75 Vol. 1 Epilogue: The family that was left behind
A/N: Sit back, grab something to eat. Coz this chapter is freaking 5k words long. I don't regret it one bit, though. I had a lot of fun writing it. And I hope you guys enjoy it too. :D
Also, surprise! This is the end of Volume 1! Woo! Next two chapters are also epilogue chapters. Then, a new volume.
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[Eizabeth's POV]
Elizabeth was not in a good state of mind.
How could she be? Her dear son had been kidnapped!
And he had been missing for the last 24 hours, every second of which had kept her on her toes and given her haunting ideas. (A/N: I have modified the part where it said he'd been missing for 3 days. Now it says a few hours. Sorry for the possible confusion until now, if any.)
Her condition which had improved a lot in the last 2 years— completely healed even, had started regressing back. Her head ached, but not as much as her heart did.
'Alex… my dear. Why did it happen to you? What did my poor innocent son do to anyone? Why are you punishing him, oh dear goddess Theona?'
She had held back her tears before when she had to console her daughters who had all been heartbroken from the news and worried sick about their brother. Even Emma had shown her concerns, which went to show how much closer Alex had become to his sisters. But now, it was getting harder and harder to hold it back. Her fears were consuming her sanity, making her weak to the dark and dreadful thoughts that constantly haunted her mind.
Around evening, when the clock hit 7, almost 30 hours since her son's disappearance, she sat in the living room, with all of her family except one, and a piece of news finally came.
"Madam. The commander wishes to have a meeting with you. He claims it's urgent and related to the young master."
Laura's calm and composed voice brought her out of her miserable thoughts.
"Call him here, Laura."
Laura processed the order in a second and asked back.
"Will it be alright, madam?"
Elizabeth too realized what she meant, but she didn't want to leave others out of it. Her daughters deserved to hear any news related to her son. They will handle this together as a family.
"Yes. Call him in."
"Yes, Madam."
Laura immediately left to complete the order.
…
The whole family looked at the Knight Commander kneeling on the floor with various emotions. Alice was teary. Emma had a deep scowl. Olivia had her eyes closed and her mouth covered with her hand, trying to hold back her sobs. She didn't want to act so weakly in front of her siblings and others, but it was clearly proving to be quite hard.
The head maid, along with other maids stood dutifully on one side of the room, also showing clear concern but not uttering anything. It was, after all, not their place to speak up.
After taking a moment to process the news, Elizabeth finally spoke, her voice shaky and confused.
"You… couldn't find him anywhere?"
The Knight Commander's head stooped lower than it already was; he was clearly very ashamed about this.
"Forgive me, my lady. We've put all available resources in the city, searching close to where he went missing and places where he could've been taken, and are still rigorously searching for him in other places. But there's been no news yet. But, my lady, that's not I'm here empty-handed. I do have some news, but it's…"
She verbally nudged him to continue. And he spoke.
"There was an unknown person who handed a letter to one of the guards on patrol near the mansion. And the guard left his duty and came straight to me, to deliver it. Without taking permission to leave from his superiors."
Elizabeth frowned.
"Did he tell the reason for his actions? Perhaps that letter was of such importance? Is it… related to Alex's disappearance? Perhaps a ransom letter?"
Even though it was frustrating to think of such a possibility, implying their security was weak enough to allow for such things, she would take that over no news about her son.
"My lady, the soldier was mind-controlled."
A few gasps were heard and he continued his explanation.
"When I saw him, he was clearly out of it and mindlessly carrying that letter saying he must meet with you, my lady. I had him under custody and immediately took the letter along with the said guard straight to the magician's tower to get them both checked first in case there was something malicious in that letter. But we found out there was nothing wrong with the letter, or the man for that matter. He was soon back to normal, with no signs of any mental repercussions. The magicians concluded it was temporary hypnosis and nothing truly harmful, but were confused by the high level of charm cast on him. Though we put him under observation for the time being, just in case. After investigating this matter, we sadly couldn't find any clues about the suspect. He couldn't tell us anything about this mysterious person who gave him the letter and likely mind-controlled him as well. As for the letter, we found it was addressed directly to you and was possibly written by young master Alexander himself. One of the magicians claimed he knew that handwriting belong to him. However… I'm not sure how to deliver this odd news to you. So, I've come to deliver it promptly."
