It’s been 3 months since I woke up as Grand Duchess Sophia Grace Rosewood-Griffith. I was in my room the whole time and was gaining my strength back. The doctor and Mary were secretly hiding the fact that I was awake from my coma. They did inform Sir Albert, but he was on vacation and he never replied. As for the Grand Duke, I told them not to inform him anymore because he wouldn’t be there anyway. I also told them that I will reveal myself once I’m back on my feet. As for my mana, the doctor was giving me medication to make the pain tolerable. I need to gain my strength first for I have a plan. I will show them what a Grand Duchess should be. Of course, for three months, the three of us were careful not to get caught. Luckily for me, these two people that I trusted were also careful in hiding me. I was in my usual room, but the doctor spread news to the whole estate that I was having a contagious illness. So no one dared to visit my room aside from them. It was all going well and I thanked the people beside me. I slowly regained my strength to walk again and I am planning to repay their kindness to me.

During those months, I studied history books and Sophie’s journal to help me remember her memories and I could also know about this world. So far, I learned that this world has magic that revolves around them. Their daily lives are somehow involved with magic. Magic towers, Arch Mages, and magical creatures that were once in fairytale books in my world exist in this world. The Grand Duchy of Insel is where the region in which Insel City is residing. And Insel City is where the castle of the Great Grand Duke is located, which is under the Helinian Empire. I also learned that the Helinian Empire was at war with the Divine Empire of Nurania.

                                                                  (Map of Tezia, Northwest part of Tezia)

The two empires are at war in territory and somehow I learned that the Rosewood territory was currently a battlefield, and it is located near the mountain ranges between the two nations. The Grand Duke made the territory of Rosewood a military base for the war with Nurania. The history of the Grand Duchy of Insel was it was an empire before the previous Grand Duke completely conquered it with his battalion. With such achievement, the family of Griffith was bestowed with territory that was an old empire. Insel was the previous name of its empire, the previous Grand Duke wished to retain its name because he didn't want to erase the country's history and culture, which is why the people of Insel have great respect for their new leader. It was rumored that the Insel Kingdom willingly surrendered to the Griffiths, others say that the Insel royal families committed suicide after being defeated. But only the Griffiths and the Emperor of Helinia know the whole truth.

I also read in Sophie’s journal that the Rosewood territory was a neutral faction or a territory between the two nations it didn’t belong to any of the two empires it just sat there in between the tension for centuries, but somehow getting married to the Grand Duke of the Helinian Empire made the territory politically belong to the Helinian Empire. The wedding between them caused more tension between the two nations, the Nuranian Empire did offer the Rosewood Family power and money but Sophie’s mother rejected the offer. However, the Helinian Empire offered the same but surprisingly Sophie’s mother requested that her only daughter be wed someone powerful and someone who could protect her. How did Sophie know all of this? It was because Reagan told her about her mother’s plan after she died and Sophie wrote all of the details in her journal. I have read entries about Reagan, but she never mentioned her relationship with him. All I read was he was someone she could trust and he was someone who would support her. The journal ended at the part when she was worried about Reagan not contacting her anymore and how she was preparing for this Royal Ball at the Capital. After that, all the pages were blank.

I also noticed that I was also regaining Sophie’s old memories but none of it was helpful about the accident. I just hope there was an easier way to regain her memories though. It also bothers me that if I’m in Sophie’s body, where is her soul? Is she on my body? Did my real body survive the fall? All these questions keep piling up and I hope these will be answered soon.

      It was a sunny afternoon, and it was time for my usual rehabilitation walk with the Doctor. The Doctor was in his 40s; he was a handsome doctor despite his age. He has a beard and thick glasses that frame his green eyes. With a height of 5’7” he has a well-toned body, he also has the demeanor of a noble the way he moves is graceful yet careful. Also, I heard from Mary that he is a bachelor and he wasn’t planning to be married.

