Before Death penalty (2)

***The firstborn of Duchess was named Lex, who became a genius in magic. later, he was also called the master of the arcane tower

Lex had those pair of shining pink eyes like the duchess.

The second born was named Alfred who was gifted at sword and became a swordmaster; later joined The Royal guards.

Alfred resembles Duke's white hair and radiant blue eyes.

Alfred and Lex, Both loved their sister - Clara - The third born and the first daughter of Duke and duchess.

She resembles a duchess, with long wavy blond hair and pink eyes, she shone brighter than a star.

In years to come by, Clara became the saintess and married the emperor- Vicente Torres, who was madly in love with her.

The fourth born was me- The cursed child.

I was never a beauty; My tangled rough long hair and dull skin can't be compared to Clara.

I was envious !!

Clara had everything, she was loved by the duke and Empire, and the emperor while I was detested.

Envious as I was, I wanted my father and brothers to love me naturally.

Did I expect too much?

" seeing your face, disgusts me '" Brother Alfred warned

" Don't try to come near me " said Brother Lex, " and stop calling me Brother. '"

I stopped treating them like my family.

I stopped loving them.

I never met the duchess, after she came back from the temple, Duke sent me the northern town dukedom.

And there I met him - Castillo Vos Bradford, The crown prince of Bradford.

Our first meeting was a coincidence, I was 14 back then, my carriage got attacked by my mother's disciples. They wanted to execute me but I ran off.

Running, I found a boy at the edge of the forest, glancing at him I realized, he was a nobleman- Blonde shining hair, Deep dignified Blue eyes - No, he seems far beyond a nobleman, he seemed to be of Royal Bloodline.

" My lady, Are you in trouble ? " he asked upon seeing me.

I was desperate and nodded, ' if he doesn't help me, I am going to die .'

I was afraid !!

" I see, well let me help you ? " he said warmly,

That voice reached my heart.

He took me to his carriage and rode to the town.

It was the first time in a while, I felt comfortable. He wasn't showing any kind of negative emotion towards me.

occasionally, I glanced at him and he would just smile. He was the only person to smile at me with such warmth. when we reached the town, we parted.

I wanted to thank him but I was afraid. upon sensing my discomfort, he smiled and asked, " My lady, will you tell me your name ? "

My name?

I wanted to say but - I am labeled as a cursed child, My name is a curse but he smiled. This person smiled at me so warmly, how can I refuse?

" sly.Sylvia.."

He kissed my hand, " Nice to meet you, lady Sylvia, hope we met again. May the moon bless you "

That's when I understood, he was not from this empire. The empire of Torres greeted their guests as, " May the sun bless you " sun represented the goddess of light.

Seeing my expression, he said, " I am from Bradford, my lady. My name is Castillo Vos Bradford "

at that moment, a guard came, " Your Highness crown prince, we are ready to leave ."

That was my first meeting with the crown prince of the Bradford Empire.

I thought I would never see him again, I regretted it the very next day because he had come to meet me although I was surprised but thankful, ' If it's just for one day, can I be happy? '

But his visit didn't end, He came again and again and every time. he came he would bring - sweets, toys, dress, books and many more, The castle where I lived was mostly empty, monthly few people would come and do the chores and thanks to that, my days were less miserable.

I had not known back then, but that was the first time when I had fallen in love.

"Your Highness, what is a spirit?" I asked, Today was one of those days, where we could be together and relax.

" spirits are unknown creatures, The Elves says that a spirit is God's energy that separated and became individuals "

" Wow! There are Elves in this world! "

" In the south lies the land of Heaven called the Elven land, most people believe, Elves are the descendant of gods "

" I see.."

" Does our little lady wants to visit Elven land ?"

"that.." that's not possible; How can I a cursed child ever make such a wish?

" My lady, if you wish, I won't mind accompanying you. " he smiled warmly,

I flushed and changed the topic, " As..as I was saying, can I make a contract with a spirit ?"

" you can but it depends on your spiritual power."

" spiritual power? "

" hmm... okay, my lady please do as I say, close your eyes and concentrate at the center of your body.."

I did as he said, While concentrating, I saw a glimpse of silver shining, it's getting hard to concentrate.

" my lady, what did you see?"

" a ..a sliver core .."

He looked surprised, " My lady, congratulation!! you are blessed with high spiritual power."

He then explained that spiritual powers had been given to us by god's blessings at the time of our birth; There are levels of spiritual power-

•Green core - Basic Everyday spirit.

• orange core - low ranking spirit.

• Red core - mid-ranking spirit

• Blue core - High ranking spirit.

•sliver core - spirit king level spirit.

" Has anyone ever contacted a spirit king before?? " I asked, honestly, I was pretty surprised when I found out that silver core is a spirit king level but the proud look on his face tells me that it was worth it!!

" It's uncommon for folks in Bradford and I haven't about anyone other than the goddess of light having a spirit king, The Elves could provide some help, They are said to have aided the goddess locating her spirit king."

"Ohh!! "

" For now, let's contract any spirit you like. "

After a discussion, We decided to contract the spirit of the wind.

" Wind spirits are good at spying." he added, " we can also exchange letters now."

yes, that was the main purpose of choosing wind spirit, Castillo had to return to his kingdom soon, I was afraid to be all by myself, Even if it's just letters, I want to be connected to you.

That was when I realized my emotion for him was LOVE.

Two years passed by since we both met, I am 16 now, In those two years, I had contracted two spirits- spirit of wind-( High ranking) Peter and spirit of water - ( mid-ranking) Undine.

Castillo also had a high-ranking spirit of shadow- Arnold.

The time spent with Castillo was warm and beautiful. He was the first person to shower me with such kindness and I am very much grateful.

But it hurts so much more to see him go. He said he will come back for me after two years.

