Finally, after waiting for several long days I was summoned to the Duke's study where he gave me the good news.
"You will marry Terrel Wharton, the firstborn son of Duke Wharton," he stated with his rough yet cold voice.
In my 2nd life, I tried to persuade him out of marrying me off to some stranger but that only ended up with a slap on my right cheek.
"You should feel thankful to the Wharton's otherwise you would die alone without a man to provide for you," he said as if I had committed a grave sin because I strongly opposed the marriage. This "blessing" is indeed so rare for me and so convenient for the Duke. Ain't I "blessed" that the Wharton's own several mines and are extremely wealthy?
"Very well Duke. I will take my leave," I reply after hearing the final details.
As planned, he now sees me as a threat, a big threat to Amanda's wedding. I will be leaving this house in a week and I couldn't be more thrilled.
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"Kitten, where are you? I brought you food," I speak loudly as I enter my room. My eyes wander to the bed just to see a familiar shape, a pure black furball, sleeping soundly. Weirdly enough, his wound was much better compared to when I caught him in the bushes, in fact, it was almost fully healed. Even then, he stayed and never left my room.
After placing a bowl filled with meat on the floor I sat down on the wooden chair in front of the table. I remove some paper sheets and start getting my ideas straight.
According to the memories of my first life, Terrel should only come to my room three months after I move.
'That's too long,' I think as I play with the quill around my chin and cheeks. I don't want to waste three months in that house. Hell no.
"If they don't run to you, then you run to them," I chuckle, and after getting up I notice that the black cat was looking at me. His bright red eyes popped out against the sun rays that came down from the windows and I suddenly lose the strength in my legs.
'What the...?' I think as my hands clench the back of the wooden chair, 'Did I just imagine it?' in another look the cat was eating peacefully, almost as if nothing had originally happened.
I decided to leave and take a stroll in the garden. This was indeed weird, peculiar to say the least.
'Am I going insane? It's just a cat,' it kept on bothering me and, as my head was in the clouds I feel a hand grab my waist. Suddenly, my body is showered with someone else's warmth.
"Lady Ophelia, to appreciate the lake's beauty one should be on land," the charming voice of Bradley, my "knight in shining armor".
'Should I feel thankful? Are you a dog waiting for praise?' I cringe as I see his yearning expression.
"Lord Bradley, what a coincidence meeting you here. You might not be aware but there are several ways to appreciate beauty," I go back slowly, placing some distance between us. His puppy-like expression turns into a grin almost as if he was extremely amused.
"Please enlighten me, my lady. How do you appreciate beauty?" that charming smile looked so proud, almost as if he had achieved one of his longing desires.
"That is quite a simple question Lord Bradley, I don't. Wasting my precious time in appreciating beauty is nothing more than wasting my breath talking with engaged men," a polite smile appears on my lips while Bradley's grin disappears.
"Lady Ophelia, excuse me for my rudeness but I have to ask... Why are you so hostile towards me?" his green eyes were sparkling as his golden hair was waving with the wind. A part of me was taken aback by that scenery, however, that's where I understood everything clearly.
Those sparkling, almost crying eyes and that hair that reflected the sun were tools of his charm. That's how he stole hearts that never belonged to him in the first place.
"Don't misunderstand my words, Lord Bradley, I don't despise you, nor am I hostile towards you, however, you are my dear sister's fiancé," I state as I quietly approach him. "Besides, my heart is set on another prize and you don't fit the criteria, my lord," I whisper, and when I back away I let out a chuckle after seeing his enraged expression.
'Did I hit a nerve?' I questioned myself as I could understand the damage I had done. Of course, a man whose appeal is higher than an aphrodisiac is used to being desired by any maiden, however, this time, he tried to play with a lady, and now he is sulking like a spoiled kid.
"Well then Lord Bradley, my sister might be looking for you so make sure to show her your love and affection, have a good day," I bow and take my leave while he stood there, without being able to utter a word.
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'Ophelia... This brat... ' Bradley thought as he watched Ophelia's figure disappear. Her superior attitude annoyed him to the extent that he wished to see her beg.
In his head, this was a first. He had never been rejected or even played with and the fact that this young lady was toying with his ambitions made him furious. He was well aware that she had no interest in him and that only made this chase more challenging.
'I want you... I will make sure to humiliate you as you humiliated me... I'm going to have you, no matter what," a grin was created on his lips, and, for the second time in his life, he felt the desire to fight for something.
