1 Into nothingness

A woman lay weakly on the cold ground that was blanketed with scattered fallen autumn leaves.

Bruised face. Tattered dress.

Blood splattered around her. Long black hair sprawled on the ground, entangled with scattered leaves.

She looked up at the reddish maple leaves above her, watching one by one falling on the ground where she was lying.

Sunlight was filtered through the cracks of the leaves.

It was such a bright sunny day. The brightest day she had ever had in her life as if it was there to accompany her before she was led into darkness.

It was the last thing she saw through her blurred vision as tears welled up in her eyes.

"If there is a next life, let's not meet again."

"If there is a next life, let's not remember each other."

"If there is a next life, let's part ways."

Those were the last words she whispered through her wounded lips.

A distant voice suddenly came along with the autumn breeze.

'Joanna… Joanna…'

And it was the last word she heard. Her name. Someone called out her name.

A name that used to sound like sweet nothings in her ears. But it sounded bitter now.

She didn't want to hear that voice called her name again.

And she didn't want to see that face again.

She closed her eyes. Tears rolled down the corner of her eyes, falling to the dry leaves beneath her head.

And the last thing she felt was someone grasping her shoulders.

Before all disappeared into nothingness.

---

Storm had howled on the land of Archess since last night, summing up the intensity of the gloomy atmosphere due to the non-stop rain that had already occurred for over a week now.

The sound of falling rain and clapping thunder, together with the flashes of lightning, was the only reprieve from the eerie silence of the dismal night.

By the time dawn arrived, the rain slowed down, the noise lessened and the drops slowly faded into a musical chime.

However, the gloomy atmosphere was still apparent as the sky was dull, blanketed with heavy, dark clouds, letting the inhabitants of Archess have a prolonged slumber.

But it was an exception for the inhabitant in a mansion belonged to a great general of Archess, Canillas von Rodega as one of many dark rooms in the mansion was lit up, followed by a clack sound that was enough to break the silence of the tranquil mansion.

As if it wasn't enough, a series sound of footsteps soon was heard as a middle-aged woman, with two young girls behind her, walked like a march towards the bright room. The middle-aged woman was the first to open the door and enter the room, followed by the young girls afterward, and one of them was the one who closed the door.

The sudden noise had caused another room in the mansion to light up as well. Inside the room, a middle-aged woman sat on the side of the bed with disheveled hair and a dazed look, as if she was awakened by the sudden noise, but her mind hadn't gathered completely yet.

However, a report that was given by a maid, who stood with her head bowed in front of her, made the elder woman slowly gather her mind. When she finally fully awakened from her daze and comprehended what was going on, she said to the maid,

"Call her here right now." Before the maid left for what was ordered, she added, "And no room for excuses."

The maid nodded and walked out of the room, heading to the room where the order of the senior madam of the house should be passed on.

When she arrived in front of the room where the door was now opened, the maid's eyes grew wide and her breath was caught up in her throat. Inside the room, three trunks were laid neatly on the floor, where two of them were already closed, while the last one was still being filled with some stuff by the maids. It was obviously an act of packing to move out of the mansion.

Was the young madam planning to move out? Questioned the young maid in her mind as she watched the activities inside the room with her head slightly tilted.

She was brought back from her reverie when she heard the middle-aged woman named Bianca, who was the senior maid of the young madam, said something to her fellow maids.

Gathering her mind, she remembered what she had gone to this room for. The young maid knocked on the door, which made Bianca turn to the source of the sound. The senior maid of the young madam then walked towards the young maid who stood outside the room and asked if she needed something.

"Ms. Bianca, please let Madam Joanna know that Madam Viona asked Madam Joanna to come to her room immediately," the young maid passed on the order she had received while glancing around the room as if looking for the young madam's whereabouts.

"Please tell Madam Viona that Madam Joanna is busy and cannot come to see her right now, Lily," replied Bianca to the young maid named Lily.

"But Madam Viona said that there is no room for excuses. Ms. Bianca, please let Madam Joanna know about this." Lily was persistent as if she was afraid to come back to Madam Viona's room empty-handedly.

"Please tell my mother-in-law that I have no time to see her for the time being, Lily," a soft voice suddenly echoed from inside the room, which made Lily slightly move to the side to get the sight of the young madam. Without approaching Lily, from inside the room Madam Joanna then continued to say, "As you can see that I am currently busy preparing to move the things out."

The young madam seemed to be just stepping out of the bathroom. Hence, Lily was unable to find her before. However, despite the saying that she was busy, the young lady was sitting leisurely on a chair, which was positioned between the window and the bed, with a book on her lap. She then casually flipped through the pages of the book, stopping at one page, and started to read.

The young maid was perplexed at the unusual nonchalant behavior of the wife of her master. During the time the young madam stayed in the von Rodega mansion, she had never delayed any call from her mother-in-law, even when she was not feeling well. She always showed respect towards her husband's mother although she had never met her husband until now as he had left for a battlefield even before she set foot into the mansion.

As Lily felt that she couldn't persuade the young madam anymore, she left after giving a polite bow. She then made her way toward Madam Viona's room, readying herself to get scolded as she returned in vain.

"Where is she?" asked the older madam, when she saw the young maid enter her room alone.