EMBRACE || a violet evergarden fanfic #1

XXI

  It was a few long minutes of deadly silence. I did not know whether I had given the correct answer ; because the Marchioness had looked pale. She started shaking her head vigorously, as if she had not believed it.

I watched as she took several steps backwards - staggering in her every step. She tried to turn to run away ; but Dietfried was faster. Despite his pain, he managed to fire an arrow from a pocket crossbow he had pulled out of his side and it had slit through the Marchioness's ankle, making her tumble and fall to the ground.

"Master!" I heard Akashi's voice exclaim.

The both of us glanced upwards, to the position where the Marchioness had been standing just moments ago. Akashi was there ; so was Kaji and Akihiko. We hurried up the grand steps, which was now filled with bloody foot prints.

"Violet," Akashi greeted briefly when he saw me, his eyes widening as he looked back at the Marchioness, who was crawling away even after she knew she'd lost. "We tried, but we still couldn't get the information we need out of her." He explained.

I followed his gaze and pursed my lips. "May I ... have a word with her alone?" I spoke up.

The four men all looked over at my direction, exchanging glances of confusion - but they did not object. Dietfried calmly nodded and said, "We will be in the other room if you need us."

Once they quietly escorted themselves to the room just beside ours and the doors gently clicked shut, I stared down at the Marchioness. "Are you taking pity on me now, girl? Is that all you do?" She sneered.

"I am not offering you any mercy," I shot back with calmness in my tone, "not after what you have done to both Gilbert and Dietfried. The Bougainvillea and the Rhododendron households may still repair their broken ties with each other ; with my absolute certainty that they would forgive you. But not unless you bring us the flower we need to cure Gilbert."

Her brows furrowed, "You have no idea what you are even talking about, girl."

"With all due respect, ma'am. You are still a young widow with a beautiful figure. And you still have the chance to marry someone even after you have murdered the Marquess. You can have that chance, however, you'd have to start thinking quickly because you do not have the time," I told her, "you will bleed to death eventually, and I'm sure your servants are already as petrified as they are seeming that you have bodies loitered across the residence grounds."

"Foolish war tool," she seethed under her breath as sweat dotted across her forehead.

I lifted my chin high as I said, "I may be a war tool, but I am more of a human than you can ever be. Good day, murderer."