Moonlight beamed down on to the forest floor through the cracks in the canopy. But the darkness of the forest was gloomy enough to cover the path the man was running through.
"Huff… Huff…"
He ran as if his life depended on it. The rustling sound of the leaves, the swaying branches, the roots that cast shadows on the ground had a sinister feeling to it. The more he ran, the more terror engulfed him. It seemed the shadows that chased him would follow him to the ends of the Earth.
'If only I didn't get caught,' the brown-haired man thought.
His lean build, his dark clothed ensemble and the presence that could go easily unnoticed within a crowd gave the illusion of an assassin to him. But his hurried, loud footsteps and his labored breathing shattered that illusion.
The further he ran, more frantic he became. Loud gasps were released from his parted lips. He didn't dare look back for the fear of seeing that monster.
Slade was a veteran assassin that worked under Count Vincent Ludwig. But in front of the 'Bloody Rose', the emperor's most cherished xenolith, he felt like he faced an insurmountable wall.
'I thought all those rumors were exaggerations. But in fact, they underestimated that monster.'
The Bloody Rose was the nickname given to the most treasured xenolith of the emperor and the closest confidante by nobles and commoners. He was the captain of the elite group that worked exclusively under the emperor. No one has ever seen his face, nor did they know the gender of that person.
Most assumed it was a man. The one bearing the codename Zero was the captain of the xenoliths. Only the emperor himself and the xenoliths knew the real identity of that person.
The xenoliths were named from zero to ten depending on their strength by the emperor. The strongest ones were ranked from zero.
Slade's musings were cut off when he tripped over a root and fell. The moment he tried to get up, he froze.
He could tell without even having to turn around he had fallen under the gaze of a predator. The Bloody Rose was watching him.
'How long has he been there? How did he get here so quickly?'
Slade's heart started thumping wildly. Sweat trickled down his forehead. It felt like he was on the palm of a terrifying monster that was toying with him.
Slade slowly turned around and raised his head to where he felt the presence of another person. At first glance, only the darkness greeted him. Then a pair of ferocious eyes like that of a beast stared down at him from the top of a tree branch.
Instead of a face, a black plain mask that covered everything except for the eyes veiled the xenolith's face. The crouched figure on a branch stayed motionless to the point it felt like a statue.
"Ugh…"
Slade tried to crawl away.
He had been in the circles of the black market for information since a long time ago. It was said that the moment you fall under the gaze of the bloody rose, your doom is guaranteed.
'If I am going to die, I might as well die looking him in the eye.'
Even while trembling, he stood up and raised his dagger.
"I might as well fight to death if I am going to die."
Swoosh…
The sound of the rushing wind caressed his ears. One moment he was perfectly fine, in the next second he was bleeding from a severed neck. He started choking from the blood that rushed to his mouth as he collapsed to the ground.
As his vision dimmed, a pair of high heeled black boots entered before his eyes. As life left the assassin's body, another presence appeared behind the still figure of the xenolith. He wore the same ensemble as the bloody rose.
A grey form fitting shirt, a black waist cincher, a pair of black leather pants, grey leather bracers and a hooded grey cloak added more mystery to the xenoliths.
"Captain, we have taken care of all the other assassins. But we didn't find any evidence of the conspiracy Count Vincent Ludwig has been concocting with Marquess Durham."
The belatedly arrived xenolith informed his captain respectfully yet apologetically.
Julian Bennett was the vice commander of the xenoliths, second in rank only to the zeroth ranked xenolith. He had followed after his captain when he noticed that they had let one assassin escape after promptly dealing with the other assassins.
"It would be surprising if we can gain evidence of the conspiracy so easily."
A light feminine voice that can captivate anyone despite the gender emerged from the bloody rose.
"For now, let's return."
With this command the xenoliths disappeared in the blink of an eye to the shadows of the night.
Loud music resounded in the banquet hall. The twinkling laughter, chattering of the glamorously dressed nobles caressed the ears of anyone who entered the lavish party.
With a sudden loud bang, the doors to the banquet hall opened. An unusual silence descended upon the previously noisy hall as all the eyes of the nobles were drawn towards the silent figure at the entrance.
Click. Click.
A petite woman dressed in a beautiful red dress entered with unwavering confidence as if she was enjoying the attention. Bright red hair that cascaded down her back up to her knees reminded people of the vividness of a red rose and her golden doe eyes looked like the sunrise bottled up.
Her slim but pink lips resembled cherry blossoms and her thin nose looked like it was crafted by the hands of a master artisan. She was an incredible beauty that no one could deny.
Her name was Tatiana De Martell, the daughter of Duke Martell. She was the fiancée of Duke Caesar Ryde.
