Rebirth

What a long dream this is, where a lifetime of karma is all muddled, with only the sharp pain of the poison distinctly clear.

It’s truly hurts, as if thousands of ants are gnawing from her stomach, spreading throughout her body, acutely aware of death's approach.

Elinor thinks: Had I known, I would have chosen a less painful way to die.

In the dream, something seems to press on her chest, making it hard to breathe, so she coughs, finally managing to open her eyes with great effort. But what she sees next terrifies her.

She is completely submerged in water. As she coughs, water rushes into her mouth relentlessly. No wonder she feels breathless; she is about to suffocate!

Struggling, Elinor releases a stream of bubbles and frantically swims upwards.

Suddenly, a hand encircles her waist, lifting her upwards with force.

Finally, Elinor's pale face breaks the water's surface, gasping for fresh air. The hand continues to guide her towards the shoreside.

When she sees the man's face, Elinor's heart skips a beat.

It is her deceased husband, Arthur, the former king of Avalon.

As soon as she reaches the shore, she shakes off his hand and stands up from the ground.

Arthur, gasping for air, crawls onto the shoreside, puzzled by her reaction, half-sitting up and reaching out to pull her back.

Elinor is horrified and completely subconsciously throw a slap at his face!

"Smack!"

The sound is loud, catching the attention of a young man in white, who has just dismounted from his horse in a hurry.

The young man has long eyebrow and eyes like the azure sea. He also owns a heroic temperament. For a moment, he is perplexed by the scene but then sees Arthur's drenched robe, the faint red marks on his cheek, and Elinor's terrified face.

With a sound, the young man reacts, stepping protectively in front of Elinor, drawing his sword, and pressing its tip against Arthur's throat. His youthful face is covered in frost.

He demands coldly, "What have you done?!"

Arthur, first shocked by the young man's impulsiveness, then aggrieved and innocent, covers his cheek, "What could I do? I merely saw him fall into the water and kindly saved him!"

The young man's brows furrow with suspicion.

Seeing the young man's face, Elinor suddenly freezes.

Only then does she realize the strong smell of alcohol on herself, dressed as a young man, and feels the burning pain in her palm from the slap.

Disguised as a man.

This is no dream.

And the face of that young man finally gradually floated up from her memory, slowly overlapping with the face that had put her under house arrest, always stepped into her room silently, making it hard for her to even sleep: This is William Mortfort in his youth!

Is this rebirth?

In her past life, she carefully manipulated men, but in this life, she has just slapped the future king...

Is it too late to kneel and apologize now?