The edge of town bordering the forest of damnation was a rough remote area. It was no place for a lady like her or a young lord like him. Yet, here they were, looking for properties for sale amongst the shabby inns and stores that traded items from the relatively poorer explorers who went into the forest. There was a tangible stench in the air, the reason for the permanent handkerchief on Sebastian’s nose. It did bother Natalia but her nose soon got used to the stench as it was something she had experienced many times in both lives.
“I want to apologize again for bringing you both here…..”
“No, this isn’t your fault. Natalia, what the hell?!”
“If it wasn’t necessary, we wouldn’t have come here. Let’s see if we can search for people desperate en
"A public criminal execution? Those are outlawed in the kingdom!" Sebastian exclaimed."Ever since the current Grand Duke came into power, he has allowed public execution""That's violating the king's order! This is insubordination. Natalia….""There's no reason to be so riled up, Bastian. This is an issue betweenHis Majesty and His Grace. We cannot intervene in this. We have a mission here so let's focus on that""I…. understand" he balled his fists, turning his head."So, sir, what do you say about leasing your property? If you agree to this, we can send a leasing agreement through our realtor that came earlier"
“Natalia, are you okay? Did she do anything to you…..” Natalia rested her head on his chest, sighing. Anger flared in Sebastian’s chest as he thought back on what happened. “She didn’t do anything. I’m just…..tired” “She’s nothing but an abandoned princess. I can make sure she doesn’t cause any more trouble for you. I can take her back…..” “No, it’s fine. The duke is too troublesome an enemy for us” “Natalia, I hate when you talk like that, like you’re already defeated. He doesn’t deserve you, she doesn’t deserve your kindness and yet…..” “Bastian, do you really think……I’m not angry?”
“A letter? From his highness?”“Yes, my lord. It has the royal seal of the crown prince”Sebastian frowned. There was almost nothing to be gained associating with the crown prince and the rumors that he was on his side gave Sebastian such a headache. Neither his father nor Natalia said anything about the rumors but now that he had traveled to the southwest, the rumors have wildly changed. This letter could be the crown prince’s official appeal to get Sebastian on his side. With his sister’s prediction, there was no way he could do that.As Sebastian ripped the letter open, the door opened once more. Natalia stood at the door with a slightly panicked look on her face, her breath uneven. Sebastian knew his sister was calm, regardless of the situation but when it came to those
Natalia knew she had to eventually return to her matrimonial home. The time she spent with her brother was too short. In her past life, she didn’t value the time she had with him since she thought he would always be there forever but the day he took his final breath, Natalia felt her soul wither. Death was unavoidable but his came too soon. The two concluded the matter of the property and Natalia left the rest of the business to Amaika. She had to travel to the capital so it wasn’t convenient to deal with land matter. If she dallyed, she wouldn’t be able to get it settled. Natalia returned to the duke’s mansion with her brother. Sebastian looked grumpy, offended of the simple thought of escorting the princess back. Natalia thought it was amusing since her brother seemed to hate the royal family for good and inconsequential reasons. He hated the cr
“Your grace, if you don’t mind me asking, why do you wish to purchase a Hallmand Wolf cub? There are other less dangerous beasts up for sale” “As the Countess knows, her majesty’s birthday is coming up and I wish to present a befitting gift to her majesty” “But your grace, the parasites the wolf cub carries is dangerous” “The wolf cub picks up the parasite from being weaned by its mother and hunting. But if the wolf cub is torn from its mother from the moment it is born and properly taken care of and trained, then it can make a good pet” “Still, gifting a wild animal to her majesty is…..” “You didn’t feel this hesitant selling the Red Mountain Bald Eagle to the Empire’s crown prince, did you? It’s a crime to sell e
Seeing the tall gloomy mansion, Natalia was glad she got out for a few days. Sebastian refused to let her hand go as they walked out of the carriage, welcomed at the doors by Corren.“Welcome back home, your grace” he bowed.Home. It sounded so foreign and so far away. She had never considered this place home in either of her lives. But the place where she was constantly abused and belittled couldn’t be called home either. Except in her mother and her brother’s arms, she had never known home.“Thank you, Corren. We would be leaving for the capital today, correct?”“Yes, your grace. I had the servants pack up your clothes…..”“There is no need for t
Natalia struggled fiercely against him but his voice grip was too strong to beat. Her circulation was cut off and she was left gasping pitifully for air. Just what had gotten into him?! She even left him with the woman he loved for a few days in her own matrimonial home but he was still trying to hurt her! Why?!He let go of her neck, staring down at her with no mercy. Using magic, she healed the handprints and healed herself, finally able to breathe properly. She sighed, staying like that. His bloodlust was tangible so she didn’t know what else he would do if she said anything or tried to act like nothing was wrong.They were like that till they got to the teleportation circle. A wave of nausea overcame her but she healed herself again, knowing she might just die from a bashed head if she vomited in the carriage. It didn’t last for a minute a
“Your grace, the duchess is here to see you” The pen in his hands paused and he looked up to see Corren’s expressionless face. Just yesterday, he strangled her. Now that they were in the capital, he expected her to report to her father but not only did she not leave the mansion, she didn’t appear before him for neither lunch nor dinner. There was no news from the Marquis nor any summons from the King. That meant she did nothing about him, choosing to hide from him until his anger settled. It was the same way she did things back in the southwest. “Let her in” The door opened and she walked in, curtseying to greet him. Even when she lifted her body off the floor, her gaze remained lowered, not meeting his eyes. “I received an invitation from Count Selene fo
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