THE DUCHESS IS A MAFIA

"Where am I?"

Ariana is still confused by what happened but slowly regains her right mind. She processes in her brain everything she sees around her.

"Is this our organization's new safe house? Or a place of people who helped and saved me?"

Feeling nothing dangerous would happen, Ariana tried to relax before paying attention to herself again, wanting to inspect herself in case she got any major injuries.

But the second shock is coming!

"What the heck..."

Her hand is immaculate, looking so white, so beautiful with a slender finger, no more calluses which are a reward from her harsh training, no more scar from all of her fighting!

"What kind of treatment did I get when I was unconscious?" Ariana feels amused.

But it didn't last long as she freaked out again.

"What is this?" She said while holding the clothes, she was wearing.

What is she wearing right now? A beautiful flower pattern gown that she never had in her entire life. There's no way she will wear something like that when she sleeps as she is so faithful with her big T-shirt and torn sleep pants!

"Huh?"

That wasn't enough; her eyes began to widen as her hand suddenly made contact with something long, shiny brown hair.

"Oh, my God! How long did I pass out until my hair grew long like this?! " Ariana totally lost her mind now. She never grew her hair so long like that. She doesn't even remember when the last time she had long hair. Probably never!

She saw a large mirror in the room in a corner. Slowly, she pushed the blanket that wrapped around her body and started to get off the bed.

"Okay, now. Let's see it face to face. It can't be that horrible, right? " Thinking about her new look makes her lose her mind, but she still tries to be positive.

Gulping in nervousness, she started to step in front of the big mirror. Still afraid to face the truth, she closed her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Ariana began to open her eyes slowly.

"Huh? W-what... Is this?"

Ariana continued to hug her body at that time before she felt her entire body, which she realized was much different.

"Where is the cute body muscle that I had my entire life? Why does this body have a vibe like a true girl? Why is my face and skin so smooth and not dry as always?!"

"This!" She held her face, which looked too beautiful then, unlike the usual appearance she remembered. It's still the same face, anyway.

"This!" She now holds her chest area, which really develops in the right way.

"And this!" She began to pull her hair, which shined beautifully and extended to her waist, too well managed.

"What the hell is going on!!!"

Finally, she screamed her heart out, opening a massive door to the room.

"My lady!"

Ariana stopped her feelings of horror and watched the person who seemed to be talking to her.

"Oh, my God. Lily! You are here. You are safe." A sense of relief began to fill her heart when she saw a familiar face.

But then Lily started to cry out loud. With all the whining, the dripping tears, and the snot altogether!

Ariana couldn't think long, even though she felt strange about what she was experiencing, as Lily continued to hug her tightly at that time.

"My Lady, you are finally awake. Thank goodness." She said while still crying.

'My Lady? Why does she address me like that? And what is she wearing?' Ariana began to speak in her mind while observing the uniform that Lily was wearing at the time, which was like a maid uniform she had seen in a television drama.

'Don't tell me we are doing an undercover mission while I'm still unconscious? My family won't use me like that, won't they?'

Seeing Ariana, who was just silent and motionless, Lily let go of her embrace.

"What's wrong, my Lady? Are you feeling hurt somewhere? Should I call the doctor back? He just left from inspecting you today and said you might never wake up. Everyone was so worried, and the duke even asked the doctor to come every day, even though we didn't see any progress. You look so pale and..."

"Wait." Ariana stopped Lily. She got too much information, and now it all started to hurt her head.

Lily caught her breath as she was talking too much while looking at Ariana with a relieved smile.

Ariana also looked at her but with some suspicious feelings. It is clear that this Lily sincerely feels worried, just like the Lily she knows, but the vibe is not the same at all.

'The duke? Is there still the use of such a rank in modern times?'

At that time, she started looking towards the window in the room, and then she walked closer to look out. There, she realized that where she is now is different from the world she knows based on the panorama, the people who are there, the mood, and everything!

