Katariona Tells the Story of her Past Life to Leon and Marie Part 2
Author’s Note:
I think I’m going to have a mental breakdown.
If you are not a fan of dark developments, please turn back or skip this story.
TL Note: Make sure to have a box of tissues nearby.
I was brought to a dungeon, dressed in a shabby prisoner’s uniform made of thin cloth, and thrown into a cell, which only had a hard, narrow bed, a blanket, and a toilet with no partition or separation. A nasty, pervasive odor lingered in the cell. It was the smell of blood mixed with sweat.
“The severe torture will commence tomorrow. The sooner you confess, the easier it will be for you. Miss.”
The prison guard said with a sickening laugh. I have nothing to confess. I didn’t do anything…
Will Brother and Chris be okay? I thought, thinking of the two of them while lying on the shabby, prison bed.
The next day, the torture began, just as the prison guard had said. When I was taken to the torture chamber, I was horrified by the array of terrifying tools.
Tied to a chain, they stripped me of my clothes and began to whip me.
“KyAaaaaa!!!”
Every time the whip snapped and hit my back, I felt a searing pain.
“If you don’t confess soon, your pretty white porcelain skin will peel off, and you’ll look hideous.”
“……there’s no way…….I’m going to confess……..”
“What a stubborn girl! Even now!”
He hit me even harder, and the pain increased in intensity.
“AAAAAAAA!!!!!”
“Just to let you know, you can’t use your signature light magic to heal yourself in here. This prison is surrounded by magic barriers.”
The skin on my back was whipped till it peeled off, and afterward, I was punched, kicked, and beaten even more. If I fainted, they would dump water over me. Even so, I wouldn’t confess.
“You have a lot of patience for being a noble lady. Unless you confess, you will continue to suffer. The sooner you confess, the sooner you can be transferred out of here and put into a better prison and get better quality food.”
“I……I didn’t……..do anything…….”
The torturer clicked his tongue. I was dragged to my former prison cell and thrown in. From the small slot under the door, I was given moldy bread, thin soup with a few floating vegetables, and some water.
“Eat up! Because tomorrow, you will continue to suffer.”
I crawled to the delivery slot and started to eat as much as I could of the food given.
After enduring a month of torture, I was tried and found guilty.
My uncle, the Prime Minister, desperately struggled to obtain evidence to prove my innocence, but all his efforts were denied. And one after another, the evidence against me started to pop up. They were probably forged.
On the contrary, the Marquis of Grandeur was completely abolished. They were sentenced to be decapitated.
“My family has nothing to do with this! Please, let me be the only one guilty of death!”
“Your family was caught trying to execute an escape plan to break you out of jail. The Marquis de Grandeur’s head butler and his daughter were the ones to sneak into the prison. And, trying to jailbreak a prisoner is a capital offense.”
The head butler and Marie? They were trying to help me…….
“The two of them…….what happened to them?”
“They resisted while being captured, so the guards killed them.”
“No…….that’s not…….”
Head butler……Marie……I’m sorry! Because of me, I was the one who got you involved in all of this.
In the end, my plea was not heeded.
I was found guilty and sentenced to death. I was no longer tortured, and they moved me to a slightly better prison cell. Inside the cell was a desk and some writing materials, so I decided to write a petition to His Majesty the King, pleading for him to spare the lives of my family members. I got the guards to promise me that they would find some way to give the letter on my behalf.
That night, His Highness the Crown Prince stopped by to visit the prison. The moment he laid his eyes on me, his blue eyes widened. I guess I must’ve looked hideous from all the torture and pain.
“Why didn’t you confess? You didn’t have to endure until you ended up looking like that.”
“I didn’t do anything. So, why should I confess to something I haven’t done?”
“Nevertheless, Charlotte was almost killed. Was your motive to try and sever Charlotte’s relationship with me?”
The Crown Prince suddenly averted his eyes away. You probably don’t want to see my ugly face.
