For the next four days, Aurora avoided the Duke like the plague. A few of his words had diminished the little respect she held for herself. Her ego was bruised, and she did not want to see that look of satisfaction on his face.

She still remembered it. The man looked straight out of hell. His face distorted into a nasty leer as he laughed at her squirming in his hold. How could someone as attractive as him distort his face to look that horrid? It truly was a mystery, Aurora thought. She had been picked up by a demon who was going to eat her soul.

Sir John comforted her, patting her head. "It's okay, Lady Aurora."

Although he did not know what was bothering her, he tried to comfort her nonetheless—much kinder than that demon of a Duke could ever be.

"We are almost at the Duke's Castle," Sir John said.

"You'll get to meet the Duke's mother. I think she'll like you."

Aurora nodded in response and pulled Sir John's hand back, placing it on the top of her head. He chuckled and continued to pat her. What kind of person could someone who birthed the demon known as Lucias be? His name even sounded like Lucifer. She doubted they had the same understanding of heaven and hell here, but the resemblance was still uncanny.

They exited the woods, finding themselves elevated on top of a cliff. She could see a castle in the distance, right at the base of a mountain. She had never seen a castle in real life. In her past life, Aurora had planned to travel across Europe someday when she had enough money and finally got time off. Since she was a little girl, she had dreamt of visiting a real castle. The structure was marvelous, more than she could have imagined, and made from a greyish-blue stone, with tall towers peeking out of it. One side was built into the mountain.

"Wow," she mouthed.

"Welcome to your new home, Miss Aurora," John said.

Maybe things weren't as bad as she made them out to be. At least she would get to live in a castle. Every little girl's dream was to be a princess, and she, in the most unlikely circumstances, would experience it- or something similar. tomayto, tomahto- something like that. Living in a castle was close enough for her. Plus, the castle looked large enough to avoid the monstrous Duke.

An hour later, they were at the castle gates.

Servants and townspeople lined the path to greet them. The Duke walked ahead, talking to someone she could not see. The knights waved to, she assumed, loved ones. She was whisked away by a group of servants. Upstairs and down corridors, everything had happened so fast that she had not had the chance to remember their path.

"Miss Aurora," an older woman called her attention.

"The Duke has instructed to clean you up and prepare you for dinner with the Duchess."

Aurora nodded. The woman left her in the unfamiliar room, but a few moments later, she emerged to call her to bathe.

"Lady Aurora, do you need help?" The maid asked.

Aurora shook her head. Although she had seen it in the historical romance manhwas that she had consumed like water in her past life, the idea of having people undress and clean her seemed too uncomfortable.

"His Grace had said that you are peculiar. You don't really speak," she clarified. "A bell is on the table for when you are done; ring it, and I will help you get ready."

One wall of the bathroom was raw stone. It had probably been the side of the castle built into the mountain she had seen earlier. Throwing off her clothing, she climbed into the stone bathtub. It was a cut into the floor made from what looked like the mountain walls. The water was steaming hot. Aurora sighed. Back in her past life, she loved taking hot showers after stressful days. Boiling herself alive under the hot stream of a shower was one of the only things that worked to relieve stress. The hotter, the better it was. The shower was subpar if she wasn't lobster red when getting out. The tension of the previous days disappeared. Leaning against the side of the bath, she closed her eyes and relaxed. Telling herself that she would rest for a quick moment.

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A shuffling alerted her, and she opened her eyes only to be met with complete darkness. The candles that lit the room had gone out. Something large was in the room. Aurora could make out a mass larger than the rest. It moved.

Her heartbeat raced as she realized that something was wrong. The thing in the room breathed loudly as what sounded like hooves hit the stone floor. She gulped. Her instincts fired off, telling her to flee. So far, her instincts have never been wrong. Scrambling from the bath in the dark, Aurora managed to slip and fall onto the floor. Fuck my life, she cursed, waving a hand toward the sky. If god was watching her was an ass.

The creature was close to her now. Closing her eyes, please work, she pleaded, imagining a shield around herself. A familiar warmth filled her, and she opened her eyes to see the soft glow of blue around her. Aurora allowed herself to breathe.

Why was there a monster inside a castle?

There was definitely something wrong with this world. She needed to get to the bell. When getting into the bath, she noticed it from the corner of her vision on a small table near the tub's edge. With a deep breath, she scooted. Luckily, the shield seemed to move with her. Getting to the bell felt like forever.

Grabbing the bell, she rang it like her life depended on it. And it pretty much did. The door opened, the maid screamed, the door closed.

"Knights, we need a Kight!" the old woman yelled.

"There's a fear hunter with the lady in the bathroom!" the maid shouted.

Doors opened, footsteps rushed, and a group of knights rushed into the bathroom, swords and shields at the ready. Another soldier pulled her out while the men fought off the beast. It was a half-bird, half-horse-like creature with black skin that was pulled over a muscled body. Its muscles almost seemed to breathe, straining against its own skin.

---

She stood in the middle of a large room. Her hair was still wet; water dripped from the long strands to the floor, forming small puddles. The maids had hastily dressed her and dragged her to the Duke. She now stood in what seemed to be a study. The Duke sat at a large wooden desk in the middle of it. There were couches and a coffee table between the couches off the center of the room. Two walls were covered in books and scrolls. Large windows looked out into the darkness of the woods behind the table.

He tapped his finger against the desk. A movement most did when irritated. He looked at her with that predatory gaze, and she looked down at her feet to avoid it. Aurora was once again scared. Once more, she had confirmed that the man before her was scarier than any beast.

"This happens because you're weak." He said.

She nodded. At that moment she really did feel like a child receiving a lecture. The feeling filled her with conflicting emotions. It had been years since she had been lectured like this.

"You are like a rabbit," The Duke continued.

"They sense your fear, Aurora. You can practically smell it off you."

Of course, who wouldn't be scared of literal monsters because it is scary? She screamed on the inside, but on the outside, she kept on nodding. A moment of silence passed between them, and she risked a glance up only to be met with that predatory gaze. Gulping, she looked back at her feet.

"Even now, you shake like a leaf."

Aurora could hear the Duke shifting in his seat.

"It's always the same with supporting mages. They're such easy prey," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

What was a supporting mage? Aurora wondered. From her excellent deduction skills, she assumed it was probably mages who did not fight, maybe like a healer- or, apparently, what she was.

"This far up in the north, you must always keep the lights on."

She meekly held up a thumbs up. The Duke stared at her hand with bewilderment and confusion. Had she done something wrong? She wondered.

"What does that even mean?" he sighed again.

They stared at each other, him waiting for a response. Her waiting for the screen that never came. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. He sighed again.

"Anyways, they come running when they can smell your fear. It is an appetizing smell. There are many monsters in the North, and you will have to learn to deal with them and with that fear of yours."

She nodded.