Duchess' work can be tedious, but after a few days, she has some spare time to spend with Count Harren. Since the Count usually pays his visits to the Duchess of Light, he is taken aback by her unexpected appearance. It's very unusual behaviour on her part. He's worried that the Duchess has discovered the double agent. Could it be that the Duchess has plans to have him put to death?
"Your Grace, welcome to my humble home. What do I owe this pleasure? Please come in," the Count smiled. Natalie feels disgusted by his fakeness.
"It did look humble. But no, I'm just passing through for a moment. I heard you did not enter the upcoming hunting competition," the Duchess of Light's ruby eyes wander at his manor, except for the person she is talking about.
His nervousness is visible enough to see when he gulps loudly, but his eyes display that his ego was crushed by the Duchess, who downgraded the House of Lykaios.
"It's because the doctor told me not to overexert my right leg because it's still healing from the fall. So His Highness has granted my request in this matter," the Duchess just nodded at him, looking him back and forth, before letting out a sinister smile.
"Impossible," Aurora thought.
"Will Your Grace participate in the competition?" the man asks, lowering his head to meet the ruby gaze.
"Probably," Natalie answers in short, forcing Harren to be more anxious.
Instead, his eyes twinkled at that time but soon vanished that the Duchess thought she saw things. Or, it did really happen.
"I think the Smiths will prevail this time, and I hope that Your Grace is feeling great on that particular day," he clasps his hand, flashing his smile.
The Duchess of Light tilts her head to the side, "Harren, you sound as if a disaster is on the way," she lets out a grin that causes Harren to stop in his track.
He gulps for the next time that everyone can see that he is terrible at lying.
"He knows about it, then."
"No, Your Grace. What could happen on that day?" he lets out a nervous laugh, but the Duchess suppress her urge to smack this man.
"Well, it's such a shame you couldn't join us. I was hoping to see your
hunting skills," Natalie left him dumbfounded at the door.
"Farewell, Your Grace," is the only thing Count Harren manages to say to the head of Smith before her rider closes the carriage's door.
Count Harren's comment about his right leg keeps running through the Duchess's head. Moreover, it defies the logic that Ares would grant his request so quickly. Her gut tells her that there's something she's missing, but she has no idea what it is.
"He looks fine. Harren is known to be a coward in the novel, but avoiding the Hunting Competition is something peculiar enough for him," Aurora rubs his chin, watching the scenery outside.
Is it regarding the assassination plan? The Duchess of Light isn't aware of the plan's specifics, though. Only Ares knows. Should she ask him? Won't it raise some suspicion?
"This is stressing me out. I need to practice my swordsmanship," Natalie walks out and prepares herself for it.
The Hunting Day
It's finally time to go hunting. The tents belonging to the Duchess of Light have moved slightly away from the main camp per her request. The Crown Prince finds this behaviour odd at first. Most of the time, Duchess Natalie pleaded to pitch her tent adjacent to his. To avoid Ares' suspicion, Natalie said she would keep an eye on Duchess Medea. So there is a chance that the leader of Valimos has some sort of plan for him. Although Ares knew Natalie was right, his ego and arrogance caused him to laugh it off. They would be foolish to underrate her abilities.
Then, she also requests Countess Hera's tent to be next to Prince Ares as an excuse to distract Ares from overthinking her impulsive decision.
Then, to prevent Prince Ares from second-guessing her hasty choice, she asks to pitch her tent next to Countess Hera's.
They are not on good terms because Countess Hera has already asked His Highness to end their engagement. However, they have to put up with it in front of their subjects because Hera is giving Ares a chance to make amends after 100 days. After that time, the engagement will be off for good if Hera hasn't forgiven him for locking her in the basement. Therefore, they have never publicly acknowledged that they called off their engagement. Consequently, they must confront each other whether or not they like it.
However, Ares has changed his mind about many things in the past 100 days. Their agreement of 100 days is more like a countdown to murdering the Countess than a means to win Hera's love back. Also, he seems to have already agreed to make Duchess Medea his Empress. He's certain Medea'll accept his offer. Which is why he plans to end Hera's life right now while they are out hunting. With Medea as his Empress, they'll be unstoppable and powerful.
Obviously, the Duchess of Light is well-versed in this. Accordingly, she plans to put an end to the murder plot. It was challenging because Natalie didn't know how they would do it. She and Apollo only intend to keep an eye on the Countess from afar. Her hidden knights are always ready to step in and lend a hand if she needs them to. If Ares makes any suspicious moves, another knight will notice.
