‘Sun-hee, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hitting you, I’m sorry for making you work, I’m sorry for everything. The money you hide from me…I’m sorry for burning it…I don’t deserve to have such a good person like you to be my daughter, sorry. When you come back, you might be shocked seeing my dead body, you don’t need to give me a funeral. You can go to this address, it is my friend’s bar. I asked him to give the bank card to you when you go there, it is the money I saved up in my entire life, use it…and I already told him to give you a job, you can help him prepare the bar. Goodbye, Sun-hee. You don’t have to see me anymore, I know you hate me so I hope you’ll be happy. Be happy, Sun-hee. Don’t give up.’

“Girl…you will catch a cold out here. Let’s go back inside.” the nurse took Sun-hee in the wheelchair back inside her room after she finished reading the letter her father left for her.

The nurse helped her get on the bed since her leg couldn’t even move even if she tried to. She couldn’t feel her leg anymore.

The rain started pouring down outside the window, the room started to get cold just like back then when she used to live with her alcoholic father.

The nurse told her that her father’s body was already gone, there was a person holding the funeral for him for her sake.

“It looks like that boy doesn’t come today either.”

“Can I ask who is that person?”

“I will check for you, but that guy must be your boyfriend, he had a dark circle every time he visited you recently.”

“…”

“He stayed with you from evening till late night, he always talked about the thing in school with you when you were asleep.” the nurse continued speaking.

Sun-hee didn’t have any energy to listen, she felt like a part of her was ripped out. Was it her future or her feeling?

She got no hope left for her leg to be able to walk again and another person left her again.

Although he wasn’t a good father, his going away from her was never what she wanted.

The nurse left the room and closed the light for her, when the door closed, she moved her body in agony even covering herself with the blanket was painful.

She cried heavily couldn’t take any more of the cruel reality. Everything that happened was like a dream. She wanted to stay inside that dream rather than wake up facing this.

“Ahh…I hate this…take me back…”

“Take me back…”

+++

Back in Anastasia,

Tristan walked in surprised seeing Marinette doing all the duchy work.

She looked at him stood up from where she sat, she handed him the document.

“I sorted it out for you, you’re a duke now, so stamp it. If there is anything confusing, ask me.”

“Did you do all these??”

“If it wasn’t me, then do you think it was Diana?” she asked in a sarcastic manner.

“How do you do this??” Marinette was silent for a moment, it was natural for her since she used to do it every day in the past after his death but she right at that moment shouldn’t be knowing how to do it yet.

She decided to avoid the question.

“Were there still someone trying to barge in our house again?”

“…ah, yeah. Those people came to ask the questions about yesterday.”

“Do you let Diana handle it?”

“Yes, since she insisted on doing it.”

“So…? Was she able to do it?”

“…”

“You should be old enough to decide something on your own, don’t just decide things based on your feeling.” she walked away quickly to the big gate of the house.

Tristan was left in the room confusing which one between them was the older one.

The crowd started to become noisy and started to push the knights who were stopping them on the ground.

“Lady Marinette, what happened yesterday?? Can you explain to us??”

“Lady Marinette, is it true you were poisoned??”

“Did the duke fall down because someone pushed him??” Marinette bumped Diana’s shoulder pushing her aside and walked to the knights.

“Flynn, anyone who doesn’t do their job properly…punish them!” she ordered Flynn who stood behind her.

Flynn did as she ordered and beat one of the knights in front of everyone.

“There…now, I could answer some of your questions.” everyone was silent, no one dared to open their mouth to ask when they couldn’t even look at Marinette right in her cold eyes.

“What??? Silent?? Weren’t all of you dying to know??? Coming to the duchy…and asking like this…do you all not know how to do your job as a reporter???” the sword she took off from the wall, she swung it like it was a toy for her on all of those reporters’ throats.

“…”

“If I see anyone of you crawling in front of my duchy again, I’ll kill them.” everyone stepped back and retreated after hearing Marinette’s declaration.

After everyone left, Marinette helped the knight that Flynn beat up from the ground.

“I’m sorry for beating you, I’ll give you a vacation for one year.”

“My lady…you don’t have to. What you did was right, we failed to do our job…”

“You’re Mortel’s knight. Don’t say like that ever again. Until the former duke wakes up, you’re allowed to kill someone under my order.”

“!!!”

“It’s time to put your sword into good use. Don’t let anyone look down on us, Mortel.” Marinette cast the death roses barrier after her speech.

The sky from inside the barrier, it was dark red. The vine started crawling everywhere.

“Flynn, follow me to my room. I have something to talk about with you.”

Diana was left speechless as everyone’s attention was all on Marinette, and no one even looked at her. She felt inferior to Marinette, she was stopping those people for hours but Marinette came only for a minute and they listen to her.

She clenched her hands and walked back inside angrily.

Inside Marinette’s room,

Marinette sat on the couch drinking the black bitter tea.

Flynn stood far away from the door looking at Marinette who called him here but ignored his existence when he came in.

“…was me recently lovable?”

“Pardon?” he asked to confirm whether he was insane or Marinette just asked that question to him.

“Am I lovable recently…you know, like two days ago or something?”

“You…you…” his face started to get red, he didn’t know how to answer that question.

Marinette’s question didn’t get an answer from him.

“Oh, and one more, did I say anything weird to you when I passed out on the roof? Did I say something strange?”

