Reborn: I Married The Despised Serpent Lord

"Avery, Alexander and I are deeply in love. Can't you just step aside? We've already been intimate. If I don't marry him, who else would ever want me?"

Through the haze of returning consciousness, I heard my younger sister Avery's tearful plea.

Father stood nearby, immediately taking her side. "Lillian, perhaps you could select a different fiancé. Avery simply made an error in judgment during a weak moment."

His favoritism toward Avery was nothing new. She was, after all, the legitimate daughter born to his official wife, while I was merely the illegitimate child from one of his affairs.

My gaze fell upon Avery kneeling on the floor. Though her face was stained with tears and she wore an expression of perfect misery, I couldn't miss the burning ambition and triumph in her eyes.

That's when I knew - she had been reborn too. And this time, she had reached Alexander's bed before I could.

In my previous life, I had chosen Alexander, heir to the wolf clan, as my fiancé. I had considered the serpent clan too cold-blooded, the fox clan too promiscuous, and the dragon clan too arrogant. Only the wolf clan, renowned for their loyalty and devotion, seemed trustworthy.

Six months after marrying Alexander, I became pregnant with our child. I gave birth to a half-beast white wolf, our son Benjamin.

As the first half-beast child born from human-beast union, Benjamin naturally became the next leader of the Human-Beast Alliance.

Avery, captivated by the fox clan's beauty, had chosen their heir Julian. But she never expected him to be an unrepentant womanizer, constantly entangled with numerous lovers.

Eventually, she contracted a disease from him - one that left her barren and scorned by the fox clan.

She blamed me for her misfortune, jealous that my life had turned out better than hers. One night, she secretly drugged me and set a fire that consumed both me and Benjamin.

The memory sent waves of hatred crashing through me. I wanted nothing more than to kill Avery right then and there, to avenge Benjamin.

I clenched my fists inside my sleeves. The sharp pain in my palms helped clear my mind slightly.

Then I slowly nodded, masking my fury with an understanding expression.

"If Avery and Alexander truly love each other, I would never stand in their way."

Avery hadn't anticipated my easy agreement. The tears she had forced out now hung awkwardly at the corners of her eyes.

"Avery, stand up now. Quickly thank your sister for her generosity," Father urged, clearly relieved.

"Th-thank you, Lillian!"

Avery beamed as she rushed out, eager to deliver the good news to Alexander and the wolf clan.

"Girls grow up and leave home far too quickly," Father joked. But when he turned and saw the cold indifference on my face, his voice faltered.

"Lillian, among the available beast clan heirs, only two remain: Sebastian of the serpent clan and Julian of the fox clan. I still believe the fox clan would be the better match - superior looks, higher status, clearly better than the serpent clan."

"Besides, Avery once mentioned-"