eHaving Yan as a servant for herself is a doudle edge sword, quite risky but brings a lot of future benefits as she can be a very valuable person.
'She can be either loyal to me or has a hidden motive, If i can have her be loyal to me, things will be much smoother for me. If she really does has secret motives, whatever it is, I can't do anything fo her. But the thing is, she can be neither of those two, which is a bit tricky, especially with my position right now, i need a person whom i can keep by my side.'
Halia's head throbbed as she remembered her past. She cannot let those things happen again or atleast she must avoid it as much as possible. First, she must avoid the crown prince Zamorra lest she'll for him again, Halia knew that after all the happenings in the past, she still felt infatuated to Barret.
He was an upright man, deserving to be the next ruler of the Capell Kingdom, it's just her love has failed to reach him despite being enganged to him for a very long time. She admired that charismatic and brave man, even though he cherished another woman, her love never wavers.
Two years before her death, she just need to lie-low and after that Halia will break all her ties with them. She was determined to avoid everything, in this life she'll definitely choose herself over anything else, she wants to be greedy just for once.
-----
After having her dinner she silently entered her room. Yan escorted her to the bed and fixed the creases of it. She was still acting as a patient even though Yan was already her person, she still had her doubts about Yan so she cannot let her guard down.
She remembered her conversation with the butler about the fire that occurred early in the morning. The butler told her that the Bureau of Investigation is on it, he also added that the officials said that they might already know who the culprit is, but the butler didn't mentioned who was it.
Halia knew the officials were incompetent and easy to deceive but she didn't expect this much of stupidity. She wondered who is the lucky guy whom they'll point their fingers to.
'Let's pray for this child's unfortunate soul.'
"Yan, i feel dizzy, please hurry up and leave. Don't enter unless i say so."
"Yes, my lady." Yan answered, she closed the curtains and hurriedly left. Halia was satisfied with Yan, Yan didn't ask why and simply obeyed her words, she likes people like this.
After Yan left the room, Halia immediately stood up and casted a magic spell on herself. It was a disguise spell. She transformed herself into a mature looking woman with a brown wavy hair, she didn't forgot about her unique golden eyes, she changed it into a dull looking brown eyes. She looked once again towards the room's door, making sure that nobodyy will enter, just to safe she casted another spell, an illusion of herself sleeping. After tidying up everything, she sets off running away from her mansion.
She wants to explore the night life of the Capell Kingdom's capital. The Crown Prince's birthday banquet is nearing, the streets of the capital is also full of bustles. She always dreamt of having a carefree life without worrying about anything in her past life, but now, everything is close to her hands, she can almost reach them. She was full of smiles while walking around the streets, curiosly checking out things and everything else.
Halia squeezed herself to the crowds when she saw a public theater. They reenacted the famous story about the tragic love between a noble man and a witch. This kind of story was not very much accepted in the high society for its seen as an embarassment if one is involved to a person with a humble background. Nobles are very prideful and arrogant people, anything that can blemish their sophisticated image must be buried six feet deep underground.
'The story has been passed on for many years. It was about witch who lived by herself near the woods, she owns a little farm and sometimes trades or sells things to the travelling merchant if she wants anything. The noble man was an energetic youth full of curiosity. When he heard that there was a witch living near the woods, he immediately run off to the woods to meet the witch. '
'The first time they met, the noble man demanded the witch to show him her witchcraft. The witch got mad and chased him away, the next morning, the noble man appeared again and the same thing happened again and again. Eventually, the noble man fell for the witch. The noble man decided to confess his feelings and asked the witch witch to marry him, the witch refused him, he was upset and questioned her. "I am a wicked witch, didn't you say so? A noble man marrying a witch, aren't you afraid of being looked down upon?"
'The noble man refuted but still got nothing but a solid refusal. He then began to contantly pester the witch but noble man's family learned about his intentions of marrying the witch. Afraid that the noble man's reputation will be tarnished by having a witch involved with him, they decided to dragged him back to the capital. At that time the neighboring country started a war, the village where the witch lived was one of the first places that the enemies have invaded.'
