My foot tapped against the floor. I clasped my sweaty palms together and glanced at the wooden clock hanging on the wall. Five minutes left. I'm in way over my head. I can't do this. I'm not smart enough or talented enough to do this. What was I thinking? I can't be a duchess. I don't have enough character or class for it. I can't, I really can't. I jumped out of the couch and went for the door. The doorknob slid out of my fingers, and a warm chest took its place at my fingertips.

"Madam," Mr. Benjamin cleared his throat.

My back went ramrod straight. A blond woman, wearing a dress a size too small and thick-rimmed glasses, stepped into the office.

"This is Ms. Rose, your teacher for the next couple of years. She will be helping you with your reading and writing. As well as your basic studies."

With her index finger, the woman pushed her glasses up. Her face was grave as her gaze darted from my face to my dress, to my shaking hands, and back to my face. "Good Morning, Your grace, It's a great honor to have you as my student. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity." She bowed her head.

"Y―Yes, thank you for being willing to teach me." My nails almost tore through the fabric covering my thighs as I held my skirt in a vice grip.

"Well, Madam, I'll be taking my leave now so you can start with your studies." After a quick, courteous bow. Benjamin left, closing the door behind him.

I gestured towards the couch with a small, timid smile, and we both sat down.

She rummaged through her large bag, taking out a small stack of papers and some books. She spread them out on the coffee table and said, "Alright, madam, we will start by assessing your current knowledge. We will start with reading and writing, and then we will proceed with the basic subjects." Her eyes trailed to the desk. "Oh, here you go." She grabbed the quill and the pot of ink resting on the table. Halfway back to the couch, her eyes moved between me and the desk, "Is it not more comfortable for you to sit at the desk?"

"Um, no, that's the duke's working space. I don't want to disturb any of his things there." I responded with a watery smile and dropped my gaze to the floor.

"Alright," Her voice trailed off, and the couch dipped under her weight.

Two hours of embarrassing attempts at reading and discouraging assessments later, my hand gave out, not able to withstand the building tension in my muscles. "I'm sorry Ms. This is all I know," I dropped the quill and hung my head in shame.

"Don't fret about this, dear. You know quite a lot. Which is good news because we don't have to start from scratch."

"But I don't know if I can learn anything. I've been trying to learn how to write for five years already and as you can see, I write no better than a five-year-old." My shoulders slumped, and I hugged my chest, trying to protect my heart from the incoming belittling remarks.

"Did you have me there to teach you?" A small smile broke across her face.

"Um, no"

"Then there you have it. With me as your teacher, consistency, and enough practice, you'll be able to do anything in no time. All you have to do is work hard and, most importantly, believe in yourself. Believe that you can do anything you set your mind to."

I looked at her from under my lashes, too afraid to get my hopes up to later realize it was a cruel joke. 

She placed a hand on my shoulder, "If you can't believe in yourself, for now, then I'll do it for the both of us. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

Hope sprouted in my chest.

⚜⚜⚜

My brow creased in concentration. I wrote down the answers on my paper, making sure each word was crisp and clear.

"You are progressing quite well," Commented Ms. Rose, looking over my previous worksheets. 

She's a wonderful human being. The year that I've spent with her as a student had let me see that behind that serious demeanor lays a warm heart. 

"You're doing great on your basic subjects. Your grammar and spelling have improved a great deal. There are some errors here and there, but nothing a little practice can't fix." She glanced at the watch and looked over her glasses. "Time's up, sweetheart."

"Done," I breathed, glad that I finished just in time. Placing my pen on the small table in front of the couch. I waited for my final score.

Her face was unreadable as she reviewed my last worksheet. My foot tapped against the floor, the motion making me bounce in my seat.

Without looking away from the paper, Ms. Rose placed a hand on my knee. "You're giving me motion sickness, honey."

"Sorry" My leg stopped, and my hand went to my mouth to bite my nails.

An eternity later, she placed the paper on the table, took her glasses off, and sat back on her chair. "You have passed your yearly evaluation. Well done." She grinned.

