{You know the language of fae because you learned it?}
“If you can use magic, it’s a simple language to learn. The god made it possible for us to use magic that easily”
{I see. That is why I sense foul magic on you}
“It might be the curse that brought me back to the past. Do you know, fairy mother, that I have lived this life already? It’s a hellish life”
{Curse? I sense no curse on you. What I sense is bitterness, hatred, envy, yearning, rebellion, damnation…….you cannot pass into the afterlife with the negative energy you currently carry. If I were to define who you are, you are a ghost. Perhaps your god sent you to the past to clear you of your negative energy}
“You’re saying until I clear the darkness in my heart, I cannot die?”
{That’s right. However, it’s tricky. The timeline has been permanently altered which means the future is erased. From the moment you were sent to the past, the timeline was aligned. If you are unable to clear your negative energy, I fear it would keep happening until your soul is erased}
All Natalia wished for was death. Even if she wanted her soul to be erased, it came at the cost of too much pain. If she wanted to be able to die properly, she needed to get rid of her regret.
“I see. I have decided. I’ll run away from this kingdom. Will you help me?”
{I have never met a human like you. I am interested in seeing how far you’ll go}
With that last sentence, the fairy mother was gone. Natalie watched the glittering particles that remained where she once was, disappear. Her body lurched forward, a geyser of blood spraying on her wedding dress. The amount of magic needed to summon the fairy mother once was ridiculous, not to talk about twice in a short interval. In the first place, she was an existence comparable to god. How can one easily summon her?
“How do I escape? Do I pretend to die and escape from there? I don’t think they’ll fall for it but it’s worth a shot. I should see a priest but the church would rather put me in their dungeons than help me. For now, I'll slowly plot my escape. Dying the first time was stupid, now that I think of it”
Her stomach rumbled, bringing her back to reality. She was covered in blood, looking like a bride from hell. It was interesting to think of the reactions of others when they saw her like that. Would they pity her? Would they mock her? Would they just ignore her?
Her fingers glowed. She swept it over the gown, clearing the bloodstains in an instant. Moving her hand across her back, she loosened the gown, the other hand pointing to her suitcases, looking for something comfortable to wear.
She found a plain black gown that was comfortable to wear and put it on, putting away the wedding gown. She sighed once she was freed from the corset and lay on the bed. Thankfully, it was clean, like the rest of the room.
Her stomach grumbled again. It was a tradition not to eat before the wedding ceremony. Even after the journey and stress, she wasn’t fed a single thing.
Hihihihi……kikikiki…….kekekekeke……..hihihihihi…….
A strange laugh echoed in the corridors outside her room. It sounded like several girls laughing as they passed by. This also happened in the past at that exact moment to Natalia.
The hungry Natalia thought it was the maids and opened the door to see if she could get one of them to bring her food or bring her to the dining room. Once she opened the door, she had her first encounter with the mischievous and annoying face.
They tormented her with daydreams, stripping her bare on the corridor. The duke just happened to be passing by and the sight of her being tormented by the fae disgusted him, making him hate her more. Of course, he never saved her. Why would he? She was a disgrace to him.
Her stomach grumbled once more, making her sigh. It was had to escape an enchantment of fae. If one tried to harm one fae, it would bring the wrath of the others. She learned this the hard way.
An hour passed and they were finally gone. She always thought that she made the mistake of calling them while they were just passing by but she finally realized the fae were intentionally looking for her. The Fae don’t enter houses or rooms without being invited.
There was a knock on her door and a dense masculine voice after it. It was her butler, Wilbur, more than an hour late to his duty.
“My lady, we have come to assist you with changing your clothes and leading you to where you will have lunch with the duke”
“Come in”
He came in with about four maids, two of them holding a bright yellow outfit. It was the same as the past too. They were all pleasantly surprised to see her seating on the bed, changed neatly. Her luggage had been put away and she was smiling gracefully without a single scratch on her.
In the past, she tried to gain his favor, since he was her assigned butler. She was trying to gain a friend but he couldn’t care less about her.
“I knew the staff of the dukedom were all too busy to attend to me so I did everything by myself to lessen your burden. If there’s nothing else, can you lead me to where I’ll eat?”
Wilbur was particularly caught by surprise. In the past, she waited for them and they found her in an embarrassing position, secretly mocking her as they dressed her up in the dreadful gown. It was one of the duke’s mother’s gowns, one she happened to like very much. If the duke hadn’t seen her after she was tormented by the Fae, he wouldn’t have minded it very much. However, seeing her wear the dress boldly felt like she was disgracing his mother.