“Doctor, it’s been three months but I don’t know your name,” I said as he was assisting me in walking. I heard him chuckle and maybe he thought that it took me three months just to realize that.

“I am Doctor Dominic Greystone, Your Grace. You used to call me Doctor Dom. I am a friend of Reagan; I was part of your contract that you will get me as your resident doctor.” He said.

“Do you know about the contract? Is Mary part of it too?” I asked.

“No, Your Grace. I am the only one who knew about the contract among the people here.”

“By the way, who’s Reagan?” I asked again.

“Reagan is your family’s advisor, the Rosewood family, and was the only person left in your estate as the previous head left.” He explained.

“So, where is he? This Reagan guy?” I asked again.

“You sent him on a mission, the last time you saw him was at your wedding.”

“So, it’s been five years since he’s gone? Did I have contact with him even though he’s far away?”

“As far as I know, you lost contact with him before you got into an accident. And,” He paused and then, he helped me sit up on a sofa. He sat on a sofa in front of me and poured a cup of tea. He gave me the tea and looked at me with a sad look he continued to talk about Reagan.

“And when he knew about the accident, he sent a letter to me. He said, he’d be back in a month to take care of you but after that, he never showed up, Your Grace.” He said.

I sipped my tea and just chuckled. “So, this Reagan guy also abandoned Sophia- - I mean, me?”

Doctor Dominic shook his head and said sternly, “Reagan would never do such a thing, Your Grace. He has cared for you since you were a child. I believe he’s in hiding again or worse,” he didn’t dare to continue his words. I didn’t respond either. The room was silenced and I was just sipping my tea again hoping this awkwardness would dissipate.

“Your Grace! I have news!” Mary suddenly opened the door and was shouting.

“Mary, lower your voice. Others might hear you.” Doctor Dominic scolds her. Mary covered her mouth and whispered, “Your Grace, I have news.”

“Sit down with us, Mary. Have some tea and tell us your news.” I said.

I looked at Mary and couldn’t help but smile at her. Mary is around my real age when I was on Earth. She has a beautiful short brown hair and grey eyes. Her skin complexion reminds me of my previous body, it was slightly tan. Her face is also attractive and her height was almost as tall as Sophia’s height, maybe around 5’5”? But her hands were calloused, which showed her hard work. Her hair was always tied up and her maid outfit was somehow tattered. If I ever have money, I’ll buy her new dresses and shoes.

“The Grand Duke, they said that he’ll be coming home this month or maybe this week!” she said joyfully.

I felt my stomach churned due to nervousness. I didn’t expect to hear that news unexpectedly.

“Your Grace, are you fine? You look pale.” Mary's smile vanished as she saw my face.

“I’m fine, it’s just that I didn’t expect him to return quickly. I don’t think I’m prepared to face him yet.” I said.

“I think you need to rest, Your Grace.” Doctor Dom said. I nodded at him and as I was about to stand up, I felt dizzy and I almost lost my balance. Luckily, Mary caught me and assisted me to walk to my bed.

They both looked at me with concern, but somehow I reassured them that I was fine. I asked them to leave me alone for a while because I needed some time alone. They both listened to me and left me in my room. The news didn’t feel good to me, after hearing that he’ll be back I wondered if he would listen to me. He didn’t even listen to Sophie before how could it be different now?

I grabbed the picture frame in the drawer and looked at the little Sophie. “The Grand Duke Elliot Griffith is coming home, Sophie.”

    I slept the whole afternoon after thinking about how should I face the Grand Duke. I didn’t even remember his face or his voice from Sophie’s memories. If maybe I saw him, I could remember everything. But somehow, I was more nervous about what he looked like and how bad he was. Reading from her journal, it sounds like he’s a jerk.