"Where is this letter, Commander Joseph?"
Elizabeth asked, her impatience clearly showing. She didn't care if it did. This was more important.
"Here, my lady."
He took out the letter from his storage bracelet and presented it on his palms.
Without being asked, Laura went and collected it from his hands promptly and gave it to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth felt her throat dry as a foreboding feeling she had been trying to control started getting even more rampant.
Was it really from Alex? Why did he have to write a letter? Was he forced to write it, perhaps?
'Please let it not be what I fear, oh goddess. I am not sure our family or I can take another tragedy. Please have mercy.'
With hesitant and shaky hands, she opened the letter and read.
Her eyes first widened, then she was confused, then momentarily happy and finally her eyes grew teary in the end with a shock-laden face.
"Why are you crying?! What's written in it?"
"M-Mother, what's wrong?"
"… Mother?"
Emma, Olivia, and Alice's concerned voices broke her out of her stupor as she glanced at her daughters and then back at the letter.
Even the others in the room were paying attention to her.
"It… "
She started, not sure how to convey this to others.
"It's a letter from Alex… in his handwriting. But…"
"What does it say, mother?"
Olivia reacted the fastest, her eyes widening and her right hand cupping her left one on her plentiful bosoms before her face turned anxious yet expectant.
"Why will he write a letter? Is it ransom?"
Emma's questions came second. She was angry at the kidnappers for daring to do this to her family and even more frustrated that she couldn't do anything.
"W-Where's big brother? Is he okay?"
Alice's face gained some hopeful light, but she was far from happy. She wanted to see her big brother in flesh, not a letter. Only that could make her truly happy.
The Knight Commander and Laura were focusing on Elizabeth's every word while still maintaining proper tact. The maids did leak a few gasps and hopeful, sad or confused murmurs before shutting up entirely when Laura's glaring eyes landed on them for a mere moment.
Elizabeth once again read the letter to make sure she hadn't misread anything. No, it was still the same.
'How do I tell this to others? If this is true… I-I, oh goddess…'
As she took her time to reconsider, Emma and Olivia both shifted and came on her side, now looking at the contents themselves. And from a little distance away, unknown to her, even Laura was inconspicuously peeking in and reading the contents.
There was a momentary silence before a loud shout was heard.
"What the hell is this nonsense?! Is this a joke?! I'll kill whoever wrote this bullshit! Because there's no way Alex did! H-He wouldn't do this! T-This is fake! It's fake!"
"E-Emma, don't speak that way, please. I know you're shaken. I am too, but… But… she has a point, mother. This seems unlike him. Why would he do that, unless he was being forced to? Is this a ploy to break us? It-It's just too bizarre!"
Laura's face was completely unreadable and no one knew what she was thinking right now.
Alice looked at them, both confused and nervous.
"W-What's wrong? Why is everyone shocked? Wh-What happened to big brother? Where is he?"
A few tears leaked from her eyes.
Elizabeth had to do something. She had to get things under control before her daughters fell apart.
"E-Everyone, listen to me and please calm down… T-This is indeed your brother's handwriting, but w-we can't be s-so s-sure it's written by him. I…"
She turned to look at the Knight Commander.
"Commander Joseph, please continue searching for my son. I want him back, as soon as possible. Do anything in your power. Please send notices to nearby towns and villages too. In case… in case he's not in the city."
"Yes, my lady! I'll do everything in my power to find him."
With a stiff salute, he left.
Once the knight commander was gone, she turned to her daughters.
