The Duke's Unwanted Wife

She thought he would reject her or act shocked enough for it to pass. But he took the lead, kissing her just as passionately. He pulled away first, staring deep into her eyes while his chest heaved, slightly out of rhythm with hers.    

    

"I…have to go," he said under his breath. She didn't reply but he left anyway, turning into a wolf to travel faster. Reagan's gaze was on his back the entire time but he didn't move. Fredrich was the first to explode.    

    

"NATALIA!"    

    

"What are you being so loud for? I apologize for interrupting the meeting like that but you asked me to show you how important he was. He's the last thread of my sanity. So, if anything happens to him, rest assured, all of you will feel my pain" she said, her gaze predominantly on Reagan.    

    

"In the end, a woman is still a woman. I thought the illustrious Flower of Ducroft would be a virtuous woman but you're as crass and loose as a vixen," Arken loosely commented.    

    

"You must feel like the virtuous one, Crown prince Arken. Don't think we have forgotten about the rumors of you sleeping with your own sisters. Except, it wasn't just a rumor, was it? I honestly just have pity on Princess Ariella who's truly in love with you. If you choose to open your mouth carelessly, you won't have a wife or child anymore."    

    

She did what everyone else couldn't and shut Prince Arken up permanently. Fredrich still had veins popping in his neck so she decided to put him down once and for all.    

    

"You have no right to be angry, King Fredrich. I do not owe you anything, rather, I'm the one owed an apology. Not only did you repeatedly try to kill me when we were married, you abandoned my body to rot and used me as an excuse to kill the royal family. Not only that, you did not waste time to marry the woman you claim to truly love. Did you really think I would remain below you my entire life and be faithful to you despite all you have done? You've known me for a long time but have I ever been a fool?"    

    

Everyone waited for Fredrich to say something but he just sat back down. Reagan wanted to persistent but he had a feeling that Natalia wasn't going to back down either. He sat down, grinding his teeth.    

    

"Now, can we continue?"    

    

While a meeting was going on, on Earth, there was one happening in the heavenly court. All the gods were present and thought the arrangement was a bit weird. The seat of the Queen of gods, which was usually empty, was now occupied by a child. Madaline's eyes dared someone to try to challenge her. Nobody tried to, especially with Quene standing beside her.    

    

"Madaline, why have you called this meeting?"    

    

"I wanted to address the elephant in the room. The continent of Teisha, why is it not on the map anymore?"    

    

"Madaline, did you ascend just to throw accusations around?"    

    

"If that is what it looks like, Uriel, then that it was it shall be."    

    

"Madaline, we can tolerate your blatant disrespect any longer. Just because you were the Queen's familiar doesn't mean you can act like you own the place!"    

    

"Well, Cessaire, why don't you challenge me? I'm just a newly ascended god while you've been here for centuries. I know you can do it."    

    

Cessaire, the god of calamity, shut his mouth. She raised her eyebrows but no one else had complaints.    

    

"Since the heavenly court became divided, no less than 5 continents have miraculously disappeared. There are only three continents left and the reason why they still exist is because they are strongly being held together by Nataroth's essence. So, do you still think Nataroth's decision to withdraw from the human world was the wrong one? I remember the day you all challenged her decision, thinking you knew better but now, you are trying every method, desperate to see the humans survive. In your pursuit of power, you have failed to see that our world is slowly dying."    

    

"What are you talking about this time, Madaline?"    

    

Madaline looked at Quene and he opened his hands, a projection of the world appearing over his hand. It looked normal, a sight they had seen before. The image flashed and in its place was a damaged, fractured map with only three patches of land and several other areas covered with dark decay slowly spreading.    

    

"What's…that?"    

