Time stopped for no one. Despite the coven, days had passed like any other. Aries had stayed beside Abel for the past three days, barely leaving the emperor's chambers. Meanwhile, others had continued with everyone's lives since they had an empire to take care of.
On the fourth day, Abel finally decided to do his duties… but first, he had scheduled a proper dinner with his wife, Aries, his brother-in-law Dexter, his sister Marsella, and his granddaughter Sunny.
Sitting on the head seat, Abel looked to his right. Aries was sitting on his right, and beside her was Dexter. Across from Aries were Marsella and then Sunny.
Silence had dominated the air of the grand dining hall, with them not touching their food except Sunny. No one could stop the little girl from gobbling up the food served right in front of her.
"What a shameless little girl," Abel commented, staring at Sunny with disdain. The latter, who felt everyone's gaze on her, paused.
Sunny gulped, reluctantly putting down her cutlery. The frown on her adorable round face was apparent. Her frown grew deeper when Marsella laughed in mockery.
"I had already told you the reason I arranged this dinner," Abel spoke after several seconds of silence, keeping his eyes on Sunny and Marsella. Meanwhile, Dexter knitted his brows, knowing he simply came in here since Aries couldn't meet Abel's family all alone.
"Sorry," came out a tiny voice from Sunny, frowning, eyes on Aries and then on Dexter. "Sunny won't trick Grandmama again."
Abel nodded in satisfaction before shifting his eyes to Marsella. The latter's brows rose, tilting her head to the side.
"What?" asked Marsella with genuine wonder in her voice. "I did nothing wrong!"
Silence followed Marsella's remarks, with everyone, including Sunny, looking at her wordlessly. She frowned, leaning back, crossing her arms.
"I'm not apologizing," she asserted strongly. "I did nothing wrong to her, and even if I did, why would I apologize? If I did something, even if it was wrong, that means I did it for a reason. Whether that reason is as simple as it made me happy doesn't matter. My point is I don't regret it, nor do I feel remorseful about it."
"We're not asking you to apologize," Abel chimed in a dead tone. "We're waiting for you to state your problems and how we can help you. What a disgrace."
"Oh…" Marsella's lips formed an o-shape while rocking her head in understanding. "You should've clarified earlier."
"Pretty Grandma, you're a bad person, are you?" Sunny inquired with intrigued in her voice. "How can you not feel remorseful about doing an evil deed?"
"Piggy, there's a reason people call it evil." Marsella rebutted in a knowing tone.
Meanwhile, Dexter and Aries darted their eyes on the two across from them. Their lips were drawn into a tight, thin slash. In their eyes, they were like hearing and seeing two versions of Abel: a woman version of him and a child version. And this was just a casual talk; Marsella and Sunny had done nothing grand yet.
Abel lazily propped his jaw against his knuckles, watching Marsella and Sunny banter. It wasn't like they were arguing, but it showed how twisted these two were.
"You went to the mainland?" his voice put a stop to Marsella and Sunny's 'casual' exchange to a twisted view of life. They were embarrassing to listen to. If only Abel had always heard himself talk, he might have a different opinion.
Marsella raised her brows and shifted her attention to Abel. "Uh-huh." Pointing at the little girl beside her, she scoffed. "Because of this lying pig, I was ambushed the second I stepped foot on the mainland. They prepared a grand welcome party for the beautiful me."
"Anything interest?"
"Yes, me." Marsella snorted. "It was my first time in that place. How would I know if there's anything interesting aside from myself? Ah, was a burning forest interesting enough?"
"The forbidden forest is on fire?" Sunny frowned, making Marsella turn to her. "Did Tilly's mansion fall into ruin?"
"I don't know and I don't care, alright? Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I… honestly and absolutely don't care." Marsella stressed with absolute certainty. "All I want is to fix my problem since I have a duchy to take care of."
"You're a duchess?" Dexter blurted out, biting his tongue when he realized his curiosity overtook him for a moment.
Marsella arched a brow. "No," she shook her head. "I was an empress."
"Nice career," Abel commented, and the Sunny chimed in with admiration.
"Pretty Grandma is amazing! You're like grandpa! Rich and pretty!"
Marsella laughed, obviously pleased by the praises. She shrugged and flipped her hair.
"Then, why did you say duchy?" this time, Aries couldn't help but wonder cautiously. She pressed her lips into a thin line when Marsella's sharp eyes fell on her. For reasons unknown, Aries held her hand under the table under her sister-in-law's gaze.
"That's right. Why did you say duchy when you're the empress?" Sunny inquired with her finger on her chin, pondering for a clue.
"To make the long story short, I was someone who crawled my way up to power. Eventually claiming the crown of the empress… only to die in my throne and by the hands of a stupid maniac whom I chose as my emperor." Marsella's tone grew colder as a murderous glint flickered across her sharp, crimson eyes. "By some dumb luck… or should I say a curse, here I am, gracing you all with my divine presence… as someone who is bound to marry a grand duke whom these hands will kill."
"That's the answer to your previous inquiry. That is my dilemma," she stressed. "Can you help me? You should, though, or I'll kill you."
"What a way to ask someone for a favor," Abel commented, but Aries could only furrow her brows. "Very diligent."
"I don't understand," Aries confessed under her breath.
"Of course, you don't. But you don't need to understand everything to stop my curse." Marsella shook her head, eyes narrowed slightly. "Kill me."
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