"My dears, I don't know what to say to you. I… I don't know why Alex would do this… if it is indeed Alex's letter. I-It could be a trick, a vile attempt to shake us, yes. But…"
But why did her heart say it was his. She wanted to believe in the proof her son had included within the letter. The writing, the contents, those emotions, everything pointed to him. It relieved her a little knowing that there was a possibility of her son was safe, safe from the clutches of some vile criminals. But she also didn't want to believe it to be completely true. It was too sudden, too unlike her beloved son… or was it? Was it actually true? She had no idea. She didn't know what to think, she didn't know what to feel. Her son had…
Her head hurt severely, almost turning her vision hazy. Yet even now, her heartache was worse. She struggled to breathe.
'Oh, my dear Alex… where are you right now? Please come back to us, come back to your poor mother and your poor sisters. Why is this happening to us? … Was it really you? Or were you forced? Why are you blaming it all on yourself? It wasn't your fault. It was all my fault! I should've been more careful.'
She couldn't hold back any longer. At last, her dam finally broke and the tears she had held back until now started pouring.
'I should've kept you safer. I-I messed up. My son…My son has left me now… all because of my mistake.'
She was a bad mother. She was not good enough. She should have been more careful. She was the reason her son was kidnapped. Such thoughts now filled her head.
She had tried to stay strong until now, even after so much pain and suffering after her husband's passing, but this was too much for her poor heart. She was not ready for this. She didn't want this. She didn't deserve this.
Why was the goddess playing such cruel games with her?
Why had her son left her to roam in the dangerous wild, possibly risking severe injuries, or in the worse case, death?
Her outburst caused others to be even more worried and her oldest daughter and head maid now tried to console her.
"Mother, please don't cry! This-This isn't Alex. It can't be! Someone is surely playing a vile trick on us, mother. We'll find him. He'll be back with us soon, mother."
"Madam, please. This will impact your health negatively. You're the pillar that holds this household. You mustn't break down like this."
Elizabeth knew that. She really did and she tried to get herself back under control.
'Oh, no. W-What am I doing? I-I can't cry like this! I-I… I can't fall apart in front of them. I need to stay strong. I need to console them, not the other way around. I'm their sole pillar. I need to stop this shameful show.'
She tried to reason, but it didn't work. Instead, entirely different words came out of her mouth, almost subconsciously.
"B-But my son… H-He… Why?! Why is this happening to my family?! First, we lost our family's main pillar and… and now this! What crimes did he do to deserve this?! Why is my son suffering like this? Answer me, oh goddess! Please, oh kind and benevolent goddess! Help us! Don't break our family like this!"
The letter she had been holding until now fell from her hands as she covered her face with her palms, in shame and distress, as she wailed uncontrollably.
Alas, she had shown something unsightly to her family. She was not just a bad lord but also a bad mother.
She was letting her poor daughters, her dear son, and even the maids, down.
If only her pillar of support were here to support them and her like he used to. But the cruel world had already taken him away from them.
And now it threatened to take her dear beloved son away from her.
She had finally hit her rock bottom at long last.
[End of Elizabeth's POV]
***
[Emma's POV]
Emma was infuriated, frustrated, and— she tried to hide it but— she was also very deeply distressed.
Her mother, whom she had known as a gentle and caring, but incredibly strong-willed woman had broken into loud and pitiful wails.
And while her older sister and the head maid tried to console her, it had already shaken the entire household, seeing their central pillar break down like this.
And it all happened because of that one wrong decision!
She clenched her teeth, burying the oncoming tears with the uncontrollable hatred she felt. It was all directed toward none other than herself.
'It's all my fault! I should have gone with him. Everything is my fault! If I were there, I could have protected him. He even asked me to go with him. I shouldn't have refused. I…'
She looked at the gloomy scene in front of her and her heart burned with a wave of evergrowing anger, frustration, and with a deep hatred for herself.
She felt something crackling and hot inside her. Her mana had suddenly started to flare.
