Chapter 1

"Hey, Selina... Lion, where are you?" murmured the woman named Regina.

Regina, in a state of weakness, lay on a bed at the Royal Hospital, a facility established for penniless commoners. Though born into wealth, she now shared the fate of the poor.

Elisabet had arranged for Regina to stay in a room she specifically requested, so she could rest comfortably. Her stepmother accused her of insanity because she refused to accept the death of her beloved father. Regina had asked for a special room, so as not to disturb the other patients.

"Sister." Selina, Regina’s half-sister, arrived with Lion, Regina’s husband.

"I want to get better, Selina! Why don’t you transfer me to the general hospital?" Regina moaned, her pain unbearable.

She couldn't help the intense pain in her stomach, as if it were being squeezed and stabbed.

"You know, because of Father’s illness, our family is deep in debt. During his illness, no one took care of the house or earned money for us, so we’ve accumulated a lot of debt. That's why you can't be treated at the best hospital in the kingdom." Selina looked down, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Honey, forgive my uselessness," Lion clasped Regina’s hand.

The man looked deeply sorrowful for his wife.

"Sister, it must hurt a lot, right? If I could, I would take away your pain, but I can’t." Selina pulled Lion’s hand away from her brother and immediately hugged Regina, still lying in the hospital bed.

"It’s okay, Selina. You love me so much. I’m already very grateful." Regina returned Selina’s hug.

Even though Selina was only her half-sister, Regina loved her dearly. Yes, Elisabet had already had a child when she married Count Deptian Grana.

"Then let’s leave. Let Regina rest comfortably, and we’ll come back tonight to see her." Lion hugged his sister-in-law, who didn’t want to part with Regina.

"Are you leaving already?" Regina still didn’t want to be left alone in the room.

She wanted one of them to stay with her but didn’t want to say it out loud.

"Yes, you need to rest," Selina said.

"Lion, don’t you want to stay with me?" Regina turned and looked at her husband sadly as he prepared to leave.

Selina, seeing this, tightly grabbed Lion’s arm and gave him a look that Regina couldn’t understand. Only Lion released the woman’s embrace and approached his wife with a sincere smile on his lips.

"Darling, I’m busy making arrangements to move you to the best hospital in the kingdom. I hope you understand that I can’t stay here with you." Lion gently stroked the top of Regina’s head, causing Selina to smile faintly behind him.

"So, Selina?" Regina turned to her sister.

Selina’s expression immediately changed when her sister looked at her. "Understand, Sister Regina! We’re busy finding the money to transfer you out of this hospital, so you’ll just have to be patient and stay alone in this room."

"You’re still under care here, so you’re not completely alone!" Selina snapped at Regina, causing the sick woman to look down. "I’m sorry, Sister Regina. I didn’t mean to yell at you, it’s just..." Selina’s voice trailed off, her tears falling again.

"Selina, I’m sorry," Regina bowed her head, realizing she was a burden.

Regina felt guilty for her sister, who seemed so tired.

"It’s okay. Take your medicine and get some rest. We’ll wait until you fall asleep, then we’ll leave," Selina said, pulling the medicine from her bag. "You need to take your medicine first."

With a kind smile, Selina handed the fragile woman a glass of water.

Regina took the glass with a weak smile, feeling very fortunate to have a stepfamily who loved her so much, aside from her late biological father and mother.

In fact, Regina had been depressed when her mother passed away when she was very young, just nine years old. But it wasn’t long before Count brought a grown woman with a small child who was very kind to her.

Little Regina, who felt lonely after her mother’s death, was immediately met with kindness and hospitality from Elisabet and Selina. Elisabet always made Regina feel like a priority, even though Regina was not her biological child.

"Here." Regina handed the empty glass to Selina with trembling hands.

Unconsciously, Regina dropped the glass because her hands could no longer hold it.

"Sister!" Selina cried at the sound of the glass breaking.

Regina was startled to hear her sister scream. "I didn’t do it on purpose, Selina," Regina stammered.

"Selina, don’t be like that! Poor Regina, she didn’t do it on purpose, just look at her frail body and those eyes." Lion carefully picked up the broken glass from the floor.

He was very cautious as he picked up the shards, afraid of hurting himself on the sharp pieces.

"I’m sorry, brother. Maybe I was too tired from taking care of our new business with Brother Lion." Selina rubbed her face roughly.

She immediately helped Lion pick up the shards.

Regina couldn’t respond to her sister’s words; she was too shocked by the yelling and the sudden guilt she felt in her heart.

She felt like a burden who could only lie in the special room of this royal hospital. Earlier, she had asked to be transferred to a general hospital, which would be very expensive.

"Brother, just sleep now. We’ll stay here for a while until you fall asleep, then we’ll go back to manage the business we’ve started," Selina said, looking closely at her brother.

"Okay." Regina obediently agreed.

Regina lay down and pulled the blanket over herself to rest, so her loved ones could get back to work.

It was only a few minutes later that Regina tried to sleep but couldn’t. However, if she opened her eyes and told them that she couldn’t sleep, they wouldn’t leave. So Regina decided to close her eyes and pretend to be asleep.

"Sis, are you asleep?" Selina’s voice asked Regina, but Regina continued pretending to sleep.

"Looks like she’s already asleep, sweetheart," Lion said.