It had been a week since she got married and got contracted to Madaline. The effects were immediate. She felt lighter and could use magic with so much ease, it was ridiculous. With power like that, it would be easy to get away with poisoning herself and escaping.
The situation in the dukedom was as she expected. Even Wilbur forgot about her existence. No one came to assign the duties of the duchess to her and she was left alone, save for mealtimes. They were as dreadful as ever but it brought her closer to her goal. If they treated her nicely, it would be difficult to implicate them when the time came.
“I slept well again today”
The duke was convinced they spent the first night together and no longer called her to his room. In her past, he only did it once every three months to avoid the eyes of both her father and the king. This gave her ample time for Alana to arrive. If she was around, the duke won’t touch her. Besides, she wasn’t planning to last up to three months either way.
Aside from eating and sleeping, there was nothing else she did. In the past, she neglected her work for the duties of the duchess, making her business crash. She received no support when she needed it since she abandoned her clients.
“I can teleport with the fairy’s power, can’t I? Let me try it”
She dressed properly, taking a hood to cover her head. The part of the castle she was put in had no enchantments so there would be no alarm if she were to leave via fairy magic. To use fairy magic, one had to chant the word they wanted in fae language to use it as a spell.
“Teleport”
A huge magic circle, with inscriptions of the ancient fae language simply reading teleport, appeared in front of her. It was a faint green color, just like Madaline’s summoning magic circle. A bright light shone and she shut her eyes. When she opened it, she was in the middle of a dark and dusty office.
“I-It worked! It worked! I haven’t been here in so long! Finally, I’m back! Huh? Am I……crying?”
The tears that streamed down her face surprised her. As the daughter of a Marquess, all she had was her business and magic research. If that went to naught, she was just the pretty-faced daughter of the Marquess.
The dark and dusty office belonged to her. It was left bare since she hadn’t returned in five long months, the time it took to prepare for a wedding and become the duchess. Her father forbade her from working since it would interfere with her work. In the end, she could only wish her workers well through her brother. But now-!
She opened the door of her office, revealing the workshop. It was hot and messy, even messier than her office. There were about 15 people there diligently working and shouting at each other. They were a mess of different ages, aces, heights, and statuses. Among them, there was one person who stood out no matter how dull they were.
“Amaika!”
The workshop came to a screeching halt when her voice was heard. They all looked up, unable to believe their eyes. Their boss was back. The one being called, a short green-haired individual separated themselves from the crowd, walking up the stairs to where she stood. It was like time stopped everywhere, only bending to the will of the one walking.
“........master” they knelt in front of her when they arrived. She swallowed her tears, touching the soft curly green hair. This individual, if it wasn’t for her, they would’ve lived a good life.
“Welcome back, boss!” the workers shouted, saluting her. She stared at each one of their faces. It was her selfishness and ungratefulness that caused them all to live miserable in her last life. Most of them were saved from the streets by her, the kind-hearted daughter of the marquess who recycles even the worst of trash. However, they came to hate and curse the duchess she became.
“In the coming days, I will not be available to come and go freely. Even coming here today, it was hard. However, I will return one day. Until then, Amaika is in charge. Treat them as you would treat me”
“Yes, boss!”
“Come with me, Amaika”
They entered the office, closing the office behind them. Together, they stood in the dusty office, one wondering whether it should’ve been cleaned by the other, the other wondering if the first felt offended that it was dirty.
“I am sorry our reunion is short. I have two things to say before I leave. First, there mustn’t be a word about anyone seeing me today. Two, I want you to take our business to the Empire of Illumine. I want you to take everyone there and I want you to start new lives there. I will join you as soon as possible”
“I will heed your orders, master”
“Then I will see you soon, Amaika. Teleport”
She disappeared from their gaze, appearing inside her bathroom. She took off everything she wore and walked out of the bathroom. It was good foresight to teleport into the bathroom because when she walked out, Wilbur was inside the room, leaning on the bedframe.
“My lady” he bowed when he saw her.
“What are you doing here?”
“.......you were summoned by the duke. I was looking all over for you”
“Hmm…..Just give me a minute. I’ll be right out”
He bowed and left. When he was gone, she gave herself time to breathe. She was barely gone for thirty minutes so it wasn’t enough for them to suspect she was gone. Taking a bath for that long wasn’t strange either for a young lady.
She adjusted her cloth and came out. This time, he stayed one step ahead of her, leading the way to the duke’s office. In the past, the only times she went there was when she did something wrong or she stood accused of something. He always looked down on her with cruel eyes like he was waiting for her to just drop dead. She wondered how he felt when she died. He wouldn’t have cared. He didn’t care about anyone but himself.
They walked to one of the towers, the eastern tower which was higher than the rest. His office and the quarters of his parents were located there. Wilbur knocked on the door and announced their presence. They walked in and it was like she was put in front of a judge. She curtseyed.
“I greet you, my lord”
“Since you’re the duchess, you need to start getting used to your duties. You can’t be eating and sleeping anyhow you like”
“I was waiting for your grace to summon me. I will do all that is asked of me”
Trying to bully her into submission was like punching cotton. He felt a strange kind of frustration. It was funny because while she hated his cruel judgy gaze, he hated the aura she had that made her seem like she was better than everyone. Just seeing her reminded him of why they were married.
