The Duchesses

Chapter 2 : The Adaptation (2)

On a fateful day, the Crown Prince's birthday celebration, Ares's planned an attack on Hera, whose body Medea was currently in. Due to Medea's reputation for loathing Hera since the Crown Princess' competition, he planned to accuse her of killing his fiancée. Ares despatched five knights to slay Hera, despite the fact that Hera was a weak and innocent woman with zero knowledge of swordsmanship. At the banquet, he was ecstatic with his brilliant strategy, but he had no idea that Medea, inhabiting Hera's body, had already defeated all his knights. Due to Hera's frail body, Medea took a couple hits from the knights. Additionally, her left eye is completely blind.

At that moment, both Marquess Hector and Hera within Medea's body were racing toward her. Medea had already been unconscious by the poison dagger when they arrived. Feeling despairing, Hector came close to taking his own life. Thankfully, Hera intervened to stop it. Hera felt guilty and furious since she felt it should have been her here instead of Medea. After she saw her in excruciating pain, Hera thought about her wish on the prayer day, where they switched their bodies. Medea would not have been on the brink of death in her stead if she had been away and still wanted to die. Perhaps if they did that, they would all be as content as before. As Hera wept for Medea, a surge of power encircled the two of them. Hector and Hera watched in disbelief as Medea's wounds gradually healed, including her blind eye. This was when Medea and Hector learned about Hera's divinity power. After learning Ares's true motive, they secretly join forces from this point on.

Time passes, and eventually, Medea learns the worst secret her family has kept from her. A light bulb went off in her head, and she realised why Lord Eli had left Valimos when he was a young Duke Valimos. Disgusted, he learned of their family's history of human trafficking throughout the war. During the conflict, the former Duke of Valimos and his underlings took advantage of the commoners' despair. They pretended to serve the regular people by selecting 100 bright kids to continue their education in the capital, but those kids were victims of their human trafficking operation. Medea's anger and resentment against her father were stoked by this news. All of the cruelty and heartlessness she was experiencing—from the abuse to the loss of her nanny—was unbearable to contemplate. She ultimately informed the Imperial Family of her father's criminal behaviour. As a result, her father was put to death, and she assumed his role as Duchess Valimos.

To think about it again, Duchess Medea's past and I are quite the same but different simultaneously. I sigh as I remind myself about my past as Aurora. If we both were not miserable due to our parents, we might be healthy in terms of mental health. We might not form any sort of issues on relationship stuff. As Apollo and the teachers walked away, I was startled out of my reverie.

"My Lady, you appear to be prepared for the banquet next week. You have passed everything. Therefore we hope you will fit in well in high society. As we discuss the banquet, I recommend you prepare a dress for the occasion. Would you like to try it out in the boutique?" Apollo suggests happily. He reminds me of my old friend's golden retriever.

"I should personally test on the dress. It has been a while since I last went out. However, we must create a disturbance and shut down the silly rumours before the banquet starts," I said before sipping the tea.

Before we all left, I expressed my gratitude to the teachers for their insightful instruction and instructed Apollo to remain behind. I intended to inquire how Prince Ares and Duchess Medea were related to the genuine Duchess Natalie. As Natalie's trusted aide, Apollo must be aware of the issue. In the end, Apollo gave me everything I needed to know about those topics, even though he was thinking about how to tell me about them along the way.

It was one-sided love, as I had predicted. Duchess Natalie was hopelessly in love with Prince Ares. Apollo was initially indignant and opposed Natalie's decision, but he eventually had to comply. While relating this tale to me, his face became increasingly flushed. Duchess Natalie killed multiple individuals on a few occasions to protect Prince Ares. She had to get Apollo's hand as well as her own dirty. Apollo's feelings toward Prince Ares were never warm. He was aware of Ares' plans to exploit Natalie.

But Natalie couldn't see past her love and passion. Given her romantic woes, Natalie became emotionally invested in Prince Ares. Just like with Duchess Medea. Natalie is constantly looking for her past unrequited love from someone unknown. Yet her response was unlike Medea's. Medea lacked the capacity for love, while Natalie actively sought it from Prince Ares. Realising his anger was showing, Apollo apologised for his behaviour toward me.

Duchess Valimos and the Duchess of Light used to be best friends growing up. However, owing to unknown circumstances, the two of them grow to despise each other presence. Even though they hated one another, nobody could pinpoint its origin. Therefore, both Medea and Natalie have kept the secret from everyone.

In addition, Apollo stated that the Duchess of Light nearly let slip that she had a grudge against Medea. It had to do with where they stood relative to something else. Unfortunately, Natalie passed out intoxicated just as she was going to explain the whole sorry story. I am now more equipped to deal with unforeseen circumstances thanks to Apollo's thorough work.

"Thank you for telling me, Apollo," I smiled at Apollo before leaving the room.

From this vantage point, the Empire looks absolutely stunning. The mountain's verdant scenery is well-suited to be framed by the never-ending rows of stores. The sky was the bluest it could have been. Furthermore, the crowds do not appear to be dispersing any time soon. Kids play joyfully in the streets, even as dozens of carriages pass them. The grownups, meantime, are occupied with commerce. Strangely enough, I find the chaos to be comforting. Perhaps, I thought wistfully, because it made me feel at home.

I have to wait a little longer to dig into the dessert on the table in front of me. Ignoring my internal monologue, I grab a fork and dive into the sweet treat. It's so scrumptiously good your blood will curdle. The dessert's level of sweetness is ideal for my palette. On top of that, it's a real treat for me to do well on the tests. Unfortunately, a man interrupted my dessert and quiet period by delivering a letter. It left me confused and suspicious, so I checked to see if someone was following me.

A purple seal bearing a mark of nobility could be seen on the letter. This emblem resembles a Phoenix with its two sets of wings on either side of the shield. Two swords are crossed above the chain at its centre. This emblem represents the Valimos family. After some hesitation, I opened the letter and began reading its contents.

Dear the Duchess of Light,

I heard you have recovered from the poisoning stuff. I am hereby to remind you about our last talk. Since the Spring Banquet is coming soon, I anticipate your next move. Don't disappoint me, my Lady. Keep surprising me as you always did in the past. Burn the letter as soon as you finish reading this. After all, we wouldn't want Ares to find out about us, right?

Yours,
Medz.

"Pardon me, please provide a candle for this table," I ask the waiter to burn the letter.

Duchess Medea is correct. This letter could potentially expose us to Prince Ares. However, one thing bugged me the most after I burned the letter. Medz? Is it Duchess Medea? At some parts of the novel, Medea reminisces about someone called her Medz, but the story never mentions it further.

In that case, she should have just written her name. Is it true that Duchess Natalie referred to her as "Medz"? Considering they have known one other since they were little, there is hope. It appears that Medea is confident that Natalie would have known the term 'Medz'. Medea could be trying to conceal her true identity, though. She is careful to hide her subsequent move to catch her adversaries off guard.

In the end, I must learn their backstory. I'm crossing my fingers the Spring Banquet will provide me with that opening.