More so than that, she was famous for something else entirely. She was infamous for her villainous acts. The moment she stepped foot in the hall, whispers broke out from everywhere.
'It's started again,' Tatiana thought without much emotion.
Her thoughts wondered to why she attended the lavish party hosted by Count Ludwig while she casually picked up a glass of champagne by a long satin gloved hand. Even her simple move exuded elegance and refinement. Her intimidating gaze observed the participants of the party. It looked as if she was merely bored when in fact, she was discreetly observing her targets.
Inadvertently her gaze was drawn to a lively girl with brown hair and blue eyes dressed in a modest pink dress, who was hiding behind a pillar. She was Rowena Snow, the ward of Duke Martell. She was also the female lead of the romance novel 'She wins the cold duke's heart.'
Tatiana recalled the memories of her past life at the tender age of three. She was a military officer in Korea in her past life. After her death, she was reborn into a romance novel she read in her past life as the villainess 'Tatiana De Martell,' the black sheep of the Martell family.
She mused about how in the story, original Tatiana was both a victim and a perpetrator. Tatiana's father, Owen De Martell was a cold and indifferent man. From his successor duties to his arranged marriage were carefully crafted by cold and calculative moves.
Even after his first wife's death he shed no tears for the woman who had sired two sons for him. He was that uncaring and impersonal. In that colorless life of his, the first person to ever brighten his life was Alicia Salvatore.
Alicia Salvatore was a beautiful woman. Her pink hair was like a waterfall that was dyed pink. Her golden eyes were captivating and enchanting. She was the daughter of Duke Morgan Salvatore. She had a lively and bright personality that captured even the icy heart of Oliver De Martell.
Alicia was the love of his life. For the first time in his life, he acted according to his emotions instead of logic. He pursued her determinedly. Alicia too was inexplicably charmed by these attempts. After a year of courting, they got married with everyone's blessing and joy. She was readily accepted into Martell household.
The couple rejoiced even more when Alicia got pregnant. But this happiness didn't last long. Because Alicia died in child birth. After that the duke couldn't even look at their daughter. So he sent her away to be raised in the countryside.
So original Tatiana was raised without any familial love. Her awful behavior started there and she started mistreating even the kind maids who looked after her. Soon she found herself alone. Due to this behavior, original Tatiana had no one to rely on, or educate her on right and wrong. So she grew to be deeply resentful towards her family and vicious towards people.
If it wasn't for the intervention of the current emperor's mother, empress dowager, who was best friends with Alicia, this situation would have continued.
When she was summoned to the capital under the empress dowager's request to the duke, she was only ten years old. It was the first time she saw her family with her own eyes. While she was resentful towards them, she couldn't avoid the urge to seek out their approval and acceptance either.
Before her death, Alicia had made Owen promise her that he would care for their daughter. But he had broken that promise. After meeting her face to face, the duke couldn't bear to look at her because of his guilt.
So he brought Tatiana to a new mansion in the capital instead of the ducal estate in the capital. Moreover to alleviate his guilt, he brought a girl with a commoner background and accepted her as his ward intending to treat her like he should have done his daughter.
The original Tatiana grew even more malicious under those actions. To get their attention, she did various things without caring whether they were right or not. When the duke realized his mistakes, it was already late.
Tatiana who grew furious and envious towards Rowena, tormented her relentlessly. Under these circumstances, original Tatiana fell in love at first sight with Duke Ryde. She used underhanded tactics and got engaged to him.
No matter how she pursued him, Caesar Ryde remained indifferent towards her. Due to original Tatiana's own actions, Rowena caught the eyes of Caesar. To him, rather than the vicious and relentless Tatiana, soft and timid Rowena was a refreshing change.
After breaking off his engagement to Tatiana, Caesar Ryde courted Rowena Snow. Feeling even more enraged at the fact that even her ex-fiancé was drawn towards her, she attempted to murder her. But she was exposed and executed.
'But I am different from original Tatiana.'
Tatiana thought deeply immersed in her thoughts.
Tatiana held no resentment or hostility towards Rowena Snow. If anything, she felt pity and compassion towards her. Rowena was a child used by an adult to alleviate their guilt. Even though it felt like Rowena was under Duke Martell's protection, he had not changed her last name to his family name.
Because of that she couldn't quite fit in anywhere in noble circles. Even if no one openly mocked her to her face, she was ostracized and talked behind her back. Rowena grew sensitive to others due to that leading to her timid nature. In the noble circle, she was excluded.
In comparison to her, Tatiana thrived in the social circles.
'I am no different from original Tatiana either.'
Tatiana thought as she gazed silently at Rowena who was standing alone in a corner. Noble ladies and noble men alike swarmed her the moment she turned.