ログインWhen I drink the amber-colored poisonous wine, I can hear the joyful melody of a toast song coming from the manor. The wedding between Emanuela Romano and my ex-fiance, Benedetto Martini, is being held there right now. The elderly butler, Vincenzo Romano, puts away the wine glass with a blank expression. The way he speaks is as somber as one sounds when they give a speech at a funeral. "You know the Don's will very well, Ms. Andreotti. Five years are officially up, yet neither Mr. Andreotti, Mr. Martini, nor Dr. Foscari is willing to pledge their loyalty to you via the blood vow. According to the rules, you must take your own life within seven days. "The Don had left the Ashwine to you as a means of protecting… what little pride you have." Scorching pain begins spreading from my throat. I just smile at Vincenzo in return. Pride? Does a bastard spawn of a loose Iernian woman deserve to retain pride of any sort in the cruel Andreotti family? I begin making my way toward the banquet hall, which is brightly lit. As I walk past the shimmering waters of the pond in the family garden, I can tell that the waters are insanely cold. Then again, nothing is as cold as my icy heart right now. After taking a deep breath, I fall face-first into the pond… only to feel an iron-clad grip wrenching me backward. As such, I collapse onto the lawn heavily. My older brother, Alessandro Andreotti, has bits of grass covering his expensive suit. Disgust is written all over his handsome face. "Eva!" he grits out through his teeth, his voice lowered. "Must you spoil the mood on Emanuela's big day?" He then scoots closer to me, his alcohol-tinged breath fanning over my face. "You want to die, huh? Go ahead and do that, but can you die somewhere further? Don't stain the Andreotti land!" Alessandro turns to walk in the direction of the radiant lights, leaving me on the lawn, completely covered in mud. I can feel the countdown of my lifespan burning my insides. Seven days… I only have seven days to live. Meanwhile, my very own brother wants me to die somewhere further away.
もっと見るEmanuela died on the coldest day of that winter.The poison took three full days to run its course. They said her final state was horrifying. Her skin was ulcerated, and her eyes were bloodshot. She was like a rotting corpse. No one claimed the body. Her ashes were scattered into the Blackthorn River. It was where my grave should have been.Alessandro inherited the title of Don.But he abandoned the main estate and moved into the side wing that had once been mine. My room remained untouched. The Colt pistol lay on the nightstand. He polished it daily.He rarely smiled or spoke. Under his rule, the Andreotti family grew colder and more efficient, but they were also more lifeless.Benedetto tore up the marriage contract and severed the alliance with the Andreottis. The Martini family suffered for it. Their business collapsed. He never married. Rumors had it that he funded a scholarship at a university in Iernia, named after my mother, for literature students.Roberto closed his cli
Emanuela's sobbing stopped. "I only went to bring him coffee.""Vincenzo said you entered the study that day and stayed for half an hour."Alessandro opened the metal box and pulled out a photocopied document. "This is the lawyer's memorandum. It states that you suggested adding the 'loyalty trial' clause and recommended using Ashwine as the punishment.""That was Don Andreotti's idea!" Emanuela screamed. "Not mine!""Dad trusted you. Before he died, he entrusted you with the family's most secret matters. That included the location of the Ashwine and the procedure for its use," he said.He placed the recorder on the table and pressed play.Emanuela's voice filled the room. "She must die, but it can't be by our hands. The will is the perfect excuse. Yes, the poison is in the safe in the study. The code is Don Andreotti's birthday. Vincenzo? He'll carry it out. His son owes me a life."The recording ended.All color drained from Emanuela's face."You three…"She looked at the t
The first recording was dated five years ago. It was just after I had been brought back into the Andreotti family.Emanuela's voice hissed through the speaker. "She doesn't deserve it. Why should a bastard born of an whore enter this family? I'm the true jewel of the Andreotti family!""Ms. Romano, we could arrange an accident—" another woman's voice replied hesitantly."No," Emanuela cut her off. "That would be too obvious. I want her alive, but she must be in more pain than death. I want everyone to despise and loathe her until she can't bear to stay alive."The second recording was from two years ago."How are things going with Benedetto?" Emanuela asked.A man answered, "He believes it. He thinks you're the one who donated the eye back then. These are cosmetic lenses. Once you wear them, they'll look exactly like a prosthetic."Emanuela chuckled."Good. Keep an eye on Eva. If she makes a move on Benedetto, let me know immediately."The last recording was dated six months a
Alessandro stared at the screen as the color slowly drained from his face. He took a step back and bumped into the cabinet by the wall. Medical instruments clattered to the floor in a chaotic crash.Benedetto released Roberto and staggered to the bedside. He looked at me, lifted a hand as if to touch my face, then stopped halfway."Eva…" His voice was barely more than a whisper.I didn't respond.I would never respond again."The metal box…" Alessandro suddenly muttered. "Yes, she mentioned something about a metal box."He bolted from the room. His footsteps echoed down the corridor.Roberto stayed behind to tend to me. He wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth with a damp cloth. He moved tenderly, as though afraid to wake me. Then, he slowly pulled the white sheet over my face."I'm sorry, Eva," he whispered.The cloth covered my eyes, nose, and lips.I looked past the window. The moon was swallowed by thick clouds.Darkness fell.…Alessandro burst into the side win
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