" Victor, tell me, have you ever truly felt the love I showed you throughout these years ?"

The cold man just stood still while staring at his stepsister hatefully. He was undoubtedly unmoved by her words. In his heart, there was no human more vile than her. Even in the last moments of her life, she was still pretending to be just a simple innocent girl who had been wronged all her life.

"Love ? Adelaide,you know better than anyone what about you did all this time. You don't live anyone, you're just a selfish woman who doesn't care about anyone but yourself. "

The woman clad in blood felt undescribeable despair in her heart. All her life, she never cared for her own desires and preferred to just live for others. Yet, the person she loved the most was calling her a selfish person... that statement alone was enough to break her fragile heart.

Due to the intense sadness, she began to lose rationality and started laughing.

" Selfish ? Hahahah ! I'm selfish ? Tell me, Victor, in what way am I selfish . Have I stolen from another ? Have I hurt even a single person in my entire life ? You know nothing, fool. You've been ignorant all your life. How can you see reason even if it's displayed clearly in front of you. "

The man didn't show even a trace of surprise at the woman's words. Indeed, he couldn't exactly say how was she selfish. He heard countless rumours of her vile deeds. Yet, there was no evidence that proved her wrongdoings. But that didn't matter. He never particularly cared about justice. To him, reputation is what matters. Having a stepsister that ruined his reputation due to her rumoured bad deeds was enough of a reason for him to hate her.

" You murdered children even if you were just just a few years older than them, you stole the fiancés of countless women with your seduction and you even disfigured Bella's face. Now, she couldn't even bear to look at herself in the mirror and it's all your fault! "

" Wha- ... Hahaha, all this time, I've trust you. I've always believed that even if the whole world betrayed me, you would never betray me. Yet, here I am,... standing on top of a magic circle which will curse me for all eternity and I didn't even do anything to deserve this. "

She then torn apart the long sleeve of her dress revealing various injuries that was never seen by anyone except herself and her late parents. She had many scars, bite marks and even a burn on her arm. The sight left the man in a state of speechlessness. Even if he had seen the face of a woman who was disfigured, it was nothing compared to the severity of the marks on his stepsister's body.

" Two days ago, your beloved Bella tried to whip me to death, only to fail thanks to my healing magic ability. Then, she even drugged me and offered me to an old man as a *****. Three weeks ago, a group of engaged men kidnapped me and tried to make me their mistress. Luckily, I was able to escape. Yet, the woman of those men were jealous of how much those men cherished my beauty and tried to disfigure me. In spite of that, I still managed to save myself but as I was holding the knife in my hand, Bella suddenly rammed towards me and I instinctively slashed at her to protect myself. But, those things never really mattered to me. The only thing I cared about constantly was the incident 20 years ago. That night, I was saving a young boy's life who got caught up in a fire. Despite the fierce flames surrounding him, he stared into space expressionlessly. Despite being afraid of fire, I still ran towards that boy as fast as I could to save him. However, my luck wasn't very good that day. A piece of burning wood fell on my arm and I gritted my teeth in pain but didn't dare to stop running just to save that boy. When I got hold of the boy, I quickly carried him to safety without healing my arm. In the end, his death was avoided but with a heavy price that I still bore now. The burn wasn't healed on time and the mark never left my body. Tell me... can you guess the name of that boy ? "

The confused man just stayed silent and looked to his side. His subordinates spoke nothing just lowered their head silently. Getting no response from his aides, he just straightforwardly asked about the identity of the boy.

"Who is he ? "

In truth, those subordinates knew of every single thing that happened to the woman but none of them was dating enough to interfere as nobody wanted to offend their heartless employer. Each one of them knew that if an individual offended their boss, not only would they suffer but also 3 generations of their familes can be considered doomed.

Suddenly, a voice spoke a familiar name and everyone's attention was turned towards him.

" Victor Rilles."

The cold man suddenly turned violent as soon as he heard the name. He quickly grabbed the defenceless man by the collar and started questioning him.

" Are you looking for hell, dumbass ? Do you not know what name is that ? That's MY name! Why the heck would I be involved in a fire 20 years ago when I was adopted that year, you ingrate ?! "

Although it was a hurt expression was evidently showed on his face. He kept silent. He didn't even bother looking at the violent man in the eyes. His complexion was slowly turning pale yet, he didn't bother breathing. He just stayed still while being raised in mid air by the collar. It was as if he already decided that he'd rather die than surrender to this lawless man this time.

