"Perez, you don't love me. You love my sister, Tia." The young lady said to the young man in front of her. The young man looked at her with sad eyes.
"Lea, I really love you. The one that I love is only you, Lea. Please..." The young man begging her. The lady gripped her hands and looked at him in teary eyes.
"Please say that when you were sober, Perez. You were drunk because Tia rejected you. You didn't know what you were saying." The lady said as the man fall to the ground but she quickly grabbed him and cried softly.
"Please say that when you were conscious... I really want to hear it. I really want to hear that you love me as I do, Perez..."
Azalea slowly opened her eyes and staring at the ceiling. "A dream...? Why does it feels so real?" Azalea thought before she touched her eyes. She realized that she was crying in her sleeps.
"Lea, are you awake? I had brought your medi- are you crying?! Why were you crying?! Did it feels hurt somewhere?!" Florentia quickly walked to her in worried. "Ah... It's nothing. I just had a nightmare." Azalea said and wipe the tears away.
"Perez...? As in the Crown Prince of The Empire? Why would I suddenly dream about him?" Azalea thought while Florentia bring over the medicine for her.
"I heard this medicine can slow the disease, Lea. Try it." Azalea just stare at the medicine before turned at her sister. Florentia has been working for her make she more tired and getting paler than usual.
"Tia, please just give up." Azalea said make she flinched. Azalea just put it aside and sighed slowly.
"There's no medicine for me. You're just waisting your money, Tia. Just give up and look ahead. You should just leave me here." Azalea said smiling to her. Florentia get angry when she said that.
"No! There's no way I would leave you here! Until I make you become healthy again, I'll never give up!" Florentia quickly get out from the room and slammed the door make she jumped.
Azalea just sighed at her sister and saw that she already walking out from their small house. Azalea know that Florentia will continue to earn the money and buy another medicines for her again.
"She's so stubborn." Azalea thought before looked at her feet. She doesn't feel her leg and left arms anymore. She already gave up on her life and only waiting for it.
Florentia would scolded her when she said that. Azalea smiled when she remembered their memories together.
"Ah, well... I'll leave this world sooner." Azalea thought before close her eyes. She continued to sleeping when she didn't realized that was the last conversation between her and Florentia.
Florentia didn't realized that Azalea already died when she angrily walked out from the house. Without knowing, someone appeared beside her window and land on the ground.
The brown hair woman flowing along with the winds as she was checking her condition. She closed her eyes when she feel Azalea didn't breath anymore.
The woman gently brushed her hair and sadly smiled. "I'll give you second chance." The woman said before kissed her forehead make it glowing.
Azalea was flowing in the darkness while wearing white dress. "Time to awaken your ability." She slowly opened her eyes as the glows from her eyes.
"Tell me what do you want to wish for, my dear." Azalea looked at the blue rose pendant in front of her before gripped it closer to her chest. "... I want to turn back time and save my sister and father." Azalea said.
"Your wish is my command."
Meanwhile.
Florentia joined everyone in front of Lombardi's old mansion. "I heard they were charged with tax evasion and treason." Everyone started to whispered together.
"It seems not even Lombardi's can service after being accused of treason. They were such a greet family with a deep legacy, too... Tsk, tsk.." Florentia that hiding at the crowd gritted her teeth in anger.
"Those fools. Imbeciles, dimwits. Lazy shit bags, the lot of them!" Florentia angrily said while clenched her fist.
"I told them not to trust the 1st Prince, that little brat could never become the crown prince! I warned them so many times...!" Florentia thought in anger.
Lombardi.
It was the crest of the world tree, the name that symbolizes eternals prosperity. The Empire's first ruler was crowned by the very hands of a Lombardi. As such, it would be hardly be an understatement to say that the Empire's legacy was the legacy of the Lombardi family itself.
With businesses as the foundation of their power, they amassed a great wealth, and their sphere of influence extended to war, history, art, and culture. The Lombardi name had left it's mark throughout the entire world.
The Imperial family, who had felt threatened by their power, issued a restricting order upon the Lombardi shortly after Rulac Lombardi, the Late Head of the Family, inherited the position.
But not long after, Rulac devised a scholarship system, which selected and trained highly skilled individuals from nobles and commoners alike. Talented individuals from both divisions, who were able to succeed as a result to the Lombardi's kindness, began to fill up key positions from within the Empire, and eventually, The Late Emperor rescinded the restricting order he had an issued before. But...
Florentia slammed the wall in anger. "Foolish as they may be, how could they bring the Lombardi's family to ruins within just 2 years?!" Florentia yelled in anger make everyone looked at her in confusion.
"The reason why I'm so enraged right now is simple. I used to be Lombardi once, too." Florentia thought.
"Before, I was just a girl who died from a car accident in Korea. So when I opened my eyes for the first time as a newborn baby in this world, I shrieked with joy, realizing that I finally born into a rich and comfortable life."
"But of course, that was all just a misunderstanding..." Florentia sighed slowly while looking at the medicines in the shops. She was searching the medicine for her sister, Azalea.