“I didn’t have the slightest intention of killing Charlotte. If you had only asked me to break off our engagement, I would’ve accepted. After giving my blessing to the two of you, I had decided to enter the convent.”
“That’s a lie!”
His Highness the Crown Prince slams the wall with a loud thud.
“What’s the use for me to lie to you now? I’ve been sentenced to death.”
With shaking shoulders, the Crown Prince turns to leave.
“Tomorrow, your family will be decapitated. I shall let you witness their ending.”
“No way! What about my petition? I sent a petition to His Majesty the King! Please, spare my family!”
“I’m sorry……but, unfortunately, your petition has been rejected.”
The moment the door closed, I collapsed on the spot.
The next day, I was forcibly ushered into the execution site and made to sit in chains right below the decapitation stand. The chains were inscribed with a magic inhibition spell. So, I couldn’t utilize my magic.
On the decapitation stand stood my father, mother, brother, and sister, Marianne. Apart from Marianne, all the others were in a terrible state, with multiple scars from various injuries.
“Father…….Mother…..Brother……, Marianne……”
My family, recognizing my voice, turned to look at me.
“Rio, you poor thing. To turn into that appearance, ……well done. You hung on with all your might.”
“It was hard, wasn’t it? I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, Rio.”
“I’m sorry, Rio. I should’ve taken you out of there at that time.”
“Big sister. Are you okay?”
My family’s concern for me pierced my heart. The priest was praying, but I couldn’t hear him. All I could see was my family, as my vision became distorted with tears.
When the priest’s prayer had finished, my father was the first to be laid down on the decapitation table. His once blond hair had now turned gray.
“Father!”
“Rio, I love you.”
My father’s smiling face, full of affection and tenderness, was cut off by the falling blade of the decapitator.
My mother was up next to lie down. Her beautiful silver hair had been chopped off to shoulder length.
“Mother!”
“Rio, I love you.”
My mother’s gentle face disappeared with the sound of the blade falling.
Next, the executioner propped up my brother onto the table and laid him down. His leg seemed to have been broken, and he could barely stand.
“Big brother!”
“Rio, I love you. I hope I get to be your brother in the next life.”
With eyes full of tears, my brother’s smiling face, too, disappeared.
Finally, the executioner laid Marianne down. The executioner had to hold her body to prevent her thin neck from sliding off.
“Marianne! No, stop it! My sister is only seven years old!”
“Big sister, I love you.”
Her lovely innocent smile… was no longer.
“Please, kill me! Me too, kill me now! Along with my family!”
My family was taken to heaven. What did my family do!? I haven’t committed anything! Why? Why?
“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!”
I cried out to the heavens. I cried until my voice could no longer make any noise.
When I had told them that much, Leon and Marie were profusely crying with tears running down their faces as they spoke.
“What a horrid thing to do, to make the young lady witness the end of her family. And, you have done your best. And, in your previous life…….I want to praise myself for not abandoning the young miss’s family till the end…”
“Rio……, you did your best. How difficult it must’ve been. I’m sure it was very painful for you. How can humans do such horrible things with little to no regard whatsoever?”
He wiped his tears as he drank his fruit water.
“I will tell you the rest.”
The day before my execution, Charlotte came to visit. She shooed the guards away and closed the door behind her as she came inside.
“I have come to say goodbye. Lady Katariona.”
“Lady Charlotte.”
Charlotte approached me with a distorted smile on her lovely face.
“You look terrible, don’t you? What a pleasure it is to be able to see you, the one who used to be called “The White Rose of Society,” in all your hideous glory. You look similar to a withered rose now. Since you shall die tomorrow, I will disclose some good news to you.”
“Lady……Charlotte?”
Coming up close to me, she put her face up close beside mine and whispered into my ear.
“I was the one who falsely accused you.”
“Wha!? What…….what did you……? Why?”
In the instant I heard Charlotte’s unexpected confession, I thought I felt my breath stop for a moment due to the shock. So, Charlotte was the one who framed me?
TL: T.T This has been a rough chapter. There’s more to come about her past life in the next chapter.