An Incident in the Garden

'Could it be that I can really change what was fated to happen inside this book?' Elijah gazed at the slow moving white cloud as a trace of a grim smile flashed in her eyes. 'Truth be told, I really don't have that much confidence. But still, I wanna survive. I wanna go back but my priority is to keep my life. And I can only do that if I change my fate in this book.'

The tea party ended a couple of hours ago and now she's in her room diving in her inner thoughts while staring out the window and waiting for the Duke's return. She already decided to meet him and so she hoped he wouldn't turn her request down this time.

'Since I am Melanie now, what happened to the real Melanie? It's been 3 long years. Did I die in the real world? Why I still inside this body?' She thought. She just remembered waking up inside this body. And even that memory has started to go distant the longer she stayed in this place. Elijah's eyes teared up. 'Can I still go back? Is there still hope? Will I still be able to find an answer as to why I am here? What has happened to the real world? Was someone even worried about me? Just like how normal I slept in the library, it was so normal waking up here as Melanie. No unnatural phenomenon or accidents or nothing like that happened. It just turned out this way. If Melanie's soul is still somehow inside this body and sleeping, then I hope it wakes up soon to reject my soul. If we somehow switched up and her soul is now living inside my body back in my world, then I hope she adapts well and live well until we can switch back. But if her soul disappered and she's no longer alive, then I promise to use her body well and live her life well. Either way, I will live well as you, Melanie.'

'There should be ways to cancel the engagement. First, I could die and the engagement is automatically off. But I cannot really die here, can I? Over the past few years, death also came to my mind as a possible solution to escape this world. But alas, someone always comes to my rescue whenever it happens that I am on the brink of my death. So I truly decided to live well from then on. I really don't want to die here any longer, so maybe I could fake my death? Then I could just save finances and get secretly rich so I can still use funds after my fake death? Hmmm. That is plausible but not the best solution. Besides, I plan to inherit this Duchy so faking my death to cancel the engagement is plainly stupid.' Elijah continued to ponder. 'Second, I could convince the prince to cancel the engagement. Though this will take a longer route because he is adamant to marry me and stabilize his position as the crown prince. But now he has the Francesca Dukedom as a backup should our engagement fail, right? He also said that the last 3 years should be built with trust between us. If he somehow trusts me now, then I can just convince him that I will support his ascension with the Duchy's power behind me. If the rumor about another bride from Franchesca Dukedom is true, then I can use that to bargain with him and make him give up. Third, I could also convince the Duke to disagree with the engagement. If he does, then there will be no engagement in the first place. This could be the easiest route supposedly. However, I am technically not close to my father here and that he hates me for being born. So of course, he would agree to just marry off his hated daughter to the royal family to finally get rid of me, right? I don't know what family love is, so how can I gain the Duke's favor and support? I guess it is also not easy then.'

"D*mn it!" Elijah cursed and sighed.

'Whatever. I guess it's just a good thing that I wasn't an idle child growing up. Using my own skills, my chances of survival in this world is almost guaranteed. I have also gained a lot over last 3 years and I can use them to my advantage. It wasn't easy but somehow I managed to make it work.'

During her days back in the real world, she, Elijah, had experienced ten or so years of martial arts and swordmanship training. It began when she was 5 and met her master who patiently taught and trained her. Though she has yet to overcome her fear of heights because of what happened when she was young in the orphanage, she still displayed outstanding skills. Her master then made her join competetions in which she never lost. Growing up in an orphanage was difficult but she strived and pulled it off. Her innate talent was so good that she got a lot of sponsorship, not only from her master but also from others for her studies in academics and even in sports. She never liked going out and always opted to stay inside her room but she never missed to practice outdoors when required. Her teachers often praised her for her knowledge as she has great memory and picks up the lessons very quickly. Her sponsors often exploited her knowledge and skills but Elijah didn't mind because she also gains something out of it. In short, she is a born genius with lots of talents. Her memory is truly like a computer with unlimited terabytes and she easily learns things even after seeing it once. It even came to a point where a lot of families have even offered to officially adopt her because of that. But the orphanage management is greedy and couldn't let her go as she was the source of most of their funds. The sponsorship and allowances she's supposed to receive are mostly taken advantaged of by the orphanage management. Her goal was actually to reach 18 and finally leave the orphange and start living an actual life for herself. She was truly looking forward to it. She has her life all planned out. She has secretly invested whatever money she got over the years and it all blossomed to an unimaginable amount. Elijah was only waiting to come of age before she can finally live her life.

