A Shocking Discovery

Once the servants left the room Duchess Savez turned to me and slapped me hard across the face."You fool!" She spat out at me. "Have you lost your mind?"

The slap forced my head to the side having caught me off guard. Pain coursed through my cheek and as I brought my hand to it I turned to look back at her. And there it was, her true nature. Gone was her kind expression and cheerful demeanor. A cold cruel looking expression had replaced it. Just like I saw in Ayans' memories.

That's what she did, she would appear sweet and lovely to people in public and then show her true colors in private. She used her two-facedness to her advantage. She would make people like and trust her with her kindness so she can get what she wants.

"How can you go from the most favored wife in the harem to the least favored in such a short time?!" She continued to yell at me. "What happened?"

Although, she was angry and raising her voice at me, she kept her volume at a certain level, so no one would hear her unless they were right outside.

"You should be pregnant with his first child right now! You have one simple job so what is so difficult? Do you know how hard your father and I worked to make sure you were chosen as one of his wives?" She asked incredulously.

Ayan's parents were expecting her to be the one to have the General's first child so they could receive they money and gifts awarded to the family of that wife. They had been preparing Ayan her whole life to be a wife in a harem to a poweful man. They jumped through all kinds of hoops, determined to get her married to the best bachelor of the empire. Who at the time was General Kang. As much as having a son was viewed as more valuable in this society having a daughter also had benefits, if the child married into wealth.

However I couldn't understand why they were so tenacious about her having his first child. When Ayan married the General they received a more than generous dowry, Duke Savez made a lot from his merchant business but on top of that they still wanted more money? Greedy much?

"Do you know how embarrassing it's been to go to public events and have everyone laugh behind your back because of your stupid daughter? Your father is so disappointed." Duchess Savez seethed.

"You have my beauty, my irressistable body how can you fail? There is no other wife in that stupid harem with a body like yours. Men are simple beings, they only think with one part of their body if a woman is beautiful enough. How do you think I got your father."

I wanted to roll my eyes at how simplistic she was being. Ayan's mother was actually her fathers' second wife. She started off as a mistress to him whilst he was still with his first wife but she seduced him and made him favor her to the point where he kicked the his first wife out of the house. He then married Ayan's mother and gave her the title of Duchess, despite it being a title only reserved for the first wife.

In the empire harems worked differently for men of different statuses. Commoner men could only had one wife as they wouldn't have the wealth to take care of multiple wives. A low ranking duke could have a maximum of two official wives but multiple mistresses were allowed. The first wife was given the official duchess title (with exceptions). High ranking officials like General Kang could have upwards of 6 wives. Then the emperor himself could have as many as he desired.

In other words although he had a first wife already, Ayans mother convinced him to give her the rights of the first wife. The first wife was sent to live somewhere else but was funded by the duke. It was a very messy situation espiccially since Ayans' eldest brother was the first wife's child.

""What is with this house?" She asked as she looked around taking in the decorations I suppose. "Did you decorate this place? Don't tell me you're content with this disgusting dump of a house?" She hysterically asked, pacing back and forth in the room. "I'm telling you right now if you get sent home your father and I will not accept you back into the house. Do you understand me?"

I just stared at her as she went on her tirade, shocked by how insane this woman was.

"Do you understand me?"She asked again as I still hadn't answered her.

"Yes, mother." I reluctantly responded.

Duchess Savez calmed her erratic breathing after all the complaining she'd done. Once she cooled down she focused her attention on me. " Luckily for you, you have a mother who loves and cares for you." she spoke slowly as she reached into the pockets of her dress. She took out two small objects and placed them on the table.

" In the event that you fail, you can use this to give yourself a fresh start." She said vaguely. I looked at the objects wondering what she meant.

They two small glass vials that contained a purple liquid in them. My eyes widened in horror as I realized what she was giving me. I had seen them before.... in the nightmare I had where Ayan is beheaded. They were the exact viles same design of bottle and purple color!

"Don't make that face, Ayan" She threatened as she saw my shock.

However she misunderstood why I was shocked. I was wondering how on earth I could have dreamt about something I'd never seen before till now. What did this mean? Regardless, in my dream Ayan was executed as a result of the vials no doubt of I was caught with them in reality the same would occur. "Mother if this is what I think it is I can't do it. What if I get ca--"

I never got to finish my sentence as my mother suddenly knelt down in front of me and quickly grabbed my face with her hand. She squashed my cheeks causing my lips to pucker up like a fish as she forced me to look up at her. "Listen Ayan, I'm not doing this because I want to." She threatened in a low voice. The look in her eye could kill. "This is your fault for not doing your part. You WILL be the first to have his child, you understand?"

As I stared straight back, I simply nodded my head in response.

"Good girl." She said letting me go. "Hide them well and if you have to use them make sure you don't get caught. If you do I will absolve myself of any involvement."

My goodness. I thought to myself. I can really see why Ayan turned out to be such an obsessive psychopath with a murderous mother like that. Of course you would be extremely competitive and constantly seeking attention when you were being threatened to be kicked out of the family. However, that wasn't the only thing that fueled her actions. Ayan did truly love the General. I could see that in her memories. Her actions were based on both love and pressure.

I reluctantly took the poison vials and hid them in my dress as the Duchess watched.

"You can call the servants now, I want to take a walk in the gardens before I leave okay?"

"Yes, mother." I said as I stood up to do as she told me as I made my way to the door she stopped me.

"Ayan, next time we see each other it better be under different circumstances."

"Yes." I responded again.

Once the servants returned the Duchess was in high spirits again. She switched up her personality instantly like a light switch. Honestly this woman was a sociopath, literally. We went on to spend the rest of the afternoon together in the gardens.