Karma Butterfly (ENG)

Prologue

Originally a tagalog novel.
You may also check the original version for advance chapters.

༼⁠ ⁠つ⁠ ⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠ ⁠༽⁠つ

The wind was strong that afternoon. She tightly gripped her weapon as he watched the man walking not far away. Behind him, a group of soldiers with various weapons followed. With each step in her direction, unpleasant memories flowed through her mind.

"Markeus," she whispered fiercely into the wind.

She caught a wicked smile in the distance before they halted their walk. She grew even more infuriated. How could he manage to smile after what he had done to her?

"So it's you, Avery," he said calmly. "What a surprise."

Hearing her old name being called by him makes her want to puke. She shudders every time she hears that name. She tries to calm herself down, even though rage is already flowing through her system. She takes a deep breath and forces a slight smile.

"I didn't realize there's still room for your awful behavior. You haven't changed at all. You've just dressed up nicely, accompanied by your men, but you're still worthless." She saw the smile on the young man's lips slightly faded. "Do they even know what kind of person you are?"

The soldiers behind him murmured softly seemingly alarmed. "I notice you're still talkative, Avery. It's not surprising for people like you. After all, you were exiled for being a traitor."

Humans tend to blame others instead of admitting their wrongdoings. It's easier to point fingers at others than to reflect on their own mistakes. A literal gaslighter. She couldn't understand where this guy got the audacity to live in such an attitude. From the words she heard, it seemed like he had no trace of remorse or conscience for what he did.

"What an asshole. But then again, that's your story. You're probably the clean one there. If I'm not mistaken, you silenced everyone who knew about what you did. Just to make yourself look clean in the eyes of others."

It's funny to think that the one who's very dear to you is the one who can stab you—damn hard. This is different from the Markeus she knew. She slowly raised her weapon and prepared her defense. You truly know a person's true nature when they acquire wealth.

"You don't need to act innocent because, between us, you were the first to kill," he said, then forcefully pulled his weapon and began to advance toward her. She began to meet his attack, simultaneously igniting the sharpness of her sword.

Her ears rang at what she heard. Until the last moment, he still blamed her for his faults. Mixed emotions of anger, dismay, and resentment coursed through her body. With all her strength, she swung her weapon before it clashed against the man's armament. The collision of swords created a strong gust of wind. She was pushed back slightly before she once again dodged his next attack.

It seemed like time slowed down at that moment when their eyes met. She could not have imagined they would end up in this situation, and it's just sad it happened.

Ten years ago, an incident occurred in the kingdom of Cornelia. Avery woke up from a deep sleep upon hearing a knock on her door. She groggily opened her eyes and rubbed them.

"I'm coming in, Avery," the young boy outside said before opening the door. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Markeus smiling at her. "Good morning. Father and I arrived early, and I couldn't wait for you to wake up, so I came here."

She was 15 years old during that time. Since then, she and Markeus have always been together. They both decided to stay together until they grew old. They knew each other's personalities well, and their families were also close. It was not surprising that they frequently visited each other's palaces.