Heinrich had been confined to his room since the graduation ceremony. 

He sat at his desk, lost in thought and unable to comprehend how he ended up like this. All he recalled was how sweet everything was… until it wasn’t.

Since his dance with Darlin, the air, the tingle in his body, the aftertaste of the wine he’d consumed all left a saccharine caress on his senses. 

The stars were beautiful, Flora more so. Sweet nothings were uttered and he couldn’t take his eyes off her lips. They were so inviting he simply had to taste them. 

The moment he did, Heinrich was almost out of his mind with desire, not knowing when his or Flora’s clothes started to come off.

Only when the fireworks exploded in the sky did he realize they were doing something incredibly wrong in an incredibly inconvenient place. 

But by then it was too late. 

He roughly ran a hand through his red hair. “That wasn’t me!”

Heinrich loves Flora with a passion. He loves their walks amidst the flowers, their conversations over tea, and how her eyes light up at the sight of him. Each time her innocent gaze lands upon him, his heart squeezes and all he’d want to do is pull her into his arms. 

For all his feelings, Heinrich is not lovesick enough to try and take her on a goddamned balcony!

Granted, he and Flora weren’t too determined to hide their romance, they were at least mindful to only exchange kisses in shadowed areas of gardens and unvisited corners of the school library. 

Heinrich had gotten drunk with his friends even before coming of age— boys will be boys, they say— and knows what he is capable of doing while intoxicated. He would never attempt what he did on the balcony unless… unless something influenced him?

He didn’t get to explore the possibility for long as his bedroom door flies open with a bang. 

Felicity marches towards Heinrich and lands a resounding slap on his cheek. “INGRATE!” 

Heinrich’s ears are full of a drawn out ring. The burn from his cheek is all that’s palpable to him. His mother’s furious screams seem so far away though she is only a few steps from him, barely being held back by his father so she wouldn’t beat Heinrich anymore than this.

As a swordsman, this is certainly not the most pain he’s experienced, but it is a new sort because Heinrich’s parents have never raised a hand against him.

“How could you?!” Felicity’s shrill voice accuses, “Are you on a mission to destroy this house? Answer me, HEINRICH FRITZ!”

He couldn’t. “I… I d-don’t…” Heinrich was still reeling. 

Duke Vincent pushes between his wife and son, “Calm down, my dear! Losing your temper won’t do a single thing to help.”

“It might make that useless child use his goddamned brain for once!” Felicity counters. 

In the midst of their arguing, reasoning slowly returns to Heinrich. He voices against his mother’s harshness, “H-How could you strike me?!”

The grinding of Felicity’s teeth worsens Vincent’s headache. Snatching the crumpled letter from her, he tosses it at Heinrich’s feet with a threatening glare. “Be grateful a slap is all you got, boy.”

Heinrich glances warily between the letter and his parents before lowering himself to retrieve it. 

~

To Her Grace, the Duchess of Fritz,

I know you are greatly troubled over this matter, as am I, so I pray you forgive my forsaking of pleasantries.

Flora has confessed Sir Heinrich took her virtue, and in their rage my parents have prepared to take this matter before the temple unless Sir Heinrich takes utmost responsibility for deflowering her.

I send this letter in light of the long relationship we have shared.

Faithfully,

Darlin Rayne.

~

Heinrich shudders, his breaths short and fast but hardly enough. Flora… Why would you tell such a blatant lie?!

He looks to his parents, words stalling in his throat at their expressions of disappointment. 

Heinrich shakes his head while stumbling till he’s leaning against his desk. “…I-It can’t be, I— Mother, father, you have to believe me. Flora and I never—!”

“And how is anyone supposed to believe that?” Vincent rolled his eyes. “You haven’t particularly been subtle, Heinrich. And then the balcony…” He could feel his headache worsen.

“It was an accident!” Heinrich pleads with a look begging them to believe him. 

“”An accident~” he says!” Felicity throws her head back on a sarcastic laugh. “By the gods,“ Her laughter dies into a grievous sigh. “what has become of my house?”