She tried to control it, but for some reason, she couldn't keep it calm right now.
'What the hell?'
Feeling something odd, she quickly excused herself from there. It felt wrong to leave others like that, but at that moment, she didn't know how to console them. She was useless. She was never good at dealing with such things. She was a terrible daughter and a horrible elder sister.
Just thinking about herself mopping like a little kid just a while ago made her feel disgusted and hateful towards herself.
Why was she acting so self-important when she wasn't even the one who was affected the worst by this… horrible incident. Her mother, her strong-willed and cheerful mother was crying and she was still thinking of her own issues.
Nobody seemed to mind her leaving. Nobody likely realized she had slipped out.
Though, to her surprise, one of the maids reluctantly followed her. It was her assigned maid. Unlike Alex and Alice, who were taken care of mainly by the head maid, she had her private maid. But she didn't need her. Not right now.
"Go back, Cathleen. I don't need your assistance right now."
"B-But, young miss—"
The maid tried to resist, but Emma wasn't in the mood to make her understand and relent calmly. She was not in the right state of mind. So, she turned furiously and shouted, her words carrying small waves of mana.
"I SAID GO BACK! What part of 'I don't need your assistance' do you not understand, you doofus?!"
And the maid cowered from surprise and fear.
"Y-Yes, young miss… P-P-Please forgive me…."
She watched as the maid went back to her previous position, her head held low and her body shaking.
Emma left the room soon and made a beeline for her room.
'Damn it, I shouldn't have shouted at her like that. She was just doing her duty. What is wrong with me?! Why am I acting so pathetic! Why am I so damn useless and pathetic?!'
She had always been aware that she had a short temper. And that she needed to change that habit of hers. And she was changing, as a matter of fact. Little by little.
But this incident seemed to have made her regress back to her old self from 2 years ago. No, it was even worse right now.
Her core flared, her mana now going in a spiraling vortex. She felt something crackling inside. It was starting to get hard controlling it and it hurt her chest.
She quickly changed her plans and rushed towards the only place of solace she could think of, away from others. Perhaps, subconsciously she wanted to run away from this situation, this reality. The reality where Alex was not with her. Where she wasn't such a terrible person.
But the main reason in her mind was her strangely acting mana.
…
She clutched her heart, her hands groping her bigger-than-moderate breast in the process.
Her heart was pounding at the speed of sound.
What distracted her from the constant pain were the fluffy cushions on her chest. They were getting bigger and bigger as she grew and she had, on a few occasions now, felt that they might grow too big if they continued to grow like this— like her mother and older sister Olivia, in a couple of years. She didn't want it to grow that big, though. It was already annoying to deal with them as they were now. They were but a hindrance to her.
That distraction only lasted a few moments, however, as the pain brought her back to reality.
'Ghh, it really hurts!'
Her heart was racing, and all her feelings were whirling into a growing typhoon of emotions.
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong with her right now. She could feel it. This was not a normal reaction, even to the news. Her heart was beating too fast, her nerves were flared, it was getting hard to breathe and her brain was on fire, making all her senses scream at her to do "something." To tell her something she had never known— but was there— inside her.
"What's… haa… happening to me?"
She huffed, and with a tired frown tried to ponder, but that wasn't ever her strong point. She believed in actions rather than thoughts. Instead, her mind was distracted for a moment and her thoughts went back to Alex, and before long… she was back in a pit of self-loathing.
'Fuck. I am so useless! I was supposed to console my mother and others. I was supposed to act like an adult. And here I am, acting like a child, suffering from… depression? I don't know! This is pathetic! I'm useless! I'm stupid! I'm—Aaaagh! Stop. Stop! I said STOP!'
She shook her head wildly, clutching her mind, her eyes now bloody and her mana seeming to erupt from her core in a giant wave of tsunami.
She clenched her fist and it crackled.
