Bastian
Chapter 164 - I Have Won

✧I Have Won✧

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

As you have wished, my heart is broken, but it has nothing to do with you. My heart was broken a long time ago.

I gave everything to win your father’s love. I was so confident that I had achieved what I set out to do. That is, until I found out that within his heart there stood a temple to the woman I had killed with my own hands. There was no other way to beat Sophia Illis, who your father worshipped. You were the one who constantly reminded me of that.

My pain grew with you!

Every time I saw you, I felt like I was losing all over again and that humiliation was passed on to my son. The day I foresaw the future of Franz Klauswitz as a shrivelled husk of his potential, I made a decision. I would do what ever it took to throw you into the abyss and I finally did it. It was quite the heart warming achievement.

Every time you broke down it made me happy. It was a confirmation that my choices were never the wrong one. Even now.

Its funny how you think your fathers betrayal can bring me down. I know all too well Jeff’s mean underbelly. I even accepted this as part of my love. I am different from you, who was hurt loving an illusion.

I have kept this love in the grave, buried alive, without hope or expectations and through that, I have loved Jeff deeper and truer than anyone, not even your mother, nor any of her substitutes or even Jeff himself. The only reason I stood on the game board was because it was a way to ruin you.

By the time you read this, everything will be at the end you wished. All the honour and power equivalent of any noble family that you have sought will be tarnished. The name Klauswitz will forever be synonymous with scandal and stigma. That is my gift to you.

Henceforth, you shall bear the name Klauswitz. This name shall prove a far more potent weapon for you than your status as a junk dealer’s grandson ever was. Your true identity matters little, for what the world truly seeks is an excuse to despise and reject you.

Congratulations on becoming a Klauswitz, Bastian. Now you have become a true heir, inheriting everything your family has wrought.

I am sure you will do well. No doubt you will bare the stigma on your own terms, ascend to the iron blood throne amidst fear and contempt. You will no doubt become richer still and stronger everyday, but as you do so, your life will become more and more empty, because you wont be able to live like your father.

I am leaving having achieved what I have longed for the most. Jeff will be forever mine and you will never be able to live properly. You will slowly wither away amidst your desires, but Bastian, what have you got really?

I know you never wanted to be rich or to amass fame. I know that you wanted the love of a good woman, the comforts of home and a child. You were once a kind hearted soul that desired such things and you still do, but you have lost that forever, you’ve dried up in loneliness amidst unwanted wealth and fame.

So I have won.

May your life of defeat continue to haunt you each time you open your eyes until forever. I hope in the next life, you will be my son, and I will grant you the entire world.

As he read to the end of the letter, the room brightened with the passage of the morning. Bastian folded the letter and put it back in its envelope. He then tossed the whole thing into the fireplace and watched the flames dance across the paper. He gazed upon the morning sky, imbued with the fresh, clear vibes of spring, swallowing the memory of the woman that had kept him warm in the middle of the night.

   After catching his breath, he continued on with his morning like it was any other day. He showered, put on his uniform and decided that he would accept the leave offered by the admiralty, but just as he reached to pick up the receiver, the phone rang.

   “This is Bastian.”

  -It’s me, Thomas Muller, sorry for calling you so early, but its urgent.

   “What is it?”

   “The demolition work, they’ve had a last minute cancellation and can bring forward the schedule. You have to act quick, though or you will have to wait for the usual time.”

   “I accept,” Bastian said without giving it much thought.

Thomas Müller looked taken aback, yet refrained from saying anything more.

Following the phone call, Bastian proceeded with his plan and contacted the Navy Department to inform them of his intention to resume work. As he hung up the phone, he turned around and beheld the turquoise sea expanding beyond the window, with the immense mansion vanishing into the distance.

He wanted to see things through to the end, be it new beginning, or a point of no return. Whatever end awaited, at least it would be better than being trapped in this labyrinth.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Odette wants to go to work and you allowed it? You’re both equally weird,” Countess Trier said, clicking her tongue.

   She put down her teacup as she watched Alma clamber up onto the stool to sit in front of the piano. She then proceeded to hit the keys at random, sounding more like a cat running across the piano. That child definitely didn’t have any musical talent.

   “Lady Odette desires to be self sufficient, it makes perfect sense,” Maximin said, smiling at his daughter.