"My father, Gallahan Lombardi, was the third son of the late head of family. But my current deceased mother was a commoner who was never acknowledged as his official fiancee."
"I was the product of their coupling and lived receiving all my father's affection while inheriting the Lombardi's name."
"But when I turned one year old, I suddenly had a sister." Florentia thought before sadly looked down on the ground.
"Azalea Lombardi, the second daughter of Gallahan Lombardi and... My half sister. She just a year younger than me. She's inherited brown hair like Father but with blue eyes. Either me or Father had blue eyes. So, I assumed it from her biological mother."
"Her mother is actually my aunt. Aunt Eris, Mother's twin sister. I don't know what happened between her and Father but Azalea is the product of them. I always want siblings, so I really love her. She also received all of Father's affection like me."
"Even so, we could never amount to anything more than an illegitimate children. Our Father died few days before my 11th birthday, and with no one to look after us, everyone in the family began to forget that we was even there."
"I couldn't let our existence be extinguished just like that, so when I turned 15, I took it upon myself to do work for Lombardi family and earning some money to put Azalea on the Academy."
"Since Azalea is born to be a genius, she quickly graduated at 16 and helped me for Lombardi. I always told her to search the jobs that can help her by her certificate Academy but she didn't want to."
"Tia, you've done so many things for me and Lombardi. You put me to the Academy using all of your money. I want to pay you and Lombardi for raising me." Azalea said smiling to her. Florentia stare at her in wide eyes.
"... No. I don't want you to be pilled up inside here." Florentia thought. She let her working with her.
"Azalea working oversee the inner working of the house at the age of 17, after she graduated while I continued to assisted our grandfather with his own works at the age of 19 when he fell sick to illness."
"Our father's arrogant and incompetent brother and our stubborn and idiotic cousins..."
The blood slowly drip from Florentia's nose. "Tia! Are you okay?!" Azalea who was helping with their grandfather, quickly walked to her. "I'm fine..." Florentia said as she put the handicrafts to her nose.
"Those days when I could only need my responsibilities and had no power of my own... I would be lying if I said they weren't hard. But..."
"What a terrible shame... If I'd known you two capabilities earlier, I would've handed the family over to you..." Rulac weakly said to his granddaughters beside him.
"... No, Grandfather. We just lowborn half-blood. How could I lead the Lombardi when our mother was a mere commoner?" Florentia said smiled at him. "That's right, Grandfather. We're just do our jobs as your granddaughter." Azalea said while helping him.
Azalea never let the maids to clean or help Rulac since she want to do that by herself only. Except when she was needed for her works.
"Don't say that, Florentia, Azalea. After all, you two are true Lombardi. Let me, Rulac, assure you that you two are more than worthy to inherit the position." Rulac said holding their hands together.
"I'm sorry. I should've taken better care of you two, when you're still young... In the end, you're also my beloved granddaughters... I'm so so sorry, Dears." Rulac said make the two of them teared up.
"That single sentence was all it took to do me in. The reasons why I was determined to do my best for the interests of the Lombardi family... Because I truly loved it and want to protect Azalea."
"But after Grandfather died, we got kicked out by our uncles. Without any money and inheritance as a Lombardi."
"I search house for us and working around to helped our daily life. Azalea also been working as part-nurse using her certificate and make more money than me. I would refused it everytime she gave it to me."
"Two years later, I was shocked by the news. That Azalea had a same disease as our father, tlenburgh and Lombardi's family was going down." Florentia bites her lips while paying for the medicine. She walked out to go home.
"Lea didn't has any intention to get better and waiting for her death. The same as Father.... But I still searching for the cure for her because I don't want to lose someone important anymore..." Florentia thought and arrived at their small house.
"Lea, I'm home. I've brought another medicine and you need to take it this time." Florentia take off the hoodie while talking loudly. She prepared some water and bring it to Azalea's bedroom.
"I will not listen to anything this time." Florentia said opened the door. She looked at Azalea who was laying on the bed with close eyes.
"Lea, wake up. It's medicine time." Florentia shake her body and froze when she didn't feel her heartbeat. She slowly put the water and medicine on the table.
"H-Hey, Lea... Are you acting? Hey, wake up." Florentia quickly shake her in fear. Her eyes was teared up before slowly slumped to the ground.
"No... No... Please don't leave me alone..." Florentia said crying to her and holding her cold hands. She closed her body with blanket and cried loudly beside her.
"Lea...!"
That night, Florentia just finished Azalea's funeral and buried it beside their father's grave. It's been a month after her death but she can't get over it. Florentia blankly stare at the ground while walking.
"I'm alone... Lea... Father... Is leaving me alone." Florentia mumbled before she suddenly stumbled on the crosswalk. She slowly sit up and looked at her knees that bleeding.
She slowly teared up and sit at there. "I don't want to... Lea..." Florentia cried when she heard the noise behind her.
She turned and saw the horse crashing herself. Everyone was panicked and quickly helped her.
"I died from a car accidents in my past life, and now I'm dying to a carriage accident..." Florentia thought and slowly closed her eyes.
"This isn't fair... At least, I will meet with Lea and Father..."