The Duchesses

Chapter 1 : The Adaptation (1)

"Pardon me for my rudeness, my Lady. You have never been interested in learning swordsmanship, although you have the basic skills on it. So what is the cause of the change of heart?" Apollo asked me politely.

He seemed wary of making me angry and was taking extra precautions. After all, the real Duchess Natalie is known to have a fiery temper.

"I need to know how to protect myself if the assassination gets out of hand. We both know that you will not always be here to protect me. The assassins will take such length to attack me. I was fortunate enough to survive this poisoning incident," I reply to his question, looking at the damn documents I don't know about.

"I shall carry your order, my Lady," Apollo nodded in understanding before he bowed and left.

"Your Grace, Duchess Medea will visit you soon. Let me change your outfit first", my maid stated while waiting at any moment for me to get crazy as usual.

I face my maid while anxiously thinking, looking at their eyes.

'What is Medea planning right now? Why is she visiting Duchess Natalie, who openly supports Crown Prince? How do I pretend to be Duchess Natalie? What if she finds out I am not the real Duchess?'

A lot of thoughts and too many questions ran through my head. My servants notice my expression and try to convince me. I appreciate her efforts, but this is too overwhelming for me. Too tired to think of anything, I just went with the flow. Duchess Medea is an intelligent woman. Exactly how do I win her over?

"Duchess Medea has arrived. Do you want to greet her at the gate, my Lady? Or should the servants alone?" my butler waited for my response at the door.

"Let the servants greet Her Grace. I will wait in the room", I dismiss him.

I would like to sneak a peek at the Duchess Medea through the window before we meet. My servants halt what they're doing to genuflect when a carriage pulls up to the gate, and a figure steps out. My experiences so far have been ethereal. She lives up to the novel's description of "beautiful and intelligent." Her waist-length, dark purple hair falls in waves. Her full, pink lips and sharply defined nose are lovely accents to her fair skin. She walks with poise and self-assurance at every turn. Instead of a dress, she is currently sporting her white and purple ceremonial suit. It flatters her figure perfectly, making her look sophisticated and formidable.

'She looks gorgeous.' I smack myself for even having that thought. But still, it is not wrong to fangirl here. I chuckle at my thought before going to the room, preparing to greet the Duchess.

As my servant has just announced, the Duchess has arrived and is presumably waiting at the front entrance. When that heavenly beauty enters the room, I find myself unable to take a deep breath. Instead, I give a little toss of the head, attempt to look as unperturbed as possible, and greet her politely.

A sudden, high-pitched sound escapes my lips as I start to say, "WelcOME--," revealing my social awkwardness. But, my God, I sound like a rabid dog.

When I look at the Goddess in front of me, she maintains her expression of indifference while my attendants giggle and try to contain their mirth. I'm torn as to whether or not I should appreciate her gesture. Yet, I silently congratulate myself on my success in publicly humiliating myself.

"You are all dismissed. The Duchess and I want some space to talk alone. Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable, Your Grace", I clear my throat before I ordered my servants. The servants leave the room quietly. Then, I grab one of my things to put it at the door. Medea watched me while raising her eyebrow.

"May I know what's your purpose coming here, Your Grace?" I ask her without beating around the bush.

"I'm here because Prince Ares has instructed me to visit and take care of you, including your work as the Duchess of Light. Can you hand out your work to my servants and send it to my manor?" she states matter-factly.

That's a little out there. As far as I know, these two have always been at odds with one another. What could possibly motivate Prince Ares to make such a request of the Duchess? Do the actual Duchess Natalie, and the Crown Prince have a plan? It is impossible. Duchess Natalie has been poisoned. So what is Ares's ulterior motive now? Does the Crown Prince make a move to manipulate Duchess Natalie again? Or did he try to get Duchess Medea on his side as the Crown Princess?

I let my thoughts sink for a while. Then, I nod at Medea's request without uttering any words. After some time, Medea speaks again, "Since that happened, you seem like a completely new person. Your formerly hostile gaze has become indifferent. Though proper etiquette is essential for you, you seem to have lost touch recently. It seems the rumours about you changing were not completely baseless."

"Don't panic, Aurora," I could feel my soul almost leaving this body.

"Well, when someone meets their own death, surely there will be some change in their personality. After all, they already have a bit of taste of death, isn't it?" I reply nonchalantly.

"I had no idea you were terrified of dying. You even went out of your way to help Prince Ares. Besides, you nearly sacrificed yourself last month when the rebels attempted to assassinate him," Medea answered calmly as if she would shrinking me.

But, to be honest, it was pretty nerve-wracking, and I could feel myself getting smaller each time by spending my time with this woman. I decided not to pursue the conversation more and changed the topic by throwing a question at her.

"I have a question for you, Duchess Medea. Would you like to teach me swordsmanship?".

My face belies my resolve. Medea's amethyst eyes broaden, possibly because nobody but her people and Countess Hera knows she is a skilled swordswoman. Even the late Duke of Valimos tend to keep her skills a secret. But, of course, she would be caught off guard if Duchess Natalie knew about it.

"Duchess Medea, you must be wondering how I know such knowledge in the globe. Don't worry, Your Grace, you will know about it eventually. That is when you agree to teach me," I add again.

Medea then replies with some questions about my claim. "What would I gain by instructing you? First, I had no intention of concealing my swordsman skills any longer. People will find out about it sooner or later. Secondly, would it bother you the most if Prince Ares was aware of it?"

When she says things, I give her a knowing grin. Indeed, that makes some sort of sense. My unfortunate fate as Duchess Natalie, however, is something I intend to alter. I'm going to remain impartial on this matter, though. Incredibly, I am very familiar with Ares. He has no scruples about killing his most prominent supporter if it means he can keep his power. Thus, I should abandon my scheme to serve as Ares' puppet. Instead, I must immediately align with Duchess Medea to ensure my safety.

"Oh, my, you could learn so much from this part. But, first and foremost, didn't you want to learn more about me as Prince Ares' formidable ally? Someone like you would undoubtedly probe me, but wouldn't it be in vain?" I clasp my hands together, smiling at her.

"Second, you had the potential to convert me against Ares. We both know that if I hadn't been madly in love with him, you could have had me as an ally long ago. Furthermore, Ares could not have guessed that I would seek your assistance in swordsmanship. So we can keep it a secret unless you haven't trusted me," I shrug, looking at the amethyst eyes full of doubt.

Medea looks like she's giving my suggestion a lot of thought. After all, it is an enticing proposal for a person in her position. Having information on a great enemy's subordinate that you have the potential to get is hardly trivial. I'm sure Duchess Medea thinks I'm crazy for suggesting this to her. Our long-standing antagonism is well-known across the Empire. Every time we got together, we made snide comments, creating an atmosphere of tension and malicious intent.

"You are an interesting one, my Lady. But you are right. I don't have enough faith in you. So why don't you try to prove your point?" Medea's amethyst eyes darken in that thought.

That's for sure a "test of the waters" on her part. Who would immediately agree to my crazy suggestion if they witnessed that Natalie would even kill anyone who tried to hurt Ares before? The crazy overprotective Duchess?

"You have my words, Duchess Valimos," I look at her. Fine Medea, bring it on.