Astrea closed her eyes as she waited for the impact and it was proved right when her body slammed against the strong current of the river. In an instant, she drifted away like a rag doll against the water.
Her movements to swim failed as the current was too strong for her body. The water pressure kept drowning her resulting in water inside her lungs which caused difficulty in breathing. The last string was when her head bumped against a boulder under the water making her dizzy. she caught sight of her blood dissipating in the water surface before she lost her consciousness.
****
The Duchy of Kenworthy in the Findara empire was filled with melancholy creating a grim feeling inside the manor. Servants were asked to skip today leaving an empty and dissolute mansion.
Butler of Kenworthy duchy, Peterson knocked on the door of the duke's study, "Preparations for my lady's funeral are complete your grace"
Duke Augustus kenworthy gripped the side of his sitting chair and came out of his study. Silver hair shone as light reflected on his head and Amethyst-colored eyes filled with sadness glanced at Peterson, "What about the duchess?"
Peter bent his head and replied, "Her grace has still not woken up your grace"
Augustus closed his eyes and frowned, "What about Clifford?" he asked as he started walking towards his chamber.
"Young master has not returned to the duchy after last night your grace" Peter replied.
The duke sighed and entered his bedroom and saw his beloved's unconscious figure lying on the luxurious bed with her maid Clara by her side. He walked towards the bed and slumped on her side and took her hand in his, "I'm sorry Thea...I'm sorry that I couldn't save our daughter" his painful voice reached Peterson and Duchess's maid Clara making them burst into tears.
"It is not your fault your grace....." Peter slumped on the ground and started bawling his eyes, "It is because of them...they killed our young miss"
Clara too got on her knees, "It's true, your grace. Please don't blame yourself for their mistake. You have to stay strong for her grace and young master"
Augustus brought his wife's hand and kissed the back of her hand and whispered, "Please recover soon honey...I need you, Thea"
He tucked her properly before getting up from the bed, "I will complete the remaining rites. Lead the way, Peter"
Peter got up from the ground and wiped his tears, "Yes your grace"
Both of them left back Clara to take care of the duchess and strode towards the back of the manor.
The butler ordered a few of the servants to bring the coffin where their young miss rested. Duke Augustus held back his raging anger as he saw his daughter going down the ground into her afterlife. His heart shattered into pieces as he put soil on the coffin. His baby was dead because of his incompetence in protecting her. He failed their family against the royal family. Empress Seraphina finally succeeded in bringing his family down.
He made sure to keep the outside eyes from his daughter Iris as much as he could after losing his other daughter Irene when she was still a baby. His wife Amalthea lost herself when Irene went missing, but she held back to keep at least our remaining daughter Iris safe.
The late empress Sophia was his wife's only sister who was found dead after just a month inside the palace. His wife's family went rampage asking for justice but received none. That fool of an emperor remained silent even after his empress's death and instituted his queen Seraphina as the new empress who many believed was the culprit behind the late empress's death.
Everything went down as time passed until the emperor took lady Serena of Wulfgur Grand duchy as his concubine by force who was also his wife's best friend. And as usual, lady Serena also mysteriously met her demise leaving behind the heir to the grand duchy, Prince Cassian Wulfgur.
Lady Serena's father the grand duke refused to hand over his grandson to the royal family and brought him up as the next grand duke of his duchy. Amalthea, his wife promised Iris's hand in marriage to her best friend's son before the lady's demise, and that was when his family became the target of empress Seraphina. Iris was yet to be introduced to high society because of her poor constitution but only yesterday did they learn about poison in her body which was ministered from her young age causing her death.
Augustus clenched his fingers in fists remembering all of the schemes against his family. The empress probably didn't want a high-born lady like his daughter as her stepson's wife to maintain the power for her son Crown Prince Louis Bradford, but the ones to suffer were his family.
He swore to get his revenge on the empress but now was not the right time. The house of lords right now was a mess with a power struggle and he had to make sure to keep his wife and son safe by remaining neutral. Emperor's brother Archduke Helio Bradford was the leader of the noble faction who was against the crown prince Louis as the next emperor. Helio, his friend's only motive to oppose Louis was because he hated empress Seraphina.
The late empress Sophia was his lover in the past. But because of some uncertain circumstances, he had to watch as lady Sophia married his brother to only be killed a month later. His main purpose for giving up his throne to his elder brother was to keep Sophia protected but it all came crashing down when she met her end. So now, he was hell-bent on removing Louis from the Crown Prince position.
He too wanted to support Helio but now was not the right time to take sides. His thoughts came to halt when he saw his butler's horrified expression.
"What's wrong Peter?"
Peter opened his mouth but no words came out as he pointed his trembling finger towards the stream, "Th-there....."
Augustus followed his line of sight and frowned, "What about the stream?" He knew that his butler went to fetch some water for leveling the ground, but didn't understand his sudden action.
The butler's brown eyes trembled as he held duke's hand and directed him towards the stream.
