A loud, blood-curdling scream sounded from outside the hall, interrupting the harmonious environment inside, and the guests looked at each other, trying to make sense of what was happening.

Outside the hall, a young maid kneeled, crying as she choked on her words. The Duke ran out with the guests hot on his trail. He arrived outside with a woman dressed in a dark red silk dress and jewellery worth the expenditure of a small kingdom, who followed him closely. At first glance, no one could see it, but looking closely, you could see the flirtatious glances she and the Duke have been exchanging throughout the whole time.

Despite the invitation being from the Duke and the Duchess, only the Duke and his mother showed up to the party, and this did not raise any concern because it was a known fact that throughout the empire that the Duchess was sickly and only the Duke and his mother, the former Duchess, will attend any outside activities.

“Shut up and speak up, we don’t have all day to listen to your nonsense,” the Duke thundered as the maid flinched and cowered, but stopped her sobs to utter, “The Duchess is missing, we looked around her courtyard but can't find her.”

Any intelligent person could see the quick glances between the mother and the son. Something was amiss, as despite it being said that the Duchess was missing, the search was directly heading to a small courtyard standing alone at the farthest corner of the estate. The weeds surrounding it were knee-high, and the smell of mould hit the guests as they made their way to the courtyard, and the roof looked like it was about to fall, and the house was in bad shape.

Lilianne stirred, her sides were hurting, and her whole body felt like it had been run over by a carriage. She blinked, her eyes were blurry as she tried to look around.

She felt an arm around her waist, and she smiled, thinking it was the Duke. It has been a while since her husband came to her courtyard. Despite her trying so many times with soups and snack deliveries to his courtyard, he was adamant that he had work to do every time.

She blinked once, feeling the warmth of the person beside her against her skin. Even though she wanted to turn, her cheeks heated as she blushed, she was too shy to face him and dizzy, so she relaxed back into the hug and closed her eyes to drift back to sleep.

Then, she heard rushed footsteps in the courtyard. Panicked, she opened her eyes sharply as the footsteps grew louder.

The doors slammed open, and a woman's scream, raw and tearing, ripped through the room. Before Lilianne could make sense of what was happening, the sheets were ripped away, and goosebumps rose on her skin as the wind hit her, shocking her.

Horrified gasps and screams rang out through the debilitated courtyard. Her head swam, confused at the sudden interference, her mind still foggy.

Then her blood ran cold. She saw his face.

His expression didn’t show anything but pure rage. His usually lukewarm eyes that carried a polite smile were empty and cold.

Lilianne tried to stand up, which earned more gasps as mothers covered the eyes of their daughters, some chasing them out of the room, and then she looked down and felt like dying. She was there, standing in front of the whole nobility, her whole body covered with marks, which was a clear indication of what was going on. She was caught in bed with a man who was not her husband in the presence of everyone.

Her vision dimmed, and her ears rang as she scrambled to cover herself. She was disoriented but had this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that it was over for her.

“Adulteress,” the Duke said, his voice echoing throughout the estate. He didn’t look at her but past her, at the figure sprawled beside her, stirring from sleep now. And the moment she laid her eyes on the man next to her, she knew, clear as day, this was an insidious plan to get her, and they had succeeded. Her feet gave out, and she collapsed on the bed.

“No, wait,” her words were slurring from the effect of whatever they had fed her. As much as she wanted to explain herself or even beg for him to believe her, her body wouldn't obey.

She looked behind him into the crowd to find her mother-in-law's smile.

The man beside her was her knight, the only one remaining of the people her mother had left for her. Still half-drugged, his eyes snapped open, widened in pure terror.

She looked at him. As much as she wanted to reassure him, she knew it didn't matter. His fate and hers had been sealed long before.

The Duke instructed the maid to take her and lock them up as he dispersed the crowd of shocked nobles.

Lilianne sat in a dark, mouldy shed, her mind reeling from what happened that afternoon. She was shivering cold, and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. She was numb, no tears, but she felt a deep fear. She knew her father was never going to save her, and her maternal family were on the farthest end of the empire. She regretted every decision she made that brought her to this specific moment.

She knew she was going to die, but deep down she wished her husband would spare her, at least for the years they had been together, if not for love.

She had no loyal maid by her side, as they had all been chipped away by her mother-in-law throughout the three years they had been together. Now the realisation of her naïveté and stupidity hit her. How did she not see what was happening right under her nose? She had been so head over heels in love, and it never dawned on her that the treatment her husband and mother-in-law had been giving her was bad, but she never thought it was bad enough for them to get her sullied and killed. She regretted it. She cursed herself and the strong women before her who advised her to never trust too much. She had failed them, and now she only had herself to blame.

She sat there throughout the night as the moon reflected on her back from a small hole meant for air circulation. Her shoulders were slumped, and she was dejected.

Morning came as roosters crowed loudly, and suddenly the gate of the shed was kicked with such force that it broke, hitting her face. She could feel a warm liquid trickling from her forehead down her face as she winced in pain. Without any warning, she was dragged by a guard. She yelped with pain. She could feel her skin being scraped from her body by the sand, and despite the pain of the sand digging into her skin, she didn’t make any noise. She bit her tongue till it bled to avoid making a sound.

After a short distance, the guard dropped her to the ground, forcing her to kneel. She took a deep breath and looked up to see her husband, her mother-in-law, and a woman she had never met, dressed in crimson, on chairs, sipping tea from their porcelain cups, looking down at her. Despite her situation, she had a gut feeling about the woman.

“Lilianne, despite being the Duchess and my wife, you went and cheated on me with your knight,” the Duke thundered, stopping as if to give time for Lily to respond. But she kept quiet. She would never give them the satisfaction of seeing her grovel for forgiveness. Since they had decided to be the judge and the executioner, she would let them be, happily. At least then, she would save the last of the dignity she had.

After a short silence, the Duke spoke again, I have spoken to Baron Sebastian Ravencourt, and he has told me to handle my family business as I deem fit. Despite feigning indifference, those words tore Lily’s heart to pieces. Even though she never expected much from her father, she expected at least that he would implore the Duke to spare her life but alas.