PaulMichaels
patreon
IGIWS FIRST DRAFT: Ch.371 The Duchess’s Failures
🕑 Added 2025-06-23 19:17:51 +0000 UTCRianna, Yuliana, Isabella, Alexandria, Ysandra, and all the other upper echelon nobles were standing there baffled. They didn't know what Tayna was doing or what was so important about this fancy box she had. And more importantly, their attention was drawn to this other young lady in the black dress. She was so striking that they couldn't believe they hadn't remembered her before. It was only when they spotted the elegant necklace with House Dule's emblem on it did they notice her face looked familiar. But her body didn't match her face.
'Wait!? Is that Amelia?... By the goddess it is,' Rianna thought as her surprise couldn't be hidden. 'Wow... What did Rya do to her?' The Queen pondered as she regained her regal demeanor first out of the group.
All the other Noblewomen of Fiafyr were the same as the Queen, but when they realized that this striking young woman was Amelia Dule they couldn't help but be impressed by her new appearance. Some of the Ladies looked at Baroness Elizabeth Dule to she her reaction.
If this was any other setting, Elizabeth would have been over the Moons by her daughter's transformation. But this had to be the doing of the Dark Elf, and it made her wary. She was torn, not sure whether to be proud of her daughter's beauty, or scared of the powers this Dark Elf Princess held.
'N-No!... The Dark Elf's influence is growing too much! First, she's gotten the Crown Prince, then she got my son and his wife. After that she's gotten the Queen and my colleagues... Now she's gotten my daughter. W-What did Amelia promise the Dark Elf for her help? NO! She's a good girl and would have never agreed to this!' Elizabeth thought frantically. 'If we don't do something she'll take control of the country! Or worse, me! I will not become some big breasts whore for that woman's entertainment!... No! I need to find a way to get her to reverse the spell on Amelia.'
Rianna could feel the conflicting emotions coming off the other Ladies of the Court. Some were awed and impressed while others were wary and afraid. For the Queen, this was the perfect opportunity to get a better read on the Ladies of the Court and who was loyal to her and Leandra. Plus, the box Tayna was holding looked rather interesting. What was so special about it.
The Duchess on the other hand was stuck on whether she should verbally attack Amelia for wearing her dress and jewelry or back off and somehow get back, her trophies that were stolen jewelry from the Ladies of the Court.
Tayna wasn't going to let Leandra take her time in responding and quickly spoke up, "I said explain yourself, Leandra!?"
Tayna proceeded to open the box and Leandra jumped after it in hopes to keep it shut. However, thanks to all of Lady Nelumbo's and Rya's training, the young Noblewoman easily evaded her. Causing the Duchess to fall to the ground. Tayna sneered at Leandra's pathetic attempt to hide the evidence of her thievery and proceeded to open to box to the Queen and the rest of the Court.
The other Ladies gasped as they saw what was inside the box. There twinkling under the candlelight were their precious jewels.
Under normal circumstances, Rianna would have been furious, but this was the final nail in the coffin that she needed and she stood back to let the other women see what their "frjewelryd been doing behind their backs.
Isabella Wrightwood was the first one to feel her anger get the better of her as she picked up her late mother's earrings and held them tightly in her hands.
"You dare wear my mother's jewelery!?" Isabella snarled as she stomped over to Leandra.
"I-I never!? These two framed me—"
"Your lies have gotten worse, Leandra! Why did you take my sapphire bracelets!?" Baroness Elowen Windermere cut in, pointing a finger at the Duchess.
"I swear I didn't know those belonged—"
"Belonged to me!? They have my House's sigil etched into them, and you dare say you didn't know that!?" Elowen Windermere shouted and was soon joined by the other Ladies.
"My necklace!"
"How could you take my ring!?"
"Those earrings were a gift from my grandmother!"
"Give me back my tiara, you witch!"
Rianna just watched and let the other women get their frustrations out. Soon, the entire ballroom's audience was drawn to the commotion happening at the center. They were stunned to see the Duchess on the ground getting surrounded all the Major Ladies of the Court. Even Leandra's closest ally, Baroness Evelina Dravenhart, was hurt when she found out Leandra had stolen her ruby ring.
Rya who was standing next to the oldest Revelia daughters was beginning to enjoy herself as she watched Leandra scrambling to her feet.
"You imbeciles!... How dare you treat me like this! I invited you all here to my celebration. Now, you're ganging up on me!? I'll have you all arrested!"
Rya was about to laugh, but then she heard sniffling coming from one of the three Revelia women. She glanced over and saw Sara and Jemma comforting Eleanora. They all looked ashamed, embarrassed, and scared.