'I should be 19 by now in the real world had I not fallen into this novel. I should have been enjoying the fruits of my labor, the money I invested in, the freedom and I truly wanted. I have endured a lot in the real world too. I should be allowed to enjoy my life there too, right? This is truly unfair. I really want to go back.' Elijah thought once more as she felt sullen.

She then again recalled what had happened the day she crossed over, that scene when she fell of the oak tree and met the second prince. She pouted as to how her life turned out now that she's here.

"Miss, the Duke have just arrived." Lulu, Melanie's personal maid, entered carrying a tray, placed it on the table and took out the teapot and plate one by one to arrange them on the table. "As you advised, I have already informed the butler of your request to meet the Duke. I am sure they will be giving the answer in an hour or two."

"Not eating, I'm stepping out first." Elijah pushed away from the table and a hint of coldness flashed through her maid's eyes. She, Elijah, had particularly no concern for others aside from her love of holding grudges. And if a grudge existed it most certainly, must be avenged. "You dare glare at me?"

"Huh? No, Miss." Lulu immediately replied and looked down. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to the girl in front of her. The miss she knew is timid and quiet. However, one day, she just came home with a puffy eyes totally different from how she was before. Lulu had a taste of Elijah's authority when she got home that day. So now, she dare not do something especially now that the Duke is back. Over the last 3 years, almost all of their bullying were countered in advance by the young lady. Lulu couldn't help but admire her and her tenacity a little. What a pity that she's a neglected and hated daughter of the Duke. And she must gain favor from the "would be owners" of this Dukedom. As a maid, all she could do is attach herself to the ones in power.

"Good if you know. Glare at me once more and I'll pluck your eyes out. I'll be in the garden, inform me immediately once you receive a reply." Elijah warned sharply before stomping her feet out of the room. She didn't care if people in this Duchy sees her as evil and cruel. Besides, they were the ones who abused Melanie first. So she is just avenging Melanie's years of grudges. They even cruelly tried to crush her over the years but Elijah would never let them step over her again and would gladly become the villainess to protect herself.

***

Inside the garden, Lady Gloriette, Lord Pierre's pregnant concubine, and her cousin, Lady Joana strolled along the Lotus Pond. Gloriette was a beautiful noble born from the first wife of a Viscount in the northern region so her status was high. Due to the popularity of her beauty in the north, Pierre seeked her hand using the Duchy's power and made her his concubine since he was already married. Lady Joanna, on the other hand, was born from a mistress but her mouth was sweet and she usually used it to fawn over her pregnant cousin. She gave priority to Lady Gloriette so the two appeared to have quite a good relationship to the point of even letting Lady Joana live inside the Duchy.

A faint whisper came from Lady Joana, "My dear older cousin, I heard that damned girl just answered back to Lord Pierre during the gathering of nobles earlier?"

Lady Gloriette pouted and then sneered, "Her life is so cheap and now she is even trying to humiliate my husband in front of the nobles. I wish she was poisoned to death or beaten for her foul mouth, answering back like that. How hateful!"

"Then what do we do? Doesn't it mean that she is now questioning Lord Pierre? Besides, I heard that the elders confirmed that marriage with the second prince is now solid..." Lady Joana inquired.

Lady Gloriette fiercely fisted her hands, "Don't you worry, she'll definitely die even before the royal marriage happens! Though it is an advantage for my child that she's joining the royal family, I cannot allow her to gain more power than my husband. Especially now that she's started showing her true colors."

At the moment, they were walking along the inside area. Elijah simply smirked as she listened in to their discussion of plotting against her life. A glimmer of coldness flashed through her eyes. She'd like to see who would dare mess with her now that she's the one living inside this body. She happened to hear their voice as soon as she reached the inner gardens so she hid herself in a bush that instant. Elijah wished she could just strangle the two right there and then.

