Duke’s residence

“Where’s Titus?” Asked Lady Vienna when Titus did not appear to greet her one morning.

“Sir Titus had returned to his home, my lady.” Said Roxy, brushing her hair as she sat by the vanity chair.

Oh…“When will he be back?”

“Oh, he didn’t tell us about that, my lady. He didn’t inform you?” Roxy asked.

“No…” She can’t help but feel sad. Titus never did this...he always tells her beforehand whenever he returns to his home. Did he get affected after what the emperor told him? She sighed, taking a mental note to ask how Titus feels lately. He only opens up to her sometimes.

After going down to eat her breakfast, Roxy asked something, “When are you going to visit the duke, my lady?”

Oh, that’s right. The duke. She’s forgetting about him these days. Her mind was too preoccupied with Titus. Smiling, she faced her maid. “Why? Do you miss your lover, Huxley? You forgot to tell me what happened when I let him escort you home.”

Roxy’s face reddened. “We just talked, my lady. Nothing more…”

Standing up, she smiled. “Get prepared then. I’m missing the duke too.”

She thinks it’s time. This is it.

Heading to the city of Xynnar using her carriage, it was a few hometowns away from the city of Creneia. It was still early in the morning and they had to sit in the carriage for 2 hours with the bumpy road. When they finally arrived at their destination, Lady Vienna instantly jumped off from the vehicle and stretched her body.

"Wow, that was a long ride."

They had already entered the gates as the guards allowed them to enter, seeing the snake seal of their carriage. Standing in front of the mansion, she looked at her surroundings.

The mansion was huge, with elegant and tall infrastructure and statues placed by the large gardens blooming with blue hyacinth flowers. It was magnificent to say the least.

A maid in her uniform appeared in front of them and bowed, "Welcome to Duke Donovan's mansion, Lady Vienna. Please have a rest first. The duke will be appearing soon."

The lady nodded, noticing something. It was strange, like their owner, she had a mask on. In fact, all the maids lined up to greet them had masks on their faces.

Is there a plague or something? She wondered. I guess I'll ask Duke Raziel then.

They were guided inside a room to the mansion and she slumped on the sofa, seemingly tired. "Aren't you a bit too relaxed, my lady? The Duke's residence was once out competitors to territories. What will you do if rumors appear again?" Roxy spoke up after a while.

She shrugged it off. "Oh, them be. Let rumors spread about me. I am loving it." She had not cared about it for a while now.

The door knocked and a maid's voice said from the other door. "The duke is now entering."

With that, the door opened, and the duke's figure appeared, his usual mask still on. "Pardon me for making you wait, Lady Vienna. Have a rest first." He offered, sitting in front of her.

Huxley entered, bringing with him some tea and poured it on the teacup before leaving.

“Huxley, can you keep my maid company? I need to discuss something with the duke.” Vienna said, winking at her blushing maid.

“Yes, my lady.” Escorting Roxy outside, Huxley then closed the door behind him and they were left alone in silence.

Grabbing the tea cup, Lady Vienna took a sip. She must admit, she had gone a bit comfortable with the duke these past few days.

Duke Raziel chuckled coldly, "I've received a surprise threat from your brother. How protective of him." Crossing his legs, he stared at her eyes. "It was so nice of you to visit me here, Lady Vienna. I appreciate it."

She nodded, "Of course, I just felt like visiting the land of Xynnar. It’s beautiful here.” She said, She could feel him smirking beneath his mask, "I’m glad you are loving my homeland. Shall we have a nice stroll in the gardens? I have prepared a surprise for you."

Surprise? As if the gifts he sent were not enough. "What is it? Let's go then." Standing up, the Duke Raziel escorted Lady Vienna and minutes later, they were found strolling the gardens.

She could feel the servants around the duke's mansion staring at them. "You're servants seemed to welcome me here."

"Yes, they had been waiting for their future duchess." Grabbing something from his pockets, she watched as the duke kneeled in front of her, kissing her hand and putting a ring on her finger. "I hope you don't mind this, Vienna.”

Lady Vienna raised her eyebrows, but let him, realizing it. "Is this your surprise?"

The duke stood up and leaned to whisper in her ear. "Just go along. Make it seem like we are a couple who fell in love."

This was part of the show they agreed. To spread rumors about them and the first step of this is to act sweet around the servants.

Lady Vienna seemed to follow what he was intending to do so he leaned in and stroked her hair behind her ears. They stayed like that for a minute, just standing there silently.

"Are they gone yet?" She asked, glancing around them.

"Not yet," he said, and she felt him leaning closer to her face.

She avoided his gaze and looked at the blue hyacinth flowers surrounding the garden. "The flowers here are pretty, your grace." She commented, diverting his attention.

"Like what you see?" The duke asked, "You will be living here as soon as you sign the papers."

He then removed his face away from her and stared at her in amusement with his blazing red eyes. "The maids are gone now.”

Not backing down, Lady Vienna smirked. "You seem to enjoy this, your grace."

Duke Raziel nodded. "Of course. How could I not? The famous Lady Vienna of the Xaviera Family visited me in my home," He admitted, staring at her.

She wondered, if she didn’t matt Dillon on the Rogue Guild, will she still be in front of the duke today? Will the book still go as planned? She glanced at Duke Raziel who seemed lost in thought. Even him, the coldest tyrant, the villain who's not interested in women, got weak and fell in love with the princess according to the book. The crown prince and Raziel would sacrifice anything for her.

She came here prepared and decided. It’s time. “Do you know what my true intentions are in visiting here today?”

The duke seemed to get out of his trance as he looked at her in confusion, "No, Vienna. May I ask what it is?”

She smirked. “Well, I’ll sign the papers, Raziel.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Are you certain about that? Or are you messing with me, Vienna?”

“I am Lady Vienna, of course I am always certain.”

The duke nodded, “Then shall we discuss this in my study?”

When they sat by his study, he clapped his hands as a signal, the door opened and a man she's familiar with entered the door, carrying some papers.

She smiled at the sight. "Oh, a pleasure to meet you again, Fedel."

The man named Fedel, gave her a forced smile, "It's a pleasure too, Lady Vienna." He replied before excusing himself and leaving.

The duke presented her the papers and she signed them, reading each of the terms. So far, it was all normal. Except for the fact that they have to share their own room.

“Is this really necessary?”

“We need to be detailed. It’s a marriage after all.”

“If we get to sleep in the same room, then does that mean I get to see your face?”

He nodded. “Yes...”

She chuckled at that, that seems reasonable. Plus, nothing is going to happen anyway...does it? “Where’s the pen?”

Signing the papers, she handed it to the Duke. “Here.”

“Perfect. You are now the Duchess of this house, Vienna. When will you move in?”

She thought of her schedule. She's not busy anyway,why not make it early so that it would be easier for her? “Tomorrow.”

“Good.” Kneeling in front of her, Duke Raziel kissed her hand like a gentleman. “Good thing that I gave you a ring today.” The Duke escorted her out to her carriage, and when she hopped on her carriage, she saw Roxy smelling a small daisy on her hand.

“What is that?” She asked her.

“Huxley…” Roxy trailed off, scratching her neck in nervousness, “wanted to court me, my lady.”

She gasped. “Congratulations, I wish you two the best. Well, I’m now married to the Duke.”

The look on Roxy’s face was priceless.