Ariana's heart began to beat fast. She can't tell the difference between reality and dreams anymore.

"Where are we?" She finally asked after some time.

Lily was puzzled but still faithfully answered the question.

"Of course, we are at The Duke's Silver Palace. You have lived in here for three years now."

"Three years? Me?"

Lily tilted her head a little as if she didn't understand Ariana's feelings at that time.

"What is the name of this country?"

"Country? Do you mean this land? Our very proud Kingdom of Phoenix, of course !" Lily sounded excited.

"K-Kingdom of Phoenix? Damn!" Ariana finally cursed while holding her head.

"What's wrong, my Lady? Are you feeling sick again? " Fast, Lily stood beside her, worried.

"Well... A world like fairy tales, fantasy, or back-to-time travel is just a selfish imagination. It will never exist. I must be dreaming now. Right, Lily? " Ariana tries to convince herself.

Lily just realized something was wrong somewhere now.

"No, what do you mean dreaming? You are just waking up from a long sleep. You are back to life after a very horrible death! " Okay, she is just too much, but Ariana ignores it.

Ariana slowly walked towards the bed she left earlier and started lying down again.

"What are you doing, my Lady? Do you feel tired?"

"I'm glad to see you, Lily, but you are far from the person I know, so let's meet again in the real world and not in this dream, okay? Please don't wake me up."

Ariana forced herself to close her eyes, wanting to sleep even though she didn't feel tired or sleepy.

Two hours later,

The same top view, the same fragrant smell, the same long hair! She didn't want to face this new reality, so she kept closing her eyes several times. Tried to force herself to sleep again and again.

"Ugh, I can't sleep anymore." She said to herself.

"Of course, you're sleeping for a week. You are supposed to be hungry and not sleepy." Lily said out of nowhere.

"You're still here, Lily."

"Of course, I'm here, my Lady. I am your exclusive maid. The doctor comes when you are sleeping, and he says you are fine now, like a miracle. Head butler also comes to see you, and I'm sure he already told the duke."

"Now I had a butler, too? Miracle? Really? " Ariana murmured to herself.

"My Lady? How about you eat something now? The doctor said you can't eat solid food yet. So I ask the kitchen to prepare you for some porridge and soft dessert."

Ariana was too lazy to get up, but the smell of food really called her. So she started to get up and approached the table, which was now full of food and fruits.

Wasting no time, she continued to eat.

"Please eat slowly, my lady, so that you will not experience stomachache like before," Lily advised.

Ariana continued to eat heartily as she began to feel too hungry as soon as the first bite. It seems true that she was unconscious for a whole week without water and food based on what she feels now.

While eating, she eyed Lily from top to bottom before deciding to ask something.

"You know, Lily. Can you tell me what happened to me before I was unconscious?"

"Are you not remembering, my Lady? You are going to the tea party with the duke. You look happy and beautiful when you go, but when you come back, you are crying non-stop. I ask you what's wrong, but you never tell me why. You are a secretive person like that. I mean, this is the longest conversation that happened between us. I was shocked, but I didn't say anything because it was probably a side effect of the accident. Apart from that, you never really have a conversation with anyone in this palace. You are kind of a loner here. " Lily explained at length.

"What kind of accident?" Ariana was interested to know.

"I don't really know, but one of the workers saw you jump into the lake. Luckily, that person acted quickly and tried hard to save you."

'Me? A loner? Trying to kill myself? Clearly, this isn't me at all, other than the same face. ' Ariana began to find the difference between her real self and this Ariana right here.

"But my Lady, why are you asking all this? Aren't you the one who knows more about what happened? " Lily started asking as she found it disturbing. Her Lady is never this talkative!

Ariana sighed while eating before deciding to be honest.

"Well, Lily... Actually, I didn't even remember anything except the fact that I know your name."

So Lily's eyes widened at that moment before she started running out of the room while screaming,

"Doctor! Call the doctor again. Someone!"

"Will I survive this?"