022 ※ White Rose Boutique [II]

MY PLAN WAS MADE AND I HAD TO TAKE ACTION, so I sent a letter to her and asked her to drink some tea with me to reminisce about our time together when Asher was still alive. As I predicted, she agreed to it and we decided to meet in the inner garden of the Nicholai Manor in Theolia, once it was my and Dalilah's new main house. Now that our older brother took over the Nicholai Palace in the north, for himself, as the new Grand Duke and patriarch of House Nicholai. Taking Angel Dawson, the 3rd daughter of Baroness Noelle Dawson, with him as his soon-to-be wife and as the next Grand Duchess. Not to say that she's a year younger than both me and my twin.

Furthermore, I always hated that spoiled girl, who was the total opposite of the beautiful meaning of her name. Although I tolerated her because she was, Goddess-knows-how, friends with my sister, I couldn't bear to live in the same place as that bitch. Moreover, Dalilah requested me to be on her side and I was happy to be of help to my dear sister.

When the day to accomplish my sister's task arrived, I got everything prepared beforehand. Found a way to put the taste and scentless poison on our third dish, so it wouldn't be so fast. And when Sir Armando Hori, the new butler, announced her arrival, I felt my blood getting excited. With a perfect façade, I took her to the garden and we started talking about my deceased brother-disciple.

But then she started an interesting topic, "I'm glad that you called for me, Princess Natasha. At first, I thought you wanted to scold me for screaming with that bitch-" I stared at her as if I could throw a dagger at her throat with my gaze and she gulped. "Sorry, my tongue slipped," yeah, I should have cut off her tongue as Dalilah suggested. "I mean… your sister. But it's comforting that you don't hold a grudge because of such a silly discussion."

I clenched my fists and my jaw, forcing myself to nod and smile. To my luck, four maids brought the 3rd dish and left just as fast as they appeared. Probably afraid of me. But the dark-green-haired girl was too oblivious to notice anything strange in the maids' expressions.

"So, as we were saying," she was. "I'm glad you didn't call me for this. Now, I want to tell you something that Asher asked me to tell you some days before he died," what did that brat say? "Once he said you didn't listen to him anymore, he thought that if we were to get close, maybe you could listen to me," then she took three mouthfuls of the greased steak, and I finally took one. "You need to be careful with that sister of yours, Princess. I know it might be hard to hear this, but that bitch is a snake. A fucking wolf in sheep's clothing," ha, she's lucky that I went with Dalilah's idea of poison, otherwise, I would have sliced her throat open right at this moment.

And when she took another four bites of the steak, I decided to take another two, to not let anyone be suspicious. Then I finally let the vicious smile I was holding in, take over my lips. When the girl saw it, she got scared and turned pale.

"Why are you staring at me like that, Princess? You are scaring me. You are looking like a psychopath," she mumbled and coughed blood, and she got even more scared when she saw the amusement on my face. "What the fuck did you do?"

"Gwen, Gwen…" I tasted her name on my lips. "You should have been careful. And most of all, you should never have bad-mouthed my sister. She's an angel on earth, who do you think you are to say shit about her?" She coughed again, and this time I saw lines of blood rolling down from her eyes and nose, and then I felt sick and coughed and vomited blood all over my food. "Damn," I exclaimed with a grin on. "She was right when she said this shit wasn't like the normal poisons out there."

She stared at me, desperately, "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to you?" Hmm, so she still can speak. As a response to my thoughts, she started gulping blood all over herself and at the table.

"Well, this is quite disgusting!" I said, my voice getting weaker. Then I felt tears coming down my eyes, and I knew they were all made of my blood. Just like the lines coming down from my ears and nose. "But, satisfying! And you should have thought about that before humiliating my little sister, you bitch. If it weren't for her being merciful, I would have mercilessly murdered you, and not resorted to something like poison. If it were for me, you would have been tongue-less and with a sliced throat by now," I saw disappointment and sadness in her eyes.

Now that, wasn't so satisfying. And I don't know why, but I suddenly felt shallow. As if an important part of me was missing, but I was fast to ignore that and put on a wicked smirk.

"We should have protected you from her…" she whispered when her blood started coming out from all the pores in her body. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry that I didn't realize what she did to you sooner," as if I would fall for her words. "She brainwashed-" her words were silenced when she fell unconscious.

Fuck, I should have asked my darling how potent this shit was. But I acted recklessly and decided to drink this too. Ugh, I feel like I'm dying.

But there's one more bitch down and she won't ever make my little sister cry again. Well, she won't ever be able to do anything again. Because she's dead.

A sick smile took over my lips, but it disappeared just as fast as I fainted.

I only hope that my sister is feeling better now. And I want this to serve as a warning for anyone who dares to defy the Saintess of the Caspien Empire. It doesn't matter who is it.

If anyone dares to say shit about her, I'll be glad to end their lives with my own two hands. My sister deserves the world. And if the world is not willing to accept her, I'll make them even if I have to kill everyone to accomplish that!

※※※※※

Present - Second Timeline

※

"…sha?" I heard Asher's voice and I felt it when his hands shook my shoulders to get me out of my thoughts zone… or should I say out of my nightmare's zone? "Natasha?" He called for me again, worried.

Blinking more than a dozen times before I uttered a word, I turned my attention to him and blinked again. "Hm?"

"Why are you crying?" Kate asked, exasperated, and I focused my confused gaze on her. "Are you okay? You seemed to be lost somewhere far away," and I was. "Talk to us, Princess!"

Taking a deep breath, I put on a smile and nodded. "Sorry, I was lost in thoughts. So, what were you saying?" I asked, but they kept staring at my face, worried. "Come on, I know I'm gorgeous, but you see me every day, there's no need to stare at am as if I was a rare piece of art that could disappear at any given moment from its museum.

"Sorry, we are just worried." He said and I held his hand to show that I was okay. "Anyways, I was asking how did the negotiation go!"

Oh, yeah, I didn't tell them.

After spilling the tea about what happened, how they discovered who I was, and about our contract, they were excited about Mr. George and his daughter. "Who would have thought that such a young talent would be hidden in the outskirts of Theolia," Kate exclaimed and I rolled my eyes, ignoring her disdain.

"Yeah. The kid is adorable!" Asher smiled.

"I didn't know you like kids so much."

"Oh, Ash, I do. If they don't bother with my magic-less condition, then I would gladly spend some time with them. And Alisha didn't, so it was very pleasant!" With a nod from them, we let the topic settle. "So, why aren't we heading to the boutique yet?"

He gasped and got up, going to his sit in the front of the carriage. "You didn't say where we should go!" Well, he has a point.

"White Rose Boutique. In two blocks from Pierré's Bistro, on the left side of a bookstore called Divine Pigeon."

That was enough for him, so he drove us there.

※※※※※※※※※

Thanks for reading!

Join the Discord Server for arts, music, and more, the link can be found in the bio 🤗