After Stella left the Chevalier manor, she headed to the Valens’s territory which was the north of the Northland Capital. The moment she stepped out of the carriage her eyes went straight to the blonde-haired woman with amethyst eyes in an elegant royal blue dress. She stood by the entrance as if she was impatiently waiting for someone’s arrival and their eyes met for a short moment.

“S-Stella…!”

A huge smile of relief flashed across her face before she rushed over to her little sister. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she embrace Stella tightly. Likewise, Stella hugged her older sister back and they shared an emotional reunion.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, you’ve grown so much…Are you eating well?”

“Hehe, I’m fine, Blake. I’m glad you’re safe too. You looked quite…tired? Did you not sleep well recently?”

“Not really, but I believe today will be the first time in three years that I will have a good proper sleep.”

She rubbed Stella’s cheeks and noticed she had grown much taller compared to the last time she saw her three years ago. Back then she was a young little girl, and now she had grown into a fine adult that was taller than her. The elder sister left the Albrecht family under the pretense of a long vacation and came straight to the Valens’s territory to reunite with Stella.

As the siblings had a touching reunion, a woman with a long ponytail walked up to them. Her red wine hair color contrasted with the white snowy background, but her icy blue eyes matched the color of the clear blue sky above them. She showed up in her gray turtleneck shirt and dark long trousers which was more of how knights would casually dress up for training. Her presence instantly caught Stella’s attention and Alicia gave her daughter a warm welcoming smile.

“Welcome home, Stella. It has been three years, isn’t it?”

“…You looked the same as three years ago, mom. ”

“Is that the first thing you have to say to your mother after these three years? Come here and give your mom a big hug already!”

Alicia opened her arms with a delightful smile and knew that her little daughter would rush into her arms. The young duchess couldn’t elaborate on how ecstatic she was to meet with her family once again. With everything all set and running, they planned to announce Stella’s entitlement to the duchess title at the upcoming annual grand banquet, where nobles and wealthy families across Northland would all gather in one place. There was no better stage than this to expose Anthony and the Chevaliers for their brutality and conspiracy.

-

 

Everything went as planned. Viscount Lemaire exposed those involved with the assassination of Duke Cedric with support from the Earl of Valens and Marquis of Chaplin, which were the two most influential and powerful families of Northland. They exposed Anthony and Duchess Yvette’s corruption, their involvement with many underground businesses, embezzlement, and even fabricating the previous duke’s will to make Anthony inherit the title instead of Stella.

With all the truth laid out, they were unable to deny or refute any of the evidence presented.  

Initially, the Chevalier thought that they would get away because they were meticulous with covering their tracks regarding their involvement with Anthony and Duchess Yvette. However, they didn’t expect that they would also have the information regarding their true plan – including conspiracy to overthrow the Albrecht family, secretly poisoning the entire family, and their wicked plan to use Stella to produce a legitimate heir with Chevalier’s bloodline so that they could rightfully take over the family. 

All of that sounded unbelievable to everyone, but no one questioned how bizarre it sounded because the House of Chaplin was on Stella’s side. Chaplin was the house of lawyers and magistrates, and they were the protectors of law and order over many centuries. The Marquis Chaplin officially declared Stella to be the Duchess of Northland before the knights apprehended all of them immediately. No matter what Marquis Chevalier tried to say, it only sounded like an excuse to everyone.

At last, Stella was able to sigh with relief as everything finally came to an end.

She remembered she caught a glimpse of Ophelia and Matteo at the annual gathering. Her eyes met Ophelia’s for a second before she paid no heed to them. What was there to say when the Chevaliers abused her like an animal, and she was the one that ended Chevalier’s centuries of glory? Their paths had finally diverged and there was no reason to see each other again.

That was the last time Stella met Ophelia.  

 

-

 

If this was a novel, this would be the ending where the main character lived happily ever after with their loved ones after they overcame many arduous ordeals. All the evildoers were brought to justice and got what they deserved.

That was what Stella initially believed as well.

