The Useless Duchess' Second Chance

Letter From the Palace

The sound of clashing swords rang out from inside the special training room where Ariana and Valencia were training. Even though Ariana was still having a hard time keeping up with Albert's training, which didn't give the girl the slightest leeway, at least she was able to swing her sword properly after a few weeks of hard work. Her lessons in the academic field are also no less fluent. Ariana learned a lot when she wanted to be a good queen in the past. Relearning everything now, is just like reviewing what Ariana has understood so far.

“Stop!”

Valencia's sword stopped right near Ariana's neck when the girl was caught off guard in the middle of her training. The two of them lowered their swords again after hearing Albert's instructions. Ariana was panting when she finished, but Valencia only let out a long breath before standing up straight, as if she weren't tired at all after training against Ariana for a few times.

“From any perspective, it appears that you are more worthy of mastering this sword technique, Valencia. We learned the technique at the same time, but your swordsmanship has far surpassed mine at this point.”

After Ariana finished taking her breath, the girl commented while praising Valencia sincerely. Her satisfied smile appeared, as she was relieved to see Valencia's swordsmanship did not disappoint her.

Faced with the praise from Ariana, Valencia was instantly overwhelmed as she shook her head with all her might. “That's because I have practiced sword swinging earlier than you, Lady Aria. Not to mention, you also have to balance your sword training with academic ability. There are very few children in this kingdom, who can be as good as you at such a young age.”

Ariana chuckled as Valencia desperately tried to deny that her sword skills were indeed extraordinary. They were relaxing when James entered the practice room. James' presence only meant that Ariana's sword practice time was up, and she had to move on to her next schedule immediately.

“Thank you for today, Sir Albert.”

Before leaving, Ariana took the time to thank her teacher as usual before leaving the room with James. Valencia stayed because she still wanted to study together with his father. Due to her status as Ariana's personal knight candidate, Valencia has been free from her duties to serve Ariana. Especially with James serve Ariana at Alison's residence, Valencia no longer had the obligation to follow Ariana wherever the girl went.

As Ariana and James exited the training room, their attention was drawn to the luxurious horse carriage that slowly entered the Alison family residence. The emblem on the carriage indicated that the carriage was carrying a messenger from the royal palace. A messenger got off the carriage, which Jimmy quickly escorted into the Alison family residence on Duke Andrew's orders.

“I thought Grandpa already announced that our family has been refusing visits from anyone for a while,” Ariana said confused.

“Indeed, Lady Aria. However, if the kingdom does have an official letter for Alison's residence, messengers can still come to deliver the letter,” James explained. Ariana just found out that there is such an arrangement regarding entry permits to their residence. The girl recorded the condition carefully in her heart so that she wouldn't make any mistakes in the future.

“Would you like to meet the messenger who just arrived, Lady Aria?” James asked curiously. But Ariana immediately shook her head. “Right now, I'm just a sick child and don't deserve to meet other people. I'm going to my room to clean myself up. But you can call me, if Grandpa looks for me later,” she informed. James smiled because he was happy again that Ariana was able to understand the situation so quickly. Her lady was probably just a twelve-year-old girl. But her speed in reading the situation, is like an adult who is experienced in politics field.

“I understand. Then, allow me to ask another maid to prepare warm water so that you can wash yourself comfortably.”

“You can go,” Ariana replied. Her gaze quietly fell back on the horse carriage parked in the courtyard of her residence. Ariana's gaze turned serious, as she recalled the events happening around her starting to differ from what happened in her previous life due to her interference.

Ariana knew she had to be careful, especially when her opponent was a royal family that had absolute power in the Sigmund Kingdom.

***

“Aria, it's Grandpa. Can I come in?”

Ariana was reading a book in her room when her grandfather knocked on her door. “You can come in,” Ariana replied as she quickly put the book she was reading on the table.

The moment Duke Andrew entered with a furrowed brow, Ariana immediately knew something had happened regarding the arrival of the messenger from the palace. Ariana made room for her grandfather to sit back and relax, then waited until he was willing to talk to her himself.

“This letter, you can read it.”

From his pocket, Duke Andrew took out a letter with the royal seal on the lid. Ariana picked up the letter, and feeling confused. Before this, his grandfather had never been willing to share such an important letter with young Ariana. But now, the man was willing to gave Ariana such an important letter from the palace.

“This … An invitation to come to the Crown Prince's birthday?”

Ariana looked at this invitation letter with a furrowed brow. She wasn't so stupid as to not understand what the invitation letter meant. Even if Ariana is reported to be sick and undergoing treatment at her residence, ignoring a direct invitation from the queen would be tantamount to declaring that Alison's family broke off the engagement due to a dispute between them. Besides the news that Ariana's thoughts weren't right after the accident that happened to her, the physical injuries that Ariana received should be fine now. There's no problem for her to attend Crown Prince Emilio's birthday party. The message contained in the letter was clear. The royal family wanted to see if Ariana was really sick, or the Alison family had other plans by suddenly breaking off the engagement relationship between the two big families.

“Just because I'm getting old, and you're still young, they now dare to question the Alison family's loyalty to the kingdom.”

Duke Andrew snorted softly as he spoke in a sarcastic tone. Their family had protected the kingdom for hundreds of years. In every generation, the royal family has never dared to question the loyalty of the Alison family. But when their family begins to weaken due to a lack of children that born in their family, even a queen from a destroyed kingdom can openly question their loyalty. They were able to act shameless, after Ariana mysteriously fell into a pool after returning from the palace.

“Even so, I still have to attend the event, right?” Ariana said as she handed back the letter in her hand to Duke Andrew. Although he's reluctant, Duke Andrew still nodded to answer Ariana's question. If they wanted to prove that Ariana had indeed resigned from her position because of her illness, the girl had to attend the event and meet in person with the royal family to report on her condition.

“Grandpa will accompany you, Aria. Therefore, Grandpa will ask someone to prepare a new ball gown for you. Judging by your expression when you read the letter, you already know what you should do there, don't you?”

Ariana nodded confidently after hearing Grandpa's question. “I lost my memory of that incident, and started doing things that didn't make sense after that. I didn't have to pretend because it was the truth, Grandpa,” said Ariana with a slight smile.

At first, Ariana was reluctant to meet again with the royal family who had destroyed her family. But as a noble, avoiding them was not an option for Ariana. Eventually, they still had to meet. Not to mention, this time, Ariana has business to settle within the kingdom.

These few days, Ariana kept having the same dream about the boy she called Mr. Fairy, the hidden castle in the castle, and the promise she made with the boy. At first, Ariana could still accept that the dream was just an ordinary dream. But as the dream kept repeating itself, Ariana began to believe that the dream was part of a memory she had forgotten. The dream covered the emptiness Ariana had felt since she woke up from the accident. There will be many questions answered, if she can solve the meaning of the dream she has had all this time.

So, either way, Ariana must be able to confirm the truth of those dreams. And coming to the royal palace, is the only way to find the first clue.

Ariana knew she had to go. And this invitation, actually made it easier for her to come to the palace, even though she no longer had any business in that place.