D 1 (Prologue)

'Sssiiipppsss.' Ahh, nothing can beat a cup of tea on a stressful day. Although, the best tea for me is Chai tea that is prepared by simmering a blend of cow's milk, water, tea leaves and, some spices like dried ginger and mint, together with honey as a sweetener; this relieves the stress that builds up when I'm reading the current reports of the whole dukedom.

"Frielle, are you alright? Do you want me to handle some of the matters for you?" He asked with a concerned look. This is my cousin— Drew Adrian Fortess. A gorgeous young man who receives tons of letters about marriage proposals. Even though he's an illegitimate child of his father, he's still my closest relative and is acknowledged in the high society because of his mastery in academics, a professional in the field of archery, and good looks. I mean, who wouldn't fall for a man whose eyes are tantalizing magenta complemented by the glint his glasses give, a perfect greek nose, and those peachy thin moist lips. It all goes along with his medium-length dark blue hair and his sienna skin that looks more beautiful when struck by sunlight. Another trait that makes women fall for him and even have the audacity to send him a marriage proposal is his personality; he has this gentleness radiating from him, he's kind, thoughtful, helpful, caring, protective, and has a strong sense of justice—

"No need dear cousin, it's better if they see me solving these things. I have to rebuild this myself, however I still do need you by my side as an advisor." I said as I put down my now empty teacup.

"Of course Frielle, anything to help you; I'll be your advisor then." He chuckled and returned on reviewing the financial status of every part of the duchy.

"Do you need another cup of tea, Miss?" She immediately asked when the teacup touched the tray— she is my maid— Yuri Morcov. She's an orphan who came from a run-down orphanage. The orphanage director– being the evilest person in the world– sold the children in the orphanage for money. When the director saw the beauty Yuri holds: her reddish-brown eyes sparkling with innocence, pink glossy lips, and an east- asian nose. Her hair dyed jet black, her skin pale ivory that glows beneath the sunlight— he promptly sells her in an auction where slave buyers bid continuously just to get her. However, the auction was raided by the Royal Knights and she was saved. Because of her experience, she became a cold-hearted, reserved, and somewhat aloof. She rarely shows emotion to others and most of the time– wears a poker face. However, despite her personality, she is very intelligent and mainly leads the others to a certain task. That's why she's instantly recognized when she first worked to our manor as a chambermaid— then became the servant and her rank climbed up until she became my personal maid.

—I simply put my hand over the cup which means 'no- more- tea- for- me'. I was about to continue on my paper works when we heard a knock from the office doors. I fixed my posture and said, "Come in." firmly and gracefully. When the doors opened, it showed a fine-looking young man with a tray on hand—

"Good afternoon, Milady. A letter has arrived from the House of Sokolov." This fine-looking young man is Nikos Silvestre, my butler. He has this dark emerald eyes that might hypnotize anyone who stares at it long enough, a roman nose, and pale pink smooth sharp lips. His hair a mossy green that complements his porcelain skin tone. He's from a family who succumbed to poverty when a great plague hit the whole kingdom. My family helped them and in return— they promised their loyalty to us. Thus, his family worked hard on learning how to become a great butler and it passed down from generation to generation and him. Of course, as my butler, he must be mature, understanding, a critical thinker, great in academics, and proficient in anything such as cooking, chores, and etc.; and he is also the complete opposite of Yuri. He's sweet, friendly, and likes to talk to others. It's like he's radiating a warm aura with his smile that attracts people to befriend him—

"What's the letter about?" I asked as I motioned him to give me the letter. He handed down the tray and when I saw the letter, I was disgusted. "The same old tea party invitation by their spoiled only daughter. Goodness, I hate her." I placed the letter back and told Nikos, "Please tell her that I appreciate her invite but I have far more important things to do than attending her tea party in which I'm sure she will brag about a new gift her father gave her." After that, Nikos took a bow and left with my orders. My tone has disdain in them because, well, she's a special snowflake and I hate special snowflakes.

"You hate her that much huh. Well, I can see the reason." Drew said with a smug on his face, still reading the finance reports; and me, I need another cup of tea.