    

"The result of the original gods dying. The world we live in is dying without because it has gone unnoticed and untreated for centuries, we have reached this point. You have all sped this up by encouraging the humans to destroy each other in the other continents. We live under the illusion that the other parts of the world are still perfectly healthy while they are barren of life. I should know, my kind had to flee their homes, taking a seed of the original Yggdrasil tree with them. If nothing is done about this, our world would become desolate. This is all I wanted to say. If you don't believe me, then you can do whatever you want. But if you do, then you can come to me and I'll tell you how we will save this world."    

    

"Why won't you say it here?" Uriel asked, a look of suspicion on her face.    

    

"Because I know there's a spy among us and I won't contribute further to the destruction of my home. Quene," she turned to the god of wisdom. He snapped his fingers and they were gone.    

    

Finishing with the meeting, everyone left with the exception of Fredrich, Reagan, the Queen of Polivia and Natalia. They stared each other down until Reagan finally decided to speak.    

    

"I didn't know you were fond of taking what isn't yours."    

    

"Seeing that you have a history of owning things that are not supposed to be owned, I can say that whatever you think I took from you isn't yours."    

    

"Give him back!" He punched the marble table, creating a dent in it. Everyone there stared at the dent and Natalia raised her brow.    

    

"No."    

    

"You wish to draw the empire's army to Polivia?"    

    

"And you want to bet that you will lose your position as the crown prince before that happens?"    

    

Like he was dumped with a bucket of ice water, he became quiet. She finally took a seat, turning to stare at both men.    

    

"I'll say it once. Neither of us are your property. Maybe we used to be in the past but you can be sure we have no desire to be beside someone like you. Or did you think that once you found me alive, you would drag me back to become your puppet while you sleep with that whore of a princess? No, I think the adultery was more interesting to you. How does it feel to be legally married to the person you claim to love? Is it fun? No? I don't harbor any pity for you, especially since I know what will happen to you in the future. Did you know, King Fredrich, that your wife is infertile?"    

    

Fredrich's eyes widened. Natalia smiled and continued.    

    

"Oh, but that's not all. The curse you think has been nullified because you became a semi-transcendental is still there, especially since the one who cursed you is now a god. Karma is very, very hard to escape, King Fredrich. Enjoy time now while it lasts, because it is ticking and the good times, peaceful times, will soon tick by. And Crown Prince Reagan, I do think you have occupied that seat for far too long. I can do Marvis a favour and take you out of that position. I am easily capable of that since I'm the granddaughter of the President of the Merchant Association."    

    

"And you think you can save them like that?"    

    

"I can very easily plan your demise right here in front of you and you won't be able to stop it. You'll just wait for death to come. You can ask his majesty here if I'm capable of doing such a thing. I'm the kind of person who despises unnecessary violence so I won't cause trouble if you don't start it. But if you want to diminish my patience, then by all means, go ahead."    

    

There was a full ten minutes of tense silence between the three of them. It was broken by the Queen of Polivia.    

    

"Are you all done?"    

    

"I apologize, your majesty. I must've wasted so much of your precious time. We can leave now."    

    

The Queen stood immediately and Natalia followed her. They started walking until Natalia heard her name. She stopped and turned around.    

    

"I…still can't let you go."    

    

"And why would that be, Fredrich?"    

    

"You have never stopped humiliating me since when we were young till now. You've always seen me as beneath you."    

    

"You are the most selfish and vile man I've ever met in my life and I am sure I have met so many evil men in my life. I've always humiliated you and looked down on you? You can close your eyes all you want but the only reason why you didn't become a pariah in high society is because I always defended your honor and made you out to be a hero in front of everyone. Yes, I pitied you but have I ever used your father's death to mock you? Can you remember the time I have ever mocked you? I used to love and respect you, King Fredrich. I used to think that you were only rough on the surface and deep down, you still had a heart. I held that faith for so many years and when I got married to you, I thought I would be happy. You ruined me and you say I'm the villain? Don't you think you're too old to be delusional? I'm done hoping you will change. I did as you wished, as I've always done. Now, we can pretend like we have never known each other. Goodbye."