Vincent drills his fingers into his temples. “You’ve flaunted that bastard girl for all the world to see, do you think anyone will believe you now?”

“…! F-Flora and I are just—!”

“Stop! Just… stop.” Felicity’s grey eyes simmer with barely contained fury, every word dripping with mockery, “”We just have a friendly relationship”, Who the hell believes such garbage? Engaged with one woman, then fooling around with her sister… At least have the dignity to be ashamed and stop your useless excuses!”

Prideful as Heinrich is, how can he stand being silenced by his own failings? “I-If… If you knew, why did you not try to stop me?!”

This time, the hand to strike him is Vincent’s. He raises a brow, drawling cynically, “Stop you? What does it matter if you play around with that illegitimate child? It was fine because Darlin was defending you. It was fine because your marriage with Darlin wasn’t jeopardized. So what if you take the bastard girl as a mistress? It’s that declining family’s honor to have daughters useful in their own ways. However,” In the next breath his eyes sharpen behind his rectangular glasses, “you marrying the bastard should not be a possibility. Even an idiot like you should understand this much.”

Idiot…? It was the first time Heinrich was insulted, and it came from none other than his own parents?

He bites his bottom lip, unwilling to swallow the ignominy while knowing his parents are right.

Heinrich loves Flora and all her innocence, but she is in no capacity to be a Duchess. The soft heart and innocent spirit that attract him will leave her vulnerable, and by proxy, the Duchy. 

Darlin might be detached, perfect to the point of intimidation without a chink of vulnerability in her invisible armor— a living masterpiece of what nobles are expected to be. She is boring, cold, and masked… but as a Duchess? She would be unmatched. 

Not that Heinrich is about to admit that without duress. His refusal does not, however, make it any less true that as an heir he has made a terrible blunder.

To himself, he insists, I just… What’s wrong with wanting to spend time with the woman I love?! Flora’s face flashes in Heinrich’s mind, prodding his heat with a mysteriously unpleasant pang.

“I… I love Flora!” At no time has Heinrich needed to struggle with this declaration as he does right now. 

He certainly does not regret his relationship with Flora— Nobles have, and do, worse things than him.

Is promising his heart to a woman reason to be maligned without respite?

He isn’t wrong in loving Flora, just in letting his guard down that night! Heinrich upholds against the bud of shame and regret, It’s not a crime to fall in love!

“Fool.” Felicity spits, understanding Heinrich is determined to stand by the illegitimate Rayne daughter.

Turning on her heel, she warns, “For your sake, do not appear before me until I have settled this.” The rage and disappointment within her was so vast, so turbulent she could only vent by dragging ridges through the frame with her nails. “Be aware, no matter the outcome, I will never accept that bastard!”

The door shuts with a cold bang and Heinrich is left with his thoughts and the letter. “…Flora…” The name that once left his lips as a sweet, needy breath is now groaned with unconscious exasperation. 

*****

Darlin could not recall the last time she slept peacefully. Her nights are either spent in an uncomfortable, dreamless state— less like sleep, and more like awaiting the sun’s rising with closed eyes— or a hellish mix of her lifetimes. 

In her dreams, she begs Heinrich to love her, to look upon her efforts and grace her with the littlest of affections. 

Without fail, he will embrace Flora before her eyes, and a maddened Darlin screams at her sister for so easily taking all Darlin clawed her way towards obtaining.

Heinrich then punishes her by driving a knife through her chest.

Darlin rushes to her father for help, only to be chastised with a slap. “Who could love such a crazy wretch?!”

A foolish hope drives Darlin to seek her mother. Isabelle would have that look on her face, as if she were forced to make a difficult choice, then shove Darlin away.

Darlin’s body soon stops banging against the stairs, the scenery shatters and reshapes till she realizes she’s floating— falling amongst broken glass. She’ll admire the sky above her until she inevitably splatters on the ground.

