Rebirth of The Duchess

Episode 2

Clara had already noticed the hints regarding Louis's malicious intentions long ago, but he refrained from acting recklessly due to the authority of Gillian, Duke of Galard. However, after Gillian's death, Louis was granted amnesty, and he eagerly revealed his fangs.

On the day she was about to move out, Amy attempted to persuade her. "Madam, I heard that the Rose Garden is an extremely remote place. You might as well try softening your words and plead with the Duke to rescind the decision."

Plead?

Clara mockingly smiled to herself. If begging for mercy were effective, how could Louis turn his back on her and treat her like this?

Snapped.

As soon as she finished speaking, Vivian raised her right hand and slapped Clara hard on the face.

Upon witnessing it, Amy exclaimed, "Madam," and rushed towards the pond.

"Catch her!" Vivian ordered.

At the command, several young maids rushed forward, using their hands and feet to firmly restrain Amy.

Even if she wanted to run, she couldn't, and if she wanted to shout, she couldn't. She was so anxious that she stamped her feet on the spot.

At this moment, Clara's face seemed to blossom with a bright red flower. The pain from the mark kept surging, burning.

"Vivian, let go of Amy!" She gritted her teeth and raised her eyebrows, unwilling to be outdone.

Beating a dog depends on the owner, not to mention that she is the true Duchess of the Duke's mansion.

"Sister, it all depends on your performance." Vivian exhaled like a blue and smiled lightly. Turning back, she commanded expressionlessly, "Amy offended me, take her back first, take good care of her, and let me deal with her later."

"Madam... Madam..."

Amy cried and struggled, using enough strength to move her head back.

"Vivian, I tell you to let her go!" Clara's eyes turned cold, and she spoke angrily.

The few maids holding onto Amy seemed shocked by what she said and couldn't help but stop dragging her.

Regardless, Clara was the wife of the Duke. It was challenging for them as servants to directly disobey their master's orders.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Vivian was so angry that her face turned red, and her neck thickened. She put her hands on her waist and said fiercely, "Who among you dares to disobey my order, I will ask the Duke to execute her tonight!"

Vivian dared to say this, naturally because of Louis' favor. However, Louis was the sole authority in the Duke's Mansion, ruling with absolute power. In the eyes of the people in the mansion, his orders were no different from imperial edicts.

Therefore, when Vivian said this, those little maids turned pale with fright. Dragging Amy, they ran outside like the wind.

Seeing Amy's voice growing fainter, almost disappearing at any moment, Clara couldn't care about anything. For a moment, she clenched her fists in anger. While Vivian was being carried away, she struck her hard in the face.

When Vivian felt the pain, she reflexively covered her face with her hands. Turning her head, she stared at Clara in disbelief, her eyes burning with fire. "You... dare... hit... me!"

In the past at the Count’s Mansion, she had always been respectful and caring towards Vivian, never daring to raise her voice.

Of course, Vivian didn't understand why a docile sheep had suddenly transformed into a beast with teeth and claws.

In fact, if Vivian had let Amy go as promised just now, Clara might still have shown restraint. But Vivian didn't; instead, things escalated.

Vivian might never know that when a person is forced into a desperate situation, they must fight back instead of allowing others to harm them.

She looked at Vivian's increasingly angry face and her hand raised to retaliate. Clara pursed her lips and smiled, grabbing her wrist first.

Instead of taking advantage, Vivian was counterattacked. At this moment, Vivian was furious. She endured the pain in her wrist, turned her head, and said angrily, "What are you doing standing still? Why don't you come and help me!"

Whooping, the remaining little maids rushed up. At that moment, Clara felt like a tumbler, being pushed around.

Vivian's hand seemed to be pushing her with all her strength. She was standing next to the pond, but when they pushed her, her center of gravity became unstable, and she fell straight into the middle of the pond.

She resembled the plate of ice cubes. After a "plop," her body kept descending. Before the water completely submerged her ears, she seemed to hear Amy shouting from a distance, "Madam, madam, don't leave your servant behind."

However, the next second, she heard nothing.

Water poured into my ears and nose, and I felt like I was suffocating, as if my nose was being clamped tightly.

Then, there were no more bubbles in the water, and everything returned to its original calm.

"Second Madam, what should we do about this...this...?"

"It doesn't matter. I'll tell the Duke when I get back that the eldest lady slipped, sank into the pond, and drowned."

In the year of 1430, the Duke of Galard's wife, Duchess Clara, died.

—

This was the tenth night in a row that Clara woke up from her dream.

She raised her hand habitually and wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand.

The green gauze tent in her eyes was like surging water, ready to swallow her up at any time.

She turned over quickly, curled up into a ball, and closed her eyes tightly.

Despite this, what appeared in front of her eyes was still the scene before her death in her previous life.

The cold pond water, Vivian's cunning smile, and Louis' heartless face. All these things were like a scourge, constantly pushing her into the misery of her previous life.

She gritted her teeth and hugged the quilt wrapped around her tightly. Her eyes went down from the corner of her eyes, soaking the soft smoked peony-embroidered pillow under her head.

That was my mother's handiwork.

Her mother, Mrs. Marie, came from a very poor background. She was just an ordinary maid in Count Bourbon’s family.

But her mother had a pair of skillful hands and was an excellent embroiderer. When something came into her hands, it became pleasing to the eye and lifelike.

It was precisely because of these skillful hands that she was attracted by her powerful father.

Her mother was generous to others, kind-hearted, and always did her duty. In her impression, although her father could not be said to love her mother, he didn't seem to hate her either.

But back then, why did her mother suddenly die? She had no idea of the reason for this.

As she thought about it, she felt a stinging pain in her heart and couldn't help but turn over again.

The bedboard made a "squeak" sound, which sounded particularly clear in the quiet night.

Immediately afterward, lights were lit in the dark room. Then, there was a burst of familiar footsteps.

Clara had been listening to these footsteps for decades.

"Girl, are you having nightmares again?"

The face that poked its head into the tent had heavy tension between its brows and eyes.

"Amy, I'm cold, please come here with me under the quilt." Clara opened her thin lips lightly with a solemn expression.

Amy paused for a moment, frowned slightly, and said softly, "Girl, it's midsummer now, and I'm afraid that you might be overheated."

"Go get it."

Clara clenched her fists and tried her best to squeeze out three cold words from between her teeth.

Amy stopped trying to persuade her, turned around, and walked towards the large carved wardrobe behind the tent.

Clara stared at Amy's back, gritting her teeth and holding back the tears that were pouring down her face.

The scene of Amy crying hysterically on the day she died in her previous life is as vivid as yesterday.

I don’t know if Vivian let Amy go after she died in her previous life...