Prologue

"Your Grace! Let's hurry!" Her voice was shaking and out of breath, clearly showing signs of fatigue, but she held my hand tightly as she tried to pull me away from the hell. Our bare feet were both bruised from the sharp rocks and thorny bushes that we passed through the way and our dresses were both tattered as blood oozed out from our wounds. It was supposed to be a moonless night, but the torches of the knights that were tailing us became the light filled the forest and it was a cruel reminder that there was no time for rest.

If I want to live peacefully, then I must escape this hellish dukedom.

"Lia..." I softly called the young girl whose hands were shaking as they held mine. Her body language told me that she was anxious, but her brown eyes were focused and determined to lead us out of here. She paused from her tracks and dragged me to a thick hedge to hide. "Your Grace, please be quiet for a while." She hushed me and I kept my mouth shut. She assisted me to hide and sit carefully, still careful about my situation even with all this ruckus.

I stared at her innocent features and I can't help but feel pity for her. She was supposed to have a brighter future with her young age, but now she's stuck with me in this perilous state because of her loyalty. I don't feel deserving of this, yet she continued to assure me despite everything.

My only friend in this world, and the sole person I can trust.

A movement of the bush across our location drew the attention of the soldiers and I had to cover my mouth to avoid making unnecessary noise. The armed knights stood in front of the shrub, holding the base of their swords. In an instant, a sharp sound sliced through the air and a crimson liquid splattered on the ground, followed by the metallic stench. One of the soldiers grabbed the being hidden in the thick leaves and it revealed a dead figure of the creature. I had to close my eyes to avoid seeing the gruesome scene.

It was a rabbit.

"It's not her." The general, Sir Krauss Emerson, clicked his tongue due to disappointment. "Search for the duchess and her maid, now! They couldn't have gotten far. Bring the duchess back, alive or in the brink of death, any will do." My face paled upon hearing his orders and the fear crept to my system once again.

I was right. They're going to dispose of me, no matter what.

The army headed to another direction and we had to wait until they were completely gone from our sight before standing up. Lia did her best to assist me with her thin arms and we continued to venture out from this place. Her left arm supported my back while the right one held my hand as she tried to guide me out with a few injuries.

"I'm sorry, Lia." I told her but she smiled at me, the bright one that she used to give me even when we were still at the duchy. "There's nothing for you to apologize about, Your Grace. It's been an honor for me to serve you, and I wish for you to survive this. You, of all people, deserve to be happy." I know that this was no time for me to be emotional, but her comforting words and soft voice lingered in my mind.

I never wanted to be here in the first place, yet I was forced to take on a role that I have no idea of. I've been accused of malicious things, but I have no way of proving my innocence because my memories were long gone.

We continued to walk through the dark forest, and it wasn't long until we saw a clearance up ahead. "Your Grace, that's..." Lia did not finish her sentence and we both knew we had to go faster. That was a mark indicating that we were close to our destination, the exit.

Still, things would never go the way you wanted it to.

The moonless night was a good disguise for us to mask our movements, but in the face of knights with sharp senses, we were bound to be discovered anytime soon. All I hoped was that before they could spot us, we were already at the exit of this hell, but those hopes were crushed upon seeing the stern face of the general with his sword pointed on us.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" His voice was mocking and a smirk was plastered on his face. I tried to look around, but there was no way out. The squad of knights already encircled our position, with their sharp blades ready to lunge on us. Lia held my hand tighter as she was trying to find a way to escape. Fear crept into my heart, but at the same time, my resentment for this man rose up.

"General Emerson." I spat his name like it was poison. He was one of the people that made my life more difficult. His astounding skills with the blade did not blunt his wicked strategies, which he made use to bring me down just for his immature daughter.

"Trying to escape, eh? Admitting guilt for all of your deceitful acts?" My blood boiled with his words and the anger I had for him took away the fear I was feeling. A struck of realization hit me when I realized that there's a chance for us to run away.

