Rachel believed that meeting the Pope would make it easier for her to return to the earthly realm. In exchange, she will remove the curse of the Duke.

'Both the temple and I stand to gain from this situation," As long as the Astrid family remains, the temple's power in unbreakable'

"Then I will see you in three days your Majesty".

She curtsied and bowed her head slightly. When she raises her head, the Duke is already on her side. He snatches a few of her hair strands and whispers in her ear.

"Don't play with me Lady, I'll see you soon".

The Duke made a warning not to ignore him this time.

She nearly exhales in surprise as he lightly kisses the tip of her right ear. She is so embarrassed that she is unable to even look him in the eye.

She quickly exits, and as she shuts the door to his office, she overheard him laughing.

While coming back to her house in the Duke's carriage, she deeply contemplated of her situation. She thought that the narrative was already undergoing a rapid change as a result of her presence and an accidental "encounter" with the Duke.

She is in no position to rely on the TV series' narrative at this time. Due to the fact that I actually live in this world, all the characters and events described here are real.

He is the most powerful person in this world, so for the time being, I have to rely on him. While I work on curing his curse, he can keep me safe and help me return in my world.

She wasn't even aware that they had already arrived in her manor. Sir William unlocks the carriage door and takes her hand as she descend to the ground.

"Thank you, Sir William. Then I will see you soon".

"I am honored to be of service to the future Duchess of Astrid. May your rest well, my lady".

In response to his statement, she made a surprised face. They seem to have anticipated it and recognized me as the mother of the north by planning it out already.

While returning to the Astrid palace, Sir William can't forget the facial reaction of Rachel.

'She expressed surprise when I referred to her as the future Duchess Astrid. Her eyes did not contain the slightest hint of greed. A pure eye with a bewildered expression.'

Thousands of women in the empire would die on her place to be the Duchess of Astrid.

'Does she know that her position is powerful than the empress of the south?'

She doesn't act like the previous lady Rachel Monchy in the south. Everything about her is different from her manners to the aura she emits. Her aura emits a bright light and a sweet scent. I'm sure the Duke is aware of the changes he saw from the lady.

I have to check with the Masters of the Wizard tower. What happened during her exile here in the north, I need to find out the conspiracy of her new persona.

***

The next day Rachel expected that the visitation of Sir William in her store yesterday will create a big news in page 3 of the daily beast but there was no news of such event.

'As expected of the duke's power. No one in their right mind would offend the duke. I think they will contain the information until the temple will announce my succession.'

Rachel is getting ready for the opening of her makeup line. She will introduce a modern way of makeup products similar from her previous world. The objective is to make the women look beautiful and natural.

She opens a makeup counter inside her department store and calls it "forever sixteen.". The event is attended by her closest friends and a few ladies from the noble families. They were so excited to see the new launch products of her make up line.

The products are segregated according to their labels such as lipstick, foundation, blush on, make up brushes and so on. The noble ladies are in awe of the newly invented products, they can now bring their make up inside their purse and it's easy to use.

Rachel came up with the idea to place a billboard outside of the store. The billboard is fueled by a mana magic to project a live show of the model wearing her make up-line. She used Bianca as her model, and she also made a small appearance at the end showcasing her perfume line J'adore.

While passing by, both nobles and commoners are starstruck of the billboard outside her store. They were hypnotized by her appearance in the billboard, and they wanted to use the product that she endorses.

At the end, the newly open make up-store were pack with the ladies from the noble and commoner families.

"Rachel congratulations on your success! Wow! The ladies bought all the products. Look it's all empty."

Anne exclaimed and her three friends agreed as well.

"Thank you, ladies. I couldn't do this without your help. You are a part of this success".

She hugged all of them and made a toast with champagne.

"Ahem, am I late?" Simon entered with his friends and handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"Your just in time Simon. Thank you for the flowers".

Rachel smiled sweetly and her dimples showed in her rosy cheek. Simon was awestruck of her smile that he was at a loss for words.

"Brother? If looks can melt Rachel is already gone. Ha ha ha!".

Anne teased her brother and Simon gave a blush on his face.

"Anne! stop teasing Simon. He will not come here if you keep on doing that"

Rachel teasingly scolded Anne to stop embarrassing her brother.

"I swear on my life that I will never stop coming here. I will always be here for you".

Bianca and Sam giggled when they heard Simon's statement to Rachel.

"Okay Guys let's stop teasing Simon. Please help yourself Simon and give your friends a glass of champagne too.

Rachel changed the topic abruptly to avoid the awkwardness in the atmosphere.

'She avoided my feelings again. How long will you pretend to ignore my feelings for you Rachel?'

Simon felt the pain in his heart. He loved her the first time he saw her and everyday being with her make his world bright. Rachel sees him like a brother, and he thought that this will change as the time goes by, but his false hope led to this unrequited love.

'I will never give you up Rachel, I will continue to love you until you learn to give your feelings to me one day'.

He looks at her while sipping the champagne and count Allesandro interrupted his thoughts.

"Maybe she can be yours once you succeed the Marquis of house Leyn. You can ask the duke to reinstate her title by marrying her".

Count Allesandro also look at the view where his best friend is looking. The famous untitled lady of the south. He knew his best friend's unrequited love with Rachel and the latter treated his friend like a sibling. Even the famous family in the north doesn't have a chance with her as she humbly declined their marriage proposals.

The eligible bachelors of the upper northern society can't believe the crown prince Hugo rejected a charming lady. In terms of beauty and intelligence, they think she surpassed the southern crown princess.

'Tsk tsk tsk, sometimes the star that you wish to catch, others discarded it like it's nothing, what an unfortunate turn of events.' He also gave away his feelings with Rachel to sympathize on his best friends love for the lady.

Simon's puzzled gaze drifts to Allesandro.