Her emotions ran rampant, she couldn't think straight. She turned to the tree where once she and Alex trained not long ago. The memories started swirling and straining her mind, making her even more agitated. Her eyes narrowed and in front her vision, only the tree remained.
'Alex. I…'
Subconsciously, she started pouring mana into her right hand, in large amounts— dangerous amounts, in fact.
Her right hand burned and throbbed, and her bones seemed to churn and crackle as multiple emotions seemed to run rampant inside her.
And while she winced in that agonizing pain, it also felt right. She deserved to suffer for her mistake. It was all her fault that her brother got kidnapped. She was angry. She was infuriated!
'I… '
"Aaaargghh!!!"
Finally, her dam broke. With a loud and coarse cry, she brought her tightly clenched fist, clad in violet lightning, and punched the tree with all her might.
All the build-up mana in her hand was released in a torrent of crackling violet lightning, followed by a familiar "force" emerging as a residue, which she knew was the effect of the Maximus sword technique when it was used with mana.
But this purple lightning was never part of that technique. This was new. Something she had never seen before.
She didn't have time to think about that for long, however, as she watched the lighting violently ripping through the thick trunk of the tree, tearing and shredding it apart, creating a gaping hole where the insides were now charred and still burning. The area near it was charred by the residual lightning bolts and swept away by the strong gale of the force.
Not long after, the tree fell with a loud bang due to losing its support.
And then, so did Emma.
[End of Emma's POV]
***
[Alice's POV]
Alice stared nervously and worriedly at her currently weeping mother. Her own tears traveled down her fair cheeks, unbeknownst to her.
Her attention momentarily drifted toward the letter fallen on the carpet. She was afraid of reading it, but she also wanted to know what was in that letter that suddenly broke her unbreakable and strong-willed mother.
After mulling over it in her little head, she hesitatingly and nervously picked it up to read it; nobody stopping her from doing so, thankfully.
The letter read:
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[This letter is for my family, the Marquis Maximus family. In particular, to my mother. Make sure to give it to her and ABSOLUTELY DO NOT READ THE CONTENTS YOURSELF!!!
…
Mother,
I know you and the others have been worried sick about my disappearance. I was surprised too. But know that I'm safe now…]
'Brother is safe!'
Alice's lips curled up in a small smile, relieved to hear this news. But she was still confused about the situation. So, she continued reading.
[…I admit going out yesterday was a mistake on my part. I should have been more careful of my status, of the risks it possessed, I… should have listened to you, now that I think about it. And I'm really glad I didn't have any of my sisters with me. I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if they got caught up in this mess as well…]
Alice had been quite upset about that, but her unhappiness about her mother's decision was long gone and only the longing for her brother's safe return now filled her thoughts. She wanted to see him. It was so painful to be away from him for even a day. Let alone be aware of the terrible reason why it happened.
Even since 2 years ago, she had become so close to him and she wanted to keep staying close to him. Every day, every hour. He was now her best friend, her idol, and the best big brother that she could ever ask for. (A/N: Don't you even dare make any connections to 'that'!)
The only reason she didn't latch onto him the entire day was because of her classes and she didn't want to be a bother to him, especially when he was training and studying hard.
Interestingly, she had once tried to train herself too, but she quickly gave up on that endeavor. She was too frail and lacking stamina for the kind of training she had seen her brother and big sister Emma do.
…
[I was lucky to be saved by a strong and chivalrous passing traveler. I couldn't know their identity though, nor did they want to be known or rewarded by our family. I did have to personally give them a substantial payment in return, though, since that seemed fair… But let's not talk about that. It's not important. Moving on.
I wanted nothing more than to get back home to you. But— and I'm really terribly sorry to put you guys through this suffering knowingly—… I felt really helpless during that whole incident, to be honest. And from this incident, I have realized how weak and carefree I had been till now. I never knew that the world was such a dangerous place and that we were not completely safe from these dangers. That I had been ignorant of the dangers of outside till now, staying in the safety and comfort of the mansion…]
Her 13-year-old self tried to comprehend the meaning of it and shook in fear.