"Yes!" I threw my hands up in the air and danced in my chair.

She laughed and took one of my hands in hers, "I'm so proud of you."

"I heard a yell. Do we have good news or bad news?" Benjamin asked, poking his head into the office.

"I passed!"I grinned.

"Oh good, congratulations, madam." He smiled. "I will tell the kitchen staff to get the celebratory cake ready."

"Will you join us for dinner, Ms. Rose?" I asked.

"Of course, I can't say no to cake." She smiled.

Ms. Rose, Benjamin, and I chatted at the large dining table while we waited for the first course.

"Well, ladies, I'll leave you to your meals," Benjamin said after our bowls of soup were placed on our table.

"You're not eating with us?" I asked.

"No, madam, I'll eat with the kitchen staff."

"Please, eat here with us for today." Batting my eyelashes, I gave him my most endearing pleading look.

"Madam, remember what I told you about your status―"

"But this is a special occasion, we are celebrating my achievement, and I would like it very much if you joined us."

Folding his arms in front of him. His eyes went from the door to my face, "But we don't have any more chairs."

"Yes, we do. I'll be right back," I jumped to my feet. A dozen eyes focused on me barging into the kitchen. The ladies working at the stove and prepping table all smiled and greeted, already used to my invading their working space unannounced. After ten minutes of searching, I found a chair tucked into a small table in the corner.

"Madam, let me help you with that." A maid rushed to my side.

"No, don't worry about it. You guys are busy. I can handle this." I smiled at her and took the chair to the dining room.

Following dinner, we had our well-awaited dessert. A rich, moist chocolate cake, which half of it was devoured by Ms. Rose in mere minutes. That woman sure has a sweet tooth.

"Thank you so much for the lovely dinner," said Ms. Rose at the front door of the manor.

"You're very much welcome. Thank you so much for being willing to teach me."

"It's been a pleasure. You're a good student. Keep up the good work, and you'll finish your studies in no time." She gave me a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, and remember you need to practice your writing. Write a letter to a friend or something, ok?"

"Alright." Mari's face came to mind at the word 'friend' and my smile wavered. I wonder how she's doing. A wave of sadness washed over me.

"I'll be back next week." Pulling me into another hug, she stepped into the waiting carriage.

With a small smile on my face, I walked back into the house.

"I need to speak to you about an important matter, madam. Can we speak in private?" Benjamin's grave face brought a tense atmosphere to the foyer. His hand gestured towards the direction of the office.

"Uh, Yes," I hung my head like a scolded child and kept my eyes on the polished floor. Is it something I did? Is he angry that I made him eat with us today?

He closed the door as soon as I walked into the office. Turning on his heels, he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, madam, you have done nothing wrong. I only need to speak to you about an issue regarding our dukedom." He sat on the couch and patted the space beside him. "As you know, this past year, we have been disputing the ownership of the marble mines with the Adelysia heirs. We still haven't come to an agreement, and His Majesty is too busy with other matters to mediate between us. So, they have decided to drop by the manor in a couple of days to settle this in person. Due to your previous history, I wanted to make sure that you felt comfortable with this. Your safety is assured. There is no doubt about that since you're a duchess now. But I don't want to bring you discomfort since you will have to be present in the negotiations."

"Oh! Don't worry about that. I've been dealing with them since I was little. I can handle it." My voice raised an octave.

I didn't sleep that night.

⚜⚜⚜

I shifted in my seat. On the couch, my childhood tormentors sipped their tea with upturned faces. Their sidelong glances pricked my skin.

"Thank you for coming here today, gentlemen and madam." Benjamin broke the silence as he moved to stand next to me.

"Well, thank you for welcoming us into your home." Said Daisy—Duchess Adelysia's daughter— with a fake smile and a subtle glare towards me.

"We don't have much time, so let's start discussing the issue." Said the eldest son placing his cup on the table next to him. "The demarcation of the boundaries between the two territories is not correct. Thus, the mines south of your territory have been mistakenly assigned to Duke Nubilus. We want to solve this issue by delineating the territory boundaries again." 

