I Don't Want to Be Loved

While her husband was loudly snoring as he slept, Leticia slowly got up from her bed. A strong smell of mint was coming from her husband’s decrepit sick body.

That’s why her own body smelled of mint.

Leticia clicked her tongue and slid one leg down the bed. As she did so, a white thick liquid slid down her legs. She wanted to immediately wipe this disgusting liquid off her legs, but since doing so might wake her husband up, she didn’t.

Leticia put on clean pajamas and headed to the sofa. There, she reached out her hand towards the unfinished bottle of alcohol her husband hadn’t finished the night before, but stopped herself. It would do her good to abstain from alcohol for the time being. It was best for her to keep this seed within her for as long as she could. This way, once she’d slept with the King for a night, she would be able to argue that it was his child.

Leticia sat down, thinking that she’d soon be in the arms of the man who held the highest position in the kingdom, not this decrepit old fool.

Just thinking about that made her happy. She felt as though she was finally being rewarded for all her sufferings. If she could steal the King’s heart now, considering his ill relationship with the Queen, then, all those who’d one singled her out for being a bastard orphan would look at her with envy. She wanted to exact revenge on every person who’d once made her suffer. Obviously, the Queen would be the first to be punished.

While her mind wandered off, she suddenly heard loud noises coming from outside. Leticia looked at the door with a disgruntled expression. What were the servants doing at this time of night to cause such ruckus?”

“My Lord, my Lady!”

The butler suddenly burst into the room. Leticia stood up and yelled with all her might.

“You! How dare you enter…?!”

“My Lady, there’s been an emergency! There are soldiers breaking into the mansion!”

The loud snores came to an abrupt halt. Viscount Olbach woke up after hearing the butler’s screeches and rapidly rose from bed.

“What? What did you say? Soldiers?”

“My Lord, it isn’t just soldiers, the royal army…”

Before the butler could finish his sentence, armed soldiers appeared right behind him. The butler screamed, terrified, running off to hide in a corner.

Leticia, however, looked as though she hadn’t yet grasped the situation. Just as the butler had said, the symbol in the soldiers’ breastplates belonged without a shred of doubt to the royal army.

Why would the royal army be here?

Leticia looked at her husband. While she was pondering whether he’d committed some sort of grave crime, a voice rung through the silence of the room.

“Are you Mrs. Leticia Olbach?”

They didn’t mention her husband’s name, but hers. Leticia turned her head, her eyes wide open. The soldiers’ sharp-edged swords were directly pointed at her. Suddenly, Leticia belatedly realized the royal army had come to arrest her.

“Yes… I’m Lady Leticia Olbach…”

Without further notice, the soldier made a sudden gesture with his chin, and two other soldiers came forth. They each grabbed one of Leticia’s arms and started dragging her out.

“Let go of me!” Leticia screamed and thrashed while she struggled. “Why are you arresting me? How dare you lay your hands on a noble lady such as myself!”

“You are under suspicion of murder”.

Upon hearing this, Leticia remained silent for a while. Then, her lips started trembling.

“Murder charges?”

“We’re talking about your father and Viscount Olbach’s previous wife. Besides that, you have also attempted to murder the Queen”.

Leticia was enraged. This is most definitely because of that bitch. She acted all calm and dainty, as though she didn’t know anything, but deep inside she was plotting all this!

“With what evidence? You are arresting me without any evidence! Do you think Count Clovis will remain still while this happens? You! Why are you standing there like idiots, without doing anything? Go tell Count Clovis what’s happening, now!”

Hearing Leticia threateningly yelling at her maids, the soldier let out a small giggle.

“Did you say evidence? The person who’s testified against you is Count Clovis himself. He’s confessed all your crimes”.

“…what?”

Confused and dumbstruck, Leticia fixed her gaze on the soldier who’d just spoken.

“And that’s not all. He has also confessed that you used somebody else’s identity in order to steal into the Palace’s hunting grounds. It will be hard to deny that, so just give it up already. Take her!”

Leticia was dragged outside the mansion without any shoes on and pushed into a carriage that had been previously prepared for her. As soon as the door was closed behind her, Leticia heard the sound of a heavy lock being put in place. She banged the door over and over, like she’d gone mad, but the black carriage used to transport criminals was sturdier that she’d thought.

When the carriage started moving, Leticia cuddled up inside the dark carriage with no windows. She thought of escape plans while biting her nails, but none seemed possible.

This is unbelievable.

Leticia let out a hollow laugh. She’d done so many things, gone through so much, just to reach her current position.

She’d earned the title of noble lady by becoming Viscount Olbach’s wife, and she was just about to get close to the King thanks to Count Clovis’ help. Just a little more, and she could have had within her grasp the highest title in the kingdom. But, suddenly, it all crumbled down. Now, she was going to die like this.

“Open up! Open up the door!”

Leticia started pulling on the door’s handle. She would never forgive Count Clovis. She’d been loyal to him for so long, so, how could he betray her like this? If she was going to die, she wanted to kill him too. She was not going to go down alone.

When Leticia started screaming with an ever more desperate voice, the carriage suddenly came to a halt. Simultaneously, she heard the sound of metal clashing, as well as the screams and sobs of other people.

Leticia crawled to the corner of the carriage furthest from the door and shrank her body as much as she could while she shivered in fear. The sounds she could hear in that utter darkness increased the terror she felt. Perhaps Count Clovis had sent someone to dispose of her, since he didn’t want his secrets revealed.

At that moment came the metallic sound of the lock unlocking, and the door was opened. Leticia covered her head, fearing for her life.

“Lady Olbach”.

The voice was strange, but eerily familiar. It was definitely the voice of the man she’d bumped into the other day. Leticia lifter her face. Outside the carriage there were many corpses scattered around. In the midst of that darkness, a tall masculine figure extended his hand to her.

“If you want to live, follow me”.