“I’ll send Butler Corren to attend to you. You may leave”
{You want a poison that will make you seem like you are dead?} “I want to slowly escape this place after all. I want to go somewhere without the reach of my family or this kingdom. The best place to go is the Empire of Illumine. This is the reason for my contract” {You changed your mind about dying?} “If I die, it will change nothing. I want to get rid of this regret first” {You know
Since she spent the better half of her first married year looking up and down for the elusive man, she could recognize him and his route even in her sleep. No one was assigned to help her so she bent her back to find and persecute Cage. Even the lowly guards of Traisen mocked her, the duchess who chased after another man. There were rumors that he was her secret lover. The descent of her reputation started from there. “I wish I were his lover. He is a better man than Fredrich would ever be”When she finally met Cage, he eluded her grasp more than one. He said his hobby was messing up noble ladies, seeing them descend into depravity, giving them the pleasure their uptight husbands couldn’t give. Because she was so intent on finding him, it made her his next target. Natalia fell for his sweet words and started to look forward to seeing him more. She had her dignity as a noble so she didn’t fall for him but the pleasure that Fredrich couldn’t give her tempted her. It was
The stuffy air of the carriage was hard to endure when the breeze was fresh outside in the city. Everything the man in front of her harped entered one ear and came out of the next. It was okay to ignore him, especially as she searched the crowd for familiar faces. Even after 10 years, her memories were still fresh, making her mission easier.“Milady, we would alight here. Please hold on to this”“Thank you” she smiled, taking the tablet. It had traces of fae magic which in the past, burnt her fingers when she took it. It was one of Wilbur’s many pranks. In the past, she flinched whenever she touched it but when she took it, even after a burn appeared on her hand, she didn’t flinch. The carriage door opened and she got down, leaving the stunned butler inside.It was the
“Who are you and what do you want from me?”“KNEEL”He fell to his knees, the dagger dropping from his grasp. Her heels rested on his head, pushing it into the ground. He felt her cold eyes rake over his body and the chill that accompanied it. “This is the last time I would tolerate such behavior from you. I am your master and you serve me. I don’t need to answer your questions”“I do NOT have a master,” he grunted, struggling under the hold. “If you defy me one more time, you will be granted the chance to lose an arm. I’m sure that would be quite unfortunate going through the forest of damnation” she quipped. He was immediately calm, clenching his teeth. “Good. Let's try this again. I am Natalia Adamantine. Just a few days ago, I was married to the Duke of Kristen. I have enslaved you for one purpose only, to get out of this hell hole. You have two options, get me out and I free you from your hold or die right now and I take over your little squad. I can
{Do you need me to heal that for you?}“No, that’s not the reason I called you, Madaline. You live in the forest of damnation, right?”{Do not call our home with that terrible human name}“......I apologize”{Yes, I do live in the forest of Telra. Do you need anything in particular?}
"Congratulations on solving the case, your grace. Thanks to you, the illegal trading ring had been uncovered and the town's peace had been restored""There is no need for thanks. I was just doing my job. Make sure to handle this well so his grace is not disturbed with such petty matters again""Yes, your grace"Natalia finished the pleasantries and returned to the Duke's mansion. She looked up to the skies and thought even if they were a bit gloomy, it was still a nice day. Why? The Duke's beloved was arriving that day!"You seem pleased, my lady. I'm sure his grace would reward you for a job well done""I don't really need a reward. I'm just relieved that I made the lives of the citizens a little better" she smiled brightly. Wilbur could almost see a halo over her head, inspiring a feeling of guilt and disgust in him."I'm sure the citizens are glad that you're the duchess""Please, I'm not deserving of the title yet. U
It was impossible to not have heard of the Castle on the Edge. Even for a forgotten princess, hearing gossip of the Duke’s life in the Southeast was easy. All she had to do was listen in on the chatty maids doing laundry behind her palace. It was also how she heard he was getting married. Lady Natalia Adamantine. She was well known and loved in the capital by the common people. The nobles showed her courtesy in front of everyone but behind her backs, there were many malicious words being said. Alana thought they were just alike. Everyone spited her for being the bastard born into the royal family even though she didn’t ask for it. Her days in the palace nowadays were quiet and long. In the past, she would be maltreated by mere servants but now, she was left to rot like a spiderweb in the corner. The reason for this was none other than Fredrich. It happened suddenly. One day, the abandoned palace got a visitor. The place buzzed to life, the servants hurriedly cleaning
The door swung open and a shocked Fredrich stormed into the room. She took a sip from the tea she was served, setting it down delicately. Late into her past life, she learned etiquettes to reinforce herself in society and push herself to the position left vacant by the now married Natalia. She rarely got the opportunity to see Fredrich rattled. She had seen other things, including the expiry of his heavenly beauty but the Grand Duke still didn’t lose his cool. Still, he wasn’t her hope for survival.“Your highness, you didn’t tell me you were……….”“I had a sudden invitation from the Young Lord Sebastian who offered to take me on a tour of the kingdom. Since he was heading here, he brought me here. The Duchess…….didn’t seem to mind”Does she remember her past life? She didn’t look like it. She hasn’t changed. The total disregard she had for me and the elegance she has, how did I think I could beat that? Why did I……even hate her in the first place?“You met Natali