The Duchesses

Chapter 23 : Are You Alright?

"Are you alright, my Lady?" the man with dark blue-haired with deep blue eyes, who remind Natalie of sapphire, suddenly approaches her out of nowhere near the Imperial Palace.

Duchess Natalie was taking a walk around the garden to get some peace of mind. Even Apollo, her lord, understands the importance of her solitude. She stops to rest when she spots a bench near some daisies. The poor woman is exhausted after the meeting. The nobility is trying to take advantage of her inexperience in politics. To a novice like her, the allure of the Smith's power as one of the Empire's powerful nobles is too great to ignore.

Apollo helped her through every step of the successorship training process. For a long time, the ex-Duke has been grooming Natalie to excel in her role as Duchess. Everything that has happened to her up until this point in her life, from the sudden death of her parents to her tumultuous relationship with Medea, has had a profound effect on her as the Duchess of Light. She doesn't have much time to dwell and mourn her parents' deaths, as her distant relatives and nobles watch her in her hour of weakness.

The usual cheerful blonde has to turn into a gloomy one. Duchess Natalie is expressionless all the time. The most shining light in her ruby eyes faded away with time, and her radiant smile turned into a flat one. The Smith household is also in gloomy weather, and the servants are affected by such occasions. Their little mistress has to turn into someone they barely recognise.

At that meeting, she met many nobles, including Marquess Hector and Duke Lucinius. She was greeted by Duke Lucinius, the most powerful noble and a personal friend of her father's. He seems surprisingly upbeat for someone who just lost a friend. It's hard to accept that he's responsible for her parent's deaths, but life is harsh. Consequently, it is not surprising that this might occur.

She wanted to strangle the man and kill him there, but her conscience stopped her. Natalie wants this man to suffer every single of her pain. Then, she saw a glimpse of Marquess Hector. She does not know what to do with him. The blonde woman cannot blame him either, but there is a part of her that wants to punch the man. It is neither his fault nor anything he did, but he fucked someone's best friend on the day of her best friend's parents' funeral.

At the same time, she is beyond wrath at Medea, her best friend. She loves her so much, to the core. But whatever happens to her is too much for her, and she knows she deserves better. So, despite the pain, she decided to let her go slowly. The Duchess of Light has done so many heinous things that she almost begs for Medea's love. But unfortunately, that woman is incapable of romantic love, and Natalie is aware of it.

Now, she should focus on planning her revenge on the Valimos' household since her cause of pain comes from there. She holds too much grudge against them. The Smiths are almost at rock bottom, while the Valimos are skyrocketing thanks to Lucinius' extraordinary political abilities. It doesn't come from him because it's almost entirely Medea's idea. But the nobles will be unaware.

She lets out a heavy sigh, leaning back against the bench and closing her eyes. At which point should she start to make the Smith prosper again while having her revenge against Duke Lucinius and his subordinates like Viscount Jonathan? Then, she realises that she went to the Imperial Garden to gain peace of mind, causing her to stop her thoughts. As she thought she was alone and peaceful, this man approached her and asked her the question she most wanted to avoid.

The blonde woman opens her eyes, only to meet a pair of deep blue ocean eyes. She then examines the man's attire, realising he is no ordinary knight. So then, he must be a noble. However, she does not see him in the meeting. Is he one of those hyena's sons? She continues to see the man in the eyes, not talking about anything. The man feels weird internally about her reaction.