A Miscalculation

Around three in the morning, Aurelia's courtyard echoed with painful shrieks that kept getting louder and louder. It was as if someone was being cut down at the throat with a rusted knife, making it more than usual painful.

The guards on duty, who had become tired of making rounds uselessly, were immediately startled as they ran towards the cursed omega's courtyard. As they gathered in front of the courtyard, they didn't dare to step inside and kept looking at each other signaling them to go check on what was going on.

The cries were so painful that even them, the brave alpha guards, had their hearts in their throats. What was going on? At first they had thought that the young miss was in trouble. However, keeping in mind that voice belonged to a male, they figured that some intruder was being taught a lesson by the infamous cursed omega aura.

The shouts of pain and apology were so loud that despite knowing that trespassing a maiden's property at night was crime, they felt sorry for the culprit. Most of the guards had transformed into their human forms and brought burning torches to illuminate the lawns of the courtyard where they stood.

Even if they knew that the offenders should be apprehended and trialed, none of them had the courage to walk in the den of death and bring the trespasser out. Their young miss wasn't trialed for the earlier accidental deaths as well. The court had ruled that the deaths were not intentional, so the guards mutually decided that letting the young miss handle the matter was better than risking their own lives to save a culprit.

The cries of agony kept getting louder and one by one, members of the Einar family gathered outside the young miss's courtyard to see what was going on. They were briefed on the situation. Somehow, the duchess felt elated over the matter. This was her opportunity.

When the young master Aziel saw all the guards standing outside, he shouted. "Do you get paid to stay out of danger and leave the owners to fight for themselves?" The guards were scared out of their wits as they scrambled to stand properly.

With a death glare, he ordered, "get the man out." Duke Jehl stood by his son's side silently as he believed in his oldest son. Duchess Leanna, however, didn't agree with the simple idea.

"No one shall enter the building," she spoke in an authoritative tone. The guards preparing to go inside heaved a sigh of relief while the family members almost glared at the duchess.

The girl was a troublemaker and sometimes rude too, but she was still a family member. If the news of her trapped inside her courtyard with a trespasser and the family members watching silently from the side got out, what would happen to their family's reputation? Omegas were meant to be protected since they were born with a weak physique.

Despite her having the protection of her aura, the omega was still a weak girl and could be overpowered at the risk of damaging one's own core. However, Leanna looked at the people around her with a justified expression as she said, "no one shall enter the building because we can hear the intruder's cries of pain that proves that the girl has got an upper hand. If at some point we find her losing her footing, then we'll definitely help her."

Aziel looked at the duchess suspiciously. She was speaking righteously, "He needs to be punished severely for trespassing an unmarried girl's courtyard and what could be better than dying at the hands of his target? We need to show the world that our girls aren't weak and can defend themselves." She sounded like an activist talking about women rights but… Aziel observed her, the determination in her voice gave away something.

The duchess sneered in her heart. This time she had completed her homework and was positive of getting rid of the jinx. At this rate, she'll end up killing the intruder but the real problem will start after the identification of the offender. She couldn't wait for the drama to unfold.

She had been exchanging letters with a beta son of a renowned family in the name of Aurelia for more than two weeks now. She had successfully convinced him that she, Aurelia, liked him and also her aura was controllable. She had been purposely not controlling it in order to stay away from people but with him, she could completely keep it in check.

With that she had invited the young master over to Aurelia's courtyard tonight and also guided him towards a secret path that could lead him to the young omega's courtyard unnoticed.

Since the girl knew nothing about the arrangements made in her name, she'd definitely take him for a lust-driven dog and torture him with her toxic aura to death. What would follow that was predetermined as well.

The duchess's spy in the beta's courtyard would make sure to place all of Aurelia's letters at a place where they'd be easily spotted. Even if the girl tried to say that it was an act of defense, the letters in the victim's room would prove that she herself invited him to her place. Then, no one could save the girl from being beheaded and the duchess would finally be able to take a breath of relief.

The cursed monster had now become a headache for not only her brazen attitude but also the disasters she brought upon the duchess's guests. If that was not enough, even her father-in-law favored the girl and managed to save her from the punishment every time. This time, she'll see to it that everyone watches her getting beheaded.

She turned to see in the direction of the room where Aurelia was torturing the poor lovesick boy. His shouts were slowly lowering down and it seemed that he had gotten tired of begging for mercy. Poor boy, he must be confused as to why he was being tortured to death by the girl who herself had invited him to her place.

The courtyard had slowly turned bright as Aurelia's maids lit the candles and torches both inside and outside the living building. They looked the least bothered with whatever was going on in a room of the courtyard as they went back inside.

Suddenly, the tortured man screamed again with all his might as he as a string of curses left his mouth. "You wretched monster, I'll kill you. I'll drag you naked around the town and fuck you in front of everyone. I'm a duke, a high alpha. I'll recover soo… Ahhhhhhh…." A high pitched scream resounded around the courtyard but the duchess looked dazed.

That voice sounded familiar. Something felt off. A duke? He was a beta and yet to acquire any status for himself. What was he talking about? Another scream was heard before silence covered the place. An eerie silence took over them as they all stood there, waiting for the next scene.

However, Leanna didn't look as calm as she did earlier. She turned around to look at the members of the Einar family watching the show and tried to spot someone. It was impossible for him to not hear the noise and come out to investigate. Panicked, she grabbed the collar of the nearest guard and inquired, "brother, where's my brother?"

The guard looked confused, "apologies milady, when I went to invite the duke to investigate the matter, his room was empty and I thought he must've already left to come over."

Dread settled in the duchess's eyes as she stared at the building ahead with horror.