1 THE BEGINNING

"Felicia Vivianne Del Montague! I denounce you as the Crown Princess of the Elysium Empire due to your misconduct and bad deeds towards the Crown Prince and the Montague Dukedom! You shall be burned by fire after committing a murder attempt on a member of the Montague family, Helena Sweetzel Del Montague. Obviously, we cannot keep a witch under the sacred empire." The Emperor who pronounced the verdict announce to everyone else inside the dome.

Felicia Vivianne Del Montague was stripped of her title, gone with her glimmers and shining outfits. The only thing that was left on her body was a plain tattered old white sleep dress, dishevelled hair and her dignity. She glared at the people in front of her.

She felt humiliated as she was forced to kneel herself towards the people whom she hates the most. They subdue her by applying force on her frail shoulder, her red hair was fluttering as the wind was blowing inside the dome.

"The Saintess is a sacred being, thus she cannot be touched by mere mortals. This is the punishment for those who are trying to attempt doing what this dangerous lady did to our Saintess Helena." The Pope commented making every noble inside the dome side with them.

"I am innocent! I never tried to kill her! I am framed!" She yelled, fiercely glaring at them while her tears started to fall from her glaring eyes. Everyone started to throw rocks at her, tomatoes and eggs. These people are siding with the Saintess.

Felicia then look at her family for help, she really didn't do anything that could harm the saintess. She never touch her, she was only begging for them to love her back, just like what they did to Helena, her step-sister.

"Silence! We have several witnesses and evidence that you harmed the Saintess greatly!" The Crown Prince, her fiancée commented as he was hugging her step-sister lovingly in his arms. Her heart started to ache at the man whom she thought loved with all his heart.

But it turns out that he only loves her step-sister, Helena.

"No! I did not!" She tried to yell but the Crown Prince avoided her pleading eyes. Even her family looked at her coldly as if she was some kind of disease. The family whom she tried to prove that she can be useful, turned their backs on her, not helping her in this situation.

Fear and pain started to succumb in her body. She could tell that at this moment, she was born to die without knowing what love really is. Her eyes started to show how furious she is.

"This Empire! I'll curse this Empire! I wish this Empire would be enveloped by large flames, devouring every corner of this Empire! Curse this land! Curse this land that you call pure and fertile! Curse this land by becoming a barren land that can never bore anything that can be consumed! People will die by starvation and poverty!" She shouted with all her might.

Everyone gasps at how hideous she looked right now. She who keeps on shouting was making everyone fear her every word right now. "Silence her! Tie her now!" The Crown Prince commanded, after deeming that she was spouting nonsense.

"Die! Die!" She keeps on shouting.

"Prince Constantine, I'm scared..." Helena uttered as she look at her sister who was shouting with her coarse voice, striking fear in everyone inside the dome. The crown prince then pat her back as he hugged her tightly in his arms.

"Burn her! She's the worse!"

"Burn the witch!"

"Kill her!"

Everyone started to shout as Felicia was getting tied to the wood. She tried to wriggle around, trying to save her life once more but the knights who were tying her were even worse, tightening her as they poured the gas all over her and the branches.

"Untie me! I command you!" Felicia shouted as tears keep on streaming down her face, not wanting to be burned alive. Her eyes were pleading, gone the infuriated beast that keeps on flashing in her eyes, it was replaced by sadness, guilt, and pain.

"Lit the fire. It's time to extinguish the woman who bears evil." The Emperor said, commanding the knights to start the fire. Felicia keeps on shaking her head, not wanting the situation to end with this. She should've just dropped everything and given up on the word love.

The knights throw the lit match on her as flame started to engulf every bark and tree surrounding her. She could feel the pain of being burned alive as her skin started to shrivel as the fire grew large.

"AHH!" She shouted as she felt every part of her body was being consumed by the fire. She glances at her family, everyone's eyes were avoiding her pleading eyes. Except for the person who was hugging the crown prince, smiling at her maliciously.

That's when everything started to cross her head. The schemes that she thought it was all accident was carefully planned by Helena herself. She could no longer think of anything, seeing the smile that flashes through her lips, Felicia knew that it was all plot and schemes to pull her down to her knees.

"I will be back! I swear! I'll kill you all!" She shouted as the flames started to flare higher. Her shriek of being burned hunted the place as her echoing voice of being in pain started to slowly vanish. They could no longer see the woman whom they deemed the witch.

