Duke Henry of Valyenor

In the novel she had read, it was explained that Stella hailed from the Valyenor duchy which was ruled by her father, Duke Henry.

Their family was wealthy and powerful enough that Prince Aiden was crowned Emperor after Duke Henry voiced his support for him due to Stella's plea. The duke's declaration changed the mind of opponent factions and united to support Prince Aiden.

Accordingly, their duchy was just one of the many territories in the Solis Nigellus Empire. But Valyenor was of great importance and held a lot of influence.

In her months of stay in the novel's world, Stella had learned a lot of details that were not in the book she had read.

For instance, she learned that by carriage, Valyenor duchy is at least a month away from the Imperial Capital. It would take even longer depending on how many stops travelers take on the way.

On horseback, it could only take several days for knights and their trained steeds that could stay outside for longer periods of time or not rest a lot on the way.

The travel time was already lessened since Duke Henry had the roads paved and widened for faster and safer travel.

Stella also realized through the servants that people in the duchy loved their Duke for bringing them prosperity and development to the point that his reign was hailed as the Golden Age of Valyenor.

The achievements of the duke were so great that even commoners in other duchies spoke praises of one Duke Henry of Valyenor who looked so cold and scary but very capable and powerful that he was loved by his people.

The older servants in their mansion told Stella that Duke Henry was just fifteen when he took over the duke's seat due to his father's illness but he had already achieved so much.

In his twenty-five years of reign, he paved roads and ensured safe routes for travelers and merchants, improved flood control, increased food production by supporting farmers, assured security and order by training more knights, increased the population by accepting immigrants and people searching for a dwelling place, and so much more that all of his achievements would make a thick scroll.

Some of them were projects already started by his father and were completed by him. Some were plans from the previous generations that were never implemented since it was deemed impossible, but Duke Henry was able to execute them and succeed.

With all the great developments Duke Henry was able to do, Stella thought that it was almost like the duke was building his own kingdom.

'That cold-looking person is actually so amazing. He and Stella are really alike. Everyone in the novel thought that Stella was just a cold-looking beauty who had money but she was so much more.'

She now understood why Stella felt so pressured to not embarrass her family in any way. With a genius father like Duke Henry, it was unavoidable that his children would be compared to him in some way.

If Stella or Hendrick failed in something, they would be embarrassing their very well-achieved father and ruining their duchy's reputation.

It was no wonder that during her stay in the castle recuperating, Stella came to realize that her brother Hendrick was also bright and took all his studies seriously. He was also an excellent knight.

Hendrick was the firstborn and Duke Henry had already declared him as his heir. Thus, since he was already fifteen, he was hungry to make his first contribution especially since Duke Henry had already done so much when it was him at that age.

During the times that she could not sleep due to worrying about what could have happened to her own body in her world, Stella had repeatedly seen Hendrick seriously studying until dawn that he did not even notice her.

She had previously thought that he was the type to take it easy and just have fun due to her first impression of him and how refreshing he looked.

Stella did not expect that he could actually be so focused that he never noticed her during the times she watched him study. She now had a newfound sense of respect for her older brother.

In addition, even Zafir who was adopted by the family was also pressured and excelled in all his studies with private tutors. He was also very serious in his training as a knight.

Duke Henry had apparently promised Zafir that he would be the next Knights' Commander in their duchy once the current one wishes to retire.

Thus, Zafir furthered his training and even overdid it at times to the point that his hands were often bandaged due to training too much.

Zafir was also pressured to contribute something. Most especially since it was the duke who saved his life when he was a baby and raised him as a noble despite not knowing where he came from.

He made sure that he would not embarrass the duke in any way except for his unknown lineage which he could do nothing about.

Stella also noticed that Duchess Amelia was also incredibly busy. The duchess had promised to take care of her ever since she got sick and she kept her promise.

Duchess Amelia checked on Stella every single day and asked her how she was feeling, ensured that she ate properly, and checked if there were improvements in her body condition since she was still frail.

Stella had been noticing dark circles under the duchess' eyes so she asked the servants.

The maids told her that the duchess was helping the duke with some of his work since he was incredibly overworked. Likewise, the duchess also manages the household since she was the Madam.

Now, Stella finally understood what it meant when it was said in the novel that everyone in her family was too busy to have time for her.

That was why it puzzled her that the whole family still had time to check on her every single day. She had to wonder if the novel's story was already changing since she was brought there.

She also understood why Stella studied so much. She wanted to help everyone and not be a burden. She also wanted to bring honor to the family.

'What if she liked the prince so much because she wanted to marry into the Imperial Family to make her family even more powerful?' Stella suddenly wondered.

It could have been possible since Stella in the novel was a smart woman who lacked social skills due to always studying and being an introvert.

While she was on the way back to her room after the tea party with the prince, Stella was surprised to meet Duke Henry and Hendrick.

"Stella, what is that you are wearing?" Hendrick asked with a bright smile. It was too bright that she knew it was faked.

"Oh, this? It's a gift from the prince," Stella innocently replied. She blinked twice when she realized that Duke Henry was looking at it with so much malice. He instantly hid it when she turned to look at him.

"I see. May I check it?" Duke Henry asked with a smile but Stella could tell it was also faked.

'Does he know something about this?'

"Of course, Father," she said and handed the necklace to the duke.

Duke Henry inspected it and checked the backside.

"That old fox! He was already permitting his son to give something like this," Duke Henry grimaced.

Stella realized that the duke indeed recognized that the necklace was from the treasury.

'But what did he mean by that last comment?'

"Is something wrong, Father?" she played innocent.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, dear daughter," Duke Henry smiled at her once again despite obviously not liking that the prince gifted her that necklace.

Hendrick also inspected the necklace and also grimaced.

"That nasty little prince," he muttered to himself in a low voice when he thought Stella was focused on their father. She heard it though.

"Stella, let's put this necklace in a box and lock it away. I will give you a better one, okay?" Hendrick talked to her like she was a five-year-old kid.

"Eh? No, brother. That's a valuable necklace from the treasury. I have to wear it," she lied. She wanted to keep it due to its hidden powers.

"That's not necessary. Accepting it was enough. You do not need to really wear it. Or perhaps you do not like a gift from me?" Hendrick asked with a smile that said: 'Are you choosing that snotty little prince over your older brother?'

"Of course, I'd love a gift from you brother. But I actually like this necklace," Stella did not relent. "Can you give me earrings instead? I will also make sure I wear it often."

"Oh, okay. Then I shall have earrings custom-made for you," Hendrick beamed. He suddenly looked happy.

"Then I shall have bracelets made for you," Duke Henry suddenly said.

Stella was not sure why even the duke was going to prepare gifts for her when she was supposed to be just making a deal with her older brother.

"Then I'll be looking forward to it and make sure to wear them too," Stella agreed since it scared her to refuse.

Duke Henry patted her head and Hendrick hugged her before they let her go back into her room.

'What's with those two? Something seemed suspicious about them,' Stella thought once she was in her room.

She wondered why something felt eerie about the two. She could not pinpoint it, but something seemed off about their actions.