Chapter 1
1058 Words
"my lady?"
Anna woke up with a sudden fright.
"My lady, are you alright? Did you dream a nightmare?" Colette, her personal maid asked.
"Colette?"
She clearly remembered that Colette's body was also hanging on the estate's gate with her husband.
"Is something wrong, my lady?" Colette asked as she handed her a glass of water. "Should I call for a doctor, my lady?"
Anna quickly rubbed her eyes and reached Colette's face and gently stroked it.
"Ha! You're alive!" Anna exclaimed as she covered her mouth.
"of course, my lady. I think I should call for the butler," Colette said with worry painted across her face.
She touched her body.
"Oh my gosh, I went back in time," Anna said. "I am truly alive again."
She used to be a girl in a modern earth and when a truck ran over her, her soul transmigrated into Annalize's body. It took sometime for her to adapt into the current world but she adapted nevertheless. She became friends with the crown prince who got lost in their estate when the imperial family went to visit them and the emperor favored her.
The emperor even planned to marry her into the imperial family. But she chose the desolate and cold Duke which made the Emperor upset. She fell for the Duke when he saved her from a fire from the palace. And after a few meetings with the Duke, the Duke then asked for her hand in marriage. He sent it to the Emperor and to the Archduke, her father.
From the moment she accepted the proposal, rumors spread that she was already deflowered by the Duke that is why the Duke proposed to her, to save her dignity. And that was why the crown prince and the Emperor were keeping their distance from her.
She couldn't attend social events. In the end, there was nothing she could do to dispel the rumors. But nevertheless, she was happily married to the Duke and became the Duchess Von Bertrad. She became the master of the Northern Bertrad Palace who was only second to the Imperial Palace in terms of how luxurious it was.
Elrik loved her more than anything else while she lived protected and loved under his wing and because she knew nothing, she had no chance of saving her husband. But that was all in the past now, she will need to become a strong wife who will protect her husband.
She checked the calendar near her. It was May 22nd of the Meinrad Imperial Year 564. It was exactly 5 days before the palace burned. That would mean, it will be 5 days before she meets the Duke.
Colette came back with a doctor and the butler.
"My lady, is something wrong with your body?" the old doctor asked.
"No. I just had a terrible nightmare. May I ask if you could prescribe me a relaxant medicine? I think I've been on edge these past few days," she smiled.
Colette nodded in agreement.
"Of course. The banquet in the Imperial Palace is in 5 days. And you've been dying to visit the palace ever since you were 15," Colette said.
"Hmm, if that's the case, then I will give this prescription to the butler," the doctor said as he wrote something on the paper and gave it to the butler.
"I'll make sure the medicine is taken care of, my lady. Shall I inform the Archduke of what you're feeling?" the butler asked.
"No. I'd like to tell him myself. Where is he?" Anna asked.
"Oh, he's at the knight's training ground," the butler said.
After hearing where her father was, she quickly kicked off the blanket and ordered Colette to dress her quickly. The butler then bowed and left. After 30 minutes, she quickly ran to her father.
The knights bowed and greeted her as she passed by but she only ignored them and quickly ran to her father's arm.
"Papa," she cried as she embraced him tightly.
The Archduke who was taken aback by his daughter's action dropped his sword and hugged her back.
"What's wrong, Anna?" the Archduke asked while signalling for the knights to leave them be.
"Oh papa, I had the most awful dream," she cried.
"Shh, don't worry now. You're safe, sweetheart," the Archduke said as he consoled his daughter.
In her 2nd life, the Archduke was killed after the Duke was killed under the reason that he was a supporter of the Duke. It made her gut wrench in pain when she thought of how the knights laughed at how her father and her husband were killed before her.
"Papa, there is something I'd like to talk to you about," she said seriously.
She had never told anyone that her soul came from a different dimension. But in order for her to gain information and to be strong, she would need help. And the best one to give it was her very own father, the commander of the Black Wolf, an elite knight unit who was given the task to protect the borders from all sorts of dangers.
"Alright. I'll go meet you at the office. Why don't you go and freshen yourself up while I finish talking with the knights," the Archduke said.
After she left, the captain of the Ortwin Knights approached the Archduke.
"Is something the matter, Your Grace?" Ewald asked.
"No. My daughter's face was... I can't describe it. Her expression was very stiff when she told me she had something to tell me," the Archduke Ortwin said.
"The maid reported that the lady woke up with a fright earlier and exclaimed how Miss Colette was alive. She even cried tears, Your Grace," the captain said.
The Archduke nodded and only replied with a "Hmn".
"Continue training the squires. I'll come check later after I talk with my daughter," the Archduke said as he handed him his sword.
"I will, Your Grace," Ewald said.
As the Archduke walked towards his office, his mind was a mess. He remembered what his wife once said that someday, the child will have to ask him for something. And he must comply without any doubt. His wife, Raelia was a direct descendant of the Goddess Antevorta, the goddess of the future. She married him despite being a candidate for sainthood and gave her life whilst giving birth to their youngest daughter, Annalize.
He opened the door to his office and found his daughter looking out the window.
"Anna? Is everything alright?" he asked as he sat down on his chair.
Anna only looked at him.
"Christine Perez," she said.
- Writer
