Married to the Villainous Duke

Chapter 2

It's the 21st of September and the sky has turned orange from the setting sun. She's shaking all over from the nervousness she's feeling. I can't believe I decided to do this. Who in their right mind would meet someone just because they gave a letter?

"Are you sure you wanna do this? You look as pale as a ghost..." Trisha looks at her friend with worry.

"I-I'm fine," she lies. I don't want to back out now! We're literally just a few steps away from the park.

She's standing by the sidewalk with her two friends Trisha and Michelle. They're waiting for the traffic lights to turn red so they can cross the road and get to Quireghes Park.

"Don't worry. If the guy turns out to be a creep, we'll rescue you right away! We'll stay as close to you as possible," Michelle reassures her.

"Thanks," she genuinely feels thankful that her friends are here with her. She hates to admit but, for the past 3 years they've been friends, she only thought of them whenever she needed company to eat at school or when she wants to try out a new restaurant on the weekends. She can't believe that she only realizes now how kind and good they are to her.

Michelle's the child-like jokester that makes them laugh but would not be afraid to protect her if she were close to harm. Trisha who's a little bit shy and quiet but wouldn't hesitate to speak out and defend her. They've always been there for her since they started college.

She looks at them fondly and she feels more at ease knowing she has the two of them on her side. I'm going to treat them better from now on.

The lights turn red and the walk sign lights up. They start walking but Trisha drops the heavy textbook she's carrying in her arms.

"Trisha, you're so clumsy!" Michelle stops to help Trisha pick up the book from the ground.

Her mind was too focused on meeting with the N guy at the park that she didn't notice she was walking ahead, leaving her two friends behind on the sidewalk. Out of nowhere, a speeding delivery truck suddenly hits her.

Pain. She couldn't hear, smell, see, taste or feel anything other than pain. She felt it everywhere. It felt like every single muscle and fiber was screaming in agony. It was as if some force was ripping every part of her piece by piece. Cell by cell.

Is this what death feels like? Am I going to die like this? I don't want to die yet. I still have so many dreams I wish to fulfill. Please, someone save me...

Her eyes shoot open but her vision is hazy. Was I just dreaming? Panic makes her breathing ragged and fast. Beads of sweat trickle down her forehead and neck. Her eyes begin to focus and she could see it's nighttime. She's looking at an intricate ceiling that's partly obstructed by a dark blue velvet cloth that seems to be a canopy. She calms herself down.

I'm not dead. I'm alive and breathing! Calm down. Steady breaths. I might just be in some hospital recuperating after getting hit by that truck.

She touches the bed she's lying on; it feels too plush and exquisite for a hospital bed. She slowly sits up, her mouth feeling dry and her body heavy as if she's been lying down for days.

"Du-duchess! You're finally awake!"

She looks to her side and sees a young girl whose red hair is tied up in a neat bun and is wearing a black and white maid outfit. Is she a nurse? What an eccentric nurse's uniform.

The girl is seated on a chair right beside the bed. You could read from the girl's misty brown eyes how utterly relieved she is seeing that her patient is awake.

A dark-haired tan man clad in black armor barges into the room and, upon making eye contact with her, immediately bows in respect, "your grace, let me summon the castle's physician right away!"

The man disappears and she could hear commotion from the other side of the room. Huh? Was that man a knight?

She flinches as she feels a soft cloth being gently dabbed on her sweaty body, "oh my, did I startle my lady? Your grace is sweating so much..."

After the maid finishes wiping her sweat off, "do you need something, your grace?"

"W-water..." Her voice comes out hoarse. She realizes she's absolutely parched.

"Right away, my lady," the maid gets up to pour water on a glass from the bedside table.

"Here you go, your grace." 

The young girl helps her drink. She gulps down the entire glass and asks for another one.

"Dr. Ludovic is here," the knight knocks and enters the room together with a middle-aged man with a mustache. The older man is wearing glasses and is bringing a brown duffel bag. But if he's a doctor, where's his white lab gown? He's wearing a vested suit with a brown bow tie. He looks like a doctor from a century ago.

The doctor bows before walking towards the bed, "I'm so glad that our dear Duchess has awoken after being unconscious for 10 days."

"Ten days?" She repeats his words.

Her mind has cleared up a little especially now that her thirst is gone. She looks around the large room to make out where she is.

All the walls are white paneled and the floor is fully carpeted in a deep blue color. From the bed that she's on, she could see a double door on the right. She assumes these doors lead out to the hallway. While four large arched windows and a French door in the middle, all painted the same dark wood color, occupy the left side of the room.

On the wall facing the bed, two doors are on each end and a grand-looking marble fireplace in the center. Stationed on top of the fireplace is a painting of a man and woman dressed in wedding clothes. She couldn't see their faces very well because of the dim lighting. Meanwhile, symmetrically placed in front of the fireplace is a wooden coffee table and two blue patterned armchairs facing each other.

This room looks so beautiful. Aren't I supposed to be in a hospital? This place looks more like the master bedroom of a castle.

"Where am I?" She asks.

The three people standing by her bedside look at her with a mixture of worry and confusion.

"What do you mean, your grace? You are in your bedroom..." The maid answers uncertainly.

"What do you mean my bedroom? Please tell me exactly the name of this place," her panic is starting to build up.

"My lady, we are in Blanchard Castle. Does her grace not remember?" The doctor starts coming closer to her.

Blanchard Castle? I've never heard of such a place before. Wait a minute... A maid, a knight, a castle? Did I just get isekai-ed into a royalty novel?!

She starts hyperventilating. She doesn't know whether she should be happy or sad about this situation. They called me Duchess, right? What's my name? Why can't I recall my name? She racks her brain trying to remember the memories of her life as a 21-year-old college student but she can't even come up with a single syllable of her own name.

"My lady, please calm down..." The maid tries to soothe her but her panic only worsens.

"Doctor, please do something!" The knight orders.

The doctor hurriedly opens and grabs something from his duffel bag, "your grace, forgive me but this will prick a little. This medicine will help my lady calm down. Hold the Duchess' arm out please."

"My name! What is my name?!" She's having a full-blown anxiety attack now.

The knight holds her as she feels a sharp pain on one of her arms. I have so many questions! I am so confused! It's been my secret fantasy to become a character in a royalty novel but I don't know if I actually want it to come true! I want to go back to my own world!

"You are Duchess Estelle Beauvoir-Carvelho de Blanchard, your grace..." 

That was the last thing she heard before she loses her consciousness.