"Mother. I'm glad you came with Carole". The mother and daughter gave an affectionate embrace to each other.

"Carole, please serve her Majesty well". Lily urges her head maid.

"Your Majesty, please allow this humble servant to serve you. I would sacrifice my life to live up to your expectations". Carole knelt down to pledge her undying devotion to the Duchess.

"Oh Carole. Don't be too formal. Please feel at ease around me".

Carole flinches as Rachel grabs her hand, as if she had been purified with so much light energy.

"Shall we go inside? Corine will show your quarters." Rachel led the way, while the other two women trailed her behind.

As she steps inside the castle, Sebastian appeared, bearing a question mark on his face. He watches the two women standing behind his wife.

"We greet His Majesty, the Duke of Astrid". The two women knelt down and awaited his acknowledgment.

"Be at ease Lily. Please settle down." He turns to face his wife and awaits her explanation.

"Your Majesty. This is Carole, my nanny when I was a little child. She was assigned by my mother to train Corine to serve me properly."

Sebastian keeps a suspicious gaze on Carole. His instinct tells him to be wary of her presence since he can sense that her mana is strong.

The Duke is keeping a close eye on Carole, who is shivering and perspiring profusely. He must have already noticed her mana based on his expression of distrust.

"Hm. Stand. Don't let my wife down."

"Your Majesty, I pledge to serve her with my life". Carole exhales with relief because she has passed the crisis point.

"Please wait for me in the salon, Mother and Carole. I have a few things to say to my husband."

Rachel held his hand while leading Sebastian to a corner where they could talk.

"Hubby, please don't scare my Mother and Carole. She only wants me to be properly cared for."

Rachel wrapped her arms around his waist, and she raised her head to kiss him on the cheeks.

"Alright. Can I ever say no to you, hm? But I'd like to know more about this type of issue the next time". Then he gives her a gentle lip kiss.

Rachel nods submissively while kissing him on the jaw, nose, and cheek. She gave him another kiss while smelling his neck and laughing quite sweetly. Sebastian struggled to contain the heat in his body given that his wife is tempting him, and he can't resist yet he must go soon. He checks his pocket watch and sees that he still has ten minutes to spend with his lovely wife.

"I still have ten minutes until I have to leave".

He murmurs in her ear, while abruptly carrying her in the bridal position and leaping into their bedroom.

"Heeup, hubby!". Rachel shrieked and punched his chest.

"Hahaha!"

The sound of Sebastian laughing loudly can be heard all over the place. The royal staff was beaming gleefully when they saw how madly in love the royal ducal couple were.

***

Carole has a troubled expression on her face as she observes the couple. She had no idea Rachel held affections for the Duke. This unforeseen turn of events is unexpected.

Will she still see him as her husband when she eventually remembers being abducted by her mother? Is it possible for her to accept the horrible things his mother did to her?

Her mission is extremely difficult. Right now, how is she going to persuade her to leave the Duke and go to the faery realm? And the Duke? How is Rachel supposed to escape from such a powerful being when she sees the madness in his eyes?

This is so complicated that her temple began to ache. She must wait until the appropriate time to tell the Duchess. Carole can't use her magic in the castle because the Duke has his people keeping an eye on the Duchess' every move. And everyone around her is one of his people, with the exception of her head lady in waiting.

The Duke must have recognized she is a White Sorceress when he was observing her mana. The Guardian is a dubious and intelligent being. His senses are superior to those of sorcerers, and his intuition allows him to foresee a wide range of scenarios and outcomes. When dealing with this formidable entity, Carole must exercise extreme caution because she cannot afford to put her plans to rescue her lady in danger.

'Why, it had to be Duke Sebastian Astrid of all people. What will her heavenly mother will have say about this? The woman who ruined her daughter's core was her husband's mother, with whom she had developed feelings. Goddess Isis probably won't approve with this because her daughter has suffered a great deal of harm at the hands of this wicked family.'

All she can do at the moment is shield her from the dark sorcerers. She sensed a dark energy in the castle, and she surmised that someone with a unique ability had been able to conceal themselves from the Duke's power by wearing an invisible skin. He or she is only waiting for an opportunity to pounce on her.

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Author's note: Thank you so so much for the 50k views and 4k votes. My heart is full. 😍 🥰 😘