Fourteen

"What?!"

"Just like what I said, there was this maid that bit a butler at Count Nige's mansion—" Jeriel repeated what she previously said before Jannah shot up from her seat.

"You're telling me this just now?!" Jannah exclaimed, feeling her heart beat painfully inside her ribcage as she walk around the desk and went to the door, "We have no time to waste! We need to leave now!"

Jeriel shot up from her position in the couch, "What? So suddenly? We haven't had our breakfast—"

"Lucienta! Marco!" Jannah didn't listen to her and opened the door, calling for her servants, "Being bitten is how the infection spread to another person, Jeriel! If I had known that it was this early to have those zombies in the capital then I would have ordered everyone to get out of here the moment I woke up!"

"Wait, wait, wait— stop! Calm down!" Jeriel grabbed her sister's arms and noticed immediately that something was wrong. Jannah's face is pale, she's shaking, gasping, and crying.

Jeriel's eyes widened, not expecting for Jannah to act like this. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, calm down. Calm down, okay? We're all good here, okay? See? We're good. We're okay."

However, Jannah didn't calm down, she grasped Jeriel's hands tightly and gasped, her tears are rolling down her cheeks and her heart is hammering inside her chest. She felt like she's dying. The memories of the zombies swarming the capital, the screams, cries, and the memory of her people dying— all of it— all of it flashed before her eyes.

"No, no, no, it might be too late— we have to leave now, Jeriel! If not, they will die—" Jannah couldn't finish what she was saying because Jeriel grabbed her on the face.

"Shh, shh, deep breaths through the nose, yes, like that, calm down." Jeriel shushed her softly, nodding her head and followed Jannah's breathing pattern as she guide her little by little, "Right, right, like that, deep breaths, deep breaths.."

Jannah unconsciously followed her sister's breathing pattern. The painful beating of her heart slowly come into a stop as she continued to take a deep breath. However, her tears wouldn't stop flowing out of her eyes. She's terrified— very terrified.

She could only close her eyes, sobbing quietly as she pressed her head on her sister's shoulder. The two of them slowly slid down to the floor, Jeriel was quick to pull her sister into an embrace and cradle her body in her arms.

"It's okay, it's okay, everything will be fine." Jeriel assured her, "You prepared for this, right? You're ready for this. You got prepared. Whatever happened back then, I'll make sure that it won't happen again, okay?"

Jannah nodded her head slowly, she let her own tears flow out of her eyes and cry her heart out. She hasn't cried since the apocalypse happened. She didn't have the time to do it. She have people to protect and feed, she can't afford to show weakness.

She needed to be strong, tough, and decisive. The people were defending on her for their safety. Back then, Juan wouldn't stop undermining her worth as the protecter and she couldn't tell any of that to her little sister. All she could do was suck it up and continue doing her responsibility.

However, he won't be able to do that anymore.

She gripped Jeriel's hands tighter, the sense of relief and security she feels in her sister's embrace made her feel at ease.

Jeriel looked over her shoulders, looking at Marco and Lucienta who rushed over to the office when they heard their master's panicked shout. The other servants heard it as well and they soon found themselves crowding over the corner near the staircase.

"She's fine." Jeriel assured them and pulled Jannah closer, not letting the servants see her face full of snots and tears, "Come back after ten— no, after twenty minutes. Have the servants prepare to leave. We'll eat breakfast on the way."

Marco stared at his master for a moment before he slowly nodded his head ".. Understood."

Jeriel watched as Lucienta and Marco speak to the other servants in the mansion before she had enough, closed the door, and continued to comfort her sister.

"Tell me." She spoke, breaking the silence, "What made you crying like this?"

Jannah didn't answer, not that she could.

"Who was it? Who made my sister cry? Who's the bastard that hurt you?" Jeriel pressed further for answers, but she was met with silence.

Knowing that her sister needed time to calm down, she accepted her fate and continued to hug her. They spent almost ten minutes just sitting there yet they showed no sign to move, but Jannah cleared her throat, indicating that she's ready to talk.

"....an."

"Huh?" Jeriel shifted softly and leaned her ear closer to her sister's face, "Who?"

".. Juan." Jannah repeated louder this time, "That bastard betrayed me after we finished building the base."

"Juan? Baron Juan Pangasikan? That Juan?" Jeriel asked, "That shitty face Juan?"

"Yeah, him." Jannah affirmed, "I told you, I was bitten. He was the one who let the zombies enter the base. He convinced the people to work under him and overpowered us.. Before we left for safety, I was already bitten."