“We were looking for things to help my lady with. I particularly went to look for this dress for you. I think it’ll suit you, my lady”
“Are you trying to say the dresses I brought from home are not suitable enough for the dukedom even though they are all the best of the season?”
“I didn’t say that, my lady. The fashion of the far southeast is different”
“But I thought this dress best suits the atmosphere of the dukedom. So, was my choice wrong? What a shame”
“We’ll help you change into the dress, my lady”
“I appreciate your goodwill but there is no need for that. These clothes are all I have of my home. My manners and my body is all I have to remind me of my family. If that is taken from me, then I might as well be an infidel”
“I dare not insult you, my lady” he bowed, talking through gritted teeth. It was satisfying for her to see him so humble. She walked past them to the door.
“Please lead me to the dining room”
“Yes, my lady” the door opened and she was escorted to the dining room. It was just down the hall from her room, which was where the duke was heading when he passed her room. He was already settled there, the impatience remaining in his red eyes. Those eyes used to unnerve her, haunting her dreams. For her, the worst of the day was yet to come.
“I greet you, my lord” she bowed.“Just sit and let us start lunch”Apparently, he also adhered to the tradition and didn’t eat before going to his wedding ceremony. She sat gracefully, waiting for the first course. She could feel his stare burn a hole in her side but she refused to look at him. If she looked at him, he would regard her with disgust. If she didn’t look at him, he would think she was being disrespectful. He was aggravating, if not anything.The first course soon arrived. While the aroma steaming from the duke’s food was tempting, the course served to the duke’s new wife was subpar. There was evidence of the meat rotting and the sauce barely had any taste. The smell of the duke’s food covered the smell so nobody noticed anything was wro
For the wedding night, Natalia had to go to the duke’s room. As she walked through the dark corridors, the fear of past and present merged, making her steps falter. She held fast to the object inside her sleeve, trying to calm herself. It was bad enough she was dizzy and still had to use magic in that state.She reached the door and it was opened for her by the duke’s guards. They stared at her with dark eyes, like they could devour her at any moment. She knew they weren’t human. They were beastkin, the reason why dragons hoovered on the roofs of the castle.Her heart beat faster as she entered the familiar room. It was just like her room, huge and depressing. He wasn’t there so she had time to set up. She took the object out of her sleeve and set it on the bedside table. She waved her glowing fingers over it and it lit with
It had been a week since she got married and got contracted to Madaline. The effects were immediate. She felt lighter and could use magic with so much ease, it was ridiculous. With power like that, it would be easy to get away with poisoning herself and escaping.The situation in the dukedom was as she expected. Even Wilbur forgot about her existence. No one came to assign the duties of the duchess to her and she was left alone, save for mealtimes. They were as dreadful as ever but it brought her closer to her goal. If they treated her nicely, it would be difficult to implicate them when the time came.“I slept well again today”The duke was convinced they spent the first night together and no longer called her to his room. In her past, he only did it once every three months to avoid the eyes
{You want a poison that will make you seem like you are dead?} “I want to slowly escape this place after all. I want to go somewhere without the reach of my family or this kingdom. The best place to go is the Empire of Illumine. This is the reason for my contract” {You changed your mind about dying?} “If I die, it will change nothing. I want to get rid of this regret first” {You know
Since she spent the better half of her first married year looking up and down for the elusive man, she could recognize him and his route even in her sleep. No one was assigned to help her so she bent her back to find and persecute Cage. Even the lowly guards of Traisen mocked her, the duchess who chased after another man. There were rumors that he was her secret lover. The descent of her reputation started from there. “I wish I were his lover. He is a better man than Fredrich would ever be”When she finally met Cage, he eluded her grasp more than one. He said his hobby was messing up noble ladies, seeing them descend into depravity, giving them the pleasure their uptight husbands couldn’t give. Because she was so intent on finding him, it made her his next target. Natalia fell for his sweet words and started to look forward to seeing him more. She had her dignity as a noble so she didn’t fall for him but the pleasure that Fredrich couldn’t give her tempted her. It was
The stuffy air of the carriage was hard to endure when the breeze was fresh outside in the city. Everything the man in front of her harped entered one ear and came out of the next. It was okay to ignore him, especially as she searched the crowd for familiar faces. Even after 10 years, her memories were still fresh, making her mission easier.“Milady, we would alight here. Please hold on to this”“Thank you” she smiled, taking the tablet. It had traces of fae magic which in the past, burnt her fingers when she took it. It was one of Wilbur’s many pranks. In the past, she flinched whenever she touched it but when she took it, even after a burn appeared on her hand, she didn’t flinch. The carriage door opened and she got down, leaving the stunned butler inside.It was the