'Shameless.' Elijah thought and cursed the two a thousand times inside her head. 'Once I establish myself here, I will surely kick you both out.'

Although Elijah did not have the ability to take her revenge now, collecting a little bit of interest was no problem at all. Her eyes slyly gleamed, so then she silently moved from where she was hidden up until she reached behind a nearby tree, picking up a pebble in the process. With a whip of her hand, the small pebble moved swiftly towards the two women and tumbled near Lady Joana's foot.

As for Elijah, she had already safely returned to hide behind the tree with both hands clutching her chest as her eyes flowed with bright lights and vibrant colors. She waited there to watch the good show.

Everything happened so fast that when Lady Joana took a step and her balance immediately became unstable as she swayed towards the pond's direction. When one was about to fall, they would inevitably activate their instinct of grabbing anything near them that they could possibly hold on to, and Lady Joana was fortunate enough to firmly grasp at Lady Gloriette's sleeve. The latter stood firmly on the ground and regained her footing while protecting her small bump. What was quite unfortunate was the huge tear on Lady Gloriette's dress when Lady Joana finally stumbled and fell to the pond. The damage was so bad that it exposed most of the lady's upper body. On the other hand, Lady Joana screamed with a bang and heavily fell in while looking like a drowned rat inside the pond. Almost immediately, a group of maids and guards came running towards the two. Because the assault came out of the blue, Lady Gloriette haven't realized the damage to her dress and exposed herself to more people who just came.

"Ah, my lady!!!" The maids frantically yelled as they tried to cover her from the guards and hide her exposed body.

"Ahh!" Lady Gloriette also yelled as soon as she realized what happened. Crying out loud, she demanded the guards to move far away.

"Older Cousin!" Lady Joana cried as she seeked for some help to get up from the pond.

"You! You did this to me! I treated you so well but you humiliated me! Send her away! Kick her out immediately! I don't wanna see her ever again!!!" Lady Gloriette angrily yelled as she was ushered out of the garden.

"No! Cousin! Wait!" Lady Joana screamed as she tried to carry her heavily soaked dress and move out of the pond. However, the guards caught her and grabbed her away. "Let me go! No! Older cousin! Wait!"

Elijah smirked as she secretly watched the marvelous internal conflict between the two two close collaborators. In this unexpected accident, Lady Joana was actually an innocent victimized by the pebble.

'But who told them to stubbornly plot my death and offend me who should never be offended?' Elijah thought and inwardly cheered for her victory. The result was much better than her initial expectations. Lady Joana was immediately kicked out of the Duchy. That means one less enemy for her. 'I only thought about getting a bit of fresh air while waiting for the Duke to answer my request. But this isn't bad. It's quite fun actually.'

***

"Miss, I was actually on my way to call you." Lulu said as soon as she saw the smiling Elijah coming out of the garden.

"Ow." Elijah reacted and her face turned serious. "So what did he say?"

"The butler said that the Duke also plans to see you. And so you will be joining him in the dining room for dinner. He ordered that you two will use the main dining room tonight." Lulu informed and Elijah nodded.

"Alright. I got it." Elijah replied and thought for a while. "Go and prepare my oldest and simpliest dress. I will be using that for tonight's dinner with my dear father."

"But Miss..." Lulu started, seemingly wanting to express her protest. If she appeared in front of the Duke that way, the Duke might get suspicious. Even though everyone knows she's a neglected daughter, the Duke still somehow spoils her whenever he's around.

"Are you the lady or me?" Elijah asked, raising her brow.

"You are the lady, Miss." Lulu replied and gulped. She can never win over this young lady. Remembering how she made her suffer, her insides shuddered. She cannot lose the job now after enduring the last 2 years. Lulu knew that this young miss will soon be married off and will be leaving the Duchy. She must endure a little more until she finally leaves.

"Good that you know. Then don't ask questions and just do what I told you to." She replied and walked past the astonished maid. "I'll just be in my room."

"Understood, Miss." Lulu finally said and followed her.

'I am finally making another major move. I am looking forward to meeting you, Duke. I hope you won't disappoint.' Elijah though as she encouraged herself. 'Let's do this!'

***