As soon as her feet stepped out of the carriage, Leila saw her father awaiting her return in the cold outside.

"Father! It is cold. You could have waited inside."

"No. I don't feel cold, not even a chill. My blood is boiling like crazy right now. I am so nervous. So please tell me how did it go. I am dying to know."

"I will. But inside first. I am cold."

"Right. You should not catch a cold. Inside. Inside."

Leila could see how nervous her father was. Her entire household was on edge. Mrs Longbart had been sitting and standing numerous times already. Her brother was blindly turning pages on his business ledger pretending he did not care. Even the servants were straying nearby pretending to be working to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So how did it go?" Mr Longbart asked.

"Perfect, Father. The Duke liked me. He introduced me to everyone in the booth. I even saw Count Davis up close. He is as huge as I heard in your stories, father."

Upon hearing Count Davis's name, her brother's eyes turned wide and sparkled. He could barely swing a sword but count Davis had been the person he admire most.

"How about the king? Did you meet his majesty?"

"Yes, I did. But the Duke didn't introduce me to his majesty yet."

"No. It is understandable. You are not officially a Duchess yet. This is enough. In my life, I have never dreamt my family member to meet the king."

Suddenly Mrs Longbart walked to her and abruptly held her hands. She even caressed it gently. It was an awkward moment for Leila but she decided to let it be.

"You did it, Leila. You did it. That's my daughter. I know you were born to be someone big since the day I first saw you."

"How about Her Royal Highness? Is she prettier up close or is she a 'far-beauty'?"

"Princess Cleo? Um... She is ... unbelievable, brother."

"Oh my Lord Mordu'. I am so excited. When you become the duchess, introduce me to Her Royal Highness, sister."

"Um... Sure."

She replied with an awkward smile. Inside, his words creeped her out. How could his head be ever full of such degenerated thought?

"But I couldn't say much about your business, father. The conversation is mostly about the competition, so..."

"It is alright, Leila. You did great. You must be tired. Rest now, my daughter. Oh, my heart. I should also take a medicine. Hahaha."

After hearing the good news from his daughter, Mr Longbart could finally breathe. He slowly moved to his dining room to take medicine while holding his chest.

Mrs Longbart also had her plan after hearing Leila. She started to get busy. She called Betty.

"Right!! Betty!! Prepare a warm bath for me tomorrow. With roses. And my dress too. The yellow one. ...no. Wait. Honey, let's go to Mr Buck."

"Now!? What for?"

"To shop for a dress."

"It is night outside. Not to mention, his shop must be closed."

"So what? Do you think he wouldn't open his shop for the parents of the future Duchess? Let's go. We need new ones. Many people will come and talk to us tomorrow. We need to be in our best outfits."

As such, the three of them together with some servants went out for nighttime shopping. Leila did not join them. She excused herself to rest. She wondered how they were not tired yet. In reality, she was not tired either. She felt exhilarated. She called Mrs Borger to her room so that she could retell her day's adventure.

"Nanny, I did it. I put a good impression of Ethan in their heads. Count Davis said that he wanted to recruit Ethan for his army. Even Ayeegyee noticed me. This is great. Now, that Templer would not dare to insult me. Everything I said will be considered the truth in hearing."

Leila was so happy that she kept talking nonstop until she noticed Mrs Borger did not look as happy as her. She asked her if something wrong. Mr Borger contemplated if she should say it or not.

"Leila, my lady. You do know what you have jumped into, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"You do know you have to marry the Duke now. Are you not?"

"What? No! Why would I marry that old man? It was just a one-time meeting. I did not promise him anything."

"He introduced you to his peers, the royalties. And you think you can say 'no' after that, my lady? With one word your head will fly. Then Mr Longbart, the rest of us. And finally that man Ethan."

"How will he do that?"

He may be the duke but Leila believed even a duke would need a proper reason to kill them. There was no way a duke could kill a renowned family on a whim just because she said 'no'. Not in this era. And she had a plan too. She would use the duke's name till the trial. Then she would act crazy. There was no way the duke would marry a lunatic girl. The plan was perfect in her mind.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"You don't understand how ruthless and scary the world is my lady. I warned you."

Mrs Borger said what she had to say and left. Upon hearing those words, Leila started to worry about her actions.

"Did I express myself too well to him?"

She sat on a chair near the window and fell deep in her thoughts until the sun came out the next morning.

A servant called her to join the breakfast downstairs so she went along. She saw her family was more excited than ever today. They were talking about the outfits they bought last night and how much they would gain from new business deals today. Her mother said only three sentences to her. They are 'You don't look so good today. Did you not get a sleep last night too? I will give you my powder to cover the dark circles around your eyes.

Leila ended her breakfast after some bites and went back upstairs. As usual, Mrs Borger came to her room to dress her up.

"Nanny. I have thought about it all night. And I have found a way."

Mrs Borger looked at her but did not say anything and continued her work.

"The Duke loves me for my appearance. Maybe I put a scar on my face, say it was an accident."

Mrs Borger let out a deep sigh after hearing her. She put Leila on a chair and gazed into her eyes.

"And then you will marry Ethan, my lady?"

"Yes."

"And that Ethan, if I may, what makes you think he likes you other than your appearance, my lady."

"What!? No! Ethan is not like that."

"Leila. You are kind, smart, cheerful and brave. You are more than a pretty doll. But it is because I have known you for a lifetime. That man saw you for a moment and fell in love with you. Yet you think he loves you not for your appearance?"

"You don't know Ethan."

"But I understand men."

