Head to the slaughter

The Duchess felt her whole body trembling. It was a slap on her face. Since she married into the Duke family, many noble women had envied her. After all, she was a wife favored by her husband. This was not common, as many wives were married for family status. The mistress was usually the husband's favorite.

Duchess Anita felt she had good fortune; she did not expect a day when her husband would make her a laughing stock.

How could she, a legal wife have an unmarried daughter, yet the daughter of a mistress would become the crown princess?

Although she was not satisfied with the discussions, she knew it was best to stop. Anyway, if she could not convice her husband, she would find a way to steal the marriage.

The only lady who could marry the crown prince from Duke Thomason's family was her daughter.

"With your permission," she got up from her seat and walked towards the door swiftly.

"from this moment on, Anastasia must be treated like the daughter of a duke. No more preparing spice for Elisabeth in the morning. Her meal would be sent three times a day. She is not allowed to fall sick; otherwise, I will sue you for food poisoning," Duke Thomason spoke as His Duchess approached the door.

He knew that she would not give up after what he said, so he decided to warn her.

When Duchess Anita heard this, her entire body shook. She did not expect her husband to say those words to her.' in his eyes, was she a murderer?' Although she mistreated Anastasia, she was not stupid enough to kill her as the first suspect of her death would be her. It took her all her willpower not to turn back and scold him. She knew her situation was already bad, and any more mistakes would be handing her head over for slaughter.

If the duke found an excuse to lock her up in the residence, it would not bring her any benefits. Rather, the envy she had enjoyed for years would be gone. So she continued walking without a word.

Outside the door, Leah and Steward Muman remained silent. Although they could not listen to what was discussed, they heard the occasional raised voices from the study.

"what is going on?" Leah was worried again. She began to think that perhaps the rumors were not true.

"I don't know, but for the sake of the fact that we are from the same hometown, I will advise that you vomit everything from Lady Anastasia that you have swallowed. The wind in the Duke's residence is about to change," Steward Muman said. Although he was not one to discuss his master's affair, he still reminded her. After all, they were both servants. Even if he disagreed with her actions, he still showed her kindness for old-time sake.

Leah opened her mouth to ask more questions, but the door to the Duke's study was pulled open. Duchess Anita walked out with a straight face. She looked calm, and one could not tell she had just argued with her husband.

Leah felt her body tremble, she knew her master well, so she could tell the duchess was in a bad mood. Leah followed quietly behind the Duchess, praying that the Duchess would forget about her existence. After all, the Duchess throws things and hits anyone who does something to irritate her when she is not in a good mood.

....

*Uhm,

Anastasia took a deep breath as she opened her eyes. She was covered in cold sweat, and her eyes were stained with tears. She had a dream.

This time, her dream was not long, she only saw the old lonely woman dying. When she opened her eyes, her room was still covered in darkness, making her shiver. The small table lamp must have gone off in the middle of the night.

Even as the daughter of a duke, the resources at her disposal were little. She could not see her hands clearly, but she knew her environment well. After all, it was not the first time she woke up to darkness.

Anastasia got up from her bed and walked over to the window. She pushed it open and let the cold wind blow against her skin. This way, she felt alive and less frightened of her dream.

As she stood looking at the darkness, she said, "It seems even the moon is not shining tonight." Anastasia sighed. She felt like only darkness loomed around her.

The scene from her father's study played in her mind, overlapping her dream. "could this be a warning? " she asked herself, no longer pushing the dream at the back of her mind. She worried she might miss something important to her life and future.

"What should I do? " Anastasia asked herself, thinking in this direction.

"my lady, " at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in, " Anastasia said.

Rosa pushed the door open and walked inside. She entered, holding a small lamp, which would go off at any moment due to the lack of oil. They were out of oil since the resources they had were limited. Rosa could have gone to the store to collect more, but after the way Anastasia left the Duke's study, she knew she would not get any. Moreover, she was worried about causing her lady trouble.

"My lady, " Rosa raised the lamp to look at Anastasia. She had been worried since the previous evening. So the moment she heard movement from the room, she put on the light and knocked on the door.

"What do you think of dreams? " Anastasia asked. She felt that she should ask for a second person's opinion. There were only a few people around her she could speak to.

"Dreams? " Rosa was surprised by the question. "Dreams are fragments of our thoughts. There is nothing to worry about; I had a dream that I fell into the river and drowned, but look at me now?" Rosa said with all seriousness. She was worried that her lady had a nightmare and did not want to scare her.

Anastasia raised her brows, "My lady, it's true, at that time, I was scared of the river. Because I was scared of drowning, I even wanted to learn to swim, but I failed due to my fear of water, yet I have never fallen into a river, " Rosa explained, She felt that Anastasia did not believe her.

Anastasia shook her head, she felt that Rosa had not been honest with her. "My lady, what did you dream about? You will realise there is nothing to be scared of after you share it, " Rosa assured. In her heart, she was planning to visit the chapel the next day to pray for blessing. Although many dreams were fragments of imagination, she had heard that dreams could predict the future.

"I dreamt that I married the crown prince and became the crown princess, " Anastasia answered.

Rosa felt like slapping her mouth, she had said so much nonsense because she thought her Lady had a nightmare. "My lady is blessed, I am sure your dream will definitely come true, " Rosa changed her mouth without shame. She felt that her previous answer was cursing her lady. Marrying the prince is a good thing, how could she dare wish it away?

"I thought you said dreams are a fragment of imagination? " Anastasia raised her brows. Rosa smiled, feeling embarrassed.

"My lady, I just feel that dreams can show us our good fortune at times. I heard a priest once saying that God reveals things to his children in dreams," Rosa said. She did not look at Anastasia when she spoke. Rosa felt that Anastasia was blessed like Joseph in the Bible, who dreamt that he became a ruler, and it happened.

Anastasia smiled, "Go and sleep, I am fine," she assured. Whether dreams are warnings or not, she was still fine at the moment.

Rosa wanted to ask her what happened at the Duke study, but she was afaird of crossing the line or making her lady sad.

"You should sleep more, my lady. You still have to accompany Miss Maria to her friend's party tomorrow. I heard Miss Maria's friend has taught many noble ladies," Rosa said.

Anastasia nodded; she was not surprised that she knew about Miss Maria's arrangement.

"With your permission, my lady," Rosa bowed and placed the lamp on the table; she knew her lady hated the dark.