All those involved in the assassination and Chevalier’s conspiracy were sent to the Imperial Capital Penitentiary, which was the maximum-security prison housing nobles that committed serious felonies. As this was no ordinary crime, they would appear in the Supreme Court at the Imperial Palatium and receive a heavy sentence that they deserved.

Everything was going so smoothly and well for the newly appointed Duchess of Northland. For the first month, they had been cleaning up the mess left behind by Anthony and his mother. Even though Stella lacked experience in wide-scale management, her intelligence and perseverance helped her resolve all the issues on an optimistic note. As she was a compassionate leader just like her father, she gained massive popularity and support from civilians and aristocratic families across Northland.

“Here you are! I brought you breakfast. We don’t want you to faint in the middle of work.”

Linda forced her fiancé to eat a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of orange juice as she had been skipping breakfasts for work. The young duchess was too hardworking that she neglected her health, and that was the omega’s job to take care of her alpha.

“Thanks, Linda. I was getting quite hungry.”

“I knew you’ll be hungry. We can handle the rest here so take your time to eat.”

As for Linda, they were officially engaged and she had been helping with countless paperwork alongside the Albrecht family. Ever since Stella became the Duchess, she had supported her through thick and thin. Even when Stella had to travel to survey the rural areas, she would accompany her and never complained a single word. She was a lively and hardworking girl with a beaming energetic smile, and everyone could see how they were a perfect match. Since the orange-haired omega was still 17, they planned to have a wedding the next year when she reached adulthood. Everyone was in favor of their marriage and it was a matter of time before they could start their happy marriage together.

Stella had been busy every day and three months went by so quickly.

As per the Supreme Court’s verdict, all of Chevalier’s assets now belonged to the Duchess of Northland instead since their title of honor was stripped. At the very least, the distant relatives had their ranks demoted and became Barons or Baronesses in small towns instead. As of now, the young duchess stood at the entrance of the white glorified manor that was left abandoned these past months.

“…Who would’ve thought I’ll step back here again?”

She tied her hair up into a ponytail and wore a white t-shirt underneath the charcoal gray vest with Albrecht’s signature embroidery patterns. Her classic black overcoat was made with the finest material, and it originally belonged to her father. Her subordinates came in a week ago and they were still in the process of clearing out all of Chevalier’s belongings.

“Duchess, would you like us to escort you around?”

“No, I’m fine. I just want to come see this place alone and I’ll leave when I’m done here.”

“As you wish, ma’am.”

Walking through the manor gave her mixed feelings and memories of the past started to replay in her head once again, which most of them were about Ophelia. There were times she was grateful for things that she did because Stella truly benefited from all of them – the strict tutoring lessons, the insane sword training, as well as drug resistance training. On the other hand, there were many bitter memories as well, especially when she killed Nix and Lux. Stella heard rumors that they received a harsh sentence and most likely would spend most of their lifetime in the Capital Penitentiary. Once she arrived at her old room, she did not expect that everything would be left untouched just like before she left. It felt as if she went back in time to where she last left this room several months ago. 

“I kind of expected that this place will be trashed or something, but apparently not.”

She checked all her belongings and none of them were missing but something stood out in her peripheral vision. There was a mysterious letter addressed to her on the table. Judging from the dust that accumulated on the letter, it was left here for quite some time and most likely after she escaped from the manor. But why would anyone leave a letter to her when there was no way to know if she would ever step back into this room again? Nevertheless, Stella opened the letter out of curiosity. The content of the letter was short and ambiguous but it instantly widened her eyes with disbelief.

 

[Find Emily at Dalry. Nix and Lux are safe and with her.]

 

“…What the heck? No way…That’s impossible—!”

She couldn’t believe what she read and had to reread it to confirm she wasn’t hallucinating. Was the letter implying that those two leopards were alive? She remembered vividly she saw them in the bloodied gunny sacks that day, but now that she thought about it… were their bodies in those bags though? Her emotions and mind were all over the place so she couldn’t confirm that. Could it be possible that they were alive?

“Emily…I remember that name. Isn’t that Ophelia’s personal maid?”

