In his past life, Northern Knight Elias Thorn died protecting his beloved Evelyn Blake. Framed by her stepmother and betrayed by her fiancé, Evelyn perished in agony at the stake. Elias only had time to take the final arrow for her. When he opens his eyes again, he is reborn—not as a knight, but as an ugly, bumpy toad by the pond of an estate. In three days, Evelyn will be framed for poisoning her father. In seven days, her fiancé will break off their engagement in public. In half a month, the entire royal capital will condemn her as an evil woman. In this life, he cannot speak, cannot wield a sword, and would likely be kicked away if he dares draw near her. Yet with this hideous form, he defends her time and again: knocking over poisoned tea, triggering traps, and luring away assassins. Eventually, Evelyn notices this strange little creature that always appears in her hour of peril—and it instantly falls quiet whenever the name *Elias* is spoken. On the night of the lunar eclipse, an ancient curse temporarily restores his human form. He exposes the regent’s full conspiracy of murder and annexation before everyone. But the price of breaking the curse is an eternal choice: remain human forever, or sacrifice his humanity to keep her alive. Once more, he chooses to vanish. On a garden bench, now the new Duchess, Evelyn holds the familiar toad in her arms. With tear-reddened eyes, she whispers softly: *“This life, let me be the one to protect you.”*
