A merchant knows that nothing comes for free and he had learned his lesson while watching his elder brothers from afar. His eldest brother Nick was already owning the village's coffee shop where every man would go and have a coffee or drink along with the rest. Their father's work at the rice fields made sure that Nick wouldn't have to spend a single day of his life planting rice with his feet inside the swamp's mud.

He was always clean and well dressed, serving his customers while learning every little secret which was supposed to remain one. He was one of the most wanted bachelors but Penelope was the one who managed to marry him. It wasn't love at first sight. It didn't even come close to love at last sight since Penelope was notoriously known for being a ruthless bitch who couldn't let anyone or anything stand on her way to her desires. She would never chicken to go to any lengths to get what she wanted. Once she decided that it was time to marry Nick, the arranged married was officiated sooner than anyone could expect.

Her mother in law, Catherine may have been respected all her live but Penelope was to be feared. She was the woman you would never want to step on her toe and she wouldn't hesitate to curse her own family in case she felt threatened.

Nobody knows the exact time of her death. She died alone and was found hours later by her family. Penelope had the bad habit of stealing whatever she wanted and going to a private place to enjoy it or hide it. That day she had stolen the chicken from the casserole, leaving behind the soup and a few bones for the rest of the family. When they found her dead body on the floor, they realized that a chicken's bone was stuck into her throat.

A stolen piece of chicken suffocated her to death confirming once more the solid belief that whatever you may send to the world will eventually come back looking for you. Nobody shed a tear for Penelope. Nobody missed her. Everybody knew at least one curse she had sent to destroy other people's lives and it was common knowledge that once you call the devil as your servant it's only a matter till he serves you on a platter.

Nevertheless both Nick and Penelope paled in comparison to Philippe, Catherine's middle son. He was the cosmopolitan one. He may have been the shorter one compared to his brothers but he was always fashionably dressed, wearing his pair of glasses and a tie from his huge collection. He was a lady killer and no woman could resist his charm regardless of her marital status.

Philippe was the one who got to travel abroad to the free lands selling their products at the big cities while living his best life. He was the one to make the deals and none ever dared to defy his authority on that even when numbers didn't add up. His charm wasn't used only upon women but it was a gift he consciously abused to get whatever he wanted abroad while everyone pretended to be ignorant.

He knew that family controlled everyone's finances back home, so each time he traveled to the free and prosperous lands to sell their products; he always kept a cut for himself without ever admitting it to anyone. Decades passed by before his unavoidable family confrontation. As it turned out all those years that their father was planting rice along with his workers at the swamp and his brothers were working daily without taking a single day off, he was buying houses at the most expensive areas of the city.

He was filthy rich and he wasn't going to return anything back to the family in order to redeem himself. The moment their father, Constantine showed up to the city out of the blue only to find out that the rumors were true, Philippe knew that there was no going back to his homeland without returning all that he had stolen throughout the years from them.

This could have been a great chance for the prodigal son's redemption but Philippe desired wealth and an extravagant lifestyle way more his father wish upon his death bed for a prosperous life. He didn't bat an eye while he was announcing to his father that he had no intention of ever going back to the poverty stricken village to live the rest of his life among dirty, unpolished boors. He stayed at the lavish city and never looked back, making a living out of his charm and his numerous houses.

He eventually married a wealthy woman, moved even further to the free lands, living of her fortune which was mandatory to be offered to the groom as a gift at that time. He didn't even return to be buried at the family grave. This was considered to be a huge disgrace since only bastard sons were deprived of their birth right to it. Nobody can really tell how many bastard descendants he had through his life but death did him justice.

Regardless of which God was worshiped at the village, depending on the era, no one ever doubted that Death was the ultimate ruler of that land. You could cheat life, people, even Gods with witchcraft but you could never cheat Death who would eventually reveal to everyone the life you chose to live upon his calling.