We can escape here.

In the most discreet way, I tapped Lia's hand twice with my finger. She was hesitant upon realizing my plan, but soon gripped my hand once as a sign of her approval. There's a way for us to get away from here, and it's up to me on how I'll execute it.

I stood on my ground and placed my hands on my round stomach.

I'm sorry for putting you in this kind of danger, my child. Don't worry, I will protect you.

I faced the general and grinned playfully.

"Trying to kill me, eh? Feeling jealous since your daughter did not carry my husband's heir?" I copied his mocking tone and I had to stop myself from laughing upon seeing his face turning red due to anger. "Cat's got your tongue, huh?" I even managed to provoke him more and in a snap, I felt his cold blade beside my neck. Beads of sweat trickled down my face as the wind blew, making me feel colder than usual.

"You whore. I thought of sparing your life, but I guess you would be able to give birth even without your tongue and limbs." He uttered in a low and rough voice, clearly threatening me. I met his sharp red eyes that held nothing but contempt for me. Instead of glaring back at him, I showed him the sweetest smile I could give which caught him off guard. "Kill me if you can, General." I headbutted his nose and Lia immediately took our weapon from her skirt then threw it to the ground. Smoke emerged from it, temporarily blinding everyone in the process, and we took that opportunity to run away.

With the rush of adrenaline pumping in my veins, we rushed to get a good distance from them. Upon reaching the clearance, we went straight ahead the other side of the forest until we saw the place that would lead us to the exit.

It was a manhole that would lead us to a tunnel out of here. It was covered with thick bushes and hidden in the big trees that were growing here. We were able to find it because of the directions from our informant.

"Please wait for a while, Your Grace. You should not strain yourself, it's bad for a pregnant woman." She carefully hid me in the bush as she struggled to lift the cover of the manhole with her thin arms. I wanted to help her, but I knew I would just be a burden. After a few seconds, she was finally able to open it and with the most silent way possible, we entered the manhole.

Finally, we would be able to get out of here.

I went inside first, followed by Lia. I had to be careful while going down since the handle of the metal ladder was slippery. Lia closed the cover and went down. We were able to step foot on the ground and it was really dark. Lia rushed by my side and assisted me once again.

"He told us not to use any light and just walk forward, Your Grace." Lia whispered and I simply nodded. We had no choice but to trust our informant's words, because we survived with his information. The tunnel was silent if not for our pants and footsteps. Even though we were already at the tunnel, we can't let our guards down and continued to walk fast.

"Just a little bit more, Your Grace." Her soft voice tried to reassure me. "Yes, I know. Thank you, Lia." Even though there was no light, I could imagine the smile she's giving me.

A few minutes passed and we stopped walking upon bumping on another metal ladder in front of us. Lia insisted to go first and check the surroundings and I simply agreed. I could hear her climbing the ladder and pushing the manhole open. It took me a while to adjust with the new light that shone from above. Lia looked at my direction and offered her hand.

"Come on, Your Grace. We're here." I smiled at her and climbed up the ladder. Upon reaching the top, I had to squint my eyes to because of the sparkling lights that shone from a distance. The city was only a few kilometers away, the place where we would be living from now on. I turned to my friend's direction and immediately hugged her while crying tears of relief.

"We did it, Lia. We escaped." I felt her hugging me back and cried alongside me. ""Yes we did, Your Grace. We're going to live far away from them and take care of your child." I smiled upon hearing her excitement for my child.

My dear baby, we would be living peacefully from now on. I promise that we would survive together. You, me, and Lia.

That was what was supposed to happen.

However, a few years after that escape, the new light that we saw that day turned dark once again... when an arrow pierced my beloved friend's heart.

"Please survive, Your Grace." Those were her last words for me. Despite my tears, I glared at the black-eyed man who was looking at me with his usual blank expression.

"Found you, my duchess. Now, where's the child?"