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「 A week later 」
I was finally going to start living with the Wharton's.
"Alright cat, it's time for you to leave. I won't be able to take care of you now," I say as I kneel on the ground and softly place him on the bushes I had found him in. His red eyes were sparkling brightly and he kept chasing me around, no matter how many times I left him.
"Ophelia, you are indeed a whore," I quickly get up and look back. Amanda, my elder sister was right here, without any maids as her face was tainted with disgust.
"Well, I learned from the best teacher, sister. If you hadn't taught me the way to seduce men..." as I was speaking Amanda slaps my right cheek harshly, interrupting me and making me lose my balance for a second.
"Shut up wench. I know you tried to seduce Bradley but you failed, how sad. That's what you get for trying to take what's not yours," right before giving me time to compose myself I feel another slap on my left cheek.
'Bitch,' I thought to myself as she grinned, proud of her achievements.
"Sister, let me tell you a secret," I grab her shoulder with my left hand and lower her torso right before punching her abdomen with all the strength in my right arm, making her spit saliva right out of her mouth. "You will never have Bradley's heart and you are delusional if you think he is yours," a whisper echoes into Amanda's ears as she falls onto her knees from the abrupt shock.
"You... I will tell father!" she screams euphorically while her hands covered her stomach.
"Oh please tell Duke, he can't touch me anymore, and neither can you, my dear sister," I slap her right cheek harshly cutting her face slightly with my deceased mother's golden ring.
"Well then Amanda, shall I teach you how to create a curse? How do you want to die? In a fire? With your insides dripping out? Being raped by men until you lose your sanity?" I grab her hair and a psychotic grin is portraited on my lips. "I can tell you it always starts with blood... And with someone already cursed..." with my other hand, I caress her cheek, removing some blood dripping from her wound right before licking it out of my fingers.
'Yes, Amanda... Look at me like that... Fear me more... Hate me more...' I keep on feeling the bloodlust accumulate while her eyes portraited her true feelings: hatred and pure fear of the monster she was seeing.
"Y-You... You are insane!" Amanda yells as she escapes my grasp and runs towards the house.
'You can hide for now little rabbit but there is no hole deep enough to keep you safe,' I chuckle as my heart wraps itself in a desire to ruin her.
I get up and look around, however, the cat was nowhere to be seen.
"All is well when all ends well," I mumble as I head to the front gate appreciating the light Seedling air.
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「 At the Wharton's mansion」
"Duke Wharton, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," I bow down as I am summoned to my father-in-law's study room.
"Lady Ophelia, please have a seat," his polite speech matched his outer appearance. Long yet sharp brown eyes held by slight dark circles contrasted his light grey hair and beard. His pale skin was showing off the great gift of aging, wrinkles that made him look wiser and kinder.
"Thank you for your kindness, your grace," I state before sitting on a comfortable chair from his office.
"Please call me father, we will be family soon after all," the Duke was a kind-hearted man, during all my lives he always tried his best to make me feel safe and cared for.
"Alright, father. Thank you for having me," I reply as a warm smile appears on his lips.
"Terrel is currently in the palace so you won't be able to meet him but he will be back in a month. In the meantime feel free to do what you enjoy Ophelia if you need anything don't hesitate to ask," he is indeed a very kind soul.
As the maids brought me to my room I kept on wondering about the sudden death of Duke Wharton. Even though he is old he is a very healthy man.
'Something's not right...' I start to think as my mind wanders through my past knowledge.
"You're all dismissed," the maids leave the room after finishing arranging my belongings.
I remove the book that held all my old memories and start reading each sheet carefully.
In my 1st life, the Duke was extremely healthy and had no known disease. Suddenly he started having a really rough fever and he vomited anything he ate. He kept complaining to the doctors about pain in his stomach area and then, in the middle of the night, he died. This was all in a matter of two days, no one was expecting it.
Then, when I remarried Terrel in my 7th life, the Duke also died in a matter of days with the same symptoms. At last, in my 8th life, he also met the same fate even though my sanity was too shattered to be able to remember any details about his death.
"No matter how you see it this is odd... This was no accident. Was he poisoned?" I mumble as I begin scribbling some words onto the paper sheets.
I was well aware that Terrel Wharton was a greedy man, he enjoyed being in control, he loved having power above anything else.
'But he was already the first in line...' this situation was indeed peculiar.
I hear someone knocking on the door.