"We?"

"Mhmm." Jannah wordlessly agreed as she let out a dry laugh, "Did you know that we learned to climb trees? You were always a fast learner, a fast climber, too."

Jeriel's heart broke, the crestfallen expression of her sister pained her.

"I left you there. I knew that you wouldn't be able to kill me before I turn and I didn't want you to do it.. So, I went back to the base and inhaled those powder, the ones that will help me to not turn into one, but I guess at that time, the infection has already spread all over my body and killed me." Jannah murmured, hugging her little sister tighter.

"What.." Jeriel trailed off, the fear and sadness in her sister's voice are real, but she can't bring herself to believe everything she's saying.

The mere fact that Jannah told her that she came from the future, had died, and went back in time are not believable. She wants to believe her, but they live in an era were every thing new, each sickness, and solution must be proven first.

Despite all that, she decided to go with what her heart is telling her.

"Okay." Jeriel pushed her sister away gently and smiled, "We'll give Baron Pangasikan a visit before we leave for Philipia, yeah? We'll give him a nice gift."

"Gift?" Jannah asked, confused.

"I'll ask Count Nige to give us the bitten servant as a treaty for the wedding promise between you." Jeriel stood up and pulled her sister along with her, "He will be the lovely present for the Baron."

"But the infection wouldn't spread that fast, it took the infection to mutate three years before it could attack the brain in measly twenty minutes." Jannah stammered out, her brain still in shumbles from having a panic attack.

"When the outbreak started, how long did the infection have to take over the infected?"

"Two days at most." Jannah answered, "I would rather kill Juan right now than wait for the servant to turn and infect everyone in his manor."

"I heard that Baron Juan is in his territory at the west border." Jeriel hummed, "It takes two days by carriage, but if we were to send the servant as early as today then.."

"That's it!" Jannah brightened up, "Quick, send a letter to the count!"

"On it." Jeriel chuckled, walking towards the desk and pulled the pen from it's ink, "We will have to write something more enticing to have him agree with our offer."

"Offer me!"

"The hell?" Jeriel stopped her scribbling, "I already offered your hand in marriage, what more do you want me to offer?"

"Tell him that you'll arrange the wedding as early as next year?"

"Are you dumb— hold on, that could work actually." Jeriel stopped her insult midway and went back to writing, "He's obsessed with you for some reason, it's creepy as hell, but he has enough authority."

"Have our raven fly to his state, alright? I'll check the preparation outside." Jannah called out to her little sister, wiping her snots and tears with the sleeve of her dress.

She fixed her dress and hair to the best she could before she opened the door. She doesn't care if she look like a mess because of her smeared make up, all she wants is to get out of there and go to her people at the north.

"I will!" Jeriel answered before she could close the door.

Jannah pulled the hem of the dress and hurriedly went downstairs. As she turned to the corner, she could already hear the murmurs of her servants and Marco's voice ordering them around.

"Yasmin, leave the golden dog statue! Chef Aran, the servants doesn't need the tea, focus on the Countess' and Lady Jeriel's food instead! Lucienta, help Marietta with our Lady's baggage! Anthony! The crates that came from Viscount Coleen arrived last night, load them to the second carriage! Kevin, goodness— don't smell those ragged shirts! Help Haile and Jeremiah with the crates sent by Count Nige!" Marco sounded stressed and exasperated as he point his finger around.

Jannah smiled softly. Truly, they don't question her orders and do them diligently.

"Marco." She called out to the butler.

"Eek!" The head butler let out a startled shriek, his body flinching and he was quick to turn around, finding her standing behind him, "My lady!"

He let out a sigh of relief, "You scared me, my lady."

"Apologies."

"No problem, my lady. Don't worry, everything is under control. We have been preparing and we will be ready to leave after an hour." Marco assured his master, his eyes trailing the dried tear stains in her cheeks and the sight of it made his old heart ache.

For his eyes, the Countess is still the same six years old crybaby. A young, kindhearted, and beautiful sould who doesn't know the impurities of the world.

He had stand strong despite his master being sent to the battlefield and made no testament if she'll come back alive, but he trusted her. He protected the county and the master's young sister.

He served the house of Rafelon for all his life and even had his son become the captain of the Rafelon's knights. His family has been serving under the name of the Rafelon and its heads for the past two decades. So, who else would know his master the best other than him, the people of the mansion, and her little sister?

Whoever made the lady cry shall taste the wrath of the loyal servants of the house Rafelon.