"These apples seem nice, Mary! I'm going to buy them for my little brother!" Iris, who was turning thirteen for a few days, said to Mary - the daughter of the fruit vendor as well as her best friend – happily.

They were in Laufer's street, the street where vendors sell goods. It is part of the market in the empire.

She knew that her brother loves apples so much and so, after working part-time in cleaning the bakery that hired her, she always bought food for her family especially for her younger brother – Grey. While her father and mother are also working on their mini-farm.

"You're always happy, Iris! I hope you can stay that way!" with a smiling face, Mary said to her best friend who was handling the apples that she bought. In response, she smiled and winked at Mary.

"That's just my personality, Mary! Trust this girl will never change. I will always be the girl you'll see buying apples for her little brother and parents!" a cheerful voice was all that Mary wanted to hear from Iris. Through it, seeing Iris' smile afterward captivates her view for a while.

However, the moment she saw her golden blonde hair shone brightly – Mary thought that Iris was a goddess with a rare beauty that had descended on the place – her thin red lips like cherry, her pale rosy beautiful skin. Everything speaks about gorgeousness.

She's one of the beautiful rare young woman the empire could ever ask for. Only if she wasn't hiding it. She knew that if she was exposed like that, everyone will think of her as a lost noble disguising as a commoner. However, those thoughts, that will be created, were not even true.

If she knew better, Mary could have thought she's an illegitimate child of a Duke or someone from nobility. Yet, she sure is someone from her family because she exactly looked like her father - whom everyone in the commoner's village - thought of as their friend. However the only difference with them is the hair color, as she thought.

"For a moment I thought you were a no---" before Mary, her best friend, could even finish her words Iris flew immediately where she was and covered her mouth, expressing a worried face.

"You shouldn't mention any of that, Mary! Besides, I'm clear and for the hundredth and one time, I'm a commoner because I do look like my dad! Got it!" Iris said while Mary was struggling to free herself from her tight grips

"Sheeeesh, Iris I know, I know so you should calm down. I was just teasing you for a bit. Well, you know what they say! Don't judge a book by its cover" Mary said breathing heavily from what Iris did to her and laughs a second while later

"Good! So, I guess I'm going now! My brother was probably having a hungry stomach by now!" Iris exclaimed excitedly but Mary immediately pulled her gently fixing the loosened cloth from her hair.

"There! So that you'll not be confused as a noble," Mary said smiling at her best friend after fixing the cloth on her hair

"Thank you, Mary! You're my lifesaver every time I had problems and with this one!" Iris said pointing her hair smiling at Mary. Afterward, she started hugging her best friend gently.

"No worries, remember if you have any problems don't hesitate to come to me, okay?" Mary reassures her with warmth. Welcoming her, this made Iris hugs her more tightly.

"M'kay!" Iris said as she breaks their hug. Then, started walking away on the streets waving her left hand to Mary as her right hand is handling the apples that she bought for her family especially for her brother. Mary waved back with a smile, as Iris was now walking towards where their house at in the Seil Village, - the Village for commoners.

As Iris was heading towards their small house, she bumped into someone who was in the exact height as she is but was a young guy who's in a black coat as well as a black hat.

"I apologize, sir. I wasn't looking for my way as I was hurrying to go home," Iris said bowing respectfully at the young guy she had bumped about hurrying up. Though, the young guy had no time to entertain people in his current situation

However, when he started looking at the young woman who had bumped him earlier, he was surprised. For a sudden minute, he reminded her of someone in the noble society. Her features were someone that the young guy was familiar with.

'They had the same ocean blue eyes'

The young guy had thought for a second after he met her eyes. Though, he didn't thought that the young woman was gorgeous enough to be a noble because of her appearance. She was dressed like a commoner. Her hair was clothed with white one and she was handling a paper bag with no servants in her back.

He thought of the gorgeous young woman as a commoner

The young guy sighed at what he's thinking and immediately smiled at the young lady in front of him.

"No worries my lady. I was also at fault there. I would like to excuse myself now" the young guy said smiling at Iris which she found attractive. She couldn't help but look at the young guy's dark hair blue eyes, pale skin, pointed nose and thin red lips.

For a moment, she thought that she was captivated by the mysterious young guy.

'Goodness! How could I bump into a gorgeous man at this time of the day and in this street?!' She thought as she held herself up for a bit. However, knowing that the guy was hurrying to excused himself, she hadn't even replied to him. He immediately disappeared from her view after saying those words.

'He called me 'My Lady' even though I'm not a noble!'

Iris sighed as she touched her head if her hair was properly covered by Mary and it was.So, what made him think she's a lady?

He could have said girl or young woman but a lady? Maybe, it was just for courtesy. Yet, it's the first time she heard someone called her 'my lady'. It made her feel warm and nostalgic for some reason. She felt like her whole world was slowly moving, as if she was in a loop in time

Iris just shrugged those thoughts remembering how late it was to have dinner and to present her gift to her little brother.