“Who are you and what do you want from me?”“KNEEL”He fell to his knees, the dagger dropping from his grasp. Her heels rested on his head, pushing it into the ground. He felt her cold eyes rake over his body and the chill that accompanied it. “This is the last time I would tolerate such behavior from you. I am your master and you serve me. I don’t need to answer your questions”“I do NOT have a master,” he grunted, struggling under the hold. “If you defy me one more time, you will be granted the chance to lose an arm. I’m sure that would be quite unfortunate going through the forest of damnation” she quipped. He was immediately calm, clenching his teeth. “Good. Let's try this again. I am Natalia Adamantine. Just a few days ago, I was married to the Duke of Kristen. I have enslaved you for one purpose only, to get out of this hell hole. You have two options, get me out and I free you from your hold or die right now and I take over your little squad. I can
{Do you need me to heal that for you?}“No, that’s not the reason I called you, Madaline. You live in the forest of damnation, right?”{Do not call our home with that terrible human name}“......I apologize”{Yes, I do live in the forest of Telra. Do you need anything in particular?}
Upon hearing the cry of a baby, their hearts of multiple people became calm. The mother had been in labor for a total of two days, trying her hardest to push her babies out. The second followed the first closely and they were both taken out to be cleaned. The father of the child had been there the whole time, clasping her hand as tightly as she clasped his. He kissed her forehead and watched her until she fell asleep from exhaustion before going out of the room. "Is she well? Are the babies well?" He was bombarded with questions as soon as he came out. He nodded, smiling. Messangers were sent out immediately. The royal heirs of Polivia had been born. Natalia had always asked herself this question: What would a timeline without me look like?Since she was never born, her mother didn't have to go through the pain of bearing another child. Her relationship with Marquis Adamantine became better, she made the step to reconnect with her family and she went on to have a fruitful married l
They readied their weapons, holding their breaths. Fighting ascended gods was vastly different from fighting original gods. The weakest was Madaline, who was both lacking in the number of wings she had and an ascended god. Luckily, her barriers were the strongest in the world. “Wait. They’re just looking. It’s like they’re waiting for something or…someone.”They looked down at Nataroth and saw that giant white wings were sprouting from her back. She was growing larger by the second, soon dwarfing out the space. She stopped growing and focused her eyes on them.{My children. I…have returned}Marvis figured out the patterns and used the teleportation portal to get them to another room. It was relatively intact like the other rooms and it didn’t look like it was affected by the blast. But after seeing the coffin in the middle of the room, they soon realized why. Just as they were about to figure out their next move, Denitra fell into Marvis’s arms. They thought it was intentional until
Even in the spirit world, where nothing was solid, the ground began to shake. The coffins that surrounded Nataroth opened of their own accord and a thick miasma formed on top of it. The bodies in the coffins rose, slowly climbing out of the coffins. Maowry watched this all unfold with fear in their heart. “You can still stop this, Maowry. They are still vulnerable.” “Even if I can, why should I, Uriel?”“You’ll regret this!”“I am regretting this but I want to see how far this can go.”“MAOWRY!”They ignored her, looking at the bodies slowly coming closer to her. They walked like the undead, unstable and unstoppable. In a way, they were undead but with the large spell, not for long. They could recognize the magic being used and the obvious bending of world order. However, there was something they didn’t recognize, something that transcended both magic and world order. It was the reason why the spell was working in the first place and there was only one god that could use it; Natarot
The fights between the gods raged on. If they met on neutral grounds, Maowry versus Uriel wouldn’t be a one sided beat down. However, Maowry’s powers were fading because Thiton and Madaline kept shattering the ancient barriers of the spirit world. Madaline also had to repair those barriers immediately so Thiton was able to get some blows in. “Why won’t you just roll over and die?! You have always been a pain in my neck and you keep making aggravating decisions that bring us to this point every single time! What is wrong with you, Madaline?”“The way you speak Thiton, makes it obvious that you are obsessed with me. That’s worrisome. I cannot let a disgusting creature disguised as a god profess his love to me that loudly. Why don’t you just die?”“You’re delusional. Your attachment to Nataroth even though you’re an ascended god just like us shows how much of a hypocrite you are!”“Coming from the person who killed me?! That’s laughable. You, of all people, are claiming to care for the
“Lovely, isn’t it?” “I feel like you’re ignoring me. It is lovely. Is that made from purely cotton?” “Yes, it is. You love even lovlier in it, your highness. The wedding is soon, is it not? I cannot wait to be there.” “What about you? Why won’t we attend your wedding? Come on, Lady Natalia. You know you would look absolutely beautiful in a wedding dress.” “I hate wedding dresses.” “...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” “I’m not angry, Princess Temara. I know how much you care about me and I know how much you love my brother. Honestly, it worries me. Would you really slit your throat if he asked you to?” “...of course not.” “Your highness, you hesitated. Well, it doesn’t matter because he would never ask you to. Like I was saying, I understand why all of you are worried about me. Yes, I know you’re all behind that door. But I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing it for a long, long time. But if you don’t all trust me to make the right decision, then is it really love?”
