The scene was eerily familiar.

As the most well-known beast-taming family in the city, the Wyndhams had made countless enemies over the years.

In Selene's past life, when she and Vanessa attended a festival, they were ambushed by bandits. Zirion was Selene's familiar, yet he went to protect Vanessa.

With no one shielding her, the bandits wounded Selene grievously. Out of anger, Selene's mom, Hilda Bailey, locked Zirion in a water prison for three days and nights. Then, she made him kneel outside Selene's bedchamber to beg for her forgiveness.

It had also been a rainy night like this one.

Although Selene wasn't pleased with Zirion, she still felt sorry for him when he was in such a pitiful state. She allowed him to rise after a short while.

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

As Selene looked at Zirion, she suddenly found her past self ridiculous. Zirion had done his part as her familiar most of the time, yet she had always gotten a faint inkling that something was off from his actions and behavior.

Selene had believed that he was the one who had saved her back then, so she had tolerated him again and again. She had never expected that her feelings born from that debt of gratitude would ultimately lead to her own demise.

She gave a cold laugh and folded her arms. "Who are you?"

"I… I am Zirion. At the beast pit, you picked…"

His Adam's apple bobbed, as though he could not bear to say the words. After a while, he said almost inaudibly, "I'm the beastman you originally picked."

"Still trying to cling to me, huh?" Selene thought, making her way down the stairs until she stood right before him.

"Then tell me, Zirion."

She looked down at him, standing one step away from him as he kneeled right outside where the eaves didn't shield him from the rain.

"Why would I want you?" Selene asked with a smile, but her tone was icy and cutting.

At her words, Zirion lowered his gaze and slowly undid his sash. At once, the thin and drenched white shirt slipped from his body.

Selene knew what he was doing. He wanted her to see the scar on his waist and go soft on him. So, she thought she would let him have his way. As her eyes lingered on the scar, her smile faded.

She faintly heard Zirion let out a breath of air, as if in relief.

"This scar of yours…" Selene whispered, tracing it from his abdomen to his waist with her finger. Though his scar was in the exact same spot as Fenric's, Selene realized it was newer the moment she touched it. It was not an old wound at all. It was just as she thought… Zirion was as shameless as ever!

"Zirion, this scar of yours is truly ugly."

At once, Zirion's body stiffened. His eyes widened with disbelief.

"Fenric!" Selene called out.

At once, Fenric emerged from her bedchamber. "H-Here!"

Now dressed in a guard's uniform, he strode quickly to Selene's side at her order.

Upon seeing Fenric, Zirion's eyes dimmed completely. His lips moved weakly, and he asked almost inaudibly, "Why… Why did he come out of your…"

Selene ignored his murmurs. Instead, she smiled at Fenric and said, "What did I just teach you? What must a personal guard do?"

"I must always stay by your side and kill anyone who tries to harm you…" Fenric's voice trailed off when he noticed the kneeling Zirion. At the next moment, he asked, "Should I kill him?"

Selene's gaze became steely. "This is your first lesson. He entered my quarters without my permission. Tell me, should he be killed?"

Fenric thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "He should."

Selene stepped back. "Then do it."

Without hesitation, Fenric drew his sword.

"Ms. Wyndham!" Zirion's voice broke in near despair. His forehead hit the ground hard as he prostrated himself and begged, "No, Ms. Wyndham… I begged so hard… for this chance. There… is no chance anymore…"

His voice grew weaker and weaker until his body collapsed to the ground as he fell unconscious. The downpour continued to pelt down on his frail form mercilessly.

"Wait," Selene said just as Fenric's sword was about to strike the back of Zirion's neck.

What did Zirion mean by the chance he had begged so hard for? Then, he went to say there wasn't a chance anymore. What did he mean by that? Could it be that he had also gone back in time like her?

"Selene!"

Vanessa hurried into Selene's quarters, surrounded by her attendants. The rain had soaked the hem of her expensive cloak, but she paid it no mind.

"Don't hurt him!"

Vanessa, who was panting softly, spread her arms and stood before Zirion to shield him. It was obvious from her expression that she was very anxious.

Selene smiled sweetly and said, "Don't worry. I won't hurt him."

Then, she stepped closer and scrutinized Vanessa from head to toe.

"But Nessa, you'd better keep a closer eye on your fish. Don't let him out, or he'll splash dirty water everywhere again," Selene said teasingly.

Vanessa bit her lip, and her eyes teared up. She looked deeply embarrassed for a moment.

