⁌For my future - Death is the Only Ending for the villainess ⁍

◤Chapter 5 - Retreat! Retreat!◢

AN: Sweet Readers, I'm afraid I did not quite catch when exactly the duchess actually died. Whether it was a few months before Yvonne went missing, or if it was already a long time ago. So, In this fic, I'll write that she died 2 years before Yvonne went missing. 

Personally, I intend to stick with some of the important events of the light novel/manhwa. So if any of you lovely readers know when the duchess actually died, do tell me. If she really died only a few months before Yvonne's disappearance, then I might have to change a chapter or two. 

However, if you liked the direction of this ver. then I'll keep it as is. 

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- AROUND 30 MINUTES AGO- 

▶3RD PERSON P.O.V◀

"ℭ𝔲𝔯𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔩𝔶, 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔟𝔡𝔲𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔡..."

"𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔳𝔦𝔡𝔲𝔞𝔩𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔴𝔬 𝔡𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔞𝔤𝔬 𝔦𝔫 𝔇𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱 𝔒. 𝔄𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔩𝔶 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔦𝔫𝔳𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔤𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫, 𝔇𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱 𝔒 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶 𝔩𝔬𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔟𝔡𝔲𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰."

"𝔑𝔬 𝔦𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔰𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔰"

In the bright office, the duke sat quietly, reading the document in his hand. It was about the recent abduction of women. Though this case has been going on for a long time, not many leads could be found, despite the duchy already lending assistance. 'There must be more to this than meets the eye,' the duke thought, tapping his finger on the desk. As he sighed in contemplation, the long hand of the clock caught his eye. It was nearly lunchtime. By now, his daughter and two sons should be in the greenhouse, playing or looking at the flowers in bloom. The Duke felt somewhat nostalgic at the thought. Back then, he and his wife used to walk in the greenhouse peacefully with their three children. Now, that beautiful memory only brings grief to him. The Duke sighed with dejection as he stood up from his seat.

'At least once....' he thought. Though his wife is gone, should he not see her garden in memory of her? The Duke's heart was heavy, but he continued to walk towards the greenhouse. 'It would just be for a moment.' As he walked, the duke reminisced about the memories he shared with his wife. Soon, the sweet smell of flowers filled his nose. 'I should reward the gardener after this,' he thought as he walked towards the entrance. 

By now, the children must already be gathered in the dining room, but the duke only intends to take a quick look at the flowers before following them to eat. Though that was his intention, he caught sight of a young boy looking at the flowers. 'A servant? ' That was the duke's first thought.

 However, at the sight of his clothes, no one would believe he was a servant of the Eckarts. 'How did a child sneak in here? ' The duchy was, by no means, guarded lightly. Infiltration, even by a trained adult, would have been no easy feat since guards patrol both inside and outside of the mansion. He wanted to question the child immediately, but when he heard him sigh deeply, he became still. Upon closer look, the child's eyes looked quite empty, as if he were about to give up his life at any moment.