Lady Irene

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"