Selene Wyndham falls in love with the merman, Zirion, at first sight. Despite the gossip and criticism, she rescues him from the beast pit.

Although he's indifferent toward her, she never complains. She merely wishes that he never again suffers pain and hardship. She even vows to protect him for a lifetime.

This goes on until the day he personally sends her into the beast pit, where she's torn apart and killed by a savage beast.

Only then does Selene realize that from the very beginning, everything has been an elaborate scheme set by her younger sister, Vanessa Wyndham, to become the head of the family. And Zirion was Vanessa's very first pawn to set her plan in motion.

"How does it feel to be sent into the beast pit by the very man you love, Selene?"

As a set of sharp teeth pierce through her body, Selene's consciousness fades away.

When she opens her eyes again, she has returned to the moment when she rescues Zirion from the beast pit. This time, Selene drives Zirion away and saves a young wolfman instead. She then makes him her personal guard.

One day, the rain is pouring heavily when the once lofty and proud Zirion kneels at Selene's feet, ignoring the mud and filth on him. He digs out a scale from his body and begs in a sorrowful voice for her to spare him another glance.

"Selene, if you had given up fighting for the position of family head earlier, you wouldn't have ended up in such a state," said Vanessa Wyndham smugly.

Selene Wyndham felt the most excruciating pain coming from her body, which various beasts were mercilessly biting into and tearing up. These ferocious beasts had never been tamed or trained by beast tamers. They all treated her as a fine meal.

Selene used up the last of her strength to grit her teeth and lift her chin upward. She looked toward the top of the elevated platform.

Vanessa, who had already become the head of the Wyndham family by now, showed feigned sorrow and pity on her face. Standing behind her was Zirion, the merman with whom Selene had once formed a pact.

Selene had rescued Zirion from the underground beast pit, yet he betrayed her for Vanessa.

"How does it feel to be sent into the beast pit by the very man you love, Selene? You saved him from here, and he sent you back to the same place in the end. Don't you think this is such a fitting end?" Vanessa mocked, laughing gleefully.

Sharp teeth pierced through Selene's limbs. But compared to the physical pain tearing away at her body, the pain in her heart was far worse. She forced open her mouth and, with the last of her strength, said, "A fitting end for you… is death… If I get another chance at life, I'll kill you with my own hands!"

As her consciousness faded, Selene seemed to hear a familiar cry.

"Selly!"

However, she could no longer tell whose voice it was.

…

"Ms. Wyndham, are you sure you want to buy this lowly beast?"

Selene slowly opened her eyes and was shocked upon realizing she was standing there unharmed. At her side stood the owner of the underground beast pit, Rex Jones. And the merman kneeling right in front of her was Zirion.

Two men pinned his arms down. His whole body was covered in blood and riddled with wounds. Still, his strikingly beautiful face caught her eye just as it did last time.

Finally, Selene came to her senses and realized that she had gone back in time to the very day she saved Zirion!

That was a very shocking and absurd conjecture. If it wasn't because the scene felt so familiar and real, even Selene herself wouldn't have believed it.

Selene looked at Zirion, only to see him avert his gaze slightly. His eyes instinctively shifted toward a certain spot. She followed his gaze and found Vanessa standing in the crowd, chatting happily, her smile warm and pleasing.

So, Zirion already had feelings for Vanessa from this very moment. Then, this meant it was Selene who had come between them.

A wave of nausea rose in her heart. She recalled that it was Vanessa who had told her about the underground beast pit, where man and beast were pitted against each other. Vanessa kept insisting that it was very exciting to watch, and that was why Selene was here.

Upon arrival, she saw the pale and handsome merman being beaten up by a mob. Because of his delicate, feminine appearance, Selene felt sorry for him and demanded that the mob stop. She then had Rex bring the merman over to her.

That merman was Zirion.

Rex told her Zirion was the most capable fighter in the beast pit. He had won countless fights. But because he stood out too much, the others were jealous and would go after him. Getting beaten up here had become a long-standing routine for him.

In her past life, Selene not only pitied him after hearing this but also fell into the folly of judging by looks alone. She immediately bought Zirion and brought him back to her household. Then, she formed a pact with him and made him her familiar.

Zirion's attitude toward Selene was always indifferent. He would always keep his distance from her. Yet, Selene just fell for him more with each passing day.

