+++

In the duchy where blood splattered on roses,

“Jellal…you bas…tard…how dare you…how dare you??!” Jellal looking indifferent kept thrusting his sword into his older brother with his back attached to the wall, with hands tied with the vine of the rose.

The last one among his older brother remaining died by the hand of Jellal. But the man who was the most powerful of all the Mortel in the duchy was still standing alive with blood covered his entire white suit as he made his way to Jellal.

“…let’s finish this.” his voice was like a blade stuck inside Jellal’s heart but that blade no longer pains him anymore as he took the sword out and pointed it at his own father.

“Yes, your grace.”

Magic clashed with each other as Jellal ran and dodge from the duke’s magic attack, the duchy could no longer hold the pressure of those two anymore collapsed in an instant. The side effect of the Mortel magic filled the surrounding of the duchy resulting in two deaths and many unconscious on that day.

No matter how strong Jellal was, he couldn’t compare one bit to his father. But he wanted to live, live for tomorrow to meet his wife even if he had to shoulder the burden of the duchy for the rest of his life.

He bit his lip and then jumped midair and cast the memory magic which even the duke hasn’t mastered it yet. The duke’s eyes shook horribly seeing the myth magic right in front of his eyes.

Jellal controlled the duke’s memories only for three seconds and it broke immediately by the duke’s magic energy.

Meanwhile, Jessica who arrived at the capital on that day after many months searching for the cure to her illness arrived at the scene right at the moment when Anette thrust the sword inside the duke’s stomach to save Jellal.

She witnessed it all and gasped in despair, all the corpses of her older brothers…one of them crawled to her who was in fear on the corner.

“Jessica…revenge…revenge for us…Jellal…want to steal the duke’s title.” her eyelids shook in disbelief to think there was such a monster who took their family’s lives just for something as the title. 

Jellal was crying terribly in Anette’s arms as what he did was unforgivable, Anette too felt guilty for their deeds could only hug Jellal comforting him on the corpse of the people in the duchy.

Anette and Jellal noticed the presence of Jessica at the corner, Anette held Jellal’s trembling hands and said to him in a low voice, “We can help her escape, as long as the emperor didn’t find her…she won’t die. It isn’t too late, Jellal.”

Jellal nodded with his eyes full of guilt walking to trembling Jessica in the shadow. Jessica too was walking toward him slowly from the darkness. Jellal didn’t see at that time as the sky was dark and smoke filled his vision.

“Jessica…I’m sorry…” he ran to hug her but then he noticed something was off when the warm liquid dropped on his shoes as he hugged his sister.

It was warm, thick, and red…dripping from her mouth as she glared at him in anger.

“Become the duke, brother!!!!!! Take it all!!!! Be the duke who killed all your family!!!! I hate you!!!!! I won’t forgive you!!!! If I have a second chance, you…your wife, all of your loved one, I’ll kill them all!!!!” blood splattered on Jellal’s face when she shouted at him continuously, her body turned cold and slumped on the ground.

Jessica was dead, Jellal couldn’t accept the situation. He broke down holding his little sister miserably with his heart feeling like it was torn apart.

Anette dashed to the one in front of Jellal, the one with the sword with Jessica’s blood on it.

“You scumbag!!!” she slapped the face of the royalty in full force. It was the emperor who killed Jessica penetrating his sword right in her back.

“I have to protect my empire, new duchess…” he walked away as he finished his words.

Anette could only clench her hands as she couldn’t do anything. She disgusted such things as oracle and sacrifice. She made her way back to Jellal who was crying for his little sister.

“Anette…what do I do?? I don’t know anymore…”

“…I’m here with you…cry all you want, for now.” he shoved his face on Anette as he cried.

“Am I a monster??”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m a horrible person…I killed my family…Jessica was killed because I didn’t make it in time…if only.” there wasn’t any if, in the reality, people died, we grieved and then moved on with the sin we had to carry for the rest of our lives.

The duchy was built anew and their business had to shut down as they had a lot of things to handle such as the military.

The corpses of the dead were buried at the graveyard of the capital, Jellal stayed at the graveyard for a week blaming himself.

Anette couldn’t announce her pregnancy to him yet, she kept on silent and helped him with his works as she could.

But that wasn’t the end of oracle in their lives. God and fate kept messing with their lives.

The next few months, Jellal knew on his own as Anette’s belly started to get better. Anette was wrong, he was overjoyed when they finally could have a child.

“I’m sorry for not taking care of you, darling…” she shook her head and touched his face with one hand and the other hand putting on her belly as she said, “It’s not your fault, let’s live together…don’t blame yourself any longer, dear.” she kissed him on the cheek and patted his shoulder to comfort him.

That comfort really saved him from the hell he was put into the whole time as he never had a proper sleep once after that day of oracle.

