18 Chapter 18: Execution(2)

The point of poisoning Diana and everything was for this moment.

The moment when I confessed my sin and inferior me to the world. Standing right before the one Marinette loved in the novel, I looked into his eyes which remained still as if the statement was only a joke.

"Why do you choose to confess it right now?"

As for Diana, she was taken aback a little bit but it was in the field of her expectation. And my early confession wouldn't interfere with the result that she wanted.

I always wondered so many times why Marinette fell in love with someone like him.

She also knew how much pain the future stored for her if she chose to love someone who would never love her back and yet, she still loved him otherwise.

I couldn't understand till that moment earlier.

I tried to find the resolve behind all the plot I've done so far, something that would justify this moment.

But now I found it. 

Seeing how Marinette's family member went to Diana's side and left Marinette behind reminded me of when I waited for my father at school.

It was always waiting, always expecting, and in the end, my father never showed up.

When I looked at the other kids, they could slack off, they could argue with other people, they could be rude and didn't make the connection with anyone else, and they still had a family at home to be by their side.

For those people, even if they failed in school, or anything, their family would help them because that was what family was for.

I realized then that to not feel any pain in the future, I should just cut off all the expectations from someone I loved.

"Because I didn't poison the duchess. Even if I committed a crime, I shall stay true to my sin. I would never take the blame for the crime I didn't commit."

"And do you think that made you a great person? Why did you poison Diana?"

It turned into a conversation between the judge and me. The scale remained still. It gave fairness to each side without tilting to one side.

"Because I love you, your highness."

For a moment, as I looked into Richard's eyes, I felt a familiar feeling I used to have.

The chatter of the audience started getting louder. It only became quiet when the judge said "Order in the courtroom."

Thanks to that, I continued my next sentence.

"The duchess, Diana's mother, she was right. Without love, I only have the status of the emperor's wife, but never the emperor's heart."

I gulped before my next sentence. I felt a tight sensation around my chest. I could no longer look at the prince because only by looking down I could say the next sentence without my tears falling.

That was how much I pity Marinette. How did she feel when everyone at the party talked about how much the prince loved Diana and she was just an obstacle in their love?

How much did she cry that the author didn't mention in the book?

"I don't want that, your honour. So I poisoned Diana. Saying this now wouldn't lessen my punishment in anyhow, but I never had the intention to kill her. I poisoned her in the church because I knew there would be someone who helped her...who healed her. Just like how you ran and carried her back then."

"We should close the trial now if that was your reason. We'll handle it in private since it is our personal affair. As the empire's future empress, you disappointed me, lady Mortel. You will receive the punishment by the empire's rule, not the court of god as it is a sign of mocking the god."

"No, Your Honour. My sin wasn't only poisoning Diana. My other sin was loving you. In the court of god with god and the scale as our witnesses, your honour, I would like to end the engagement with you and receive the punishment from this court."

The scale tiled down to one side completely and the hourglass cracked the moment I finished the sentence.

The judge finally stood up, and so did Diana. The whole arena of the god went amok when the hourglass poured out all the sand and those workers out setting those dangerous criminals to the outside world.

"Stop the trial!!! Stop the trial immediately."

Duke Mortel unsheated his sword and infused it with the death roses magic energy trying to tear down the barrier. But he was too late.

When a suspect confesses their sin, it already sets the scale to forward to the next stage. And when they admitted that they wanted to receive the punishment, the judgement would fall upon them immediately.

However, the phenomenon that happened right now never happened when the other suspect in the past did.

The barrier hardened itself blocking sunlight from entering the court. Diana who ran to the duke couldn't get out and stuck here with me and the judge, the judge who was preparing to punish me.

Complete darkness under the barrier with screams from outside, the judge, his Highness used his magic to show me the light.

Unfortunately, the form of light he made was the weapon that he summoned from the realm of god. Similar to the previous judge Victor, the prince's eyes glowed white and brought out the weapon that justified the wrong's punishment.

It wasn't a sword.

It wasn't a bow nor a spear.

With a long rod and sharp arch attached to it, he wielded it single-handedly walking in my direction as the end of the blade cracked the path he walked.

A scythe. The god-slayer weapon. The weapon which killed the goddess itself.

"Execution upon the wrong. Lady Mortel shall die."

The barrier wasn't made just to block people from entering and leaving. Designed by the goddess herself, it also blocked any form of magic in the field. Any magic user aside from the judge wouldn't be able to use magic.

Was this what the saintess told me yesterday? The scale gave out the wrong judgement once again.

Someone manipulated the scale and wanted me dead.

The end of the scythe pierced where I stood a second ago. If I didn't move, my head would have a hole from the top to my lung.

Diana cowered down in fear closing her ears and eyes as I ran for my life.

No matter how much I struggled, the judge had absolute power in the court. 

His scythe kept lessening the distance between it and my death. 

"Ahh!!!"

I fell when something caught my leg. Blood came out of my nose when I looked at the chain that wrapped around my leg. 

My body trembled to the point that I couldn't feel the pain from the fall earlier. The prince tilted his head to the left as he kept walking to me with the other end of the chain wrapped around his forearm.

The chain made out of light, my bloody hand wouldn't be able to take it off.

"Please...please....I...I...I."

I was lost for words, his shadow swallowed me completely as he raised his scythe.

'...'

Death Roses Magic: Roses in Winter

+++

Ice roses came out of the chain of light travelling from Marinette's leg to the prince's forearm and wrapped around his neck.

The spike thorn of the roses spared some mercy for the crown prince's life when he dropped the scythe down to the ground. The prince was able to heal the wound on his neck and remove the thorn with his magic in time thanks to the magic's mercy.

Marinette stood up with the scar on her face glowed. Her hair floated as she walked to her executioner. 

The luminous white hair calmed down as Marinette put her hand on the prince's cheek. His eyes finally turned back to normal when she said, "Calm down, Chad."

Her voice was so soft and soothing to the prince that he couldn't help but try to delay the moment when her hand touched his face. The warmth of her hand calmed him down and the god's authority left his body.

"You're back, Mary..."

[Contract ended in 132 days.]

[Requirement not met! The remaining time shall stop until the requirement is met!]

"What have I done, Chad? My magic spell...I don't want to continue it...I'm in so much pain, Chad..."

"So your spell works...is there any way I can share your burden...tell me..."

"..."

Marinette was about to say something, but upon seeing Diana standing up and staring at both of them, she decided to keep her lip shut.

She closed her eyes and took her hands off the crown prince.

"Please end the trial, Your Highness."

"Your Highness...?" the prince was confused about the way Marinette called him, but the moment his eyes met Diana, he understood why she did that.

"We'll now close the trial!"

The barrier was shattered by the judge's order. The duke and Tristan rushed in to check up on Diana.

But this time, the duke kept an eye on Marinette who stood beside the crown prince. The duke's eyes widened seeing the rose petal on the ground, but he couldn't ask any further questions because Diana rushed out of the court.

The knights were able to capture the criminals and helped those who were injured by the fall of the hourglass. 

The saintess was healing those people. As the crown prince, Richard left the court to where the injured citizens were.

Marinette stood alone in the centre of the stage until a woman came to confront her.

"Who are you?"

"..." Marinette glared at that woman with pink hair. It didn't take her long to see the clenched fist of that lady.

"Why do you ask that question, Aurora?"

"You're not Marinette, are you?"

"Then who am I? Who would ask such a bizarre question?"

Marinette giggled and played with the rose petal in her hand without the need to worry about the threat in front of her.

"I shall reassure you. I am indeed Marinette Mortel...right now."

To be continued...!