บท 18: Ruin
Lumielle was reminded of her past on such a day. Staring so vividly at the flowers outside, her fingers touched upon the petals. She had always adored flowers as she had memories of her mother caressing her hair while placing a crown of florets atop her lilac hair. With her fondness for greenery, she had always found herself attracted to the gardens. It made her remember her mother—there was no use lamenting on the past.
"Did the letter from the Countess arrive?" Lumielle asked, it seemed like a useless inquiry as she knew that Evangeline would never approach her with useless information.
Purple eyes sparkled in the light, "Yes, she gave you the amount needed."
Of course, Countess Fleur did. After all, the Countess was now forever indebted to the Princess. Her life would now be hers. Looking at the satchel in Evangeline's hands, Lumielle couldn't help but smile. Indeed, money was the best. Extending her hand, she felt the weight sit snugly inside of her palm. Lumielle had asked for money from the Countess and she had delivered. All a dog is good for is obeying its master.
"Eva, let's go into town! It would be nice to see the citizens, don't you think?" She hummed smiling sweetly as the older female bowed.
As the eldest Princess, she had never left the small bubble of the palace in her first timeline. Even when she grew old enough to leave the confines of the imperial walls, she never did. A caged bird, she never realized the animosity that people felt towards her until she saw her brother's body strung up with the common folk's ridicule. That was right, she had to endear herself to the people. "I have all the preparations ready," Evangeline spoke, "Sir. Leo has the day off as you requested and the carriage is modest."
The dress that she wore was not that of a noble lady's. It was a simple attire. Lavender hair had been pulled back as Lumielle smiled, "Then let's head out, Eva!" Chirping her words, the maid followed in her footsteps. Today, she was also dawning a light-colored dress. Her black tresses had been clipped back and much to Lumielle's pride, Evangeline looked gorgeous. The carriage left the confines of the mansion and slowly rode into town.
The scenery shifted as Lumielle glanced outside the window. She had always wanted to see more of Endora, the country that her father ruled over. Being dragged through the dirt and mud, she had managed to see the leering eyes above her as she was spat upon. Cries of tyranny and murder filled her ears as she watched her brother's head get lopped off by the singing guillotine.
The town square was lively—there was not a hint of animosity. The air was fresh, there was no blood there. She had to stop living in the past; her mind wished to linger as she blinked, attempting to wipe away the memories of her brother's death. "Are you alright, My Lady?" Evangeline asked quietly as Lumielle snapped out of her daze.
"Shall we go?" Lumielle asked as Evangeline politely nodded. Her steps were light and airy as she looked at the bustling town. Young nobles walked around with their new dresses, the cobblestone ground serving as the perfect footing for children to run away. Smiles were perched on the faces of those around. Everyone looked gleeful; a clear juxtaposition to the last memory that she had of this square.
Next to Madame Flora's shop was the Moonlight Tavern; calmly, she entered inside. Her height made her inconspicuous, with a hood being able to cover most of her face. The inside was dimly lit with men and women sitting around in groups. Hushed whispers being heard as Lumielle walked up to the bartender.
"What're two pretty ladies doing here?" A man asked, she could smell the liquor wafting off of his character as Lumielle didn't even bat an eye. Evangeline quickly blocked his path. Her eyes were narrowed, hostility glinting inside of her heliotrope oculars.
"Would you mind taking a step back?" Evangeline politely inquired.
He laughed, "You don't need to act that way," he purred, "I have enough money to treat the both of you very nicely." He reached out to stroke Evangeline's face and within a second, she had grabbed his hand. Lumielle could hear the sound of something snapping as her golden eyes gazed to see the taller man on his knees, he was clutching his fingers that were twisted in an unnatural angle.
Lumielle's gait didn't falter as she placed a gold coin. Evangeline didn't even blink an eye; there was a reason Evangeline let Lumielle go into the town with only her. The young maid was not the average young woman. Gaining the older man's attention, he was polishing his glass, "I would like a 345 Whiskey, Neat."
"You can head to the back," The old man said, his eyes gazed at her.
"H-Hey what are you doing?!" It seemed that his pride was tarnished as the man who had attempted to cajole the two women stood back up, his eyes were watering from the pain that Evangeline had inflicted, "She just maimed me!" He declared pointing a finger at Evangeline whose lips were pulled up in an irked smile.
Ignoring it, Lumielle walked to the door behind the counter as Evangeline followed her, "I should have broken his arm," huffed her maid as Lumielle's eyes flashed with amusement.
She let her body follow her to the door that she had entered time after time again. Sitting in front of her was Jax. His hair was a dark green, tied up in a small ponytail. His eyes mirrored his tresses as he sat with his feet propped up on the desk, "I don't think I've met you before, and yet, you found me."
In this life, this was the first time the two of them had met. "I heard you do anything for money," she said as she gestured for Evangeline to place the bag on the table. She did so without hesitation. Swinging his legs to the ground, Jax opened the satchel with a whistle leaving his lips.
