Cerulean Waves | Duke Ergi

Chapter 8

"Ophelia, has there been any rumors about the Duchess of Tuania that I am not aware about?" She queried, taking a piece of strawberry cake.

She was back at the Valea manor, peacefully eating desserts outside their garden. The young lady wore a much more casual floral dress that flowed down just below her ankles.

Other than the meetings regarding the diplomatic ties between Luipt and the Eastern Empire, she hadn't really left the manor. She was too preoccupied with reading books that may be of help in resolving the current problem they have been discussing in the past meetings.

Thankfully, the issues about the decreasing of mages did not worsen for the past few days so she didn't have to be worried about her father and brother overworking too much. Her older brother even brought her a souvenir that he got from one of his travels for the ongoing investigation. He saw a shiny gem on the way and had it incorporated into a necklace because its shade reminded him of her. It had just the right amount of blue and green, like her eyes.

"I don't think so... Oh wait!" Aria looked at the brown haired girl, waiting for her to continue.

"It has been going around how Viscount Landre has been acting like a lovesick puppy after dancing with Duchess Tuania at the ball. But other than that, nothing of great interest has been spreading about her." Ophelia informed the Lady Valea.

'I had originally thought that Rashta was foolishly attempting to spread a rumor to change the public's attention away from her. But it seems that she was just naively going around with a silly mouth.' She offhandedly sipped her tea. 'Even so...'

Suddenly, she stopped from drinking. The chamomile tea in her cup felt odd. Its usually sweet taste was slightly more bitter and it smelled a bit pungent. Even from just taking the smallest sip, her head felt a bit dizzy.

"My Lady!" She heard someone shouted as she felt herself cough out something. The hand she used to cover her mouth had blood in it. More specifically, hers. Before she knew it, she had lost consciousness and fell from her chair.

Luckily, Ophelia caught her just in time before she could hit the hard ground.

***

Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings. Even without opening her eyes, she can tell that she was somewhere very comfy and fluffy. She concluded that she was most probably laying on her bed.

As she continued to ponder, she noticed that the atmosphere felt a lot colder than usual. She subconsciously pulled the warm blanket closer to her body.

Finally deciding to open her eyes, she immediately closed it back from the sun's rays coming from the open window. The young woman repeatedly blinked until her eyesight adjusted to the brightness of her surroundings.

Looking around, it seems that everything is as orderly as it is before. There was also no one in the room aside from her, until a tall figure entered.

"Ria! You're finally awake." Amaris exclaimed as he quickly ran towards her.

"I knew I should have helped you more in fulfilling Father's duties. If I did then you wouldn't have fallen ill."

"Don't be ridiculous. If that were to happen then it will be you in this state." Aria said with a tired smile, her older brother's concern for her deeply touched her heart.

"How long has it been since I woke up?" She inquired, making a move to stand up. But Amaris stopped her as he put a hand on her forehead, tutting. "Don't stand up. You still have a slight fever."

Aria slightly huffed, but didn't said anything against it. The older brother paused before answering. "It has been 15 days."

"Pardon?" The young woman couldn't believe what she just heard. She slept for that long?