If Selene had been her past self, she would've pitied Vanessa at this sight. After all, she had once genuinely thought of her as a younger sister.

When the Wyndham family was at the peak of their glory, Alaric had met a wandering priest. That priest had prophesied that he would die at the hands of his daughter.

At that time, neither Selene nor Vanessa had been born yet. Alaric only had three sons, so he dismissed the prophecy as nonsense and forgot about it. But that same year, Hilda and Alaric's lover both gave birth to daughters.

Selene was clever and talented. Her teacher often praised her academic prowess. Her skill in riding and archery was also unmatched among her peers. At every archery competition, Vanessa would always turn to look at Selene with admiration after she missed her targets consecutively.

"You're so amazing, Selene. At this rate, you'll definitely be a top fighter who can kill and ride away with unparalleled swiftness," Vanessa had praised.

Back then, Selene felt proud upon hearing such compliments and sought to show off more before others.

Little did she know that Vanessa's words became a thorn in Alaric's heart. From then on, he began to indulge Selene in everything. He gave her the best of everything and showed her preferential treatment over her siblings. Even when she erred, she was never reprimanded.

Over time, Selene grew up to become a spoiled and wilful young woman who only wanted to have fun. Her notions of right and wrong were severely skewed, and she had little empathy for others.

Unsurprisingly, she became the most useless among the five children and was notorious for having a very poor character.

Even so, Vanessa never let her go. She was certain that Selene would be her greatest obstacle to becoming the head of the family, so she planted Zirion by her side.

Beautiful people could get away with lots of things, let alone someone with Zirion's otherworldly and stunning appearance. Though he always gave Selene the cold shoulder, she never minded.

Now that Selene thought back to the time when she had rescued Zirion from the beast pit, she remembered he had shown no gratitude. That so-called "fated encounter" had merely been a part of Vanessa's scheme that she had planned out long ago.

Vanessa had managed to outsmart her to become the ultimate victor in her past life. Selene had no complaints about that.

But now that she had a chance to live again, she would not hold back or show mercy.

…

One day, Alaric and Hilda summoned Selene over to talk to her.

"Selly, you've had that wolfman with you for some time now. Why haven't you formed a pact with him yet?" Hilda asked.

Upon subduing a beastman, a beast tamer could form a pact with said beastman. If the beastman willingly formed a pact with the beast tamer, the latter would gain some of the beastman's powers. Though they wouldn't be as powerful as the beastman, it would still set them apart from ordinary people.

In Selene's past life, she gained the ability to breathe underwater after entering into a pact with Zirion. But he later turned against her, or to be more accurate, he revealed his true intentions and tried to forcibly sever the pact.

Once formed, a pact could not be broken. To this day, Selene did not know where Zirion had found a spirit tool capable of breaking it.

She only remembered the agony of that moment. It was as if someone had been pulling out every bone in her body one by one. She had felt as though she was being skinned alive and then cut to pieces.

Selene couldn't bring herself to tell Hilda the truth. If she were being honest with herself, she was greatly traumatized by the thought of forming a pact again. That kind of pain was worse than death. It was worse than being torn apart by beasts.

Still, she needed another excuse to respond to her parents right now.

Giggling impishly, she said, "You're overthinking it, Mother. I have no interest in becoming a beast tamer. I just think the wolfman is handsome. He's so strong and well-built. I like having him for gawking purposes."

Hilda sighed helplessly and tapped her on the forehead. "Both you and Nessa are the same. She took in that merman as her guard without any thought of forming a pact. I swear, you two give me headaches with how you carry yourselves."

Selene smiled and threw herself into Hilda's arms with playful affection.

Of course, Vanessa had no intention of forming a pact with Zirion. She was more concerned about how to slip Zirion into Selene's household.

Upon hearing her words, Alaric turned away and huffed. "How ridiculous."

However, his expression eased considerably because this was exactly what he wanted.

As soon as Selene stepped out of her parents' quarters, she spotted Fenric waiting in the garden. When a few attendants passed by him, they sneered at him and gossiped among themselves without bothering to keep their voices down.

"Isn't that Ms. Selene's boy toy?"

"Hmph. What an eyesore."

But Fenric did not even turn to look at them. He simply studied the different flowers in the garden like he didn't notice that they were talking about him.

Selene was just about to approach when she saw Vanessa entering the garden with Zirion by her side. They walked straight toward Fenric. This meant they were clearly there for him.

Selene stopped in her tracks and hid in the shadows.