"Yes, kind of lame plan. I know, no need to mention it," another part of Aurora's brain argues with each other.
The hunt has now officially begun. There is no sign of Medea anywhere in the vicinity. Perhaps she has started leaving earlier than Natalie. The Countess is currently en route to the territory where she can hunt small animals. The Duchess of Light must follow Hera to the exact location, despite the fact that she cannot yet reveal to anyone that she has trained with Medea in the art of swordsmanship. They exchanged polite greetings and small talk, and then Natalie went on her way to continue the hunt.
Oddly enough, she is ahead of the Countess by a few moves. However, Hera has vanished, and the forest is eerily quiet, almost too gentle. Something is obviously wrong here. Even the knights she sends to keep an eye on Hera have left.
"Where are they?" the ruby eyes search for them wildly.
The Duchess, perhaps worried that she won't be able to save the Countess in time, has given in to her curiosity and set out to find her. However, despite the Countess's healing powers, the Duchess must not forget Ares's formidable fighting prowess. To put it mildly, Ares is a sneaky and crafty fellow.
The Duchess decides to trust her gut and follow Hera's trail. Unfortunately, following the Countess's footprints has become an impossible task. It seems as though she is venturing deeper into the forest to discover something there. For a lady of Countess Hera's stature, this is too risky. It's been said that the larger the beast, the deeper it is in the woods. Her odds of survival are significantly lower in that environment.
Nevertheless, the Duchess is driven to track down Hera by a combination of dogged determination and an adrenaline rush. Hera does not deserve to die in such a manner, and the head of Smith is aware of this despite the fact that she does not know very much about Hera. However, her path has not yet come to an end. Everything in the Countess's life has been predetermined, from the basement to the day of Ares's birthday banquet.
As she wanders deeper into the woods, the Duchess hears buzzy noises from one area. Sounds like people are talking. Her ears perked up when she listened to screaming coming from there.
"Where are my servants!" Hera is yelling, her emerald eyes looking back and forth, probably searching for her servants.
The little woman is about to leave, so two men approach and hold her in place. She puts up a valiant fight, but their physical strength is too great for her. But that doesn't stop her from landing a high five on the men's faces. The man grits his teeth, giving a punch to her face.
"Well, that's it. I am coming out," Aurora thought but almost stopped when the knights uttered this.
"Just don't move, my Lady. We will make it painless as possible for you", one of the knights speaks. Probably, it is their leader.
The Duchess peeks out behind bushes to observe Hera's conversation partners. She looks around and is shocked to see that her knights are dead on the ground. The remaining mysterious knights have formed a protective circle around the Countess. If the Duchess appears now, Ares will know who she is. And while these knights have been training for swordsmanship their entire lives, she has only been learning the basics for the past month, still rusting, although she knows how to use it. There's no way she can beat all of them!
The Duchess has learned to take a deep breath whenever she feels her temper rising and consider her options for getting out of this situation. Naturally, there is only one option, but she is unsure which one it is. But it beats the alternative. So after a moment of hesitation, she emerges from the bushes and faces everyone.
"Well, what do we have in here?" the Duchess put up a tough front, trying to gain control of the situation.
She lets out a grinning evil, but her internal organs crumble inside. The Knights are in a state of panic, drawing their swords at the Duchess.
"Oh Lord, I don't want to die now. I say I want to die, but I don't mean this way," Aurora's brain chanted a prayer.
Still in her character, she raises her eyebrows, challenging back the knights. The Knights soon realise her identity, but she is still in doubt.
"I come here under His' order to ensure you idiots do the proper execution this time. And now you dare to draw your swords at me?" Natalie's deep voice is enough to make the Knights back off, retreating their swords after the leader signals them.
"Your Grace kindly steps back and allows us to do our work," the leader said strictly, not intimidated by the Duchess of Light.
Duchess Smith ignores him, taking steps toward the Crown Princess before lowering her body to face the woman. Once again, the leader seems dissatisfied with Natalie's action, letting out a frustrated voice and repeating the same.
"Your Grace steps back--"
"No, I was ignoring you the first time. You don't have to repeat yourself," the deep voice appears again, while her hand grabs Hera's chin roughly to make the emerald eyes focus on hers instead.
Countess Hera's face is pale now, as if no blood is rushing at her face. Her ruby eyes turn to the side, dropping her hand, talking to the leader again.
