Monica Croft
Daughter of Duchess Christine Croft.
Our House does hold immense power in the capital as one of the chief supplier of militants and weapons.
My father died after few years of my birth during an expedition with his subordinates.
I was unable to accept the fact at that time, maybe because of my age or something.
But, eventually, I came to accept it.
For that, my mother had a major part to play, due to her strict upbringing of me and my elder brother, Dustin Croft, currently the Vice President of the Student Council.
My mother was a great administrator, as she continued our House' legacy without my father.
Despite there being plenty of oppositions to her being the Duchess of House Croft, she came out victorious in each and every negotiation, for which I respect her.
She is my role model, and after entering the academy, all I wanted was to become like her.
Strong, Powerful, and Unwavering.
I tried my hardest to achieve that goal.
Grueling training hours, accompanying her to major meetings, and most importantly discarding my emotional attachments.
I did all I could do to achieve her level of capabilities.
Everything was going smoothly, until I joined this academy.
My brother was already an established senior here, so I had high hopes and expectations to prove my worth and further my knowledge.
And it was going well too
However, one particular incident took everything away from me.
My brother died.
My esteemed mother died.
My House fell apart with the Branch Families fighting for its control.
In one clean sweep, it was all over.
All of this happened due to one single person.
Dorian Valen.
The name once burned like poison in my veins.
He was the one who took everything from me.
My brother… dead.
My mother… gone.
House Croft, shattered—its foundations ripped apart by internal strife and opportunists. It all began the moment Dorian Valen stepped into our lives.
When he was finally executed, I felt something I hadn't in a long time.
Relief.
Not joy. Not vengeance.
Just… silence.
I didn't even get to kill him myself. But it was enough, or so I thought.
And then, without warning—
I woke up again.
Same place. Same time.
Back to the moment I first joined the academy.
At first, I dismissed it as some vivid illusion—a nightmare, maybe, from the stress.
But then I saw her.
My mother, alive.
And Dustin, my brother, still teasing me like he always had. Everything was perfect again. Too perfect.
I kept my thoughts to myself, observed every detail. When the realization hit me fully, I was overwhelmed.
I had gone back in time.
But why? How?
I didn't think it had anything to do with Dorian's death. Time travel? Regression? These were fairy tales.
Still, I knew one thing for certain: I had been given a second chance.
So I didn't waste it.
I hunted him.
Stalked him.
Watched his movements, waiting for the moment he would begin to twist fate again. And before he could… I killed him.
But then—
It happened again.
I woke up, once more, at the same point in time.
Again I killed him.
And again I returned.
It kept happening—no matter how many times I ended his life.
That was when suspicion began to grow like rot in my mind.
Was Dorian's death the reason this loop kept resetting?
It seemed absurd, but I couldn't deny the pattern.
Still, I didn't want to believe it.
Not until that day outside the city gates.
I had lured him there under false pretenses, ready to kill him again—but not before asking him something that had been eating away at me.
I was ready to confront him—really confront him.
To look him in the eyes and ask:
"Do you even remember any of it?"
But before I could, he laughed.
A quiet, knowing kind of laugh.
And then he asked me something I wasn't prepared for.
"Is this the first time we're having this conversation?"
I froze.
That moment shattered something inside me.
But the man in front of me didn't feel like the monster who ruined my life. His eyes were tired. His voice calm. He looked… hollow. Like someone who had seen too many loops, too many betrayals.
And for the first time, I questioned everything I had believed.
What if Dorian Valen was never the villain?
What if I was the one painting him that way?
The realization—no, the possibility—shook me.
I left him that day.
Without stabbing a dagger through his chest. Without vengeance in my heart.
I walked away.
I didn't know why.
Maybe it was guilt.
Maybe I was scared I'd kill him and wake up again.
Or maybe… I just needed time.
And now, here I am again.
In this courtroom.
Watching the same boy—no, the same man—being accused of a crime I know he didn't commit.
Laurel Barriston is lying.
I know it.
Because I've seen what she becomes. What she does.
I watched Dorian cry out in disbelief, his voice breaking as he defended himself.
And for once, I felt something twist in my chest—not anger, not triumph, but something disturbingly close to empathy.
He wasn't guilty.
Of that, I was now certain.
But I still said nothing.
I just sat there.
Watching him be condemned, as the chains of fate rattled back into place.
And somewhere deep down, beneath my carefully constructed mask, a voice whispered something I didn't want to hear:
"What if you were wrong?"
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Author's Note :
Comment about your thoughts on this monologue.
Her character would be important for the first arc of Class Division Exam.
Also, if you like the story, feel free to drop a review in the Reviews section.
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