“You did…but it wasn’t something strange.”

“What was it??” she asked him with her anticipating eyes.

“We were talking about…love back then…” his face was getting redder, he tried to cover it with one of his hands.

“Love??” she giggled while reading the diary.

“You can go now.” she tossed him away when she finished her business with him, Flynn walked out of the room sulking.

Marinette chuckled and walked to the balcony inhaling fresh air since it had been too long since she ever did that.

“Duchess Catherine should arrive by now.” she muttered to herself and picked the necklace wearing it on her neck then walked downstairs in such perfect timing as the person she was talking about a moment ago arrived inside the house.

She smiled and greeted bowing at her in a polite manner.

“I’m glad to see you again, Duchess.” her smile was shown but her eyes didn’t seem to be smiling.

“…I’m glad too, Marinette.” Marinette walked to her slowly and whispered something into her ears.

“Duchess…Diana isn’t your real d^%$&%$, is she?”

The duchess’s eyes widen when she heard that, her goal to visit duke Jellal was abandoned.

She grabbed Marinette’s wrist and dragged her to the training ground.

Marinette was laughing loudly as she was dragged forcefully like that, she seemed to be enjoying herself watching that woman anxious filled with fear.

“How did you–“

“It must be true then.”

“Answer me!!! How did you know about that??”

“That?? Oh you mean, Diana wasn’t the duke’s daughter??” the Duchess was shaking with fear, she was scared by Marinette’s aura.

“I can hide it for you…for now. But…”

“Don’t try to blackmail me, Marinette.”

“Why would you think of me as such an evil person?? I admire you, Duchess.”

“…you don’t have any evidence.”

“Evidence?? You’re really asking me about evidence???”

The duchess gulped and stumbled over a rock making her fall down, Marinette crouched and pulled the duchess’s chin.

“Hey, Duchess…I heard you were really on my nerve saying something like me returning to the basement a few days ago…do you forget…that I’m the Mortel??? I can kill you without leaving a trace.”

“…what–what do you want from me??? I can do everything for you.” the Duchess’s attitude changed completely, she begged Marinette putting her head on the grass.

“Give me the emblem!”

“What emblem…?”

“Don’t play with me, I’m talking about the emblem of life, the one and only.”

“Who are you…!!!?”

“I’ll give you one day, you decide!! Give that to me or you will hit the rock bottom?? Killing a royal is a crime, you know…”

Marinette’s voice turned to the voice of the grim reaper from Catherine’s perspective, she didn’t even notice Marinette leaving as she was shaking in fear.

Marinette’s POV

Although I was grateful to her when she saved me in my past life, but she only saved me from death and brought me into the living hell.

The torture I’ve been enduring in my past life was unforgettable, but thanks to her and her blabbering mouth, she revealed her secret to me.

Diana was the child she adopted. She brought me inside her house was because someone ordered her to.

It was Diana’s birth mother, Jessica Mortel who happened to be duke Jellal’s only sister.

During the era of the Mortel with their high power, my grandfather gave birth to eight kids who were all males except one, the youngest.

Duke Jellal was the youngest son of the family, he was born with a similar circumstance as mine…he was also locked inside the basement to control his death roses magic.

There was never a day he wasn’t taunted by his older brother, only his younger sister loved him and helped him during his difficult time.

Duke Jellal was better at controlling his magic day by day, and when he got out of the basement, he also found his true love, my mother.

He promised my mother he wouldn’t involve with any inheritance until the order of the emperor came to him. It happened to be the day his younger sister was out of the capital.

When she returned, all the people in the house were dead, from her sibling to her father. The ones that stood on top of all of those corpses were duke Jellal and my mother bathing in blood.

She hid in the corner watching them cutting the head of each person putting it inside the sack.

That was what she told me. The marquess also hated and envied duke Jellal, that was why he hid the existence of my aunt, Jessica for years.

When I was brought inside the household, I was forced to eat the magic orb every day till my magic leaked out of my eyes in the form of blood.

They didn’t feed me anything except those orbs, it was for me to surpass my potential.

By the time I was brought into the household, Jessica’s revenge was successfully executed. She killed my mother cursing her with dark magic and my father was poisoned also because of her.

Her daughter became the duchess of the Mortel.

That was why in this life, I will deal with her as soon as possible.

And Diana…

She lived her life without knowing her birth mother and aunt Jessica never revealed who Diana’s father was. But that didn’t mean Diana didn’t have anything to do with all my suffering back then.

I’ll take revenge on all of you, not a single one of you will be spared!

Especially you, Catherine! I never forgot what you did to me when I was young in my past life and this life as well.

+++

At Nova’s household,

“Does she know the existence of the emblem??” the mysterious woman with the mask completely covered her face, white long hair lying down to her waist, sat on the chair watching Catherine begging on both of her knees toward her.

“Just give it to her.” she said calmly and stared in the north direction.

“Miss Jessica, she also knew about Diana.”

“Really?? Don’t worry, she won’t reveal it. Even if she reveals, Diana’s birth father will help her.” Jessica replied and touched the locket on her neck gently, there was a picture of a man inside the locket.

“Can I ask who is Diana’s father??”

“Haa…he’s a ruthless and busy guy…you might not be able to see him in your life, Catherine.” a smile appeared on Jessica’s magic mask as her mood lit up talking about that man.

To be continued….!