She not only gave him the same food, clothing, and luxuries she herself enjoyed; she even granted him the authority to mobilize all her guards at will.

It was exactly these actions that led her step by step into the trap Vanessa had set.

Whenever Selene sensed something was wrong, Zirion would soothe her and tell her she was overthinking it. Selene believed him, so she never once doubted him. Her blind trust in Zirion caused her to fail to secure the position of the Wyndham family head.

On the very day Vanessa became the head of the family, she threw Selene into the underground beast pit, where beasts tore her apart.

"Ms. Wyndham? Do you… still want him?" Rex asked again when Selene gave no response.

Selene was finally done gathering her thoughts. She looked once more at Zirion, who was before her. Her figure was reflected in his eyes. Under the glow of the dim lanterns around them, she appeared cold and merciless.

She stepped back and sneered, "I don't want him."

As soon as Selene uttered those words, Zirion's face turned deathly pale.

Just then, raucous cheers came from the beast pit next to them. Selene looked over curiously. At the center of the arena crouched a tall, strong beast that had yet to be tamed. Its body was coiled and ready to strike.

Facing it was a dirt-stained and battered young man wielding a longsword. His body was covered in wounds, but his eyes shone brightly with an unyielding spirit.

Selene fixed her gaze on him and asked Rex, "Who is that?"

Rex replied, "He's a wolfman I caught in the mountains a few days ago. Some people are betting on him losing, but he's tough. He's been fighting that beast for two days, and he still hasn't fallen."

As Selene stared at the wolfman's unyielding eyes, she couldn't help but think of her own dreadful end in her past life. She, too, had been thrown into a beast pit like this. However, she hadn't possessed a body as strong as his. Unlike him, she couldn't fight a beast and hold her ground.

She felt sorry for the wolfman and began walking toward him. But she had barely taken a few steps before she suddenly felt a tug at her sleeve.

It was Zirion.

He looked very confused, as if he himself had not expected that he would do something like that.

"Ms. Wyndham…" Zirion whispered, his grip subconsciously tightening.

Selene frowned and glared at him. An intense feeling of disgust arose in her heart.

"Let go! How dare you touch me?" she scolded him.

Rex hurried to appease Selene because he couldn't risk offending an heiress of the Wyndham family. He immediately kicked Zirion hard in the shoulder.

"How dare you? Guys, beat him up!" Rex commanded.

At his order, a guard strode forward with a spiked whip. His arm rose and fell swiftly, inflicting a fierce lash against Zirion's body. Each strike was more forceful than the last. After a few lashes, the wounds on Zirion's body, which had barely begun to heal, split open again. Blood gushed from them freely.

Still, he did not make a sound as he stubbornly locked his gaze on Selene's face.

Selene looked back at him. After a short pause, she let out a cold laugh and brushed the dust from her sleeve. She sneered, "So filthy."

At those words, Zirion's body swayed. Unlike his befuddled look earlier, the corners of his eyes reddened, and there was a pleading look in them.

"M-Ms. Wyndham…" Zirion stammered, looking pitiful and wretched.

But Selene no longer cared to watch his performance. While Rex's guards whipped Zirion mercilessly, she continued making her way toward the young wolfman. Upon climbing onto the high platform, she noticed a pile of weapons set by the stands. She picked up a bow, drew it, and shot an arrow straight into the arena.

The beast shrieked as the arrow pierced its eye. Then, it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Everyone turned their gaze to Selene, including the wolfman, who was half kneeling and pressing his longsword to the ground for support.

Selene descended from the platform in steady steps and stopped before him. She looked him over and asked, "What's your name?"

"Fen… Fenric." His voice was hoarse, as though he had not spoken for a long time.

Selene nodded and turned to speak to Rex. "I want him."

With that, she pulled a pouch from her robes and tossed it into his hands.

As a fawning smile appeared on Rex's face, Selene led Fenric past Zirion. And there, at Zirion's side, stood Vanessa.

Vanessa called out, her tone anxious, "Selene! How… How could you take a liking to him?"

Her eyes lingered on Fenric with disbelief.

Selene studied Vanessa's youthful face. She looked innocent and charming, like she was incapable of something as dastardly as scheming against another person. Yet, it was this exact young lady who had managed to anticipate every one of Selene's actions and planted Zirion right beside her to bring her down completely.

