BLOODY LOVE'S
Extra 4: Antebellum

"Bring things outside Albion is better not to pass Bjork. Things are hard there."

"indeed not. The old lion is not dead. I heard his replacement went to Redstone."

"Ah, the miracle-maker," the nickname was uttered in a mocking tone. The only female voice heard. "He escaped?"

"I heard you got kicked out."

The sound of laughter slowly crept.

"Hush! You heard what happened to Spencer and Hastings, right?"

"certain. Why do you think the old man married Chantall?"

"ah! To hide his slaughter?"

"Crazy! Mubazir is right Chantall! How does he want to? Better with me!"

The sound of laughter appeared along with the dirty jokes.

Jacob smokes cigarette smoke from his lips. He deliberately went all the way to Delton to escape the name Argent, but even in the dimly-fed stalls of Delton he still heard his uncle rumored.

"Keith" he called slowly.

Keith, his assistant who was also at the same table, immediately leaned over. A smile spread across the young man's lips. He is old with Jose. "You're asking me to clean them up, Jake?"

Jacob shook his head. Cracking down on petty gossip in dim stalls will have no end. This is his uncle's business. He will not interfere. "It looks like the person we're waiting for isn't coming. We go home—"

"Chantall was even dead, I saw him walking with his fat stomach," the sound of the bell sounded very clear, even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of human chatter, he said, because the person chatting was in the cubic sitting behind Jacob.

"Maybe someone else's child. When anyway? It was only the middle of last year that they got married? July or June. How fast could that be."

"I heard that he was impotent, too" the others responded with a laugh.

"Considerate. You know his nephew here? He hasn't had a child in years."

"Maybe impotent too."

"Maybe his wife is barren, God's punishment."

They laugh again.

Jacob slammed his glass on the table, got up, then turned around kicking the wooden partition behind him to collapse. People shouting. The sound of the glass breaking and the wood rolling colored the air.

***

Olivia is not surprised to see Jacob come home in such a mess. Her husband was warm-blooded, not infrequently involved in fights. But Jacob always wins, so he doesn't worry. "Who else did you beat, honey?" greet him while tucking the corner of Jacob's lips.

Steward, their butler, immediately came carrying a cold towel. Jacob shook his head. "So it's been compressed, no problem anyway" he said, sitting in the living room. He held Olivia's hand. "Everything okay at home?"

"good. There was a letter from Bjork." Olivia reached out to Steward, who immediately took out and handed him the letter she had kept. The letter had a seal seal with the emblem of two crossed swords. Olivia slammed it on Jacob. "When viewed from her writing, it seems to be from Mother. I haven't opened it."

"I told you you could open the letter that came?" Jacob menukas's. He broke the seal candle and read the letter inside it quickly. "Mom asked us to come to Bjork."

"Why?" Olivia patted her thigh slowly, just remember it is now February. "In company of Aunt Jane? The delivery time's gonna be a little while, right?"

"Maybe." Jacob shrugged his shoulders. She does not remember her aunt's age. "But as far as I'm concerned they don't get along, it's hard to believe I asked us to come for Jeanne. It says here, I'm lonely. Jose who always makes the house so noisy has moved to Redstone. It's Garnet's entertainment, but she's now more at Redstone than Bjork."

"When do we leave?" ask Olivia. "I'm packing now?"

Jacob folded back his letter and handed it to Steward for safekeeping. "You're so excited."

"I can't wait to meet Aunt Jane and Mom" Olivia said cheerfully. "Time passes quickly. It feels like they just got married yesterday, just know they have children. Aunt Jane wanted a boy, but Uncle Rolan said she thought it was a girl."

Jacob did not respond. Olivia immediately changed the topic of discussion to be about trivial events that occurred today. Sometimes he felt that every time he brought up a child, Jacob became easily offended. It was surprising for Olivia because she felt her sadder self. People sneered at him in the back, deeming him infertile. They had been married for nearly seven years, but there was no sign of a child's presence. It felt brash, but Olivia was a little jealous of Jeanne who was so easy to get offspring. His aunt's marriage age wasn't even a year.

"We're leaving later in the afternoon" Jacob decided. He called Steward, asking him to prepare everything.

"Later in the afternoon?" Olivia shop. The distance from Delton to Bjork takes one day. "Why rush?"

"Mom will call us as usual if it's just kangen." Jacob got up from his seat. "A little odd to me because I need to send a letter with all the seals. I wonder what exactly is going on. You remember what happened the last time we got this kind of letter?"

Marco disappeared and Bjork was in a state of chaos. Olivia still remembers it. He also remembers how Jacob alone faced many of the masses from Jorm. At that time she could only look from behind the window with Renata, hoping that her husband could overcome the problems that came without being hurt.

"You think there's another problem in Bjork?"

Jacob shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe not. Sometimes you give a faint sign just for a little prank. I didn't hear any bad news from the informant, so I hope everything's okay, but there's no harm in us leaving as soon as possible."

Olivia nodded.

***

"The tension in Bjork is getting higher" Keith warns before Jacob leaves. The man was one head shorter than Jacob, but his body was quite stocky. Keith initially preferred to wear denim and labor-typical overalls, but since accompanying Jacob everywhere, he changed his dress style to a semi-formal suit. "Many do not like it because they think your family is privileged."

"I know," Jacob said. At first no protests were heard, but more and more unpleasant voices were trying to bring down Jose and Marco. Jeanne tried her best to put a damper on her, but the woman did not want to be too outspoken as she was cautious about public trust in the media. His efforts succeeded because all that circulated was baseless gossip.

"You don't know, this one's different" Keith said quickly. "I heard in Bjork there are still many supporters of Spencer and Hastings. The two people did a lot of amal—"

"To wash away sins" Jacob scorned. He was still in the living room, waiting for Olivia to get ready. "I know that. Many people hated the name Argent. We beat up some of them this morning."

"You hit him," Keith's correction flat. "I even had trouble preventing you from killing them earlier. Please control your emotions at Bjork later, Jake. Don't get involved if you don't have to. The factory workers are hanging their lives on you."

Jacob's laughter exploded. He patted Keith's back hard. "Don't be melancholy, ah! I just want to go home to old people, not to hell."

"Who wants to go to hell?" Olivia stepped into the living room in a compact suit and a thick coat. Next to his eyebrows raised as he looked at Jacob. "You, Honey?"

"If so, why?" Jacob smiled a seductive smile.

Olivia chuckles. "If so, I'd like to come. I'll go wherever you go."

"Save a damn." Jacob got up and embraced his wife.

"You think you like spoiled women?"

"Only if it's you" Jacob said seriously, but his eyes shone wittyly. Keith cleared out loud behind them. Jacob laughed and continued, "Nobody missed, dear? If all is ready, we're leaving now."

Olivia looked at Keith. "You coming too?"

"To hell?" funny Keith. He grimaces. "No, thank you. You guys, Mr."

***

¬antebellum (latin): prewar time