Her nanny's words strike fear in her mind. She was sure before. Now she was confused. Is it that shallow our love? She wondered.

It pained her heart to see her lady feeling lost. Leila was the child she raised after all. Mrs Borger decided to encourage her rather than confuse her.

"But all that matters is your heart, my lady. Don't feel lost. Do what your heart tells you. And he will see to it."

"... Right. Thank you, nanny."

Just as her nanny said, she decided to go along with her heart. She loved Ethan and she would do whatever it took to be with him.

Meanwhile, in the dungeon below the temple, five grown men were cramped in a small cell surrounded by stones. A tiny opening in the wall near the ceiling was the only thing that gave them life. It teased them with the light, smell and sound of the world outside.

"Hey! A mould bread for lunch?" A convict barked.

"Shut up and eat. You should thank lord Mordu' for feeding you free, maggots." The jailor yelled back.

"Free!? Shit heads, we cleaned your filth in the sewer! Fuck. It is becoming lesser day by day." The convict complained while looking at his bread. He then glanced at the bread Ethanial had. It was slightly bigger than his.

"Hey newcomer, how dare you eat a bigger one? Give me that!"

"Shut up and eat your own, convict," Ethanial replied coldly.

"Convict? Are you serious? You forget where you are?"

"No verdict has been passed. I am no convict."

Hearing Ethanial, the convict laughed in disbelief. The same for the rest in his cell.

"Hell, I thought we got a man but a child came. Fuck. When were they ever found not guilty?"

"I am not the same. I am a man of temple."

After hearing that, the old man who quietly sat in the corner the whole time suddenly talked to him.

"You a Templer? Filthy hypocrites you people are. You raped. You stole. You murdered. Then you judged us. Glad to live and see them eat their own now. Hahaha."

The old man laughed like a madman. Ethanial ignored the old man and continued eating the mouldy bread.

"Hey, who is laughing? You think this is a playground?" The jailer tried to intimidate the old man. But the old man was unfazed. So he changed the target.

"Oh, you are laughing because of him, right? Get that newcomer out."

On his order, the guards took Ethanial out while he was eating. His breakfast flopped to the dirt. The convict earlier immediately seized it as his own. With his stomach empty, Ethanial was carried into another cell where he saw a room full of tools to torture. Bloods were stained everywhere without being washed off.

They stripped his clothes and tied him to a pole. Without a warning, the jailor whipped his bare back. The small spike at its tip tore his flesh. A sharp pain ran across his back; the pain so hurt he forgot to breathe.

"You think you are a clown? This is the dungeon where only misery lives. Next time I hear a laugh, you are dead." The jailor warned.

Before he could complain about such irrational action from his fellow temple man, the second strike fell on his back again. Then again and again.

After that incident, Ethanial accepted he was no longer a warrior but a convict like those filthy men in his cell. He was one of them now.

Same as yesterday, Leila went with the carriage the Duke sent to the booth. However, she did not try to mingle much today. She did not want to make mistakes which could make them like her more or enmity toward her. She needed him to favour her just enough to help her in hearing. She stayed quiet and acted small.

Unlike her, her family was busy as ever. As they predicted, many rich came to talk to them. Even a few nobles came to befriend them. Beauties were crowding around her brother. A nobleman even invited him to his horse-riding club. Her family were excited by this new turn of events.

The same went for the competition. The second day of dual was heated more so than the first. A gigantic guy with a Warhammer rampaged across the field challenging everyone even though it was a dual. No one could withstand his might and their pride was shattered by him, except one warrior called Sabi. He took the beastly warrior head-on. When the hammer was about to crush his ribs along with his lungs inside, Sabi high-jumped over the opponent with his spear and from above, he rained ice spikes at his opponent. The spikes hooked the legs to the ground by penetrating the giant's huge thighs and ended the rampage. That superb performance landed Sabi in the hearts of beauties after the event. However, Leila was not among those.

She was too preoccupied by an unsettling thought that she might have to marry the Duke. She intentionally did little annoying things like dropping the food or spilling the drinks. She added a lot of spices to the meat as if she was good with it then ruined the dish. She did all things of petty little things to annoy the duke. And so the day ended.

She did the same routine the next day. While the talented warriors across the land were challenging the monsters by risking their lives, up there on the spectating stage she was busy annoying the duke. She made the same mistakes as the last day because everybody hated the person who wastes precious food.

After the competition, the Duke invited Leila to dinner in his castle along with his peers.

At first, Leila wanted to decline but His Majesty and Ayeegyee were to attend so she dared not refuse.

She rode to the castle along with the Duke. It was intimidating just to sit by him in an enclosed space. The Duke told jokes about his past to lessen her nervousness. However, she was sweating buckets under her dress.

Suddenly the Duke pulled her toward him from below her shoulder and touched her chest. She shrugged her shoulders and moved away instantly. She was the victim of indecency yet it was the Duke who was offended by her act.

"Is my touch that much detestable for you, Miss Leila?"

"Pardon me for my rudeness, your grace. I was surprised and reacted by instinct. And since we knew each other only for a few days, I would like you to know more about me and I more about you before such intimacy, your grace."

"Hahaha. I see. Then I shall forgive you. It was my mistake to assume this fine girl would let me easily. Hahaha. You know, you are more charming now than ever. I like the girl who does not throw herself to me."

Around him were many women, who would not think twice to pleasure him and be his mistresses. The gifts from him alone made them rich. However, Leila was the first one who told him restraint. The unique experience made him feel in her more.

"Your good manner is best suited to be the lady of Rode than others," said the Duke.