'Meanwhile, the noble man who had been dragged to the capital was restless and anxious. He heard about the invasion of the neighboring country, he prayed earnestly for the safety of the witch. Days and months passed turned into years, the war finally was over. The noble man grew up and was no longer the immature youth, he never married anyone which caused his family to worry. After years of arguments and fights they then reluctantly agreed with the noble man's choice.'
'Just a few days after the war ended, the noble man departed. He once again saw the familiar house near to woods yet there was no one inside the house. His heart ached, the witch was nowhere to be found, he doesn't want to think of any possibilities, in his heart she was still alive. The noble man decided to live in the witch's house and renovated. He even learned how to farm and plant. '
'He lived by himself for years patiently waiting and finding clues about the witch's whereabouts. One day he received a tip from someone that they met a person similar to the witch description. He then decided to meet the tipper, the meeting place was a Pavillon House, when he arrived he saw an elderly woman. The elderly woman was a famous escort in her early years, the noble man was confused why an elderly woman showed up. '
"I knew someone who looks similar to the one you are looking for. " the elderly woman said. The noble man was suspicious but he can't let go of this small chance of seeing the witch once again, he decided believe and asked where she is. The elderly woman did not say anything, she got up and led the noble man to the courtyard. In one of the courtyards room he saw a woman similar to the witch. The woman was not moving at all but he can still hear her rough breathing. He got closer to observe the woman more, the woman seemed to felt his presence and opened her eyes. There he saw once again the eyes that he have been dreaming of for many years. '
'His legs wobbled and he fell, the woman he had been waiting for all these years, he finally found her. "What happened to her? W-why?", he asked the lady while crying. '
"At first she was a slave from the soldiers barrack from the defeated neighboring country then she was sold to me as a servant." the elderly woman sighed after answering and told her that witch contracted syphilis together with her lack of will to live, the infection grew severe to the point where it took her sight, her sanity and now she cant even get up from her bed.
'The noble man cried even more, he can't imagine the pain that the witch suffered, he regretted his cowardice back then. He demanded the elderly woman her slave contract but she refuses. She said that the witch requested her not to hand her slave contract to him no matter what. The noble man was furious he began to shout and curse. The elderly woman was still calmy standing, after he got tired the elderly then handed him a bunch of papers, it was letters for him for the past years.'
'He stayed up all night in the courtyard to take care of the witch as he read her letters. He almost imagined all her despairs while reading them, he was crying heavily like a child until he finished them. He glanced at the woman in the bed, this was the woman he had been waiting for, even with her conditions he was still resolute on marrying her. He asked for the elderly woman's approval, she did not answer, he didn't care. He took care all the matters relating to the marriage.'
'On the day of marriage, the Pavillon House was very lively, the neighbors was curious on what's happening. After a few hours the groom arrived, filled with happiness in his heart, the day that he always dreamt of has come! People were curious on who is the bride, they only knew it was from the Pavillon House.'
'The noble man and witch finally got married but an unexpected thing happened. The witch stated convulsing just after the celebration, the noble man panicked and asked for a doctor. The witch was nearing her end, the noble man was devastated, he hugged the woman and cried silently. He cursed himself and so is the Gods who had been manipulating their fates. He was hugging the witch all night whispering his love to her and his future plans with her, he choked up as he felt her cold breath.'
Before her last breath she said. "I am a very cruel person, i only caused you sadness, forgive me."
"I want to be the cause your smiles back then despite knowing i don't have the rights, i am very selfish."
"Maybe we were not destined for happiness and will only cause each other grievance."
"If we never met, will you still be that happy youth just like back then? Just by imagining your smile warms my heart."
"In our next life i wish we'll never met again. That is my last wish, don't ever meet a selfish person again like me."
'Just like that, the witch died. The people from the Pavillon heard the witch's death but never found her body and so is the noble man. Until then the noble man was never found, there has been a lot of speculation of his whereabouts but still nothing.'
TO BE CONTINUED....