In the meantime, the lady just shook her head in disappointment. She knew that the beast-like man was ignorant but she never expected him to be unaware of his own past to the point that even his subordinates knew him better than he does. In that moment, she knew, even if there was any warrior brave enough to tell him the truth, he wouldn't have believed him anyways. So, she turned a blind eye towards the attitude of the man's cowardly subordinates. That was until a foolish man signed himself up for a deathwish by telling the violent man his own name before he got adopted by the woman's family. She just watched the brave yet foolish man's actions quietly. However, when the man was truly gonna die from suffocation, she couldn't just sit back and watch anymore.

" Thank you, Leonard Genes. May you live happily with your loved ones. "

As soon as she was done saying those words, she clicked her finger and the man who was previously on the verge on death disappeared into a gust of ashes.

The fury-stricken man was slightly surprised by the vanishing of the man. At the same time, he knew of the only person that could such a spell on such short notice so, he just turned to face that person again.

" Where did you sent him ? "

" Haven, where you can never reach him or his blood-related family members nor his loved ones. "

An annoyed expression was pasted on the man's face. He originally wanted to torture the living daylights out of the man's body. However, his wishes was suddenly challenged by a lying witch who was about to die and be cursed for all eternity.

" Tsk...why bother ? Saving him isn't going to benefit you in any way, b*tch. "

" I know. It's just a disgrace for such a brave man like him to die by the hands of a monster like you, Victor. Even a dog doesn't bites the hand that fed him. "

" Who are you calling be a lowly dog , you lying B*tch ? "

" Victor Rilles, I saved you out of kindness that night. Never would've I ever imagined that you'd forget that just because my family never mentioned it at your face. I must've been truly been blind to save you that day. How I regret it. "

In truth, the woman never regretted her decision that night. She was happy that she was able to save a young boy's future. Yet, she was slightly disappointed that things turned out worse than her fantasy of a happy family.

The only reason she was insulting the monster of a man was to taunt him into either getting into the magic circle or flaw the magic flow of the magic circle. As soon as either of those happen, she could surely escape easily. However, such a move was risky. There was a possibility that his emotions might cause the magic circle's magic flow to accelerate and lead to her doom.

Unfortunately, she lost the gamble. The overwhelming angry inside the man accelerated the magic flow and the magic circle quickly lighted up as the magic power required was finally sufficient. Seeing this, the man's anger which faded as he grinned sinisterly.

" Heh, you lost, Adelaide. It's the end. May you never find happiness for eternity. "

Then, everything went black. The woman's eyes started crying bloody tears blinding her eyes and pain unlike any other started biting away at her sanity. She shouted numerous times in vainas no one came to help her and when the pain finally stopped, she died.

"Ugh...w-where am I ?"

The woman who had been lying on a pale white hospital bed suddenly blinked her eyes several times to adjust to the brightness of the room. Right before she wanted to question herself about her identity, a sudden rush of memories came flooding towards her like a Tsunami. Each scene played in her mind as if she was the one experiencing every scene her was seeing.

" Aaah...... !"

In surprise, she let out a shriek as she looks at her pair of snow-coloured hands in terror. In the memories, she saw herself as a beautiful fair woman who's body was perfect in every way. Yet, as soon as she woke up to take a look at herself, all she saw was cold pale skin.

Hearing such a loud shriek from a room that was left unattended for a long time, the nurses nearby quickly ran to inform the doctor. As soon as the doctor came into the room, the whole crowd was speechless.

A woman clad in snow fair skin was standing while looking at the mirror with shock. Even though the skin was as white as snow, the hair and lips retained its original shade of the night sky. The obvious contrast would usually make a person run away with horror. Yet, when such conditions were fitted into a women with the most perfect assets known to mankind, the looked like a goddess of ice, overlooking both the enchanting white snowflakes and dark black ice.

All of them just looked at the woman wide-eyed and kept wondering if that was really the same woman who had been lying in bed ever since the accident 3 years ago. Although the doctors monitored her condition occasionally, she was never this beautiful when she was unconscious. It was as if the empty vessel of a body have finally found a soul and the body is complementing the the mysterious soul.

Sensing the presence of people other than herself in the room, she turned towards the frozen audience. Her steps was soundless and graceful. Yet, every move was as cold as ice. It was as if she was skating on ice.

" What's the date today ? "

"Huh ? "

The staff who were done being stunned by her beauty just showed a confused expression. As far as every one of them knew, she had been sleeping for so long that she should've been at least scared or concerned by looking her sudden growth. Yet, there she was... calm and collected. She was so calm that she didn't even bother crying or being timid. It was as if it was as if she hadn't been in a long coma but instead a night's sleep.

Seeing the doctors standing still without a single response, the woman became impatient and repeated her question in a stern tone.

" What's the date ? "

"..."