By the way, I am Frielle Marcia Madrigal Fortess, the current duchess of the Fortess Duchy and the head of House Fortess. However, before becoming Frielle— I'm first, Riene. A journalist who travels around the world and writes articles about different parts of every country in the globe while immersing myself in their culture and their ways of living. This job of mine is difficult, and patience and energy-consuming, but the delight it brings when you fulfill your job with a great article when you showcase their culture to the world when you address an important issue to the people— it pleases myself and soul and replenishes my energy. Also, because of this– I developed many skills and learned a lot of things that can be used in everyday life or even in survival. However, despite this challenging yet content- giving job of mine, I still wished for a carefree life— where I don't have to worry about deadlines, or 'Karens', or canceled travels, or even unsatisfactory looks from my boss. I can just do things at my own pace, and not worrying about anything.

And I think God heard my wish— because he granted it in a very unpleasant and a— I don't think an appropriate way of granting wishes; because he made a ten-wheeler out- of- control truck hit me when I'm taking a stroll on the roads of New York. Let me tell you, it was a very unpleasant feeling because I can still remember the sound when my ribs cracked and how my spinal cord produced a crackling noise when I hit a wall; and oh, the pain. I can't even describe the pain. Even if I'm only reminiscing about it, it makes me close my eyes shut because of IT. REALLY. HURTS... A LOT.

Anyway, enough of that. Let's focus on what happened after that. When I opened my eyes, I thought I died because I don't feel anything, nonetheless I'm still right. Yes, I died, but I got reincarnated as Frielle Marcia Madrigal Fortess. Of course, at first, I'm confused to the point that all I could think of is 'What the fuck?' But, after a few weeks, I finally gathered myself and realized some things: first, the fact that I got reincarnated into what seems like another world. Second, I'm now a duchess, an 18-year-old single lady, and is currently the third's most powerful woman in the kingdom. Third, I'm an orphan in this world, my parents died when I'm just 15. Fourth, the dukedom has many problems thanks to my peace-loving grandfather who turned into an evil tyrant for who knows what reason. Fifth, I have to solve those problems. And lastly, I'm gorgeous.

I mean— I have this silky platinum blonde hair that looks really good when braided, a pair of violet eyes that shines like crystals, luscious pinkish lips that slightly glow when hit by light, and have this smooth rose white skin tone. Who wouldn't say I'm gorgeous?

Back to the present. I'm sitting here inside my office, reading some documents that are related to my effin' grandpas' doings and sipping tea. By doing this, I can list down all of the problems that the duchy faces and solve them one by one... or maybe two by two or more. But then, you might be thinking that as a duchess, I can just sit and rest and have a carefree life like I wished for... but~ no. I choose no. As a journalist in my past self, I've embedded to myself to help those who need me and I still brought it with me as Frielle. So, no. I can't just sit and relax when I know that my people are suffering.

So, no— I will perform my duties and responsibilities as a duchess.

"Yuri, please clean this up I'm done drinking tea," I said while writing down in a piece of parchment all of the issues I've gathered through reading the documents.

Now that I've listed them all up, my head hurts because even though, they're only four major problems— I think it will be a big obstacle to solve them up— even one by one. I was planning on what to do next when Drew caught my attention. He still holds the financial reports when he walked behind me and looked at the list I made. He made a frown and in a split second, his face lightens up. I was confused by his reactions so I decided to ask, "Mind sharing the thought?"

He looked at me with a smile then turned to Yuri. He ordered her to prepare the carriage because we're going on sightseeing. Yuri looked at me first for approval and I gestured my hand to say 'just do it' then she left with the tray of tea. I turned to Drew, hoping for an explanation when my mind lit up with recognition. As a journalist, you have to confirm first if the info from the source is true by checking it yourself whether interviewing a witness or checking the location itself; once the information is confirmed as true, you'll still need to do further research to the said info and then write the article.

That also applies to these problems. If I'm going to solve these, first, I need to assess the situation and see the problem for myself to formulate an effective and decent solution. Drew saw how my eyes widened and my lips form a smile, he to– smiled and said, "Thinking what I'm thinking?" His plan was to have a tour of the whole duchy and the issues themselves. "But, wouldn't it be bad in the eyes of the people? They're falling and yet, all the duchess do is have a tour to the whole dukedom. The people might think I'm like grandpa." I reasoned as I analyzed Drew's plan.

He shook his head and made a short chuckle. I'm still confused by what he did and was about to ask about his plan when he looked at me with a smirk.

"Who said you'll have a tour as a duchess?"