(A/N): Sorry, guys, I have not uploaded a chapter for nearly a month.
It is because my family situation was very tight, so I could not write new chapters.
During that time, I was also searching for a job, which didn't go well.
Now I am free, I will continue my work as usual.
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There is a legend among their family which says that when a girl is born into the Ruth family, the curse will be broken—a myth that remained unproven until Valentine was born.
When Valentine was born, the whole Ruth family celebrated like some sort of big festival.
Everyone in the family treated her like a princess and spoiled her greatly.
The Ruth family consists of 8 members, including her father Rex Ruth, her mother Ivy Ruth, Rex's father Ed Ruth, and his wife Merlla Ruth, Rex's sister Jinny Ruth, and her husband Wil Ruth, and Valentine.
From an early age, Valentine liked to sing and draw.
Seeing her interest and talent in these, her father Rex arranged for a teacher to officially practice her singing lessons.
Even though House Ruth is a noble house with a solid background, they were always physically weaker than others, and their magic will was continually fed by the bloodline curse in their veins.
This once-renowned warrior house was reduced to this state due to the curse.
Time passed, and Valentine's popularity slowly rose after her debut in one of the singing competitions.
During her participation in the competition, she met Lilly Lich, who became friends with her.
Even though Valentine was popular, she was isolated in noble circles among her peers.
The main reason for this was jealousy due to how her family treated and spoiled her, even in important gatherings, where they treated her like a princess.
Lilly and Valentine became best friends, and in every competition they participated in, they would be the ones taking the first two places.
Their names started to become famous all around the kingdom.
While this was happening, Valentine met a man named Jonny at one of the art exhibitions in the capital.
Valentine became very interested in him due to his carefree and easy-going persona.
She would meet him at the art exhibition when she had free time to chat with him.
Slowly, they started to become close, and she introduced him as a friend to her family and Lilly, who was her best friend.
When Valentine's birthday arrived, she invited Jonny to her birthday party.
At the party, Jonny proposed to her by confessing his feelings, and she accepted his proposal with a wide smile.
Even though she had feelings for him, she had never confessed to him until now.
Six months passed...
The music festival was around the corner, so both Valentine and Lilly started their preparation to perform in the music festival at Glazba.
Just a day before their planned departure to the city of Glazba, a piece of shocking news reached her, which made her rush in a panic.
It was the news that her friend had committed suicide by hanging herself on the balcony of her room.
When she arrived at her friend's house, she saw her friend hanging dead, her skin a little pale, indicating she was no more.
Seeing her friend, who was always cheerful and made her smile, hanging dead made her completely break down.
Both guards and magic knights were investigating the scene and the witnesses.
Just half an hour ago, she had seen her friend, who was happily conversing with her and discussing their debut in Glazba, the city of music.
But now, here her friend was, dead.
After investigating, the guards took Lilly's body to prepare her for her funeral.
The magic knights concluded that due to fear of losing her best friend, Lilly committed suicide because she wasn't able to take the pressure.
This enraged Valentine, and she immediately opposed the conclusion, telling everyone that her friend wouldn't do such a thing.
She had known Lilly since they were kids, so she was confident.
But others only looked at her with pity.
Even though the magic knight who came to investigate concluded the case, he still noted and listened to Valentine.
The magic knight's name was Fin Andresen from Coral Peacock.
The next day, Fin visited Valentine, who was about to depart for Glazba with her family and stopped her with a solemn expression.
"Miss Valentine, wait!!! Thank God I got here quickly. Miss, you are right; your friend didn't commit suicide."
Fin, with a sigh, informed Valentine about his findings.
"____"
"Who is it? Who killed Lilly? Tell me... who killed her?"
Valentine, who heard Fin, hurried towards him and shook him anxiously, holding his shoulders with teary eyes.
"Do you know someone named Jonny?"
Fin looked at Valentine and asked her calmly.
"____"
"Yeah, he is my fiancé."
Hearing the question, Valentine asked him confusedly.
"Well, Miss, when we went to his place for a routine investigation to complete this case, we found him dead. Not only that, but we also found out he was the one who killed your friend Lilly Lich."
Fin explained to Valentine, whose face slowly changed from shocked to broken.
Seeing Valentine in this condition, her mother Ivy comforted her while other members also surrounded her and consoled her.
After getting her emotions under control, she asked Fin to explain in detail.
Sigh...
With a sigh, Fin started to explain. To complete the case of Lilly, they conducted a routine investigation of the people she had come in contact with for the past few months.
When they visited Jonny's place to investigate, he didn't respond from inside.
They waited for some time and decided to break into the house. When they entered, they were greeted by the sight of Jonny lying dead in a chair with a cut on his wrist.
He had died due to excessive blood loss.
When they searched his house, they found Lilly's portrait, which was half-burned, along with a diary.
Most of the pages in the diary were burned, but they found a page with two words written on it: "KILL HER."
Hearing the full story, Valentine took a few steps, looked down, and fainted on the spot.
When she woke up, she was in her room while her mother was sitting beside the bed, looking at her worriedly.
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(Author's POV)
I hope you guys enjoying the story.
Thanks for reading the chapter.
please give a review and power stone!!!