"Nessa, you seem to know exactly what I like," Selene remarked in a pointed tone, glancing at Zirion's stunning face.

Then, she added, "Unfortunately, I now prefer someone stronger and more robust. You can keep that one for yourself."

At that, Vanessa's face turned ashen.

In Selene's quarters at Wyndham Estate, she leaned against a reclining chair. She propped her head with one arm against the armrest, resting with her eyes closed.

She had not bought Zirion, which effectively disrupted Vanessa's first move in her plotting. Of course, Vanessa wouldn't let it go so easily. She would surely have another countermeasure prepared.

Selene wondered what she should do next.

"Ms. Wyndham, we're done washing him up," a maid reported, interrupting her thoughts.

She nodded and said, "Let him in."

In just a moment, Fenric walked into her bedchamber alone. Selene glanced at him once and looked away awkwardly.

She had bought the wolfman out of pure sympathy. Seeing that he was covered in blood and filth, she had ordered the maids to bathe him. She hadn't expected them to misunderstand her intentions and send him in wearing only an undergarment.

When Fenric saw that Selene wasn't looking at him, he moved closer on his own. His scarred yet strong body leaned forward and loomed over her, causing her to feel flustered.

With one hand pushing against his robust chest, she glared at him and scolded, "How dare you…"

But Fenric's eyes were innocent and bright with no lustful intentions.

"They told me to serve you well, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do… Can you teach me?" he asked candidly.

His even tone made Selene's sharp reaction seem somewhat strange.

"I didn't buy you for that… I want you to be my personal guard," Selene replied.

Fenric responded with a confused look, "A personal guard? What does a guard do?"

"He's a wolfman I caught in the mountains a few days ago." Selene recalled Rex's words.

Perhaps Fenric had lived in the mountains for so long that he was clueless about the ways of the human world in terms of morals and social norms.

So, Selene explained, "A guard means… you'll always stay by my side and kill anyone who tries to hurt me. Do you know how to kill?"

Fenric's eyes lit up immediately, as if he had finally come across something that he could understand.

"I can!" he exclaimed with a grin, revealing his sharp wolfish fangs.

At the sight of that smile, Selene felt a little relaxed. She sighed in relief and lowered her gaze, only to freeze as she caught sight of the scar on Fenric's waist that made her pupils contract.

In her past life, part of the reason why she cherished Zirion so much, besides his looks, was because he had a scar at that very same spot.

Selene had long been searching for the boy who once saved her life. When she was young, she followed her father, Alaric, into the mountains in search of beasts. However, she had accidentally strayed from the group due to her own playfulness.

That night, she encountered a wild boar while seeking shelter in a cave, and it charged at her angrily.

Just as she thought she was done for, a boy rushed over and shielded her. He was not much taller than she was, yet he grappled with the beast fearlessly. In the end, the boy stabbed the wild boar's eye with a dagger, but one of its tusks left a gaping wound in his waist.

He collapsed on the ground and was on the brink of death. Selene cried as she pressed her hands over his bleeding wound. She promised she would save him.

It was all too much for a little girl to handle. As the adrenaline wore off, Selene was so tired and sleepy after the great fright that she accidentally fell asleep.

By the time Alaric's men found her, the boy was gone. All that remained was the dried blood on her hands that was ghastly to look at.

"Ugh…" Fenric's muffled groan of pain snapped Selene out of her reverie.

Only then did she realize that her hand was clamped tightly over his scar.

Startled, she let go. Her thoughts were in absolute chaos. Did this mean that in her past life, she had been mistaken from the beginning? Was Fenric the boy who saved her back then?

"Fenric, this scar on your waist…" She had barely begun speaking when a faint voice reached their ears from outside the door.

"Ms. Wyndham…"

The rain almost drowned out that weak voice.

Selene got up and hesitated for a moment before opening the door.

Out in the yard, Zirion was kneeling before her. The downpour had long since drenched his clothes. His wounds from the whipping had yet to heal. So, the ground was wet with blood and rain.

When Zirion saw Selene emerge from inside, his eyes brightened for an instant before dimming in the next moment.

"Ms. Wyndham!" he cried out in a trembling voice that sounded almost like a plea. Only his face remained clean and unmarred, a stark contrast to the rest of his body.

He asked woefully, "Why don't you want me, Ms. Wyndham?"