"Don't be concerned. It will only be for a brief moment. If anything happens, I will discuss it with your Master," the Duchess smirks, turning her gaze to the Countess.
Hera's hand trembles, and she sweats coldly as she tries to keep her composure under these trying circumstances. The events have left her genuinely terrified. The Duchess reaches out, stroking her fingers along Hera's arms until they reach the Countess's face. She reaches out and touches Hera's cheek, a wicked grin spreading across her face.
Then, with a bright grin, she brushes and tucks the Countess's blonde hair behind her ear. With no thoughts, the Countess must wonder if the Duchess of Light plans to kill her. Despite this, Hera is assured that Natalie will come to her rescue because, despite what Natalie has done, Hera still considers Natalie to be a good person. Perhaps she is clinging to that last sliver of hope. She has to!
Maybe the Countess is that innocent. Oblivious of how the real world works. It appears that the Duchess is whispering something malicious into Hera's ear.
"Continue to act panicked right now. Then, swap bodies with Duchess Medea to save both of us. It's the only way out of this mess. Now, cry and curse at me to deceive the knights," the Duchess looks Hera in the eye after she whispers her words quietly, squeezing Hera's cheeks to snap the woman from her thoughts.
Hera is perplexed by the situation since Medea and Hector are the only ones who know that they can change their bodies. Perhaps the Duchess of Light find out about it through Ares? However, Ares isn't the type to disclose such essential information, even to Duchess Natalie.
"You are a fool, Hera. Have you ever heard of 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'? That's why you never survive and be a pawn to people," Natalie pat Hera's head before nodding at the knights to proceed.
Hera has an excellent grasp of the mission at hand. She hasn't stopped crying or screaming at the Duchess. The truth is that this situation has Duchess Smith absolutely petrified. Hopes are high that the Countess can make the body swap in time. If not, they're both going to meet an untimely end, especially her. As the leader was about to speak, the Countess burst out laughing. The Countess has a new appearance, a murderously dangerous air, and the opposite of kindness in her eyes. Looks like they made the body swap work. Medea, Duchess Valimos, has taken over the body of the Countess.
"It's too pitiful for all of you to band together and try to assassinate me alone. So, who sends you all?" the 'Countess' speaks, looking at all of them.
The Duchess of Light feels relieved at this moment. Looks like her saviour has come at the right time. So, the knights didn't waste any time anymore and attacked the 'Countess'. 'Hera' takes one of the knight's sword and attack his vital points. The lifeless body hits the ground immediately with a 'thud' sound. The leader is surprised by these actions. It is impossible for a person like Hera, who learnt basic swordsmanship would defeat a trained knight easily like that. She is so skilled!
Like Hera, Medea lacks the physical prowess to engage in combat with the knights. Therefore, she often used her agility to gain the upper hand and surprise them. Medea is so preoccupied with fighting the knights that she allows one of them to catch her at a vulnerable moment. It doesn't take him long to seize the opportunity. Unfortunately for Medea, it is already too late for her to avoid being hit. She seems to be anticipating and preparing for an impact that never materialises. The knight, however, freezes in place and sheathes his sword. As it turns out, Duchess Smith slashed him to death.
"I am going to vomit," Natalie covers her mouth, feeling something squeeze her stomach at what she has done.
'Hera' raises her eyebrows but still fights against the knights.
"Don't mind me," Natalie tries to subdue the nauseous.
A few moments later, all the knights except the leader are wiped out, scattering around on the ground with Natalie's knights. There are only the Duchesses, and the leader left only. So, he continues to fight with all of his wills against the Duchesses. The fight between them is short yet intense before it ends with Medea's blade in his heart. Although both of the Duchess survive, the leader has something on his sleeve.
He pushes against his will, getting up again before he manages to give a bit of poison 'scratch' from the dagger at the Countess's body. It's too late. Hera's body has no tolerance for poison, causing Medea to stumble before Natalie catches her, kicking at the leader's face and knocking him out. Duchess Valimos is on the verge of passing out before Count Harren exclaims something at the scene.
"Duchess Smith tries to kill the Crown Princess!" the ruby eyes widen before narrowing, knowing it is a trap.
How the hell Harren suddenly gets here!
"Well, fuck me," Natalie cursed underneath her breath, looking at 'Hera' in her arms.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince smirks evilly at his success plan, and the Duchess swears she sees it clearly.