" It's 21st August 2313, miss. "

While everyone else was speechless, a little nurse who was at the back, heard her question and quickly responded to her.

"Oh,... it's been 3 years. "

The woman felt strangely clear-headed despite being confused by what was going on. And among one of the things that she was sure of was that she should've been dead. Yet, her she was more clear about the situation than everyone in the whole room despite being diagnosed with a mental disorder.

" Can I get out of here ? I'm taking a walk. "

The doctors just starred the miracle and wasn't even listening to her request. Nevertheless, they still nodded without bothering to listen about the woman's request.

Gaining the doctor's permission, she move her legs out of the room silently. Everyone else just stood still except the little nurse who escorted her out of the room and guided her towards the open-roof garden.

The woman just kept walking along the corridors while being guided by the nurse. Even when she was in the elevator, she just stood still while the nurse pressed the button to get to the open-roof garden.

When they finally got there, the woman finally took a deep breath and soften her gaze. She then turned to the little nurse beside her.

" What's your name ? "

" It's Liliana, miss. "

Liliana wasn't the least bit intimidated nor stunned by the woman's beauty. Although she admired her but that was it. She held her in great admiration and look at her as a strong figure that she wanted to be in the future.

Meanwhile, the woman was intrigued by Liliana's bravery and thought that she was interesting so, she just let her be beside her and started walking around the garden.

" I'm Adelaide. I guess your superiors are supposed to this but... please look after me."

Seeing her newfound idol socializing with her, she quickly grinned from ear to ear and her happy mood became even better. She even felt that her idol wasn't as distant as she originally thought. This earned a very special for Adelaide in her heart.

"Of course! It'd be my honour to, miss. "

After getting enough of fresh air, Adelaide finally decided to go back to her ward.

" Liliana, let's go back. It's getting chilly out here. "

"Yes, miss."

As soon as Adelaide and Liliana entered the ward, a young doctor fully dressed in white was waiting for them. He was sitting on the chair beside the bed while going through some medical reports.

When the doctor heard the 2 girl's footsteps nearby, he quickly put down the documents and went towards the pair.

His steps were stable up until his eyes finally met Adelaide's. Her chilling cold gaze made the doctor half halted his steps but thanks the doctor's professionallism, he managed to compose himself in front of the woman and started inspecting her from a feet's distance. Then, he scribbled something on the file in his hands and gave a long sigh.

"Miss, I don't know what came over you but I'm glad that you finally woke up. Even so, I never expected you to just go on a walk after a 3-year long coma. Anyways, how do you feel, miss ? "

"Fine."

Hearing such a long line, Adelaide was starting to get annoyed with the doctor. However, she was still sensible enough to not ask him to get out. However, she wasn't exactly interested to cooperate with him either.

"That's not exactly helpful, miss. Can you tell me if you have any confusion or questions ? Perhaps, do you feel ill anywhere or are you feel dizzy or something ?"

"Dizzy, you're noisy. Dirty, I wanna bath."

Although Adelaide was being slightly offensive however, the doctor paid it no mind at all. Firstly, it was because he was used to such comments. Secondly, it was because he himself had a background strong enough to protect him if any issue arises.

"Got it. It seems that you didn't encounter any problems with your cerebrum nor body. Your manner of speech is also good and you're also sweating regularly. Anything else ? "

As soon as Adelaide was about to ask him to get out, a grumbling sound came from her stomach. Although any other girl would've blushed in embarrassment, Adelaide didn't even bothered to care because she finally got a good excuse to get the talkative doctor out of her ward. So, she just bluntly spoke her needs.

"I'm hungry."

" Oh, your internal organs are functional fine as well. Okay, that's it. I'm done. I'll see you tomorrow, miss."

"En."

Then, the doctor quickly took his leave leaving the two girls behind to their own devices.

Seeing the doctor finally leaving the ward, Adelaide and Liliana let out a short sigh. They were both glad that they were finally done with that noisy doctor.

Then, Liliana turned to grin at Adelaide. Adelaide just maintained her cool she trying to figure out what the girl is thinking. Whatever she's up to, Adelaide had a feeling that it wasn't anything too bad or too annoying to be death with so, she just let her be.

" I wanna take a bath. Can you show me the bathroom ? "

" Oh, right, this way, miss. "

The little nurse quickly agreed and dragged Adelaide towards a nearby glass door. Although slightly annoyed, Adelaide just chuckled it away since the scene seemed amusing for some reason.

As soon as the glass door was opened, a luxurious bathroom with an extensive amount of facilities was revealed. Even though Adelaide has just woke up from a 3 year long coma, she wasn't so dense as to believe there was such an exclusive normality in a hospital thanks to the memories which she suspects isn't hers.

