A Silent Garden
Guinevere used to be a princess of a kingdom that fell when she was six. With the help and self-sacrifice of her nanny, she managed to get out of the castle and was taken in by an Abby's orphanage. She lived there for about 10 years, during which time she got to know the young heir of a dukedom, Lawrence, who would often come visit the Abby with his mother. One day Lawrence tells Guinevere that he will be gone for a while, and ask her to promise him to wait for him, to which she agrees. However, the young man doesn't return no matter how long she waits. One day she is offered a marriage to a wealthy nobleman, which will also help the Abby's finances, and to give back to people who took care of her, she agrees to the marriage. The nobleman is much older than her, and has a daughter, but he is not interested in her romantically or physically. He just needed a mother for his child, and his new wife was to be just that - nothing more, nothing less. They spend a few happy years together, when the family has an accident at sea. Her husband and daughter drowns and Guinevere is helpless to stop it. Heartbroken and suffering from survivors guilt she then becomes the target of manipulation for her late husband's brother, Jeroh. He uses Guinevere's guilt against her to make her do his and his mother's bidding and they use her for everything from cleaning and cooking, to killing their political enemies. The last part ultimately resulting in Guinevere's execution in front of the emperor and her treacherous family. In her last moments she laments being so stupid, naive and foolish that she fell for Jeroh's words and manipulation, but also that she never did get to see Lawrence again. However, she doesn't die. Instead she travels back in time, waking up on the day of her husband's and daughter's funeral. But this time she knows what kind of snake Jeroh is and she will not let herself fall for his manipulation. And if she cannot live a peaceful life from here on out, she will have her vengeance instead - possibly with help from a young nobleman and general of the army, who recently returned from war after many years of no-contact... So far I like the story. We stan a female lead who takes matters into her own hands and handle the men in her life like a boss! The ML is a sympathetic, non-manipulative, kind man, who is capable of showing emotion, for once. So, great plus as well. There are some minor flaws and plot holes, though. Not that it ruins the story at all, it just takes away some of the realism. Because Guinevere was supposedly manipulated, coerced and forced to do Jeroh's bidding, which included killing A HUNDRED people for him. She was also then burned alive as punishment. Yet she show barely any signs of trauma when she has regressed. She's had enough of Jeroh and won't stand for his shit anymore, but I find it weird that she's not more affected. She's just emotionally hardened, when I'm pretty sure I would be traumatized. There is only a single callback to her past life's trauma in recent chapters (like Ch. 20 or something), when Guinevere displayed fear towards the emperor who ordered and oversaw her execution. But how many people she killed and how that affected her was thoroughly glossed over. Barely even mentioned, and there is no indication that Guinevere feels anything about that part of her past. I think that's a pretty big flaw, tbh. Especially because the author could've just changed the details about the murders so Guinevere was framed, but never actually guilty, and it would've had the same impact on the story. Her being a murderer seems like an unnecessary addition to her backstory, if the author is not going to use it in any meaningful way. But, with that said it's still an enjoyable read. The story doesn't make you leap on out of seat from excitement, but it's easy to read, easy to follow and the FL is a boss bitch.
Sierra