"The execution of Felicia Vivianne Del Montague has now ended. Everyone who witnessed how we remove the devil that tore the Saintess should be at ease. The devil can no longer haunt us, may her soul rest in peace at the arms of the goddess." The pope commented as he look at everyone while clasping his hands together as if praying for her soul.

"I pray that the goddess will forgive my sister for being so cruel to me. I hope that she now returns to the arms of goodness as her soul becomes pure. May her soul rest in peace." Helena prayed towards the heaven, which made everyone praise her sincere prayer towards the woman who pushed herself to her doom.

As expected of the Saintess who still forgave her sister despite her sister treating her badly and even abusing her just because of her low background. "You're such a good sister." The Crown Prince praised the woman who was smiling at him.

"I'm afraid that my sister had caused you such harm, your highness. I apologize on her behalf." Helena said as she curtsies to the prince, acting pitifully while slowly tearing up. The prince then sighed, shaking his head as he kneeled down on the floor, held her pale and white hand, performing a kiss on the back of her hand.

"It is not you who made me harm. You should not be apologizing for her mistake. And now since I'm free from her embrace, I Constantine Cromwell, ask Helena Sweetzel Del Montague to become my Empress, and serve the empire fully." The crown prince said, proposing to Helena.

Helena who was bewildered by his act, immediately nodded her head as tears started to drip from her cheeks, hugging the crown prince who proposed to her with such a loving smile plastered on his lips.

"Yes! I will!" She said happily as both of them hugged each other, earning loud cheers and clapping hands from the nobles who witness such a loving act from the two. Everyone was happy at the situation where they could be free and love each other without trials and tribulations as the woman who scorned the two of them is finally dead.

"For the glory of Elysium Empire!" They all shouted happily as the Crown Prince held her hand, standing up towards the crowd and pulled Helena for a kiss to seal their engagement in front of anybody.

May the engagement of the two prosper and be filled with love. As everyone is now safe and protected. Helena could no longer wish for anything else in her life but for the prosperity of her own homeland.

——

"Wait, that's it?" Rachelle who was reading the book called Purifying Love couldn't believe it at the end. How was it any different from the shitty novels that she read? Just after the Villain died, they immediately got engaged? Isn't that taboo?

"Holy hell. I don't know if I'd be happy at the thought of it or not. Just what the hell is this plot? It's very strange!" She said, complaining about the book that she had just read today.

She just found it in some type of dumpster while going back to where she lived. The title sounds cute and pleasing and she thought that it might be good to read this after all the stress that her work has been giving her.

"Now I'm pissed. What the hell!" She cussed. She then flinch when she heard a loud noise coming from outside. But nothing changes anymore since she's living in the most dangerous city in the Philippines, Tondo. Where ruffians and thugs live.

"Rachelle D'magiba! Pay your damn rent!" She heard a loud banging noise that started to irk her ears. 'Oh shoot, I forgot today is due! Fuck!' she thought and immediately opened the door.

With a warm smile that curved on her lips, she welcomed the lady with curls on her hair, wearing a tie-dye long dress, Spartan slippers, and of course the cigarette in her mouth. It was the landlord, asking for her money once again.

"I-Im currently on short right now!" Rachelle said, smiling at the now angry lady. The lady's face was filled with hatred. It has been months since she hadn't paid her rent and every time the lady would come, she would always be angry towards her.

"Again?! Alright. It's fine." The lady said, sighing.

"Oh my! Really? Thank you—"

Blood started to ooze from her stomach when a man started to appear behind the landlord's back and stabbed her in her stomach with a knife. She could feel the unbearable pain start to envelop her every nerve.

The man then released the knife from the cut and immediately went back behind the landlord's body. Rachelle's body started to falter, falling down on the ground with an unexpected wound coming from the man.

"Suits you right for not paying your rent for months." The landlord said and left her dying on the ground. She could feel the throbbing pain in her stomach as her blood didn't stop pouring out.

'So is this how I die? Just because I can't pay the rent? For fuck sake.' She thought. She's now losing consciousness, but the only thing that it could show inside her mind was the book that she read earlier.

'I shouldn't have read that.' she thought, finally closing her eyes and losing her breath.

——

"My Lady, it's time for you to wake up." Someone said that woke her up. Her eyes started to blink and she could feel very fine despite being stabbed, wait what?

She opened her eyes widely and looked around. She's not in her house! She's not dead! Is this a miracle?!