I drank a cup of water which was prepared by Mary every night before she left me in my room. I felt thirsty after taking a long nap. I noticed at the windows that it was already nighttime. The moon and the stars were sparkling outside, they illuminated my room since it was the only source of light. The moon was bright since it was a full moon. After drinking water, I stood up and went to my balcony to breathe fresh air. I admired the view in front of me which was the Insel City’s lights twinkling like the stars above. The wind blew at my face and felt my hair dancing through the wind. I inhaled and exhaled deeply for it was therapeutically relaxing for me. I never appreciated nature in my world before, but since I have this life might as well appreciate this world’s beauty.

My room was located at the farthest corner of the castle and it was on the second floor. The room was secluded and no one dared to go near it. That’s why I can go out and enjoy the night view from time to time. However, Doctor Dom did reprimand me last time because some guard saw me and thought I was a ghost. This time I was being careful and was enjoying the view. The Insel City Castle was facing a large lake that consisted of docks. I read somewhere that three big docks in the city deliver goods from different parts of Insel territory. The Old Creek Docks, which were near the castle gates, delivered goods for the nobles in the city. The New Creek Docks, which are located at the east part of the castle, delivered and sent goods from different parts of the territory. The Southern Creek Docks, which is in the South, is more on delivery to the farthest part of Insel and deliver goods for military bases. These docks were vital to the city's business operation and military operations. I’ve read the map and Insel City has a large territory, I plan to visit its places one day.

While I was looking at the view, I heard a kitten’s meow. I looked down at the balcony and saw a black and white spotted kitten on a tree. It was 6 feet below my balcony, and I couldn’t help but worry it might fall. It was crying as if it was calling its mother, but it seemed that its mother was nowhere to be seen. I wanted to rescue it but if I went out through the hall someone might see me. I couldn’t dare to risk it.

Think, Gracelyn. Think!

Suddenly, I remember an old chest in my room filled with old dresses of Sophie that were supposed to be thrown out. I ran inside the room and ripped the garments. I hurriedly tied it all together until it was long and strong enough to use it to go down from my balcony. Lastly, I tied it to the cement railing of my balcony and saw that the end of the rope landed at the ground level. I can safely go down the rope and rescue the kitten.

I slowly went down to my balcony and was kind of nervous that my weight was too heavy for it. Luckily, it didn’t break and I was able to land safely.

“Here kitty, kitty! I won’t hurt you, come here.” I said in a soft voice and the kitten was a bit scared when I slowly approached my hand to it. It didn’t budge to its position, so I climbed up the tree and slowly approached it again. I was wearing my nightgown but I still managed to climb at ease, I just hoped no guards would pass through here.

“Come here, kitty. I’ll protect you.” I said again in a soft voice. The kitten this time finally sensed my good intentions, it slowly approached my hands and I softly pet its head. The kitten started purring and wagging its tail slowly. I slowly pet it again and wait for it to approach me fearlessly.

After a few pets, the kitten accepted me and let me carry it to the ground. I covered the kitten with a piece of fabric from the dresses I’d torn earlier to keep it warm and hidden. Now, the problem is how to climb up to my balcony.

“Damn it, I didn’t think this through!” I said out loud due to frustration.

“What if I threw you up to the balcony, kitty? Could you survive?” I asked the kitten who I think was judging me for my idea.

Suddenly I heard a chuckle behind a tree and I immediately turned around and saw a shadow.

“Who goes there?!” I shouted at the shadow.

“Easy there, kitty. I won’t hurt you.” It was a male voice and he was walking towards me. I couldn’t see his face because he was hiding in the shadows. But as he was walking towards me, I slowly walked backward and was ready to make a run for it. But I hesitated as I thought that if I ran away, I wouldn’t know how to get back to my room I’d be discovered by the guards and my cover would be blown.

“Stay away or I’ll throw this rock at you!” it was all I could think of, to be honest. I grabbed the rock that was at my feet and threatened him with it. The man chuckled again and took another step forward towards me. As he slowly walked towards me, the moon shone brightly and he was out of the shadows. I gaped as I saw his face because the man was so handsome and he was slowly closing the distance between us. And then I unconsciously threw the rock at his face.

Full Map of Insel City: