The Duchesses

Chapter 68 : I Can't Hold You Even If I Want To

Hera has been residing in one of Medea's formerly operated sapphire mines for nearly two months. Unfortunately, the mines have been taken over the Crassore Empire at this point. Therefore, only the Crassoreans are here, and Princess Isis occasionally pays her a visit to ensure everything is running smoothly. To ensure Hera's safety, the Duchess of Light has granted Hera one of the three wishes she received from Princess Isis.

When she assured Medea that they would do all in their ability to save the Countess, she was not joking about it in the least.

At Holy Day, Medea also takes advantage of one of the wishes she received from Princess Isis to show up and entirely alter the ceremony. To their great good fortune, nobody was tragically murdered on that day. In addition, this development will not affect Princess Isis and Lady Leonora in any way. They will tie the knot the year after that if she is correct.

"They both are fearless just to use important wishes from royalty for other people," Hera smiles at the thought as she admires the strength of the Duchesses.

Her thoughts wander to James and Phoebe for a moment. James and Phoebe were not present on that tragic day when the Empress' assassination and all of her faithful servants perished. Because of the unexpected visit from Empress Ophelia, those things slipped her mind because everything was so chaotic. She also learned of the death of Emperor Atticus via Duchess Smith.

She had already informed Natalie, and the Duchess of Light will undoubtedly start looking for them as soon as possible. But, of course, that's assuming Ares doesn't wipe them out first.

"I don't know whether my power is a blessing or a curse. It's unbelievable Ares capable of killing his parents to get my power."

"My Lady?" the man, Aelius, comes to her, tapping her shoulder.

"Yes?" she lets out a dazzling smile at Aelius, causing the man to blush from it.

"The man that Marquess brought here has already woken up," Hera stops in her track, nervous about meeting the man. After all, it's been a while since she hasn't met him.

She gets to her feet, brushing her dress before taking a deep breath.

"Hopefully, he will open his heart to me," she hopes deep in her heart.

The Eirene Festival has come to the heart of the Empire, where the Angelos Empire's flags proudly wave whenever the breeze hits them. Duchess Smith doesn't know whether her world is based on books or has its own life, but Eirene Festival is an inspiration from the Olympic Games but more suited to this era.

Eirene Festival is one of the festivals that will be held once in four years. The venue for the Festival will be rotated from a few nations under the Empire: Vazoels, Luicasha, Ilemia, Esperatin and the capital of Angelos Empire, Anchises.

Since the war erupted between the Empire and Ilemia when Medea was 15 years old, the story ends when Empire gains the upper hand over them, thanks to Duke Lucinius' contribution, which was Medea's idea all along.

Eirene Festival comes from the ancient words which stand for peace. Therefore, to restore the peace and increase the bond between Angelos and its territories, Emperor Atticus suggested to the kings and queens from respective nations to join in, letting down the anxiousness of people who were really in a world of fear from the war, especially from the border.

The treaty was made at the Anchises, the Imperial Palace, to make an Eirene Festival to eliminate the racism between nations. It also creates harmony among the nations who compete to know and mingle with each nation. Due to war, many lost money, territory, people and lives. The leaders signed the treaty without many arguments, and Eirene Festival started not long after.