've always mattered more than me?"

Yvonne pressed on. "Your Majesty, this matter is too serious to ignore. There must be an examination."

An examination, right here in the middle of the royal ball and in front of everyone? She really wouldn't stop until she'd completely destroyed me.

Eleanor studied me in silence for a moment. "Charlotte, can you explain yourself?"

I shook my head. "Your Majesty, someone is deliberately trying to ruin my name."

Eleanor nodded. "I believe you. The Duke of Northwatch runs a strict household. His daughter would not conduct herself this way."

With those words, she'd made her position clear to everyone in the room. She was calling Yvonne a liar.

Yvonne went pale. She turned to my mother. "Aunt Madeline, you're Charlotte's mother. You know the truth better than anyone. Tell them."

My mother stepped forward. The look on her face was one of deep, sorrowful disappointment. "Charlotte, I'm your mother, but I can't help you cover this up. How could you do something like this?"

Then she turned and sank to her knees in front of Eleanor.

"Your Majesty, my daughter does have a rose birthmark on her waist, exactly as shown in those pictures."

She lowered her head further. "I'm ashamed to have raised a daughter who has brought such disgrace on our family. I have no right to beg for leniency. Please choose someone more worthy."

She paused, then added in a fake, concerned voice, "I only ask that everyone here keep this quiet. After something like this, how will my poor daughter ever find a husband?"

Every eye in the room turned to me.

I already knew how ruthless my mother could be. I'd learned that the hard way, in another lifetime.

But hearing again how she was trying to ruin my reputation and drive me to my death for Yvonne's sake still filled me with sadness.

She was my mother.

My eyes burned. "I know you love my cousin more than me, Mom. If you want Yvonne to be Crown Princess, just say so. I'll step aside willingly. But why does it have to be like this? I'm your daughter. Are you really willing to destroy me, just for her sake? Are you trying to drive me to my death?"

Tears streamed down my face.

"You know better than anyone whether I have that birthmark. You and my cousin rehearsed this little performance because you were certain I'd never allow an examination. But it doesn't matter either way, does it? Whether they check or they don't, my life is already ruined. You and Yvonne are lying through your teeth, trying to brand me as a woman of loose morals so the crown princess position opens up for her. Is that it?"

I stepped closer, until I was standing right in front of my mother. "I'd rather have no mother at all than have you."

Then I turned and dropped to my knees before Eleanor, my back straight, my voice steady.

"Your Majesty, I ask you to bear witness. Let me be examined here and now. Let everyone see the truth."

With the help of Eleanor's personal attendant, I loosened the side of my dress.

The room gasped.

My waist was burned raw, the skin blistered and bleeding. There was no birthmark. There was nothing but the wound.

"Good God, what happened to her?"

"There's no birthmark there. There's nothing but raw flesh."

"She's suffered burns that serious, and her own mother didn't even react? Is she really her daughter?"

Yvonne's face went white. Then her expression twisted with fury and she turned on me.

"You did this on purpose. You burned yourself deliberately to destroy the birthmark."

She spun toward Eleanor. "Your Majesty, please don't believe her. This was planned. Ask my aunt if you don't believe me. Charlotte is the woman in those pictures. She's shameless and unfit to be Crown Princess."

I looked at her through my tears. "You're absolutely certain I'm the woman in those drawings. What have I ever done to you, Yvonne? Why do you want me dead? I don't have a birthmark. I never did. So what proof do you actually have that the woman in those pictures is me?"

"Aunt Madeline can prove it!" Yvonne's voice cracked, edging toward something wild and unhinged.

My mother turned on me, her eyes blazing. "That's enough, Charlotte. You're standing there full of lies, after everything you've done, and you have the nerve to act the victim. Yvonne exposed you because someone had to protect this family.

"You're guilty of deceiving the queen, and Yvonne tried to give you a way out. You ought to be grateful. Instead, you keep denying it. There's no hope for you."

She turned back to the queen, pressing her hand to her heart. "Your Majesty, I swear it on my life. My daughter has a rose birthmark."

I wiped my tears. "My mother has always favored my cousin. Of course she'd take her side. Fine. If my own mother wants me dead, I won't fight it."

I looked out at the room. "I'll confess. The woman in those pictures is me. Are you both satisfied now? Is this what you wanted?"

I grabbed the hem of Eleanor's gown and broke down completely. "Please take back the golden rose, Your Majesty. Find someone worthy for His Highness—someone whose name is clean. My own mother has condemned me in front of everyone. There's nothing I can say that anyone will believe. I have only one way left to repay her for giving me life. Let me die here."

My mother's face went red with fury. "Charlotte, how dare you stand there and act as if I've wronged you. I'm your mother!"

Those in the hall were stunned by what they saw and were speechless.

Just then, a clear voice rang from outside the hall.

"I can speak to that. I can confirm that Ms. Young has no rose birthmark on her waist."