"And as the duke stated. His majesty was the one that awarded this land to the duke, including the mines. If you have any issues. You need to take it up to him," Benjamin crossed his arms.

"Those mines are partially in our land, so it rightfully belongs to us," He argued.

"They only cross a couple of inches into your territory. Once again, his majesty specifically awarded those mines to the duke. We had nothing to do with the allocation of resources," Benjamin repeated himself.

Daisy inched forward in her seat. "But, it was unfairly done. Besides, it is the duke's fault that our dukedom is in disarray at this moment. With our mother's sudden arrest and execution. We haven't had time or energy to decide who will be leading the estate due to our grief. The least he could do is compensate us for our emotional distress." The corners of her mouth turned down, and she brushed her fingertips under her eyes. Wiping away her unshed tears.

What a stupid excuse. Couldn't they think of a better reason? The small flame of anger became a roaring fire in my chest. It took over my senses, pushing me to defend the man that has done so much for me. "The one at fault is the duchess, not his grace. He doesn't owe any of you anything."

"And who are you to speak to me in that manner? What, now that you were able to find someone else you could leach off of, you think you're better than us?" Daisy scoffed, "I can't imagine what you must have done to get this position. I'm sure he didn't marry you for your brains or beauty. A duke wouldn't make an average servant's daughter his wife without getting something in return." She sneered.

I glared at her, wanting to respond to her accusation. But their looks of pure disdain smothered the fire of my anger. Their scornful eyes reminded me of the harsh words, pointed stares, and bullying I endured growing up in the Adelysia Manor.

"Loser, loser." The children chanted as they pelted little Leyla with a handful of mud.

Little shoulders shake as she shields her face with her arms. Dots of brown cover her pink dress. "Stop it." She cries.

"Aw, I think she's crying," says one of the boys. "Here," Something soft hits the girl's shins.

She peeked through her fingers. At her feet, her little doll lies face first in the mud.

"No! Ms. Periwinkle!" She bends at the waist and picks up the doll, now smeared with dirt. "You said that you wouldn't hurt her." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"And you believed us?" A young daisy scoffs. "Mama is right. You are stupid."

Tears slid down her cheeks, and the children erupted in laughter.

I locked my jaw and gripped the armrests of the chair. The skin over my knuckles went taught. Maybe what they said all those years ago is the truth. Maybe I am a useless, plain servant girl whose only purpose in life is to live off others.

"Enough!" Benjamin yelled with fury in his eyes. "No matter her background, she is now the duchess of this estate. You will show her grace her due respect in her house!" After a beat, he continued, "As for the mines. It was established by His Majesty the King. That the ownership belonged to The Duke and Duchess of Nubilus. And that is how it's going to remain. If you have any problems with that, take it to His Majesty. We will no longer engage with you in any more discussions on the matter. Now, if you would excuse us. Thank you for coming." His voice was harsh as he gestured towards the door.

They all filed out, shooting glares at us and murmuring between them about our 'lack of manners'.

As soon as they were out of sight, Benjamin pulled me aside. "Madam, I know this meeting must have been distressing for you. But a word of advice, no matter who or what they are, no one has the right to make you feel lesser. Everyone has a special value in this life and a purpose. And no matter where you came from. No matter if you're a duchess or a humble servant. Everyone deserves to be respected. Remember that."

I nodded somberly, and he patted my shoulder, leaving the office to make sure our guests left.

Throwing myself on the couch, I mulled over his words. My gaze swept around the office and landed on the desk. What could my purpose be? I asked myself. My purpose is to help the kind people of this manor. To keep them from falling into hardship. Yes, that's it.

I picked up a sheet of paper, ink, and a quill and sat back on the couch. I need to keep the duke up to date and see how he is doing.

⚜⚜⚜

Author's note: We're at my favorite part of my novel, the letters. I would love to see what you guys think of these chapters. Please tell me in the comments. :)