She remembered that brunette beta maid that was always by Ophelia’s side. She was the loyal servant that served her for years and wasn’t like any other servants that enjoyed gossiping about their masters. If she recalled correctly, Emily quit her job a couple of months before Stella left because she had to look after her sickly father. Nevertheless, none of it made any sense.

Who could’ve left this letter for her?

There was no addresser’s name and she needed to decide what she would do with this piece of information. Stella could easily ignore this and believed that it was a prank, but if there was a possibility that those two leopards were alive then why should she hesitate? At least she should confirm with her own eyes if they were alive or dead, or else she would be carrying this ambiguity for the rest of her life.  

Dalry was a small town located slightly down south of the Northland Capital, but she was certain they could reach there sometime in the afternoon if they depart at once. After taking the shortest shortcut, Stella arrived at Dalry in the afternoon as she expected. The young duchess went straight to meet with the mayor of the town since he would be the best person to know where Emily was. The news of the young Duchess of Northland visiting their small town spread like wildfire and many people gathered on the streets to catch a glimpse of the black-haired alpha. Because of that, it was easy for Emily to find her immediately.

“D-Duchess!”

Stella turned to find Ophelia’s maid running towards her. She was catching her breath as if she sprinted over here the moment she learned about the duchess’s arrival. Emily smiled and sighed with great relief to see Stella once again.

“T-Thank goodness, you finally came…I was so worried…you wouldn’t show up at all…! P-Phew, I’ve been waiting for you, Duchess.”

“Take your time to catch your breath first, Emily.”

“R-Right, phew…when I learned about your arrival, my legs moved on its own.”

This wasn’t the reaction Stella expected as it seemed Emily was anticipating her arrival. Did she know about this anonymous letter in her room? Stella didn’t wait to enquire about the letter she found in her bedroom at the Chevalier manor. As she showed Emily the letter, she was perplexed for a short moment before anxiousness was written all over her face.  

“…I see, please follow me back to my home. I’ll explain everything to you.”

Emily requested an early leave from work and led Stella to her home located towards the end of the town. She also requested to speak with the duchess alone. At first, her subordinates refused to comply with her request since Emily was once a Chevalier’s maid, but Stella was quick to agree with her request.

“Duchess, it is too dangerous to go inside there without any guards.”

“I know what I’m doing. Also, If my subordinates were to wait outside then that should be okay, right?”

Stella turned to Emily, and she nodded. Just before they were about to enter the house, she was tackled to the ground from behind by two large furry bodies. Stella looked up once again and that was when her eyes met with those golden orbs that looked straight in hers. They growled close to her face, and Stella’s subordinates believed that the duchess was being attacked.

“It was your plan all along, wasn’t it?! Everyone, protect the Duchess—!”

“STOP! Do not hurt them!!”

 Just as they were about to unsheathe their sword, the black-haired alpha shouted from the top of her lungs before they could hurt Emily or the two leopards in her arms. They purred and used their white furry bodies to rub against her. They instantly recognized Stella’s pheromones and charged right at her the moment they noticed their dearest master’s arrival. The Duchess was still in shock as she ruffled their heads, which made them purr even more. No words were uttered as her icy blue eyes began to water.

“It’s really you two…Nix! Lux!”

They responded to their names with a loud happy growl before she embraced them tightly. She couldn’t hold back her tears and she cried her heart out. Their bodies were warm and soft, which was a testament that they were alive. The guards were confused but they eventually realized that it was a false alarm.

 

-

 

After their touching reunion, Stella sat down on the couch before the two leopards quickly went up to snuggle against her. Emily prepared a cup of tea for the young duchess and brought along an old notebook as well.

“Duchess, before we get started may I ask if you have received any of my letters?”

“Letters? I received none, I came here because I found this at the manor.”

“…”

Her face was filled with concern and that made Stella even more confused. She asked Emily to tell her what it was that she was hiding and who was the person that left this letter for her. The ex-maid took a deep breath before she slowly answered each question one by one.