   Countess Trier squinted her eyes at Maximin. It was last weekend when Odette had called her up and said that she wanted to work. If she couldn’t get a job as a piano instructor, then she would become a maid and if not that, then maybe a shop assistant or something, anything. Maximin was in on the conspiracy apparently.

   It was such an absurd request that Trier flat out refused. Then Odette tried a different tactic, saying that she would come to discuss things in person, but by the time Odette came to Rothewein, she had already gone out and gotten herself a job, as Alma piano instructor of all things.

   Trier looked over at the piano where the pair was sat now, Odette softly and sweetly telling Alma not to hit the key. She started to demonstrate how to properly press each key and soft music played out into the room.

   “Lady Odette wishes to express her gratitude to you for all your help,” Maximin said, smiling at his daughter as she watched, wide eyed, at Odette’s nimble fingers dancing along the piano. “But she doesn’t want to return to a life completely dependent on others. It may seem arrogant to think I know what it is that Lady Odette is feeling, but I think I can accurately guess what she desires. I think you are the same.”

   The Countess let out a little giggle to hide her shock. “I see now that you were Odette’s representative all along and not mine.”

   “I hope you are not too angry with me  and have a good time with Lady Odette.” The spring sun, filtering through the blossoming branches of flowers, bestowed a tender smile upon Maximin’s face.

   Countess Trier couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle. The way he so carefully handled people was just like Odette. Their tastes and personality was so similar. What little anger she felt subsided when she thought how the pair deserved each other.

The pair continued their conversation in a notably more relaxed ambiance, biding their time until Odette came.

The dedicated tutor’s piano lessons concluded only when news reached them that lunch was ready.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Major Klauswitz still hasn’t expressed any objections.” Countess Trier said, as the luncheon reached its natural end.

  The melodious songs of birds, carried in through the open window, dispelled the quietude that enveloped the table where only the two of them sat in solitude. Odette wiped her mouth with a napkin and faced the Countess with a faint smile. Alma had already finished and was in the playroom with her nanny. Count Xanders had left to take a phone call from his laboratory.

   “I’m hoping the divorce will go smoothly. Maybe Major Klauswitz wants that too. Separating you from him was just as beneficial for him as it was for you,” Countess Trier said, turning to look out the window. Odette nodded.

   The tragedy of the Klauswitz had reached them, even all the way out in the middle of the countryside. Odette had seen it in the newspaper sat on the shelf in the general store when she had stopped by to pick up some laundry soap.

   Having read every word of the paper, Odette was not shocked at all that Bastian was taking it all in his stride and he ended up absorbing his fathers business. He had shed the shackles of society and was ready to fly.

   “Count Xanders doesn’t seem to have any desire to have a successor. I think he wants to raise Alma and live a quiet life,” Countess Trier said. “I think if you continue a good relationship with him, it may become something more.” Countess Trier lowered her voice so as not to be overheard.

   “Oh, don’t say that, Countess. I haven’t even properly settled things with Bastian yet,” Odette said calmly.

   “Oh please, things are already settled, why wait?” Countess Trier said with a shrug. “I’m not suggesting you jump his bones right away, but the path is already set for you. Its not like you’ve permanently lost the ability to have a child. Once you’ve recovered your health a bit…”

   “You’ll have to excuse me, Countess,” Odette said, standing up and doing her best to hide her face, which she was sure glowed a brilliant crimson colour. “I should really get to work, today is the first lesson and I don’t want to be late.” Odette dropped a fork and nearly tipped over her cup as she tried to leave in a hurry.

   “Oh my, Odette,” Countess Trier said with a giggle.

“I heard that you plan to stay here for a day and then return. I’ll stop by one more time before you leave.”  Odette, flustered, quickly left the dining room.

   Was it a mistake to bring up the topic of having a child?

   Countess Trier, lost in thought, turned her gaze back to the window, where she looked out over a field of wild flowers.  Odette had collected her belongings and was making her way across the garden. She walked beneath the noonday sun and unfurled her umbrella after reaching the entrance gate of the villa.

The Countess found herself unable to avert her gaze from the scene until the water-blue dress hem, dancing in the spring breeze, faded away into the distance along the road.

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