'The world is a dangerous place. We're in danger if we go outside.'
Such was her takeaway.
[…And I know you'll be saddened and worried sick about my inadequate and honestly stupid decision since I'm only a 15-year-old boy who has barely reached adulthood, but— I can't come back immediately. I am ashamed of my weakness and I can't come back home just yet.]
She was confused.
If the outside world was dangerous, why would her brother stay outside? He should be inside. What was there to be ashamed of? It didn't make any sense.
[…I need to do something about my weakness. I don't want to remain weak, mother. I want to be strong, like my father, and be capable enough to protect myself and my family...]
She had a few memories of her father even though he died when she was fairly young, but she remembered how strong, tall, lively, and affectionate he was. She loved him dearly.
'Brother wants to be like father?'
She contemplated it and came to a rather harsh conclusion for someone like her.
'Father was strong but he still… died.'
She loved her father dearly, but she hated that he had to leave frequently to go to dangerous places. She now understood, a little, that it was a necessity, but that didn't change the sad ending it led to. What was the point of glory and fame, when you were not even there to experience it? When it caused your loved ones to suffer. To her, it meant nothing.
It was because he had to go outside into the dangerous world that he made everyone, including her, unhappy when he… died.
So, to her, her brother's decision seemed absurd and dangerous. He was walking the same path. She shook, imagining something really horrible. To distract herself, she quickly started reading further after wiping her tears off.
[I know this is highly irresponsible of me to leave you guys worried sick like this, and I didn't want to put you through this either. I'm sure father would've scolded me for this if he were here… Or maybe he would have been proud. I don't know. He was so… lively and headstrong, so to speak…
But this incident has once again reminded me of my nightmare from 2 years ago. I still remember that dream— no, nightmare, in which I lost my family and everything. That I was not strong enough to protect myself or keep my family happy. That's why I changed my attitude and started training to improve myself, but… it clearly wasn't enough. I'm still weak. Too weak!
… Mother, I promise to come back as soon as I can. And when I do, you can scold me then to your heart's content for my foolhardiness. And I promise to apologize to all of you. I'll even be a good boy and listen to whatever you say…]
Between her confusion, tears, and unhappiness at the news, she still managed to feel a warm feeling from that one bit.
'He'll be back.'
But she didn't know when. She hoped it wouldn't take too long.
[…But until that time comes, please stay strong and don't worry too much about me. I promise I'll return home. I swear on the goddess's name!... wait, will I be cursed if I did that? Uhh…
-Alex
P.S.: Tell big sis Olivia, Emma, Alice, and others I'm really sorry to them too. I promise I'll make up to them when I return. And please tell Laura that I explicitly order her(and request her) to take care of you and your health. I don't want to see you in poor health when return. I love you.
---
Her mind had been constantly wondering about him, about her big brother.
Why was her brother leaving his home after such a terrible and scary incident?
Why did he want to stay outside and train?
Why couldn't he do so inside?
She didn't want to stay away from him. She wanted to be near him. He was so very important to her. Without him, her life would be gloomy.
"Big brother…"
'Why are you doing this? Come back, please. You're making everyone upset, big brother. You're making mother and big sister Olivia cry. Big sis Emma is very angry at you.'
And of course, it hurt her too. It made her so very unhappy.
She wanted to say all this, but she understood. Even as a 13-year-old, she understood why he was doing it. Of course, it didn't make her happy at all that it had to happen this way.
… Did it really have to come at such a great cost? She couldn't help but ponder.
She couldn't grasp her big brother's intentions even though he said in the letter quite clearly.
The idea that this letter could have been fake never seemed to cross her mind, however. She knew by heart that it was her big brother's letter. It was real. And he had, for his reasons, left her alone, unhappy and lonely.
"Big brother…"
She stared at the letter as she sobbed silently.
"Come back soon, please…"
[End of Alice's POV]
***
