Chapter 1: Fairy Mother Madaline

{You know the language of fae because you learned it?}

“If you can use magic, it’s a simple language to learn. The god made it possible for us to use magic that easily”

{I see. That is why I sense foul magic on you}

“It might be the curse that brought me back to the past. Do you know, fairy mother, that I have lived this life already? It’s a hellish life”

{Curse? I sense no curse on you. What I sense is bitterness, hatred, envy, yearning, rebellion, damnation…….you cannot pass into the afterlife with the negative energy you currently carry. If I were to define who you are, you are a ghost. Perhaps your god sent you to the past to clear you of your negative energy}

“You’re saying until I clear the darkness in my heart, I cannot die?”

{That’s right. However, it’s tricky. The timeline has been permanently altered which means the future is erased. From the moment you were sent to the past, the timeline was aligned. If you are unable to clear your negative energy, I fear it would keep happening until your soul is erased}

All Natalia wished for was death. Even if she wanted her soul to be erased, it came at the cost of too much pain. If she wanted to be able to die properly, she needed to get rid of her regret.

“I see. I have decided. I’ll run away from this kingdom. Will you help me?”

{I have never met a human like you. I am interested in seeing how far you’ll go}

With that last sentence, the fairy mother was gone. Natalie watched the glittering particles that remained where she once was, disappear. Her body lurched forward, a geyser of blood spraying on her wedding dress. The amount of magic needed to summon the fairy mother once was ridiculous, not to talk about twice in a short interval. In the first place, she was an existence comparable to god. How can one easily summon her?

“How do I escape? Do I pretend to die and escape from there? I don’t think they’ll fall for it but it’s worth a shot. I should see a priest but the church would rather put me in their dungeons than help me. For now, I'll slowly plot my escape. Dying the first time was stupid, now that I think of it”

Her stomach rumbled, bringing her back to reality. She was covered in blood, looking like a bride from hell. It was interesting to think of the reactions of others when they saw her like that. Would they pity her? Would they mock her? Would they just ignore her?

Her fingers glowed. She swept it over the gown, clearing the bloodstains in an instant. Moving her hand across her back, she loosened the gown, the other hand pointing to her suitcases, looking for something comfortable to wear.

She found a plain black gown that was comfortable to wear and put it on, putting away the wedding gown. She sighed once she was freed from the corset and lay on the bed. Thankfully, it was clean, like the rest of the room.

Her stomach grumbled again. It was a tradition not to eat before the wedding ceremony. Even after the journey and stress, she wasn’t fed a single thing.

Hihihihi……kikikiki…….kekekekeke……..hihihihihi…….

A strange laugh echoed in the corridors outside her room. It sounded like several girls laughing as they passed by. This also happened in the past at that exact moment to Natalia.

The hungry Natalia thought it was the maids and opened the door to see if she could get one of them to bring her food or bring her to the dining room. Once she opened the door, she had her first encounter with the mischievous and annoying face.

They tormented her with daydreams, stripping her bare on the corridor. The duke just happened to be passing by and the sight of her being tormented by the fae disgusted him, making him hate her more. Of course, he never saved her. Why would he? She was a disgrace to him.

Her stomach grumbled once more, making her sigh. It was had to escape an enchantment of fae. If one tried to harm one fae, it would bring the wrath of the others. She learned this the hard way.

An hour passed and they were finally gone. She always thought that she made the mistake of calling them while they were just passing by but she finally realized the fae were intentionally looking for her. The Fae don’t enter houses or rooms without being invited.

There was a knock on her door and a dense masculine voice after it. It was her butler, Wilbur, more than an hour late to his duty.

“My lady, we have come to assist you with changing your clothes and leading you to where you will have lunch with the duke”

“Come in”

He came in with about four maids, two of them holding a bright yellow outfit. It was the same as the past too. They were all pleasantly surprised to see her seating on the bed, changed neatly. Her luggage had been put away and she was smiling gracefully without a single scratch on her.

In the past, she tried to gain his favor, since he was her assigned butler. She was trying to gain a friend but he couldn’t care less about her.

“I knew the staff of the dukedom were all too busy to attend to me so I did everything by myself to lessen your burden. If there’s nothing else, can you lead me to where I’ll eat?”

Wilbur was particularly caught by surprise. In the past, she waited for them and they found her in an embarrassing position, secretly mocking her as they dressed her up in the dreadful gown. It was one of the duke’s mother’s gowns, one she happened to like very much. If the duke hadn’t seen her after she was tormented by the Fae, he wouldn’t have minded it very much. However, seeing her wear the dress boldly felt like she was disgracing his mother.

“We were looking for things to help my lady with. I particularly went to look for this dress for you. I think it’ll suit you, my lady”

“Are you trying to say the dresses I brought from home are not suitable enough for the dukedom even though they are all the best of the season?”

“I didn’t say that, my lady. The fashion of the far southeast is different”

“But I thought this dress best suits the atmosphere of the dukedom. So, was my choice wrong? What a shame”

“We’ll help you change into the dress, my lady”

“I appreciate your goodwill but there is no need for that. These clothes are all I have of my home. My manners and my body is all I have to remind me of my family. If that is taken from me, then I might as well be an infidel”

“I dare not insult you, my lady” he bowed, talking through gritted teeth. It was satisfying for her to see him so humble. She walked past them to the door.

“Please lead me to the dining room”

“Yes, my lady” the door opened and she was escorted to the dining room. It was just down the hall from her room, which was where the duke was heading when he passed her room. He was already settled there, the impatience remaining in his red eyes. Those eyes used to unnerve her, haunting her dreams. For her, the worst of the day was yet to come.