“Actually, I’ve been trying to reach out to you for about a month after the Chevalier family was convicted, but there was no response from you.”

“That’s not possible. I checked and read all the letters I received every day. If you sent one, then I should’ve received it.”

“…It was as Sir Matteo once said.”

Emily explained that the letter Stella picked up was written by Matteo himself and he left it in her room before the entire family was convicted at the banquet. This letter was a fail-safe, if Emily failed to reach out to Stella, then at least this letter was a backup to connect them. If the young duchess turned up with Emily’s letter it meant there was nothing to worry about, but if not then it meant that Matteo’s initial speculation was correct after all.

He feared that someone would prevent them from reaching out to Stella.

Even though that made the young alpha more confused, that didn’t answer how Emily and Matteo were connected to Nix and Lux. How did they know about them and manage to save them? Then, what about that hunting incident that happened? Emily wasn’t certain how much Stella would believe her, but she did everything she could to explain her and Matteo’s decision to reach out to her despite the pink-haired omega telling them not to.

“Duchess…would you believe me if I told you Lady Ophelia was the one that saved Nix and Lux?”

“…!”

Stella took a moment to process what she said and still couldn’t see that as a possibility. Ophelia, that possessive lunatic omega, saved these two furry snow leopards? The fact they were alive and snuggling against her was more than enough to prove that someone must’ve saved them, but she still couldn’t see the possibility that Ophelia was the one behind this.

“Both Sir Matteo and I decided to reach out to you because both of us do not want things between you and my lady to end this way.”

“What are you saying? I don’t understand…”

“The truth is in this book…it will answer every question you have. Sir Matteo managed to retrieve it before Lady Ophelia burned them away. I hoped this will make you understand her…even just a little bit.”

She never thought her life would intertwine with that woman once again. Stella began having these mixed feelings as she brushed her palm against the cover of the diary. If that pink-haired omega did save her leopards, then how did she do it? The only way to learn the truth was to open this diary and she had no idea that this truth she discovered will change her world entirely.

 

-

 

Stella read the few pages in silence and all kinds of emotions were bombarded right at her.

Part of her still doubted the content of this diary, but she recognized Ophelia’s handwriting. She was the one that wrote these meticulous plans out from the beginning starting from three years ago when Stella arrived at the manor. She outlined all the details about each incident and abuse that happened and what she needed to do to keep Stella safe. Ophelia had been helping under the pretense of abusing Stella so that she wouldn’t have any sympathy for her. She wanted the young alpha to know that the Chevaliers were tyrants and cruel people.

 

–– Stella is too kind for her own good. If I am nice to her, she’ll definitely show sympathy towards the Chevaliers that don’t deserve it ––

 

It felt as if she had been told her three years of abuse by Ophelia was all a lie and what infuriated her even more was the fact that Stella couldn’t refute any of them. Many times she couldn’t fully understand the motive behind her actions, but now everything made perfect sense. All of a sudden, her eyes widened for a split second the moment her eyes noticed a familiar name…

 

–– At last, I finally had a meeting with Viscount Henry Lemaire, and we made a deal ––

 

They both had been working together over these past years. The identity of the Viscount’s secret informant was none other than Ophelia herself. She had been gathering and providing information to him which aided their grand plan significantly. It was her that told the Viscount about Chevalier’s evil conspiracy to overthrow her family, which included plans to kidnap her mother and poison the entire Albrecht family.

 

–– Theo accidentally found Nix and Lux, and I managed to convince him to hold off his plans to hunt them. This gave me time to request urgent help from the Viscount to swap them out ––

 

On the day of the incident, they swapped them out with dead wildcats painted to look like snow leopards. The two leopard siblings were brought to Emily’s home since she was one of the few people that Nix and Lux were familiar with. With the help of the Viscount’s subordinates, they were escorted to Dalry town safely and stayed with the ex-maid from then until now.

“…So, that’s what happened.”

With evidence laid out in front of her, she had no choice but to believe that Ophelia saved them from Theo. Stella took a deep breath and turned over to Emily to express her gratitude for looking after her two snow leopards. However, she ended up having more questions than before she read the diary.

