Around nine hundred years ago, back when women were allowed to wield sorcery, the world was burning in war. Before the Kingdom of Corvilla and the Changdeok Empire brought forward The Ceasefire, a poor miner saved the life of King Immel the Third and in the two days Immel the Third fought to stay alive, the war went still and talks of peace sunk into the land. For the great favor of saving his life, the miner was granted the title of Duke of Lurris, which was a small piece of land to the northwest of the capital. And building his credibility in the service of Immel the Third, Fresen Emeral build his dukedom into prosperity.

"Was his name always Emeral?" I asked.

The housekeeper, Miss Fjora, a surprisingly young woman (for a housekeeper) dressed in a brilliant wine-colored dress wrapped in a cream-colored collar, lowered her head. She was obviously of foreign descent - likely Stusalian, her voice was rich and accented, her hair was a washed-out blonde and she was likely as tall as Remonn. Her eyes were sharp and green.

"We don't know," she said. "All we know is he became an Emeral once he ascended to the dukedom."

She was leading me to the garden, at my request, after we had spent the morning interviewing governesses for Orsha. It had been two days since we had arrived. While Remonn went about doing his business, I focused on familiarising myself with the place. I was temporarily granted the title of Duchess and would be learning how to manage not just Sapwood - his mansion, but soon the other properties he owned.

Miss Fjora was tasked with the additional duty of showing me around until we hired my lady's maid.

"This is the main garden."

The pavilion opened up to a gorgeous, manicured garden filled with every flower in existence. Since we were teetering towards the edge of spring and falling awash into summer, the garden was decked in shades of red, pink, white, purple, and yellow. A man, who I assumed was the gardener, was kneeling amongst the rosebushes, carefully clipping them into a basket. He raised his hat when he saw us and continued to work.

"How big is it?" I asked, trying to see how far the horizon went as we set off the cobbled path.

"It is one of the biggest gardens in the kingdom," Miss Fjora said with a hint of pride in her voice, "It is rivalled only by the King's Garden in sheer size. It used to be bigger, even."

I wondered how long she had been in service to Remonn. We veered past the apple orchards, where a few townspeople were collecting the apples from the trees. Many of them raised their hats at me, and a couple of children who were running about stood still to stare at me.

"Did you have to push back on the land?" I asked.

"No," her expression changed subtly in the sunlight, "We had to remove the old rose garden." She led me off the path and helped me climb upwards a stone staircase, which abruptly ended at a small rickety little gate that came up to my waist. Cobwebs dangled thickly crusted over the hinges, and the gate was held between a thinly built fence that stretched in both directions deepening into what seemed to already be a part of the woods.

"Is this the rose garden?" I asked wondering if we were going to go in.

"Yes. However, after the Duchess's death, the garden has wasted away. Numerous poisonous weeds have made a home there. The garden is thus forbidden."

"Not even a cleaning up?" I asked, as we turned and stepped down path.

"We tried," she said, "But it is simply impossible."

She veered me towards the large swan lake, where swans had made their abode. Next to it was a small gazebo facing the west, with a table and seats drawn up, where Orsha sat playing a game of chess with herself. When she saw us, she waved and we walked over.

"Have you hired a governess?" Orsha asked standing up and putting the pieces away.

"Yes. Miss Adele Havenham will be taking her position from next week."

"Miss Adele Havenham," she repeated to herself. "What is she like?"

"She seems to be thorough with her languages, and the ancient ones. Her strong suit is astronomy and physical sciences." I said.

"Not holding a tea cup and posture and grace?" Orsha grinned.

"Miss Fjora and I felt that this was more substantial."

I glanced at Miss Fjora, remembering her cool insistence that I hire the "smart and workable" woman. Orsha packed up her game and we set off towards the house. She chattered pleasantly about how much she loved the garden and her plan to ask for a small plot of the garden to plant her favorite flowers in one place.

"Oh but," Orsha said as we stepped into the foyer, "I wanted to meet the Duke's family. When do we expect them to come?"

"Pardon?" Miss Fjora said glancing at me.

I smiled nervously, "Orsha, don't ask such -"

"I have no family."

I didn't have to turn around to know that Remonn had stepped into the foyer. His presence expanded into the room as he made his way toward us. I had not seen him except for mealtimes after we arrived, and his presence had taken to suddenly making me nervous.

He politely kissed my cheek and my heart beat faster.

"I-I am sorry, Your Grace!" Orsha nervously said, awkwardly bowing instead of curtsying. He laughed.

"Did you like the garden?"

"Yes, Remonn," I said. "Orsha would also like to request a small plot for herself. She is very interested in raising flowers."

"Granted!" Remonn chuckled. "What are your plans for this evening?"

I turned to Miss Fjora who lowered her head and said, "Her Grace is free,"

"Beautiful. I would like to invite the two of you to my study. Hopefully, I can introduce you to my family."