Sometimes, Irene wished there was a spell that could let her relive certain moments of her past. There was probably one out there that she had yet to come across and if she dropped all her responsibilities, it would come easy to her. She found it a little surprising that it hadn’t made itself present to her, having lived for so long. Right… Alive for decades that she had even forgotten her real name and that her body had suddenly a yearning to experience what she felt in certain moments in her past. Moments where she was all smiles and giggles. The ones that sent butterflies fluttering through her body. The warm, happy days.

Then again, she realised she didn’t really need a spell when there were memories that were so intense that it would resurface to remind her of the past. Haunting her whenever her mind wandered. Though she knew most were subjected to her sanity’s self preservation, the terrible ones, though numbed, were still painful in numbers.

Untastefully, the memory that haunted her the most was her first death. Murderer upon orders by the Royal Princess who was in an absurd fit of jealousy, just because Irene had caught the eye of the Royal Prince, whose face she had only seen once. Back then, Irene was nothing but a Royal Physician’s attendant. Her uncle, who only knew how to drink and gamble, took her away before her first period. A pretty face sold to the palace so he could keep the petty remnants of his court life.

She could vividly remember the excruciating pain as she lay on the freezing cold winter ground, bleeding out from her belly. Though her mind was fighting for her body to survive, the anger that fuelled her to keep on living had, by then, fizzled out completely. Utterly spent. …What did she do in her previous life for her to have such terrible karma?

Instead of cursing her killers, she spent her last breath complimenting how beautiful a cat that had sidled up to her, was. Fur as white as the first snow, eyes as mesmerising as sea glass and body as warm as a kitchen’s hearth. That Fate was a fool to end her this quickly before she could do a world of good. Oh, if she had the luck of a cat, she could prove it otherwise.

And just like that, Irene was brought back to life. Fate had made her the girl that could never grow old, stuck at the age she first died, only to truly meet her end when Fate deemed she had found true happiness. Irene didn’t know whether it was a curse or a gift, but Fate was indeed toying with her. How petty it truly was, just because she had called it a fool!

Though reborn with supernatural powers, finding the correct cause to invest her efforts into while proving her worth was a tall task. Fate had since then decided to throw whatever it could at her too. Initially, Irene believed the best way to find happiness was love…Only realising what an absolute cruel joke Fate had made of her when she came back alive to find the man she truly did love, had killed his own family for a bloodied throne that in turn betrayed him. She should have known better to stay away from the Royal courts.

It took Irene a while to regain her trust in people until she met Seulgi. A notable scholar’s daughter, who was curious to learn everything and was too smart and too kind for her own good. Sacrificing herself for a young girl going against the patriarchy was worth it. Just that being burnt alive and thrown into the sea was something Irene did not want to go through again. When she came to, soaked and washed up on a beach, she realised that Seulgi was in Fate’s playful palm as well, cursed by a spiteful shaman to live undying until she found the true meaning of family.

Family… A family that Irene decided she could play a part in and perhaps find some happiness in that. They were both somewhat in the same boat and Irene was grateful to have company. Time spent with someone trying to figure out what to do with life was better than spending it alone.

When the Dynasty fell and the Empire rose, Irene hated every minute of the war…atrocities even her mind was willing to shut out completely. How many times had she and Seulgi taken turns to watch the other die?

So, it was an absolute relief when the Second World War ended, and Irene didn’t know whether it was luck or Fate, again, pulling the strings when Seulgi dragged her to a travelling circus from the West. Seulgi had insisted that they give it a look, to ease their weary minds from the internal struggle Korea was starting to go through.

Even though she was reluctant, she was eternally grateful to Seulgi for being so insistent that day. If she stayed home, she would have never met the magician that presented to her Probability itself. Packed into a deck of playing cards that seemingly had a mind of its own.

Holding the Queen of Hearts…Irene felt it immediately. The tickle in her fingers and the surge of power that sent a jolt right down to her toes. It was raw magic that filled her up to the brim with a type of warmth she had never felt before. Warmer than the summer sun on her skin and cosier than the winter coat Seulgi had made for her. It set something alight within her and she knew in that instant she needed those cards. With it, life would pass by much easier…furthermore it was a tool she could turn events to her favour. Literally, she could deal and face Fate with the perfect hand.

Obtaining the cards was easy and when she brought them back to her abode to do a true valuation, she was surprised to be greeted by a clear voice called Wendy. Foreign but strong, with an equally strong mind that was surprisingly willing to give her everything she wanted…The purest form of Luck that wanted to be used and only used by her.

Irene was excited to have something so powerful in her hands. With Wendy’s luck, she gained favours more easily and acquired deals quickly. Her investment in logistics and the food sector returned her with riches she never thought was possible. But as she spent more time with this peculiar sentient deck of cards, the more unwilling she became to use Wendy’s powers…

It had dawned on her as she sat amongst the wealthy, champagne glitter and gold all around, that she wasn't any different than the uncle that used her. Shamelessly using another’s worth for her own benefit… What world of good was she doing? This luck and devotion that was given to her was too good to be true and she was certain Fate was watching how she would handle this divine gift handed to her on a silver platter. Things had never gone her way this smoothly… Life would probably turn awry if she were to continue using Wendy.

So when Seulgi jokingly suggested that Wendy get a physical body as a reward for dispensing such fortune, Irene went for it. Once again, she was su