From the diary, it was crystal clear that Ophelia and Viscount Lemaire had been working together over these years without anyone knowing about it. They made an agreement that Ophelia would assist and become his secret informant in return for her and Matteo’s safety and freedom after everything ended. In the diary, she clearly expressed how she wished to live a peaceful life in some small town with her beloved little brother, and away from everything.

 

–– Everything is going according to plan. Once everything is over, then I would have officially paid for my sins. This is the best possible ending and I’m so glad that its finally over ––

 

With Viscount’s help, during the apprehension at the banquet, Ophelia and Matteo went onto a different carriage when the entire Chevalier was taken to the Capital Penitentiary. They went to a distant small town called Longdale which was located far west of the Northland Capital. They would have a small cozy place to stay as they took on a new identity. Even Stella had to admit that Ophelia’s plan was flawless and everything went precisely to how she wanted it to be.

“I can’t believe how she planned all of this on her own…”

“Even after everything was over, Lady Ophelia insisted that we do not contact, but both Sir Matteo and I disagreed with her decision. We didn’t want you to misunderstand her.”

“I’m sorry, but…none of this is easy for me to take in either.”

None of this was easy for Stella to accept. She spent three whole years believing that Ophelia was one of the mortal enemies, but it turned out she was her protector this entire time. It felt like three years of her life was a lie and Stella was a main cast in her grand plan. She wasn’t even sure what she was supposed to feel. It was a mix of anger, confusion, relief, sadness, and guilt.

“I understand, Duchess. The fact you considered reading and trying to understand Lady Ophelia is more than what I could ask of you after all the things that…you’ve gone through.”

“Assuming what you said and what’s written in this diary is true, then why would she go to this extent, to expose her own blood family, just to help me?”

“Ah…I wish I can say it, but I think it is best you ask my lady directly instead.”

Emily let out a soft giggle as she was fully aware of Ophelia’s reason, but it wasn’t her place to tell Stella about it. The only person that could answer that would be that pink-haired omega herself. However, would the duchess have the courage to face her again though?   

“After all the things I’ve done to her and her family, do I even have the right to face her?”

After she learned a fragment of Ophelia’s secret, part of her hatred for that villainess slowly converted into guilt instead. She saved her leopards, but she repaid her by attempting to strangle her to death. Even though it was all planned out by Ophelia, what could she be thinking at that moment when Stella had her hands wrapped around her neck?

“I doubt Lady Ophelia hates you for what you’ve done.”

“…I don’t about that though.”

Just as much as she didn’t want to face her right now, part of her wanted to face Ophelia once again. One day, Stella would like to meet with her when all these emotions settled down. She was angry that she chose not to tell her the truth and treated her like a puppet in her grand scheme. She was relieved that Ophelia wasn’t evil like other Chevaliers as she deep down hoped for. She felt guilty for all those times she spoke so crudely to her. Now that she thought about it, never once had Ophelia reprimanded her even when she bluntly insulted her countless times. She only smiled and accepted all of that for the past three years.

“…I truly appreciate the truth you told me today. Even though it is still hard for me to accept it, I’m willing to slowly try to open to face it.”

“Thank you so much, Duchess…That truly means a lot to me and Sir Matteo.”

Stella felt utterly conflicted and wasn’t even sure what she should do. Perhaps after she read through everything in the diary, then she may be able to let go of the past and face Ophelia properly. Possibly, by then, they would be able to discard their previous toxic relationship and start anew. Now that everything was over, they had no reason to lie to each other anymore.

This time, they may be able to become friends.

Judging from her reaction, Stella could tell that Emily and Matteo cared for Ophelia immensely. They tried to reach out to reveal the truth to her even though they were going against the older omega’s wish. There was a chance that the duchess would refuse to listen and throw this diary away, but they still hoped that Stella would hear their plea. The fact these two snow leopards were able to stay by Emily’s side for this long meant that she could her words to an extent. 

“I believe I should head back and not make my subordinates worried about me. Thank you so much for telling me all about this.”