"So, you're the beastman my sister fancies?" Vanessa approached Fenric from behind.

Fenric turned to look at her in confusion and gave a curt reply. "Yeah."

"How rude. Didn't Selene teach you to bow when greeting me?" Vanessa fumed.

"How does one bow?" Fenric asked in his usual deadpan expression.

Vanessa felt that she was going nowhere given Fenric's cluelessness, so she had no choice but to drop the matter. Instead, she asked, "I hear Selene lets you dine at her table."

Fenric thought for a moment and nodded.

"So, she really does like you," Vanessa said.

She then looked him over and chuckled. "But it's a pity that Selene's affections never last long. Why don't you… serve me instead?"

There was a reason why Vanessa dared to speak so brazenly.

In Selene's past life, Vanessa's methods were never particularly tactful or ingenious. She relied on the power of one man after another. She somehow bewitched each of them, and they willingly became her loyal pawns.

Strangely enough, every man she used had seemed utterly devoted to her, as though they were under a spell. Even Zirion hadn't escaped her charm.

Selene instinctively glanced at Zirion, who stood silently by Vanessa's side. His head hung low, and he seemed lifeless, like he was a puppet on strings. This seemed kind of odd to Selene.

Vanessa was openly throwing suggestive glances at Fenric right before Zirion. However, he showed not even the faintest trace of sadness.

"No… I don't want to. You smell strange," Fenric replied, wincing and stepping back with an expression of unmistakable disgust.

He had grown up in the mountains and had never been trained in social etiquette before coming to Selene's side. So, it never crossed his mind to spare Vanessa some dignity when he spoke his mind.

That was likely the first time a man had ever rejected Vanessa. Her face flushed a crimson shade with humiliation. "You… What insolence!"

She snapped, and she raised her hand to slap Fenric. But her palm stopped just an inch from his face.

Selene had caught her wrist. "What do you think you're doing?"

Then, she flung Vanessa's hand aside with such force that she staggered backward several steps.

"What right do you think you have to discipline my beastman?" Selene questioned.

A hostile glint flashed across Vanessa's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "Selene…"

Zirion did not step forward to help her. He stood firmly behind with his burning gaze fixed on Selene.

"I… Uh… I think such an unruly beastman won't be able to serve you well," Vanessa said with a forced smile. She hurriedly pushed Zirion forward and added, "But Zirion is different. He's orderly in doing things. Why don't I give him to you instead?"

Vanessa sounded overly eager when she offered Zirion. Selene knew why. It was because she had disrupted Vanessa's most critical move in her scheme, and that was placing Zirion at her side.

In her past life, Vanessa knew everything Selene did because of Zirion.

So this time, Selene sensed that if she didn't act as she normally would or take Zirion in, she would be able to break free from Vanessa's manipulation.

Still, the show had to go on. Selene feigned surprise and asked, "But isn't he your personal guard now? Can you really bear to give him up, Nessa?"

"Why not? You're the one I care about the most," Vanessa replied.

Selene found her response so ironic and funny that she nearly burst into laughter. She composed herself and said, "Well, I admit that I do tend to choose my men based on looks."

Vanessa was visibly relieved as she followed up her pitch with a smile, "Zirion's looks are first-class for sure. If you like—"

"I don't like him," Selene cut her off.

Her smile remained, but her tone was icy. "I don't like others touching what's mine. And I despise using what others have used before. I find it filthy."

The moment those words fell, Zirion's lips turned visibly pale. He staggered a little, as though he barely had the strength to remain standing.

"I find it filthy."

Those were the words Zirion had once said to Selene. In Selene's past life, rumors about Selene keeping lovers in her bedchamber even at a young age had spread far and wide. It was scandalous and shameful.

Though they were lies, Zirion had believed them. And so, when he was by her side, his eyes carried not only disdain but also deep disgust.

Selene remembered everything like it was yesterday. Once, on his birthday, she had personally carved him a wooden rose. She had intended to call him over and give it to him as part of a custom-made sword knot.

In the end, Zirion never showed up. He even had someone return the gift.

"H-He said… He said he doesn't deserve such a precious gift given his lowly status," the attendant had stammered.

But the maid who had gone with him fumed with anger and ranted, "I clearly heard that ingrate say that this wooden rose was filthy!"

The gift itself was not filthy. It was the maker whom he thought was filthy.

At that time, Selene forced herself to think of the scar on Zirion's waist and tried her best not to take his rejection to heart. After that, she still gave him gifts. But she never gave him anything she had made herself again.