It was then that Rya remembered who this party was supposed to be forsed to be for and she quickly turned around to look for Lydia. She spotted her on the other side of the ballroom with her youngest sister, Clara.
Lydia was staring down with a blank face while her body looked rigid. The girl's gray eyes were glassy and she seemed to have trouble focusing. Her younger sister, Clara, was doing her best to console her older sister.
Rya could feel this poor girl's emotions, and it was nothing short of being mortified. The only solace Rya could find was watching Elaine, and a few other young girls trying to shield Lydia from the scene. Hell, even Dalia was patting both Lydia's and Clara's heads in an attempt to console the poor girls.
Whatever sweet taste of victory that Rya was feeling was slowly replaced with the bitterness of reality.
'How many lives have Alaric and Leandra ruined over the years?' Rya growled inwardly as her eyes began glowing. 'Not even their own daughters are spared from their plotting!'
She took a deep breath and calmed herself as she turned back to look at the Duchess. This time instead of amusement, she only saw a woman who's done so many horrible things in her life that even if Rya were to punish her with death, it would never be enough to right the wrongs this woman or her husband had committed.
'I never wished for the deaths of anyone so strongly until now. And yet, would it bring any relief or peace? Would it make the victims of their schemes feel better?... With all this power I have, I don't know if I can do anything to Alaric and Leandra that would properly bring justice to their daughters... I need to do something, but what... God dammit! I feel so useless,' Rya thought as she glared at the Duchess.
Rya felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see her new friends looking concerned.
"Are you okay?" Constance Montclair asked.
"You've been muttering under your breath," Melanie Ingham added.
Jenelle Dravenhart, Serena von Maus, and Aris Mardax all nodded.
"It's nothing," Rya said, and she smiled. "I just wish I could do more."
The girls noticed the Revelia sisters and realized the source of her concern.
"It's unfortunate... But it is a risk we noble families must take. The daughters of the nobility have little freedom," Melanie Ingham commented sadly.
Rya kept her attention on Leandra while replying calmly, "Maybe it's time to change that."
The young noblewomen looked at Rya, then they turned to look at the scene between their mothers and Leandra. They wanted to ask what Rya meant by that but they held their tongues and decided not to pry.
Constance Montclair nodded silently, agreeing with Rya's idea. She wanted a man that she could love, and not have someone choose a man that is most advantageous.
Melanie Ingham had the same thoughts, and Jenelle Dravenhart also agreed.
The girls looked at each other and knew that their mothers and fathers would have no say over who they could marry. And hopefully Rya could change that.
***
Leandra's hair was a mess and make-up smudged as her blood boiled. She wasn't going down without a fight.
Isabella Wrightwood had enough. With her stolen jewelry back in her possession, and knowing what Leandra has done, she stood up and said, "Arrest us!? I've put my reputation on the line to bring you out of the mud! You should be the one arrested!"
"I listened to your pathetic attempt at throwing a party and all you've done is ruin my celebration! Your blinded by your own vanity and self-importance. You don't deserve to be here, you should go back to being a peasant!"
"How dare you call me a peasant! You lowly wretch! Do you have any idea how much money I've spent on you!?" Isabella said, as she threw the glass of ambrosia on the ground. "You thought you could bring your standing up by hijacking your daughter's celebration? You've brought nothing but shame on yourself, and you've wasted all my reputation and time!"
"Shame on me!? No! You all should be ashamed of yourselves!... You turn a blind eye to the Dark Elf's influences. Don't you see what she's done to the Dule girl!? Look at her!? She's wasn't like that when she arrived! Foul magic is at play and you're all too blind to see it!" Leandra exclaimed.
Everyone who didn't know what happened to Amelia saw her in her new glory and instead of bringing shame to Rya it mostly had the opposite effect as they wouldn't mind getting a beauty treatment from her. Maybe not to Amelia's extreme but some would love to get a little makeover. More in the range of Tayna or Nieren's body type. They were respectable Noblewomen after all, they couldn't walk around like a harlot or slut. However, they couldn't deny that Amelia looked very regal and alluring. They now felt intimidated by her and wished to be on her good side.
For Amelia, this was the first time she was the center of attention by the entire Court. Something like this would have made her want to hide in a hole, but right now she was standing tall and proud. Plus, the stupid enchanted maternity dress helped keep her anxiety down by massaging her breasts, which were now full of milk waiting to be sucked out. It was a very weird sensation, and she had to focus not to moan.
"And you're a blight on the face of this Court, Duchess Revelia. If anyone's blind it's you. You are nothing but a petty woman who has no place in a Court of Nobles."
"How dare you!?"