" Liliana, why's there a bathtub in here ?"

" Umm.... who cares, miss ? Might as well clean you up since it's been so long since you took a warm bath, right ?"

" En."

Adelaide just the little nurse change the topic since it wasn't all that important anyways. After all, it's just a personal inquiry so, it's pretty much irrelevant even if she knew.

While Adelaide was undressing herself and putting on a white towel around her body, Liliana was adjusting the water temperature so that it wasn't too cold nor too hot for Adelaide.

" Miss, the water is ready. You can come out now. "

" En. "

Adelaide came out of the changing room with a towel but took it off when she was about to enter the bathtub. Then, she gave it to the little nurse. Her ***** body exposed her silky smooth skin and hourglass figure. Although her black hair was common however, when it fluttered against her pale white back, one could not help but be enchanted by the beautiful contrast.

Seeing such a thing first hand, Liliana could not help but stand frozen in place for some time before composing herself and carefully watching the young lady bath peacefully. Before long, she couldn't stand it anymore and was dying to at least brush her hand against the dark hair that looked like elegant black ribbons in the water. So, she came out with an excuse to fulfill her desire.

" Miss, how about I wash your hair for you ? I've worked at a salon before so, it'll definitely feel great and - "

" En."

Adelaide was too lazy to listen to her ranking do she just interrupted the girl and agreed to her suggestion without thinking much.

" A moment, miss. "

Getting Adelaide's approval, Liliana was beyond elated but hid her excitement deep within her heart and maintained a modest expression as she went to take some shampoos and conditioners to do her task. Then, she sat behind Adelaide's head and started washing her hair as gently as possible.

" Miss, is this okay ? "

"En."

After about half an hour of soaking, Adelaide rinsed off the soap and clean up her body. Then, she got out of the tub and dried herself up with a towel and quickly got herself dressed up while Liliana was emptying the bathtub and putting all the toiletries back to its original position.

Then, she went back to her bed and waited for dinner. After having porridge for dinner, Adelaide couldn't help but move around her bed in boredom. After watching the scene for at least a few minutes, Liliana couldn't help but inquire about the lady's actions.

" Miss, what's wrong ? Is the bed uncomfortable? Or are you having a stomachache ? "

" I'm bored. I can't sleep. I want something to do. "

Hearing Adelaide's answer, Liliana thought for a while before a light bulb suddenly lit up in her little mind.

" How about a game, miss ? There should be a chess set at the reception outside. "

" Perfect! "

Since Adelaide was dying to do anything, her face glimmered as soon as she heard about the chess set. So, she quickly agreed to it.

The nurse quickly went outside to borrow the chess set. After a while, she came back with a wooden box that resembled a chess board.

" Miss, I got it ! "

" En. Help me arrange it. "

After all the chess pieces were in its rightful positions, the game began. Although Adelaide's eyes were shunning like a young child, every one of her moves was as decisive as a strategist. Her skills improved so rapidly that after Liliana's second win, Adelaide never lost again. Each of her moves had at least one back up plan that was covering up for a few more back up plans.

After Liliana's 10th consecutive lost, she completely gave up on defeating the lady's horrifying talent.

" Miss, you're too good ! Are you bullying me ? So mean. "

"It's not my fault that you're so predictable, Liliana. You're so straightforward that I didn't need to think much, y'know ? "

Liliana couldn't refute against Adelaide's words. She heard that comment countless times when she played with her family. She knew that although her skills weren't bad she wasn't a flexible person so she could only win the first few times and usually ends up losing to that person when they eventually figure out her style of playing.

However, she was unwilling to admit defeat. So she thought of another way to win against the lady.

" Then,.... I'll ask someone else to play for me !"

Liliana stormed out of the ward and started asking around for anyone who had free time to play chess with Adelaide. Many people was excited to see the rumoured 'sleeping beauty' that had just woken up after a 3 year long coma so, they agreed to play chess with her.

As a result, each person who played against Adelaide entered the ward happily went out with either a gloomy, angry or crying expression. Every one of them lost miserably.

On the surface, Adelaide was just making simple moves but only those who became her opponent knew her ruthlessness. She wore a poker expression while making almost irregular moves without battling an eye, confusing the opponent about her intentions the whole time.

That night, a rumour started to circulate around the hospital about a girl who just woke up ftom a coma but got possessed by the ghost of a Chess Maniac. Many didn't believe it. However, those who had a shift that night knew that the rumour was undoubtedly true. All they could do was silently pray so that Adelaide got discharged quickly so that the cause of their nightmares can finally disappear.