He could see them in his dream and woke up in the middle of every night. But that night, when his wife and his child was in his arm sleeping beside him…he realized it was time to move on, although it was a cruel decision, but he had to be selfish for his family too. He also had a new family.

Their rising on the rank of nobles, not everyone was content with the news especially the marquess who was lady Catherine’s father who ran a business. His business went bankrupt after Jellal’s business took all of the customers even when Jellal’s business was shut down, the customer no longer came to him as they went on and supported the new duke and duchess.

That was one side of what he was discontent with, but the person in front of him was the reason that made him smirk like that.

The giant glass of tank filled with green water, his experiment finally bloomed like the one inside the tank was breathing and the wound inside their back was closed up.

Many parts of their body were replaced with artificial limbs such as their right arm and left legs.

“Finally!!!! Uwahahaha!!! Jellal…I have my trump card to turn against you now.” long white hair tangled inside the tank, the white eyelids finally shook after many months passed by, her red eyes finally opened again.

The tank shattered into pieces, water coming out, the person’s beloved knight rushed out of the shadow to give them the clothes.

“Lady Jessica!!” it was the knight Claude who served her for years, and also the one who dug her corpse from the ground as the marquess ordered him to.

She put on the dress and shook her hair to let it dry, she grinned and asked Claude, “How long has it been??”

“It’s been two months, my lady.”

“Good.” she walked to the marquess who bowed his head at her the whole time despite him being the one who revived her.

“You know the consequence of reviving the monster, right?” she asked in a cold tone, in the marquess’s perspective, she was like a devil but also his trump card and the ladder for him to climb up above Jellal.

“Yes, my lady. I will listen to your order for the rest of my life.” smirking like a villainess, she pushed the marquess to the floor and let him be her seat on his four legs. He sat on his back and then summoned a mask and put it on her new mature face. She finally became a mature woman after her sickness finally let go of her.

“Perfect. I heard you have a daughter, right? Your daughter will be my servant as well.” he nodded continuously listening to every one of her words.

She glanced at Claude and then questioned him for what will help her in the path of revenge, what will give her power, and what will be perfect revenge.

“Duke Jellal has two friends, marquess Brady, and the emperor.” she took out the feather and wrote the name of those two and then marked it in red underline.

“I can’t touch the emperor, but marquess Brady…” she grinned and then ticked his name as her first target. Her heart was already broken, she was heartless at that point. The one she trusted the most killed all of her family, all her beloved servants, and knights, and even her father.

“The one who stabbed me was the emperor, correct?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“I heard he has a little brother, right marquess?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“I’ll kill that guy too, for your daughter who is his fiance, tell her to come to me. I have a plan for her…I heard she is quite a greedy woman…she won’t be satisfied with that ill prince, right?”

“You guys, bring Catherine here!!” the marquess who was currently holding Jessica’s weight ordered the guard outside the door loudly.

“It will be easy with her on my side…there’s no way she would love that ill second prince dearly.” she finally stood up from the seat she was sitting on and then looked at the north, she finally realized what could give her the power she needed.

“Claude, will the northern emperor visit our empire every year from now on?”

“That’s right. He will come here for discussing the border problem between the empires.”

“I see…let’s kill marquess Brady first. I heard he went on a business trip often. So a carriage accident will happen often.” if humans can have horns, then Jessica would grow the devil’s horn on her head at that moment since she no longer had any sympathy toward humans anymore. A glance of the marquess’s face, she could see through his mind, he grinned as he couldn’t wait to climb above the marquess Brady too.

Well, birds with the same feathers flocked together.

‘I won’t go back on what I said back then…duke Jellal…I’ll kill all of you.’

+++

The day of Jellal and Anette’s child to see the world finally came,

“A little more, madame. Push!!” Anette groaned in pain with her hand that grabbed Jellal’s hand tighten, it hurt. It hurt so much. She felt like she was dying, even the air felt like it was taken away from her as she gasped for air.

It was finally the day of her child’s birth.

She groaned in pain with sweat pouring down all over her body.

“Argh…”

“Anette, take a deep breath.” if she could switch places, she would.

“Wahh…” the baby’s voice was finally heard inside the room, she was glad and relieved.

“It’s a boy.”

“Anette, look…our baby!!” Jellal walked to hold the baby to bring it to his mother who was smiling at him.

The baby’s finger was small, its body was really small and soft. The baby had white hair just like Jellal and purple eyes like her.

She kissed the baby on the forehead, Jellal put his hand on his wife’s head smiling. He was so happy that he could walk out there and shout to the world bragging about his happiness.

“He has your eyes, Anette.” Jellal’s deep voice made the baby cry, it was the first time he was a father. Anette held the baby with care and Jellal sat beside her watching their child.

“What will be his name, Jellal?”

“Let’s name him Tristan.”

“Hear that? Your name is Tristan. My dear child…” she hugged her baby with a warming smile.

Their first child was born, the next child…will change their life forever.

To be continued….!