***

"Damnit! Go find that brat now or else you'll never want to see me do something dangerous to your family!" an old man exclaimed angrily. The command he gives can make people around him cowardly shiver. Knowing that they've already been the preys to a predator

The old man was the Duke of the Maxwell family - Derius Maxwell - he's known for being a strict but righteous Duke on the outside. However, people never knew what he does behind the curtains. He's a manipulative bastard - who only cared about his direct bloodline and money. He never cared about those people below him unless for show

The two shadow knights of the duke kneeling in front of him respectfully were commanded by the Duke to find his illegitimate son that escaped the household earlier. The two were shivering from fear of the duke's wrath knowing that he might ultimately do something beyond their grasp. In the end, they immediately went to find Lucius to avoid angering the Duke more.

The duke was angry now. He knows that some of the documents from his office were missing. Those documents will prove to the public his sins for doing illegal activities - as well as killing commoners - that had disobeyed his orders

He knew one thing from the past, it was always someone – a mysterious person – who had sent him pieces of evidence. Yet, clever as he is he was making sure that the mysterious person shut his mouth by giving him money – continuously. He even investigated that person but to no avail, he didn't find any clues who that mysterious person could be

That person himself warned him about the duke's investigations, so he never did it again. He only continued sending the person money. Until one day, the person never bothered the Duke again. The pieces of evidences had stopped coming to him. Those days, the Duke thought that the mysterious person had died to some accident. However, beyond the Duke's knowledge, he was someone who was already living in the commoners' village. It's was no other than the very man – who was a former spy of the previous emperor for the nobles.

In truth, the previous emperor never really trusted the nobles in the first place. He thought that they're like hungry predators - who wanted to claim the throne for themselves.

So, he set a spy and that is his illegitimate son, for the nobles. That is the 'mysterious person's job' only to be allowed to stay in the imperial family though unknown by the public. The previous emperor legitimately had three children who was known by the whole empire - two princesses and one prince - but the truth is, there is also another prince that was just an illegitimate child of the emperor.

The empress first can't accept the truth so the young child was sent to different rooms of the palace. Not to be treated like a prince but to be treated like a slave. When he grew up to be an adult, the previous emperor made him a spy. That was the purpose of his existence inside the imperial household. Never did the emperor, or any of the children, help the young guy. He was treated worse like an animal by the empress, like who grew up in a cage.

The only thing that made him sane from his insane world was the locket that his mother gave him before she was executed by the previous emperor himself. He vowed revenge by that time but he thought to himself, he's helpless in that very kind of situation. He needed something powerful to accomplish by ruining the imperial family that's built with lies, pretense, and greed.

But he never accomplish it because one day, upon completing his mission to spy on a family, he fell in love with a lady of the noble house of Williams. Unfortunately, that lady was the only child of the Duke and Duchess of the Williams family.

That's until things happened and they lived in a commoner area happily not thinking back on their past anymore.

Going back to reality, Duke Maxwell searched and searched for the other documents that were related to his illegal activities sent by the mysterious person a long time ago but all were seemed to be gone. All were gone, as well as the one that truly holds the evidence of destroying their family.

'This will not be the end for my family that I've built through any means'

***

"Sister!" Iris' little brother happily said while looking at her older sister. He immediately appeared from the door of their little cozy house.

"I'm back! Oh, Grey! Oh, my little brother is so cute!" Iris said hugging her little brother as he went near her cheerfully and hugged her back

"Mother said, father will be late for tonight because of his extra part-time job on the market," Grey said exclaiming his sadness because they're not complete as the usual days that they were.

"Oh right, father did have an extra part-time job that he got this week. Don't worry Grey we all know he's doing this for our family. Besides, I have a present!" Iris said while hugging her little brother who was being sad for a minute but lightened up with a smile because of the apples that he saw.

"Yes! Sister is the best! This is my favorite food!" Grey said while taking the apples on the paper bag from Iris' hand and went to their mini table for eating.

As Grey was about to eat the little apples that her sister bought, their mother suddenly interrupted Grey as she smilingly said "These apples still needed to be washed properly before eating, Grey" the little boy nodded and smiled at her mother

A while later, Grey was now eating the apples happily as Iris went towards her mom who continued washing the dishes after washing the apples

"Mom, I'm home!" Iris said while hugging her mother from her back

"Welcome home honey!" Iris's mother who was Olivia said sweetly to her daughter while washing the dishes.

"How's your day today Hon," Olivia asks her daughter which only made her smile while still hugging her mother on the back

"It was great just like any other usual day, mom! I'm grateful that even if I was born a commoner, I'm happily living in this place together with you, father, and my cute little brother!" Iris happily said to her mother as she had stopped washing the dishes for a while and faced Iris while drying her hands with her aprons, touching her daughter's face

"Remember Iris, you and your little brother are our deepest treasures and we will never replace you with anything," Olivia said seriously to Iris

For a moment, Iris felt confused for a bit but immediately shrugged the thought as they hugged each other in the kitchen. Grey, the little boy of the family, did the same as he saw them. The three hugged again for many times as they usually did.

'I could never ask for any other things to replace my happiness. This very moment is my happiness with my father - of course, who was so busy, with his part-time jobs'