Bala: The Duke's Contract Wife

The Past: Anisa Fullmeir

A week after Count Rayhan's death, Rose did not come out at all from her room. She was too scared to face Rendre. Every time she thought of that night, little Rose shivered.

Almost every night she dreamed of that night. Count Rayhan's body was thrown hard again and again on the wall inside her dream. The blood flowed relentlessly. Then Rendre's wide eerie smile... The man Rose once called as Father, was enjoying it.

Rose had been losing sleep. She also lost her appetite. Even when her mother's maid told her that her mother called, Rose refused. She didn't dare to face her mother. Her mother had warned Rose that she should not show her power to anyone.

"I thought you can be trusted... Hu.." Little Rose's tears were flowing yet again. "Bu– but... he became sca– very... scary..."

Fearing that Rendre would request Rose to do another hideous thing, the little girl broke her agreement with Raulus. He freed the mystical beast. Although the wolf was initially reluctant, seeing Rose plead in tears made Raulus finally agreed to her request.

The covenant of the soul can only be made and broken by both souls. That was why she had to ask Raulus to agree to break the magical bond. 

Rose also believed Rendre will not untie their souls. It scared little Rose.

But Rendre had not visited Rose since that day. Count Rayhan's death had caused a faction that opposed Rendre as a Marquis into huge distress. Internal conflicts arose to contest the position of Count Rayhan's successor. Meanwhile, Count Rayhan's wife declared found guilty of her husband's murder. The world was horrified by the news. Especially since Count Rayhan's wife continued to state that Rendre was the real killer.

When Rose confined herself in her room, Rendre actively made Count Rayhan's wife looked like a lunatic in court. He assaulted her verbally again and again. And unfortunately, the world believed him.

Rose knew all this from reading the paper and from asking Mary, her mother's maid. When she heard Count Rayhan's wife would be hanged for being found guilty... Rose choked on herself. For the first time, she realized how ruthless the abilities she had. Although it didn't initially look dangerous yet... when it fell into the hands of the devil...

Oh, I've destroyed one family!

Rose couldn't resist the tears to burst again. She had let one family to destruction due to her ignorance.

She... had become an accomplice of a murder.

Rose began to realize why her mother had always asked her to hide her magic. But it was too late. Rendre had known Rose's abilities. And little Rose was terrified when she imagined what Rendre would ask for next.

Rose always refused her mother's request to meet her, saying that she was ill. Indeed, in recent days her face had turned pale. And because of sleep deprivation, she also looked very sick. Mary trusted her. So did her mother. They did not force Rose to visit her mother again. Instead, her mother sent various warm soups every day to Rose through Mary.

Little Rose's heart was torn every time she saw the soup Mary brought. She increasingly felt it was shameful to meet her mother. She did not want her mother to know the abomination she had committed.

But before long, Rose regretted the decision.

Two weeks after the incident with Count Rayhan ... Mary ran into Rose's room. Her face was pale and her voice was hoarse. Tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Miss, please," the maid said, "Marchen Santika do- doesn't have much time... Please...."

Rose felt her heart stop right then.

No... It can't be...

Rose immediately ran to her mother's room as fast as she could.

Stupid! I should have visited Mom while I had time. I'm stupid! Please... Please, hang on Mom!

When Rose entered her mother's room, there is no warm smile or sweet greeting that greeted her. Just a cold room with a heavy atmosphere. A man in a black suit stood by his mother's bedside, he was his mother's trusted doctor. The doctor's face was somber.

Rose saw several other attending maids were crying in the corner of the room.

No. No. No. No.

"Mom?" She called in a hoarse voice. She held the lying woman's hand. Her mother's skin had become pale, her face looked serene as if she was asleep.

Maybe she is just sleeping, right?

Rose shook her mother's body. Then she tried calling her again.

No response.

Rose touched her mother's cheek. It was cold.

Rose could not even feel her tears that had been flowing down her cheeks. Her gaze became blurred.

Then Rose gave a gentle kiss on her mother's forehead one last time.

I'm sorry, mom ... I've disregarded your counsel. And ... I refused to see you until it was too late...

For the last time in her life, Rose shed tears of grief. Her mother's departure left a deep sense of emptiness in her heart. And ... it became the start of doom for Rose.

On the same night of Santika's death, Rendre came home bringing a modestly dressed girl to their residence.

The girl had a sweet blonde hair color, her blue eyes were big, her nose and mouth were petite. Rose immediately realized how similar the girl's face was to Rendre.

"Rose, this is Anisa," Rendre said, "She's your sister."

You're kidding me, right?

Rendre didn't look even remotely sad knowing Santika died that day. Nor did he offer condolences to little Rose. The man instead immediately brought his daughter, which was living evidence of his affair into the Fullmeir residence.

