Chapter 00.
What Led to My Demise
by trishii
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Freya's POV
The pungent smell of rotting flesh and dried blood filled my senses as the cold pavement I was lying on managed to numb my aching body even further as time went on.
The air was heavy enough to make my mind stir, whilst the shackles over my neck had made it unbearable to breathe. Where was I? All I could see from the small window above me was the moon, illuminating the dark place that I was currently in.
I didn't get the chance to see earlier when I was caught up trying to escape the men's iron grip on my wrists and eventually putting a sack over my head and a gag so I couldn't shout for help. But I was coming up to the conclusion that I'm still inside Viscount Capella's estate.
But this was my first time seeing such a place that screamed 'prison'. A place where they probably kept robbers or men who wanted to cause harm to the Capella family and was caught by the estate's knights.
Why was I even brought here in the first place? I was shackled and kicked multiple times against my stomach and hit all over my body. Even if I was hit by my master's tutors when I was younger, it never came to the point where I had blood coming out of my mouth. Had I done something wrong and was now being punished for it?
Before I could fill my head with multiple thoughts, the sound of the metal door opening got my attention, and I was finally relieved at the sight of who arrived before me.
A young maiden turning seventeen next week, with strawberry blonde curls that almost reached her mid back that matched her emerald green orbs. Bela Rose Capella; my one and only lady that I have served for most of my existence. She was older than me by almost a year, and I considered her as my older sister.
Even if I was nothing but a mere slave to the Capella household, she took me in as her lady-in-waiting and provided me not only clothes to wear and food on the table, all in the exchange of learning and excelling at everything they come across with.
Lady Bela was known to be the black sheep between her and her two older siblings. Count Ivern; a known politician who married Countess Severina five years ago, and Major Theodore who was known for his time in the war against a neighbouring country to the West.
She was always reprimanded by her parents even when she worked hard to gain their attention. From learning arithmetic and magic spells, to becoming a fine wife with a decent set of skills to not bring the Capella family to shame.
I couldn't bare to witness the suffering she was going through as I considered her as my light. The only reason why I still wanted to live even when I was forced to work in a young age.
And so, before Bela turned seven, I had told her to share a business idea that I made in regards to what I had overheard from Viscount Capella's subordinates one night. Bela did so, and for the first time in her life. She was praised.
After that, she made me take her lessons all for the sake of coming up with new ideas that would bring honor to her name. I had believed that she deserved so much of the glory of an intellectual woman as she was my idol, and I gave it my best.
Now, after almost ten years of providing her strategies and business proposals made her famous enough for the royal family to even notice her and yesterday, she was chosen as the sole candidate for crown princess of the kingdom. My efforts have not been in vain.
"Lady Bela! Forgive me for showing such a horrible look—"
"No worries. You actually look better in this state!" The coldness of her voice brought shivers down my spine. The Lady Bela I knew never spoke with such hatred. I was dumbfounded as I kneeled on the cold ground in front of her.
"I'm not sure why I'm here when I should be packing your belongings before you venture towards the royal castle, my lady." And before I could even smile at her, I felt a stinging pain against my right cheek.
"Shut up you imbecile! Have you really got no clue as to what's going on or is that brain of yours only good for coming up with ideas?!" She hit me so hard that I couldn't help but fall on the cold pavement.
"L-Lady Be—" I was slapped once again before I could even utter another word. The woman now in front of me had such crazy looking eyes and awful smirk as she looked down on me as she kept smacking me with her small hand. I didn't know who this monster was, this couldn't be Lady Bela that I have worked so hard to help.
"I finally have the chance to ruin this already horrible looking face of yours as I see fit! You do not know how hard it was for me to stop myself from killing you as we grew up!"
"My lady—"
"You've been looking down on me for so long. You deserve being hit again and again! How dare you think that you were worthy enough to be compared to a woman like me?!"
"I don't understand—!" I was then pulled by my hair and smacked against the hard ground, feeling my nose break as blood started to drip all over me.
"You're a witch! Because of you, mother and father had always complained why you weren't their own child! They had always hated me for not being as smart as you! The audacity of my own brothers to believe that you were better than me in every aspect, I've despise you all these years!" I was slowly losing consciousness as she proceeded to hit me again and again.
"Then again, you have my gratitude for bringing me to the peak! With that mind of yours, I've become the Crown Prince's betrothed. And before others could even find out that you were the mastermind of every single idea that brought me my fame. I would just have to kill you! Guards!"
Without another word, I could hear numerous footsteps heading towards our way before I felt myself being carried by the arms.
"Bring me the ropes!"
"But Lady Bela, the Viscount and Viscountess would surely not like it if they find out about this!" One of the guards answered as he held the rope.
"Do they really need to know? I'll just have to kill her before they come back! After all, there isn't anyone in this damn country who can even do reincarnation magic to save this lowlife!"
I can't bear to hear the horrible words coming out of her mouth. Was she really telling the truth? Am I the reason for her demise? Even when she was starting to put a rope over my head, and ordering the guards to tie my limbs, I couldn't find the heart in me to despise her. Lady Bela who was now my light had slowly started to fade from sight.
Hearing the sudden cries of the guards outside and the frantic looking face of Lady Bela, she forcefully stabbed me with a dagger towards my chest that brought me more pain than I had ever felt. Not because of the metal weapon that etched against my heart, but to witness the only one who I loved kill me with no regrets.
And then there was darkness.