The Queen finally stepped in getting to the attention of all the Court. "So, this is what has become of my court... I see that I must be more proactive in its management."
Isabella gritted her teeth as she lost her position of power in the court. "Your Majesty, I promise to earn your—"
"Enough, Isabella. Your choice to side with my sister-in-law is very trouble to me and I don't know what you can do to regain my trust after all of this," Rianna stated with air of authority.
Isabella lowered her head and stayed silent.
"And you!" Rianna pointed at Leandra, "You are no longer welcome to any gatherings unless otherwise invited by me. You are banished from all social gatherings... You better pray to the Goddesses that I have mercy on you."
The Queen had a dark expression, and her voice was filled with authority. She was not joking and the atmosphere of the room felt oppressive.
"You can't do that to me! I'm a Duchess and my husband is a member of the Royal family," Leandra retorted.
"And You've lost that privilege... Unless you decide to repent for all your crimes by drinking a cup of Sterilith Bloom without Royal Blue," Rianna coldly replied.
The entire Court was silent as they waited to how the Duchess would respond. Leandra looked around the entire ballroom seeing if she could get support, but everyone looked at her with disgust and hate. Even her staunches supporters were backing off, mostly do to them being outnumbered. It was then, that Leandra realize that she had lost. Everything she tried to do to undermine Rianna and the Dark Elf had failed and her last gamble had blown up in her face.
She could feel her chest tighten as a wave of anger and sadness hit her. Leandra had spent her entire life climbing the ladder of nobility and she had come so close to being the Queen of the Fiafyr Kingdom, but it was all taken away from her when Cyndre was named the next heir. Then her husband came up with a plan for there kin to become the next King, but yet again, their plans blew up in their faces with the miracle birth of Quinus. No matter what they did, or whom they manipulated, everything always ended in failure right when they would see the finish line.
"How could this happen?" Leandra mumbled to herself. "After all we have done... We are so close, why are the goddesses being so cruel?"
Leandra slowly looked at the audience in front of her. She was looking for something, anything to help her. But there wasn't anyone there who would support her. Everyone was watching her with cold eyes, waiting for her to accept her fate. And she almost did, until she saw the glowing azure eyes of Rya.
Leandra's mood turned as it was all her fault that everything has gone to shit. Sure, they failed to get rid of Quinus, and it might have worked during their quest to stop the monster stampede from happening in the West. Quinus was known as the "toothless lion" at the time for being so kind and not having a killer instinct. And yet, once this Dark Elf came into the picture, Quinus' attitude changed, and now he's a formidable warrior and leader. He was still kind in most aspects, but he didn't tolerate foolishness or incompetence for those who wished ill will against him or his family. Yes, it was all this Dark Elf's fault, and she was going to pay for ruining their plan.
'It's her fault,' Leandra said in her mind. 'If she didn't show up, then I would be on my way to living in the palace as my son became the King! It's all her fault!'
"Leandra!" Rianna yelled, finally getting her attention. "Do you accept your punishment or not?"
Leandra shook her head and cleared her throat. "I refuse to be made a fool of, Rianna," she replied, her voice filled with venom. "This is all a trick to take away my rights and privileges as a noble of the Fiafyr Kingdom! You are using your dark elf's magic to twist the minds of my allies!"
Nearly the entire Court balked at Leandra's accusation.
"She's gone insane," Lucinda Montclair muttered as other women around her nodded in agreement.
"What's your next excuse, Leandra?" Rianna asked calmly, not letting Leandra's outburst faze her.
The Duchess looked at Rya and pointed at her in the crowd. "YOU!? LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME, YOU DAMNED WITCH!!! YOU!..."
Rya didn't respond nor react. All she did was glare at her with glowing vengeful eyes for everyone that Leandra betrayed and harmed.
Leandra's anger began to boil over and she felt her body shake. She was losing control of her emotions, and she knew it.
"YOU DID THIS!" Leandra screamed, her voice echoing through the room. "YOU!..." She dropped to her knees, "You killed my... my..." She couldn't finish as her tears began flowing.
Rya felt no sympathy for her and wished she could unload on her, but she heard the heavy's footsteps coming from behind the closed doors on the other side of the ballroom. She knew who was coming and she was saving her ridicule and ire for HIM.
Comments
Marek Gwalt
TFTC
PaulMichaels
(*´ω｀*)
PaulMichaels
No problem. 😊
heller8284
Thanks for the chapter
Katherine
Yay! Go, Rya, Go! :D
PaulMichaels
Alright! We are almost to the Grand finale of Volume 6! I think I have at least five chapters left before I can all this volume done, but we'll see how it goes 😁
