‘Where exactly is my room?’ Ariadne asked.

A blonde Chatzi maid with green eyes approached her from the side; she appeared to be older than the rest.

‘Follow me, duchess.’ The maid got to the front.

Compared to the town below, the mansion had high quality construction. Her father had done the absolute best he could; all of this was done long before he decided to go to Velvent; maybe this was his plan from the beginning.

‘You, in the front, what is your name?’ Ariadne inquired.

‘My name is Rita Agron, and I am the head maid at your disposal, your highness.’ She responded while opening the door to a room.

‘This appears to be the same as my room in the capital.’ The duchess looked around.

‘Everything that belonged to the Duchess in the capital arrived a few days ago,’ Rita said, opening the curtains.

‘You did well; call the peasant here; I need to speak with him.’ She looked at Eliza.

Eliza got out of the room and remembered that Edmund jumped on the wagon going to the back of the mansion. There was no time for her to adapt to her new situation. The one thing she liked was the fact that all of the staff was Chatzi.

‘Well, Rita, I guess I should change my clothes.’ Ariadne turned to face Rita.

The wagon stopped in front of a warehouse. Edmond thought that was not that bad; it definitely was bigger than the one he lived in back in Velvent. A few moments later, some people approached him.

‘Do you need help? We can give you a hand to get this stuff out of the wagon.’ The man spoke.

‘Yes, thanks; I’m indebted to you.’ Edmund smiled.

‘By the way, my name is Alon Agron, and I am the guard's captain; we look after the safety of the town and the towns on this territory.’

With black hair and brown eyes, the older A-Dam soldier pointed to the others, a mix of Shafran, A-Dam, and the younger Chatzi. Edmund felt welcomed as everyone started to help him get his things out of the wagon. They had this air of camaraderie that was foreign to the young man.

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‘Ho, I'm Edmund, and I’m Ariadne’s slave.’ He smiled at the group.

His words hit them hard. They couldn’t believe the duchess had a slave; it made them feel awkward. They felt sorry for the boy. Perhaps the duchess doesn’t care about the law, like she is a tyrant or something; it made them feel apprehensive.

‘No, look, this is not what you guys are thinking; I’m glad she took me out from where I was; she is not a bad person.’ The young boy sat on a box.

‘No problem; it is not like we could help you, but if you need help, just ask me or the boys here.’ Alon gave the boy a pat on the back.

As everyone continued to unload the wagon, Eliza came closer and tapped Edmund on his shoulder. The guards had their eyes fixed on her like beasts on prey.

‘Edmund, the duchess is calling for you.’ She looked around.

‘Ah, no problem; with their help, i’m already finished.’ The young man pointed at the guards.

‘I’m sorry, my name is Eliza Foster, the duchess personal maid. Now, follow me, Edmund.’ The maid started to walk to the mansion.

‘Thank you guys; I hope we can talk more next time.’ Edmund smiled at the guards.

The boy got his tablet from one of the boxes and accompanied the maid to the mansion. The driver of the wagon looked at the young man’s back and spoke to the group of guards.

‘If I were you, I would open my eyes to this boy; he cut forty bandits on the way here like they were nothing, and some soldiers said that it was stuff from nightmares’ A wagon driver spoke.

‘To me, we will have extra help in protecting this town.’ Alon smiled at the driver.

The wagon was leaving, and everyone started to stare at Edmund in the distance as the sun set on the horizon.

‘Wait, his hair was white? but he look normal to me.’ A young Chatzi suddenly spoke up.

‘I don’t know; should we really give a damn? If he help us, that's the only thing that matters.’ Alon puts his hand on the young Chatzi's shoulder.

Ariadne was dressed in a white dress with golden ornaments all around, her hair tied up in a ponytail. It was already night, and the lights from the candles didn’t help much. Edmund was sitting across the desk, and Eliza was serving the two of them tea.

‘I can’t tell if being a duchess is good or bad for you.” Edmund drank from the cup.

The tea was extremely hot. The young man almost dropped the cup, and he looked at Eliza with a confused expression.

‘Wow, too hot, dont you think?’ He spoke.

‘The duchess likes it this way, so just drink it.’ The maid retorted.

‘Thank you, Eliza; it's just that I have never had tea.’ Edmund shrugged his shoulders

The maid clenched her fists and stared at Edmund before turning around and leaving the room.

‘As a Duchess, I no longer have a claim to the throne, so my plans need to be adjusted. What can you do to help me right now? Speak your mind.’ Ariadne looked at the young boy with expectation.

‘I think we should give the people of your land light; look at this, it's trash." Edmund directed her attention to the candle on her desk.

‘Like the one you showed me when I was at your house? Good, if i’m good to them, they will see me as their rightful ruler.’ She tapped her chin.

‘We can start with this mansion and do give light to the streets; look at these designs.’ Edmund gave her his tablet.

‘Interestingly, the commission will benefit the town's economy.’ Ariadne smiled, her eyes sparkling, as she looked at the drawings on the tablet.

The duchess used a bell to call for the head maid, who was waiting outside.

‘Rita, do you know the local craftsman? we have work for them’ The duchess looked at the head maid.

‘Yes, your highness, I am confident they will make you proud.’ She responded with assurance.

‘I bet they are.’ Ariadne smiled.