Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 2

A/N: I own nothing but the plot. The story pic is from "The Return of the Female Knight" which isn't a bad red. Enjoy!

It had taken Annabeth a few days to acclimate back to the time period she had returned to. Thankfully, she and Luke were not married yet, but they were about to be officially engaged in a couple weeks. She still had a little time left to find some way of preventing this marriage. But it would not be easy.  

Luke Castellan came from the prominent and influential Castellan family. Not only was he a Count, but he was also the Head of the White Knights Order, one of the two Knight Orders that protected the royal family of the kingdom of Cuora. But he was also part of the aristocratic faction.

Meanwhile, Annabeth's own family originally came from that of commoners. Her grandfather was a scholar fortunate enough to be sponsored into the Royal Academy. Eventually, her grandfather made a small fortune through his writings and was promoted to Baron through his academic achievement. 

The Chase family was granted a small plot of land on the border of the Cuora nation, but the bulk of the wealth came from a diamond mine that had been discovered after her grandfather received the land. The royal family had been quite sorry to see the loss of a diamond mine, but it had ensured the Chase family's eternal support of the royal family who were actually quite fair rulers, advocating for equality between the commoners and aristocrats.

That one diamond mine had many suitors seeking Annabeth's hand, the only daughter of the main branch of the Chase family. Although her younger brother Malcolm would inherit the land and the title, Annabeth's parents had promised a sizable dowry equivalent to that of a Count's. The Castellan family had been one of those suitors.

As for why she agreed to Luke's hand in marriage? Annabeth could only wince in regret at her foolishness now.

Luke Castellan was also a target of many female suitors and their families. The Castellan land was plentiful but not particularly useful for agriculture, but Luke was a renowned swordsman who climbed the ranks of the White Knights Order. Not to mention, he was considered one of the most handsome men in the country with his sandy blond hair, blue eyes that matched the sky, and a smile that melted the coldest hearts. A statue carved by the angels themselves, some would say. And instead of complimenting on Annabeth's beauty like so many others had, Luke had praised her writing and studies before commenting on her appearance. That alone made him stick out to Annabeth.

It would take her a miserable marriage and her death to figure out that no matter what subject flowery words praised upon, they were still meaningless and worthless as a pile of horse dung. In the end, Luke had still chosen Kelli, someone fair and lovely. No, scratch that. Horse dung was at least useful as fertilizer.

Yet, Annabeth had fallen in love with Luke, sealing her gruesome and miserable fate. Despite the clash between the aristocratic and royal family factions, Annabeth agreed to marry Luke, perhaps even hoping the union would calm the tensions between the two factions. 

This time, Annabeth swore to never fall in love again. She had experienced love, and it gave her nothing but wasted time in return.

Annabeth slipped under the shadows as her family's knights turned the corner, dressed as a maid on an errand. Today, she was going to determine if Luke's and Kelli's relationship truly began before the engagement. Perhaps if she caught them in the act, she could even gain evidence to break the upcoming engagement.

The moment the knights disappeared, Annabeth darted across the lawn to the stables. She knew the guards' schedule like the back of her hand, as she often escaped her family's mansion in her childhood. Her parents would have let her gone outside without her sneaking around, but then she would have to bring her brother or knights as guards.