So many feelings exploded inside Rose. All those feelings melted and got entangled with one another inside of her. All those feelings were so intense and confusing that little Rose had not been able to name them all. Little Rose became unsure of what she was actually feeling. Her emotional intensity felt too great for her small body.

Rose decided to ignore all those feelings. She felt that if she followed the flow of her emotions, she would be drowned and suffocated by her own self. So she kept all those emotions in a box in her heart. She locked it tight and dug a grave so deep inside of her.

Rose had shed many tears after the day Count Rayhan was murdered and when she saw her mother's body not moving at all in front of her. Right then, staring at the man and the girl ... Rose forgot how to feel.

"Anisa will stay with us from today," Rendre said.

The girl took a peek at Rose from behind Rendre's body. Rose could see clearly the awe in the girl's gaze. Anisa saw Rose in a beautiful dress and stood on the stairs like a princess. Her eyes clearly implied her desire to be like Rose.

"Rose, why don't you say hello to your sister?" asked Rendre.

Rose's response to Rendre's question was a sharp stare. It occurred to her that she could have expelled them from the Fullmeir residence right then. Rose knew Santika bequeathed the Fullmeir residence to Rose completely.

But Rendre seemed to be able to read Rose's intent when he said, "Remember Rose, you promised me." Rendre's gaze darkened. His tone was heavy. He was threatening a thirteen-year-old girl.

How can I forget that I have bound my soul to you? In the end ... You never thought of me as your daughter. 

"Come on, Anisa. It's dinner time." Rendre led Anisa towards the dining room without even glancing at Rose.

"D– dad," called Anisa. "What about ... sister?"

The word 'sister' sounded foreign in Rose's ears. She could also see that Anisa was uncomfortable calling her 'sister'.

"She had to take care of her mother's funeral first," Rendre said indifferently. Obviously, she doesn't want Rose eating at the same table as them.

Are you crazy? You're going to make me do the funeral by myself?

Without waiting for Rose's answer, Rendre again led Anisa to the dining room.

***

Rose didn't just provide a proper burial for Santika. She also set up a memorial party in memory of her mother. The nobles were amazed that a thirteen-year-old girl had been able to plan a memorable funeral and memorial party.

Rose also didn't have to say anything bad about Anisa. Because the public view of Anisa who was not a legitimate child was already very bad. Moreover, the servants of Fulmeir Mansion talked about what happened on the day Santika died openly. Soon, the whole town knew how Rendre came to the mansion bringing his illegitimate daughter on the day of Rose's mother's death.

The servants who saw the incident were reluctant to serve Rendre and Anisa. Their loyalty was to Santika and Rose. They even deliberately gave Anisa the wrong cutlery so that she could not eat properly. Not once did Anisa discover her dresses had been tampered with. And every time she walked in Fullmeir Mansion, no servant would greet her. Everyone stared at the girl coldly.

Rose would not lie, she was satisfied with it. She had no intention of helping Anisa's life in Rose's family's residence.

At least ... until Rendre summoned Rose to his office.

"Make Anisa respected as a Miss Fullmeir in this country," Rendre said without furtherment.

Rose already expected this. But no matter how long she tried to prepare ... Her heart still felt like being lodged.

"Even better, turn around your positions now," Rendre continued. A vile smile appeared on his face. Rose shuddered in horror. 

"Let the public see that Anisa is a good noblewoman while you are the villainess."

Rose's eyes widened in disbelief. She had guessed that Rendre would ask for her help to make Anisa respected by the people and the noble society. But she never expected him to ask her to be a deliberate stepping stone for Anisa in order to elevate Anisa's public image. Rendre wanted Rose to be trampled by society so they would praise his real daughter, Anisa.

Rose's emotions began to rise again. She felt bile surging in her throat. She wanted to throw up. But she did not want to show any weaknesses in front of the devil man. Rose knew Rendre wanted to see her break, and Rose didn't want to give Rendre that satisfaction.

Rendre didn't have to wait for an answer from Rose. The man already knew that Rose couldn't resist. Not if Rose wanted to live. Rendre had seen for himself the consequences if someone violates the magic covenant. It was real luck for Rendre to find Rose innocently offering him her soul.

"Oh, you're forbidden from telling anyone what you're capable of. Not even Anisa. Only I can know. Everything you do from now on is done in my name."

Rose understood what Rendre meant. The man wanted to take credit for all of Rose's efforts.

"Now," continued the vile man, "Think of a way that I can have ownership of a gem mine in Gurkuta."

From then on, Rose began to produce schemes after schemes to fulfill Rendre's will.

From then on, Rose became the villainess from the Kingdom of Ellyseria. She made rumors, deliberately picked on Anisa in front of many witnesses, and many other things.

Since then ... Rose began to live in the shadows. Her very existence became like dust behind Rendre and Anisa who were in the spotlight of the society.

From then on, Rose recognized the emotions that were piling up at the deepest part of her heart.

Anger.