“I should be the one to thank you so much for listening to me and giving Lady Ophelia a chance. I would never forget your generous consideration today.”

Stella planned to take the two leopards with her and even extended an invitation for Emily to visit the Albrecht manor if she wished to see Nix and Lux again in the future. Also, she would be more than happy to offer her help if the ex-maid had any financial difficulties. She wrote down a special address for her to send her letters if she needed to reach out to Stella in the future.

As they were about to leave, Lux had something in her mouth that she wanted to give to her.  The duchess initially thought it was her toy or something, but she froze for a moment as her eyes widened with surprise. It was an old handmade amulet made of blue strings, which looked identical to the one she once made for the nameless servant a couple of years back. Even though it was worn out to an extent, she could tell that the owner took great care of it.  

“This charm…”

“Oh, that charm! How is it here? My lady must’ve accidentally dropped it here during the last visit…”

The duchess fell into silence as she held onto the blue charm tightly. At this point, she wasn’t so surprised anymore by how much her life was tangled up with that older omega. She already knew that it belonged to Ophelia before Emily mentioned it because the first thing she noticed when she held it was that rich familiar lavender scent.

Her image flashed through her mind, and it only made her let out a long exhale.

She said nothing and stared straight at the amulet before turning over to Lux. The female leopard growled and nudged her head against the duchess’s hand that was holding onto the amulet. It was as if Lux wanted to tell her to return it to Ophelia.

“You gave this to me…because you want me to give it back to her, right?”

She growled happily and seemed to understand what Stella said. Today was indeed one of the craziest days of her life which taught her that things were not always what they seemed. No matter how confused she was right now, Stella decided to uncover the truth rather than live in the dark. The young alpha decided to give this back to Ophelia when they meet next time.

Perhaps this was a sign that she must go see her no matter what.

 

-

 

She arrived back home with her two snow leopards, and it did cause a bit of commotion. At least, everything went well after Stella explained the situation thoroughly. However, both snow leopards were still wary of others so they stayed close to Stella the entire time. Back in her bedroom, she finally was able to sit back and relax before digesting everything that happened today.

She lost count of how many times she sighed before she picked up Ophelia’s diary once again.

She looked through the plans she wrote, and it further confirmed one of her assumptions, which also brought disappointment to her. Before she decided to uncover Ophelia’s secret or make any arrangements to go see her, the young duchess had several matters to sort out first. She thought back to the very beginning of her conversation with Emily and began piecing each piece of information together.

The only person that would be capable of preventing Emily’s letters from reaching her and knew about her snow leopards’ existence was Viscount Lemaire himself.

The man she wholeheartedly trusted and was like a father figure to her had been working with Ophelia without telling her anything. She may forgive him if he told her after everything ended, but he chose to say nothing during the past three months. Most likely Linda wouldn’t know about this too because it seemed their agreement was strictly between Ophelia and the Viscount.  Doubt and suspicions grew inside her. Could there be more things that he kept hidden from her?

The best solution was to confront the Viscount directly and demand an explanation.

She spoke to Linda and asked her to notify the Viscount about her visit tomorrow since she had important matters to speak to him about. The orange-haired fiancé was confused but she didn’t question her urgency. However, Linda noticed her dull expression immediately.

“Is everything okay? You looked very anxious and tired.”

“Well, there are a lot of things for me to think about.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“…Sorry, but not yet. I want to confirm a few more things first.”

“That’s okay. You should go and rest early tonight.”

Linda genuinely cared for her and Stella felt very reassured having her by her side. Even though part of her wished to share what she learned with her fiancé, the young duchess didn’t want to worry her since she’ll be confronting her father to find out what he was hiding this entire time. Being raised by her mother, who was one of the elite knights, made Stella a fighter and possessed great perseverance to keep going forward no matter how difficult, confusing, and discouraging things were.

Stella was a brave young alpha – comparable to a burning star – just like her name.  

However, she was too young to realize that the price of learning the truth could sometimes be far too cruel and heartbreaking for her to handle.