"Hello Lady Ophelia, I'm Mace Wharton and this is Ralph Wharton, we're Terrel's younger brothers. It is a pleasure to meet you," a young boy about my age presents himself alongside his brother. Both of them resembled their father, the Duke, with their chocolate brown hair and their dark eyes. A small pain pierces my heart as I recall Terrel's wrongdoings.
In all my lives I never met them, in fact, I was forbidden to. Terrel started stealing power from his father when he was young and when I arrived, he already controlled every single person in this house. The maids and butlers within the estate always prevented our encounters so the only time I caught a glimpse of Mace was in the coming of age ceremony of the princess.
No matter how you see it, they are children. Ralph is still so young, he should be seven years old, and yet Terrel killed them once he became the head of the house officially to prevent power struggles.
'Disgusting,' I think as I hid my clenched fist behind my back.
"Thank you for taking your time to visit me, Lord Mace, Lord Ralph," I bow down just to hear Mace chuckle.
"You don't need to be so polite Lady Ophelia, just treat us as you would treat a friend," you can feel the kindness from his smile.
'Luckily, not all the apples are rotten,' I understand the similarities between Mace and Ralph with their father.
"I'm sorry my lord but I don't know how to treat someone like that," after hearing these words the environment grows heavy and dark. Mace's expression became conflicted between sadness and pitifulness.
Truth be told, I never had a friend.
I remember vaguely from my 3rd life the existence of someone, a man that I trusted but he betrayed me. Even then, I feel deep down in my heart that I didn't consider him to be a friend. He was somewhat an escape from this devilish torture I have been facing. I needed someone to bind me down to earth, someone to tell me 'No, Ophelia, you are not insane,' and, I was indeed reminded of keeping my feet on the ground as I burned up in flames in front of children, adults, and my family.
No matter how hard I try, I cannot remember his face or even the time between my father's discovery of my time loops and my public execution. It was almost as if my memories had been shattered, smudged, almost as if they had been intentionally erased by something or someone.
Dying every night on my 18th birthday engulfed by flames is my unchanging fate. Having my body burn alive is beyond any pain I've ever felt before throughout all my lives: besides feeling the flames on your melting skin you also can't breathe due to the smoke so, if you are lucky, you die of asphyxiation before dying to the fire. I am nothing but a marionette to some pyromaniac being whose pleasure lies in burning me every single damn time.
"I know that for now, these are only words but I hope that will change soon. Will you be my friend Ophelia?" Mace's eyes sparkled as he yearned for my answer like it was the prettiest jewel in the whole world.
"I will do my best not to let you down my lord," I state politely after bowing just to see Mace scratch his curly chocolate hair.
'Wasn't I supposed to say that?' I thought as I strived to understand the situation.
"This will do for now. You must be tired so make sure to get some rest!" after seeing my troubled expression, he smiles compassionately before leaving with Ralph towards the Duke's study room.
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I thought I would be able to lustfully live my life for a month but soon those thoughts were nothing but false hopes. As lunchtime arrives I am greeted by Duke Wharton and his two sons, alongside a surprise guest: Bradley Trace.
"Lady Ophelia is indeed as marvelous as the rumors say," Bradley comments once I enter the room. Despite being shocked and extremely uncomfortable I managed to retain my emotions as I sat down in front of him.
'This guy...' I could perfectly see his intentions. He was a sore loser. A womanizer that can only see his value through a woman's desire.
"Thank you, Lord Bradley, that is very kind of you," I reply politely as I feel some anger accumulate inside of me.
"Where might your fiancé be? Didn't he come to welcome you?" his sarcastic smile arbored hurtful intentions. He was testing me, teasing me, trying to win, however, I am not a prideful person and I have nothing to lose.
"Lord Terrel is very busy, there are certain things that can't be avoided. My fiancé is a responsible man, he'd rather take care of his own instead of wandering around," Bradley's expression turns sour as he sees my winning smile.
'Give up' I thought as the silence on the table turned heavy.
"My lady you do seem very dedicated to your fiancé, I'm jealous," he smirks, showing me that he had no intention of giving up.
'So annoying...' I think while trying to keep my hidden emotions at bay.
"Congratulations on your engagement Lord Bradley, Lady Amanda is a real beauty, I'm sure you are thrilled," Mace Wharton intervenes and the flow of the conversation gradually turns into the mining business.
Even then Bradley kept his eyes on me during the ongoing conversation. His soul was blinded by greed and lust. No matter how you see it, this man is not a calm and beautiful angel just like everyone else imagines him to be.