A burn spreads in Darlin’s stomach, an infant’s cry echoing out of it. Her bones are broken and twisted, still she finds the will to reach for her stomach, clawing it open in an effort to save her child.

She digs through her innards, but what she’s looking for isn’t there. 

Darlin’s red eyes shoot open. In a few deep breaths the terror on her face is gone, her eyes lowering into a dispassionate stare. 

She only gets up when the feeling of her sweat soaked nightgown gets too irritating to ignore.

An annoyingly bright sun beams through the space in the curtains as though to mock Darlin’s glum. “…I’m tired.”

Her morning ablutions are a blur, and soon Darlin is leaving her room while clad in a grey dress,

Normally, Darlin would have a small meal in her study and get straight to work after. Today though, I need to make sure none of them fuck up.

Darlin knows well the people around her are anything if not shameless. If any chance arises, Felicity will ignore her son’s massive faux pas and proceed with the engagement as if nothing happened. 

She definitely cannot trust Flora, Isabelle, or Howard to handle this— Felicity will corner them into a confession in the time it takes to get through a cup of tea. 

Should that happen, Darlin’s dear family will not hesitate to throw all the blame on her.

And yes, while it was her idea to begin with, they agreed to it all in the name of giving Flora what she wants. Because nothing’s more important than a happy Flora~ A corner of her lips curls in disdain.

Darlin no longer sees a reason to have consideration for parents who guilted her over being upset about the relationship between Heinrich and Flora— who disparaged her anger when Flora is so clearly wrong.

She only mourns how Heinrich and Flora were not caught mid coitus. Things would be less difficult if Flora really was no longer a virgin. 

She thinks back on her past lives— how a pregnant Flora asked Darlin to accept her child as the Duchy’s heir, and wonders how long Flora will be able to keep her guilelessness this time around.

Her parents and Flora are already enjoying breakfast by the time Darlin enters. No one acknowledges her greeting, but Darlin gives it anyway, knowing she will be criticized as soon as she doesn’t. 

Flora is dressed in a light blue gown with white, embroidered roses cinching the sleeves halfway down her upper arms, and also cinched under her breast. Her blonde hair is in a half-up do, the locks falling on either side of her face decorated with diamond butterflies. 

She’s animated, chattering needlessly in a nervous sort of excitement about a wedding not yet decided on. 

Howard and Isabelle hang on every word with a relaxed smile, none of them finding anything wrong with Flora talking about marrying the man Darlin has been engaged to since the age of twelve. 

At the table is a happy family and a young woman named Darlin. 

The young woman makes no effort to be included where she is not invited and mixes her tea to her tastes, impressed by how comfortable everyone is despite the fact Duchess Felicity Fritz is about to descend in a wrath. 

No one at this table understands the Duchess better than Darlin, and not even she dares to embrace relief. At least not until Flora and Heinrich are anchored together, and she, Darlin, is safely away from her parents.

The first sign of chaos is shown in the sound of pottery shattering. 

“What in the world is going on?” Howard pushes out of his chair.

She came later than I expected. Darlin washes down the food in her mouth with tea, then faces her sister as the noise outside gradually increases the closer the cause gets to the dining room. “Flora, do try to remember; you are a woman without virtue.”

Flora blinks. Certainly she heard wrong. Why did it sound like Darlin just insulted her? Her sister’s tone was curiously frigid, yet the chance to question her is gone as the dining room’s doors fly open.

Felicity’s presence brings a burning chill. The servants of the Rayne family are desperately skittering after her, knowing they should stop her, but also not daring to lay a hand on her and Vincent.

Felicity’s eyes move over the room with an indifferent glance. The moment her eyes find Flora, they harden. Still, she forces an unfriendly smile and drags her sight towards Howard, who winces under her attention. 

“Earl,” Felicity all but hisses, “did I come at an awkward time? Evidently, we appear to be the only ones disturbed over this… incident.”

No matter how upset Felicity is with Heinrich, she believed him when he said he never bedded Flora. And if he is telling the truth, Then the Raynes are lying! 