In Madaline’s palace, there was a direct portal down to earth. Sylph and the fairy sent to rescue her were ready to send her soul back but it was too damaged to travel whole. They had no other choice but to wait for Madaline or find an alternative. It was difficult to patch a soul and not just any god could do it. If they waited any longer, it would affect her chances of escaping significantly.“Shouldn’t Madaline have returned by now? What’s taking so long?!”Back at the platform, the gods were amazed. The fight was on a different level than the one they watched earlier. Two of the most powerful gods going head to head without fear. The first weapon they used, they had both broken them even though they were items not built to break. They were fighting solely with magic, causing all forms of natural disasters. The sky began to darken all around the world, alarming the mortals. Madaline's magic was focused on barriers. No matter what anyone did, you couldn't get past her barriers. Her
"Grandmother!" Natalia dashed into the mansion, heading to the living room first. She found the butler and he told her she was in the office. She could finally calm herself and walk into the office. "Grandmother, you really came.""You have a very nice office, Natalia. This old woman is jealous.""I can make the exact one for you. I'm just curious. Why are you here?""Sit, we need to talk.""I'm terrified. If this is about my marriage, you need to give me more time…""This is not about that. It's about your inheritance.""You came all the way here for that? You could've just asked me to come to you. It must be more than that.""Yes. Why did you bring a hostage and ask the plan to be sped up? You know how sensitive the whole thing is! You didn't even tell anyone else about it and now you want to hasten it out of nowhere! What happened?""The hostage is critical. I had to put her away so she wouldn't affect my plans. Two, there isn't much time left. Even after I went back in time two
“W-What do you mean the god of death and destruction?!”“Yes, what do I mean indeed?” she just smiled, looking at the body in the casket. He just stared back at her with his eyes open. "I was very lucky to find him, you know. Gods are not just objects you find on the side of the streets. I actually built this whole thing because of him but not for him. He belongs in another world so you have to be curious as to why he's here. He won't say anything though which is disappointing.""Are you insane?! That is the most dangerous of the original gods!""I doubt he is as dangerous as Nataroth. Anyway, now that I've shown you my treasure, let's take you to your room, shall we?"They left the room, the doors locking behind them as they left. The boy laying still in the casket rose to sit up and stared unblinkingly at the door. As they faced down the two royal heirs, a servant came running out from the mansion, handing a letter to Sebastian. He frowned and burnt the letter immediately. "You w
After dinner and settling her friends and hostage into her home, she could finally rest. She soaked herself in the tub, feeling the knots in her body loosen. There was also the fact that she was being massaged by little fairies that fluttered excitedly around her. She sighed with content. "Do you like it that much?""Hmm, it's nice. Did you miss me, Madaline?""You worried me but you really came back without a scratch. Berinda is Uriel's territory so I cannot intervene at will. I'm glad it went well.""No, I got attacked and that's why I have a hostage. Now that you say it, she's probably Uriel's Saintess.""You took another god's Saintess?! Since when did you start acting so recklessly?""It was not a reckless or juvenile decision. You know what my goal is. By the way, I have a question.""What is it?""If Adelie is Ducroft's Saintess and Denitra is Uriel's Saintess, does that mean I'm your Saintess?""No, it's not you. It's Marvis's mother." "How cruel. You could've reserved that