"This is a lot of money? Do you need someone important dead?"
Lumielle hated how well he knew; "Think of it as showing my gratitude. I would like to have a good relationship with you, Jax."
He smiled; "So who do you need dead?"
"You can kill him or you can keep him alive. It's up to you. I just need you to make sure that he can't work," Lumielle said giving him a picture of a man. Charles Silverton, the owner of a small motel in the capital. He had just had his third child with his wife, Jayna.
Picking up the picture, he quirked a brow, "You're letting me pick?"
Lumielle smiled sweetly, "I trust that you'll be able to make it look like an accident."
"Is that all?" Jax inquired. Looking at the pictures, he saw Charles interacting with his children and those around him. A normal man, he wondered what horrible deed he had done to anger the female in front of him. What had Charles done so wrong to deserve this? Then again, Jax would never ask.
Lumielle shook her head, "Just one more thing."
. . .
"Princess, here's the paper." It had been a week since she had gone to see Jax. Glancing at the paper, her eyes glanced through the words to finally find an article that sparked her interest. The headline read a gruesome double murder inside of the walls of a motel in the city. A child and their mother had been brutally stabbed to death; the killer still at large as the heinous crime had been another tragedy that befell the Silverton family.
Charles had been mugged the night that Lumielle had visited Jax; a stone to the head had paralyzed him from the waist down. Humming brightly, she sipped her tea, "Did something good happen?" Aris asked looking up from his breakfast as Lumielle nodded.
"It's just a good morning," Lumielle responded with a bright smile. Indeed, she was absolutely thrilled.
Waiting a couple of weeks wouldn't be difficult, after all, that was what she needed. Lumielle needed to be patient. There was not an ounce of pity for the family; what she needed was their land. It was the perfect spot to erect a cafe; thus, she would make a circumstance that gave her the land at the cheapest price. It was a shame that the family needed to be ruined for this to happen, but Lumielle would put their misery to good use.
After all, who would want to buy the land after all their business vanished and someone had been murdered there? Lumielle had orchestrated their downfall and would become their savior. How kind of her. After all, she had never promised to be a good person.
Beckoning over Eva, the female crouched down so that Lumielle could whisper in her ear, "Once the price of the land falls, buy it as cheap as you can. If it isn't below 40 gold coins, contact Jax once more and tell him to kill Jayna." Ruthless, Lumielle would not hesitate to remove an innocent young woman if it meant that her plans would be sullied.
The maid straightened her spine and nodded, "I will do as you say."
A month later, a new cafe would be built in the place where the Silverton's used to own their motel. Their livelihoods stripped away, they became poor. Food became scarce as Jayna had to give up their youngest child to an orphanage due to the fact that they could not support their family. Charles was paralyzed, unable to walk—Jayna suffered greatly from the stress and the children lost their childhoods. Suffering was equal. Lumielle had made the conscious choice to bring them misery for the sake of her own gratification. Though she felt guilty, she knew that the price of power came at a cost. She was not naive enough to believe that she could place her brother on the throne without sacrifices.
The cafe would be built and called Le'Havre Lumielle. A small cafe that used honey and had stocks of different honey to put in their coffee and teas. The money made from the cafe would be used to fund a clinic inside of the town; all the funding would be mostly free. That was her whole reason behind completely destroying a common family—she needed to build her reputation with the people. A clinic in her name was the perfect way to do so. She was correct; she saved lives with her clinic and her cafe, being the Imperial Princess's was extremely popular.
The people adored her, calling her their savior. An angel that truly cared about the common folk, Lumielle had made sure that her good deeds were plastered on the front pages of every magazine. It had been easy to buy the press; she had given them enough money to fund their endeavors and as such, her clinic became the reason she was hailed benevolent. Kind and giving, Lumielle's reputation soared.
It would be good to keep the press on her side, "Make sure that you send something to Jordan," Lumielle said as she placed the newspaper down against the table. Jordan Keiner being the head of the Daily Paper, "He's outdone himself this time." The front cover was Lumielle visiting the clinic that she had funded herself. The title reading high praises of her genuine concern for the people and how amazing the Princess was. Next time, she would have to bring Aris.
"We should get going, Princess. If we don't wish to be late," Sylvia said as Lumielle smiled standing up. Her white dress glowing in the light. She looked rather beautiful, pale purple hair had been let down, spilling across her shoulders and contrasting with the white of her dress. The embroidery was gold, matching the hue of her eyes as it scintillated whenever the light splashed across the dress.
"The Everion manor isn't very far," chided Lumielle.
Sylvia smiled, "It's better to be early than to be late."
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saemi
saemi i hope you enjoyed. i thought we saw the "nice" side of lumielle for too long, so i wanted to bring in a HARSH reminder that lumielle isn't nice. yes, she has her moments where she is kind and almost 'normal' but at the end of the day, she's a villain. BUT, we gotta love her.
if you liked this chapter, add it to your library and comment if you can xoxo
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