Well, whether or not Heinrich is lying, Felicity will accept it if it keeps the illegitimate vixen out of her family’s bloodline!

However, seeing how calm the family is, Felicity’s suspicions grow.

Howard’s mouth goes dry. He peeks at Isabelle for help, but she’s found avid interest in her empty teacup.

“Greetings, Duchess,” Darlin’s voice is a welcomed reprieve. 

“Darlin.” Felicity nods coldly. 

The younger woman remains unfazed, moving to suggest with a clap of her hands, “Might we continue this conversation in a more private place?”

Like that, everyone finds themselves in a parlor, the Rayne family seated across the Fritz couple with nothing but a center table and tension in-between.

Felicity makes the first move when she slams the letter on the table. “What is the meaning of this?!”

Darlin glimpses from the letter to Felicity. “It is as I said, Your Grace.” She motions to the quivering Flora besides her. “My sister confessed Sir Heinrich has taken her virginity. She did not intend to mention it for the sake of the engagement between him and I, except “circumstances” have forced her to speak up.”

“What fine timing!” Felicity scoffs. “How am I supposed to believe anything that comes out of that tart’s mouth?” Her words exclude Flora, but her ferocious eyes are locked on the girl. 

Flora recoils, thrown off at being insulted to her face. She presses her knuckles to her lips in a bid to muffle her hiccups. Heinrich, why aren’t you here? 

Never the matter. Howard manages to grow a pair for her sake. “Your Grace, Flora is not to blame for this situation. She’s an innocent and kind child!”

“HA! Is that to say this is Heinrich’s fault?” Vincent barks, “I wonder how innocent a lady is to romantically pursue her future brother-in-law?”

Flora can hold her tears back no more. How can he speak so insensitively about my heart?! “Heinrich and I,” She sobs, “we didn’t mean to fall in love, we just happened to meet a little too late! Even then, that doesn’t mean our feelings aren’t sincere!”

Flora expects her proclamation to be met with pity and understanding, yet her parents visibly shrank. 

“F-Father? …Mother?” They always understood her feelings better than anyone else, so why fail to help her explain now of all times?

Vincent bursts out laughing and doesn’t stop till his blue eyes are filled with tears. “Goodness! So she’s not a git, just a complete moron!”

Flora goes red from her hairline to her neck. Words could not escape her tight throat, leaving her to tug on Darlin’s sleeve in a silent plea for help.

“Your Graces, Flora and Heinrich have been romantically involved for years. Is it so impossible to believe they indulged in one other?”

“How open-minded you are, Darlin. Your sister seduced your fiancé, yet here you are defending her.” Felicity snarls. “I’ve thought this before, but your ability to put your dignity aside is more impressive than I realized.”

The jab amuses Darlin to no ends. She’s acting as if she wasn’t complacent in Heinrich’s debauchery. The same Felicity who shrugged when Flora got pregnant in Darlin’s third life— who gave her blessing and hosted a dinner for Flora’s child in Darlin’s fifth, is now trying to drive a wedge between sisters if it will help keep Flora out of the house of Fritz.

Ever clueless, “Darlin knows I mean no harm! As my sister, she is naturally understanding of me.” Flora’s boast has Isabelle and Howard sinking further into the sofa.

Felicity and Vincent look from her Darlin with faces asking if Flora really just said that aloud.

“… All I do I do in hopes of a favorable outcome, Your Grace.” For me, that is. “With the extent of their relationship, and the events of that night, people will draw their own conclusions.”

That is to say; the public will resolve it for themselves so long as we don’t do it now. For once, Felicity despises Darlin’s wit and calm. Leaning back in the couch, she motions for Darlin to continue.

“Heinrich has to marry Flora to protect his respectability. People are more likely to swallow a fairytale than an affair.”

“Making this a leap for love rather than an affair will not make the public forget the facts.” Vincent argues.

“True, but they do love a good romance. “The heart wants what the heart wants”, and all that.” Looking intently into the Duchess’ eyes Darlin hints, “Drastic acts done in the name of love have a funny way of swaying opinions.”