Augustus was surprised to see his ever-composed butler in such a manner but followed after him knowing that Peter would never act like this if it wasn't important.
Both reached the stream and Augustus felt his blood freeze in his veins. Peter left the duke's hand and went near the figure lying on the ground. His trembling hand pointed at the girl's legs towards a crescent moon-shaped mark on her foot, "It is our young miss your grace" a lone tear fell on his cheek as he continued, "It is lady Irene, your grace"
"It is Lady Irene, Your grace!" Peter said in his trembling voice pointing at Astrea's injured body.
Duke Augustus widened his eyes and rushed towards the water not caring about his slacks getting damp. His heart raced in shock as he hoisted up the injured girl in his arms, "Hurry!" he commanded breaking Peter from his daze, "Call the doctor. Now!"
Peterson nodded his head and rushed towards the stables and took his steed riding towards the doctor's manor near the duchy.
Augustus dashed inside the villa with Astrea in his arms and looked at the guards near the door and said in a serious voice, "I will have your heads if word gets out about this"
"Yes, your grace" the guards replied in unison and followed behind the duke.
After walking for some minutes he entered one of the guest rooms on the ground floor and laid the girl on the luxurious silk mattress. He looked at the girl's pale face and frowned, "Get a maid to change her dress"
"There are no maids inside the mansion your grace. Butler Peterson gave all of them a day off following your orders" one of the guards replied politely.
The duke frowned, it was his order to grant a day off because he didn't want Iris's death to leak out. He even got rid of the empress's spies before Iris's death preventing her from finding out.
"Get Lary Clarence here," he said after thinking. It was better like this, he was not in his right mind to predict the empress's next move if she finds his daughter's passing.
One of the guards nodded his head and went out of the room to get Clara.
Clara was wiping the sweat beads on the duchess's forehead when a guard dashed inside the room startling her. She glared at the guard and said, "How rude! You dare, barge into her grace's chamber!?"
The guard bowed his head, "I apologize for my rude regard lady Clarence, but his grace is calling for your audience and it seems serious"
Clarence got up from her seat still frowning, "Lead the way"
The guard agreed and guided her outside the master bedroom towards the ground floor. Clara followed after him in confusion as they reached the guest room near the corridor.
Duke Augustus lifted his head from his hand and got up from his seat, "Get her dressed up lady Clarence, I'll answer all your questions after that"
Clara watched as the Duke made his way out of the room and closed the door leaving her alone. She furrowed her brows and turned towards the bed but gasped when she saw the girl lying on the bed. Her mind was blank striding towards the bed and she covered her mouth with her hand sighting the rise and fall of the girl's chest.
Then she grimaced seeing the wet dress on her young miss's body and absent-mindedly went to the wardrobe in the guest room and took out a simple blue dress and put it on the girl's body after removing her wet clothes.
As she observed the girl's face, she was sure that this was not lady Iris. Her face was very similar to their young miss but equally different in certain aspects. She had the same silver hair as the duke and her face looked familiar to the duchess, but some of her facial features looked more defined. Lady Iris was a beautiful lady, there was no doubt in that, but her health was never good. Because of that wench of an empress, her young miss had to suffer all her life, until she met her demise. However, this girl had fuller cheeks and a well-endowed body.
Clara continued observing the girl when there was a knock on the door, "The doctor is here"
"You can enter" she answered as she tucked the girl with a purple silk sheet.
The duke entered the room with the doctor behind him.
Dr.Stanley made his way towards the girl and sat on the chair near her taking out his stethoscope. He halted his movement when he noticed hardened blood on the side of her forehead.
"She is severely injured, your grace. I can only treat her using my healing powers" he asked the duke's permission.
"I trust you, Dr. Stanley" the duke replied.
The doctor nodded his head and closed his eyes putting his hand on the girl's forehead. Soothing white light flowed into her injury, hurrying her healing process. After a few minutes, the light faded away.
Dr.Stanley removed his hands and started checking for any superficial wounds before getting up from the chair, "I treated her serious injury and she will wake up after a few hours"
The duke nodded his head and said, "You can stay in one of the guest rooms until my daughter wakes up" he glanced at Peter and informed, "Guide Dr.Stanley into a room and arrange everything for his stay"
"Yes your grace" Peter answered and gestured to the doctor out of the room leaving behind Duke and Clarence.
Augustus glanced at Clara's questioning gaze and replied, "It is Irene"
Clara widened her eyes and looked back at the girl on the bed, "Ir-irene!?"
He nodded his head and smiled looking at his long lost daughter's face, "She has a crescent moon shaped mark on her foot"
Her eyes instantly drifted towards the girl's foot, "Oh my!" her excited voice rang inside the room, "Duchess.....I have to tell this to the duchess" she ran out of the room even forgetting about Duchess's unconscious state.
The duke chuckled seeing her excitement and turned towards his daughter, "Thank you for coming back, dear...We missed you"
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