" Aren't you leaving today?" I asked as he greeted me.

"Cold as usual, Slv", he sighed, " Must you be like this today? why don't you sent me off with a smile ?"

" As you wish your Highness." I smiled, " shall we proceed to your carriage?"

"Sylvia, I love you."

"...."

These words are the most comforting yet hurting my heart. I, who never received any affection from this world was blessed to hear this from the man I yearned for but Castillo, how can you love a cursed girl?

I remained silent perhaps, I should have revealed my true feelings to you at that time.

We exchanged letters for a few months. Suddenly, an epidemic had begun to spread and a lot of people were dying - Castillo's mother was one of them.

Rumors spread that I was the reason why the epidemic had begun and because of that, I was confined in a northern castle owned by the duke Fitzgerald. The duchess health was degrading rapidly. No medicine or holy power was able to cure her.

she was going to die soon.

I met Clara again when she came to investigate my curse.

Deep down I knew, I hated Clara, when we first met, She came to meet me without telling anyone but the maids found her before she could arrive; later the maids circulated that I had bewitched the young lady Clara.

Clara was probably the first person who smiled at me but unlike Castillo, her smile was filled with pity.

For me, it was Castillo's smile that was genuine and that's why he was the first person to truly accept and smile at me.

" Sister, Do..do you resent me ?" She asked, upon her arrival, she was followed By priests and a knight.

'Do I resent her? '

" I ...I bear no such feeling," I said after concluding.

Maybe I hated you that time when I hoped for my family to cherish me and they only cherished you and so that feeling died when I gave up on them.

I was taken to the temple and locked up in a cell. I could no longer write to Castillo. No one knew when the duchess will draw her last breath, According to peter, The people of the empire want me to die as I was the seed of the curse, The council of nobles is yet decided. Either way, it's lifetime imprisonment or Death - clack! clack!

I heard the noise of boots; someone is visiting me.

' How rare? '

it was none other than Duke Kristoff, Cold as always but he seemed a little worn off. Behind him, was Alfred and lex.

" your mother...pay a visit to you mother," Duke stated.

'Mother? I am unfamiliar with that word you speak of it's not that I hate my mother for giving birth to me; I simply don't want to meet her.

Though Peter has been visiting and checking her conditions.'

" I can't comply with such a request. " I politely refused.

" WHAT ?" Alfred shouted

" Why do you refuse ? " asked the Duke

" Is there any reason for someone like me to visit the duchess? " I simply stated.

" SHE IS YOUR MOTHER," Alfred remarked

" calm down, Brother !!" lex warned.

for the longest time, I know one thing for sure, I never had a family. I do not know such a thing.

" Must I give you a reason to pay your mother a visit ?" the duke stated sharply.

I remained silent; The duke sighed and left. That night, peter brought me terrible news Duchess had died, and simultaneously, dreadful black lines formed on my body.

These lines? They can't be what I think they are but I never used black magic so why this can't be -

" Call the saintess! " The guard shouted upon seeing my black marks.

Without a second thought, Clara declared that I had used black magic and was indeed a cursed child, soon the public had strongly voted for the death penalty.

The trial of a nobleman would be held in the weekend my fate.

During that week, Castillo had appeared during night hours; upon seeing him, I was stunned.

" Your highness!"

He looked exasperated, " Why didn't you tell them you didn't do it ?"

Though I am gifted in spirit arts, I scarcely any magical power other than everyday magic, I can't use magic at all.

Black magic is high-level magic so there is no way I could use it but if I said it, would anyone believe it?

"why did those black lines appear? " I asked instead of answering

" The most reasonable answer would be a devil." he stated, " Devils can channel curses from the host to another person."

" Who ..who in the world would be contracted to a devil? "

" The queen Diana is the only person I know is in contract with a devil," he mumbled

'The queen? But why?'

as if reading my thoughts, Castillo said something I couldn't believe.

" Don't worry, I won't let her away with this..." he touched my cheek affectionately, " I love you, Sylvia ...I love you very much."

At that moment, I didn't know that this was the last time I'd get to see him.

If I knew, I would have not let him go.

In the year x68, The crown prince of Bradford died due to an unknown reason.

When Peter told me about his death; I was silent- I couldn't proceed with it, Castillo can't die: we promised to go to The Elven land together. He said he would wait for me, then why?

The pain I felt was anguishing my heart-The Castillo, whom I loved had died protecting me.

if I was stronger; if only I tried to Change my fate this won't have happened.

The Emperor of Bradford had declared war with Torres. My death penalty was shifted because of that.

During that time, I did everything to find the killer of Castillo - The only clue I found was the vibrating black magic similar to the lines in my body.

The devil was the one who killed Castillo?

The guilt only grew; Even when I was being taken to the guillotine, The only thing I felt was deep anguish.

Duke, Alfred, lex, and saintess- all of them looked at me with cold expressions.

'huh? so you all came to see me miserably die ?'

I could hear people cursing at me, calling me a cursed child, a witch, Devil, and whatnot.

my neck was secured at the bottom of the frame directly below the blade.

The emperor began saying something about how I was a condemned person and how I used black magic to curse the divine maiden.

I don't care what you say; I don't care being a cursed child- no I am not cursed just like Castillo said.

oh! Castillo, how I wish I had at least told you my true feeling?

That you are the first person whom I had loved and I was thankful that you came into my life. I was thankful that I ran into you that day. I was thankful for the memories we made all those two years and the letter we exchanged afterward.

Dear Castillo, I wish I could tell you that you were my strength.

"KILL THAT WITCH " the emperor shouted.

I closed my eyes, ' Castillo !! I wish to see you again...I wish to redo everything...I wish to reach to you..please ...'

*Clack *

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Next Chapter: Back to the southern tower (1)

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