Unconvinced, the Duke responds, “Withal, putting her in the seat of Duchess Apparent is too much. For a child like that, being a concubine should be fine.” 

Isabelle clutches her pearls. “M-My Flora a… a concubine?!”

“That can’t happen!” Flora protests loudly, afraid of the higher nobles, but enflamed by love. “Heinrich loves me, he definitely won’t accept other women!”

“Says the other woman.” Vincent chuckles. “The mere idea of an illegitimate child marrying into Fritz is inconceivable. Isn’t that right, my dear?”

Felicity’s face was blank, a contrast to her inner turmoil. How did things end up like this? 

Pushing out of her seat, she scowls at Howard and Isabelle, not bothering to hide the commanding tone in her voice, “This matter needs to be thought over carefully. I advise you to be mindful until then.” To Darlin, she says, “Come see me out.”

Quick on the uptake, Vincent realizes his wife wishes to share a private word with Darlin and stides ahead of them.

Darlin and Felicity cross the foyer with slow steps. “What did you mean earlier?” The latter queries.

“Flora heard what people thought of her and tried to toss herself out a window.”

A sound of frustration rumbles out of Felicity’s throat.

“My parents only managed to stop her by swearing to make sure she marries Heinrich.”

“Of course...” No wonder the stupid thing was dolled up. She’s arrogant now that she’s found a means to get her way!

An attempted suicide is greatly linked to mental illness, something a noble will likely never recover from in terms of reputation. For Heinrich to be the cause for such madness… his reputation will plummet!

The Duchess looks more kindly on Darlin. “Did you convince your parents not to publicize this?”

“Naturally.” Darlin giggles. “Such behavior will harm both our houses so I thought I should warn your Grace of Flora’s desperation. Right now, revealing this is my parents’ last resort.”

“I see.” Felicity already knows Darlin is the brains behind the Raynes. Such a clever girl is practical and capable enough to stave Felicity’s ire— no matter how often the idiotic Earl and Countess ignite her temper. “Be as it may, that thing can’t be the future Duchess.”

“I am aware my sister does not meet your Grace’s high standards, but the future is far off, “things” can change… or be replaced.”

…Oh! Flora can marry Heinrich, just as she wishes, but they needn’t stay married!

For the first time since this whole debacle, Felicity gave a genuine smile. “It really is a shame, Darlin. I’ve known you were exceptional since we first met, and now I must give you up.”

Felicity really is sad Darlin will not be her daughter-in-law. The younger is such a well mannered, knowledgeable lady capable of pleasing Felicity without looking pathetic. With her eyes pinned on the esteem of becoming a Duchess she nimbly ignored Heinrich’s unfaithfulness without losing any dignity. 

Thankfully, she is contrite enough to not subdue Heinrich, nor disregard the Rayne family’s refusal of female heirs, else Heinrich would face competition he simply can’t beat. 

“No need to escort me further.” At the threshold of the front door, Felicity lazily throws a wave over her shoulder. “As ever, you were good company, Darlin. I hope we can continue to support each other.” As Darlin harbors no ill feelings towards her, Felicity sees no reason why she should neglect to keep her assistance for the future.

Go fuck yourself, you arrogant hag. “I am glad I could be of help, your Grace.”

As etiquette dictates, Darlin does not return inside until the Fritz’s carriage exits the estate.

“The audacity,” She whispers. They’re all so fucking disgusting I want to give my intestines a rinse!

Angry tears start to fill her eyes. All the same, this meeting served to remind Darlin, This is right. I am right. None of them deserve an ounce of forgiveness.

In all this, not a single person has apologized to Darlin. Even if it is empty placation to keep her quiet, they do not find her worthy of it.

The entire interaction between families shows they all knew something was wrong… “And you let it happen… because it’s happening to me.”

A sharp pain stabs her heart. “Oh?” Darlin cocks her head and places a palm over her chest. Was this miserable little thing actually hoping those monsters would finally do right by her? “How stupid...”