The Song of Us

"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?"