1 | Iris

"These apples seem nice, Mary! 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

They were in Laufer's street where vendors sell goods, it's 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 as her father and mother are also working on their mini-farm.

"You always seemed happy, Iris! I hope you can stay that way!" Mary said smiling while Iris was handling the apples that she bought and just smiled and winked at Mary.

"That's just my personality, Mary! Trust this girl will never change and will always be the girl you'll see buying apples for her little brother and family!" Iris said smiling brightly at Mary as the sun shines captivated her view for a while

Mary was shocked for a bit at Iris' beauty like she's a goddess that had descended on the place. Her golden blonde hair shone brightly as the sun hits her figure, her thin red lips like cherry as well as her pale beautiful rosy skin.

She's one of the beauties the whole empire could ever ask for if she wasn't hiding from the face of the people always covering her hair with clothes that were loosened a while ago that Mary had seen.

If she knew better, Mary could have thought she's an illegitimate child of a Duke or someone from nobility but she sure is someone from her family alone because he exactly looked like her father whom everyone in the commoner's village thought of but the hair color was only different.

"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 as she expresses 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 was just teasing you for a bit. Well, you know what they say! Don't judge the book by its cover" Mary said breathing heavily from what Iris did to her and laughs a second while later

"Good! So I'm going now! My brother was probably having a hungry stomach by now!" Iris exclaimed excitedly but Mary immediately pulled her gently as she fixes Iris' loosened cloth from her hair smiling at her while doing that

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

"Thank you, Mary! You're my lifesaver every time I had problems!" Iris said smiling at Mary while hugging her gently.

"No worries, remember if you had problems don't hesitate to come to me, okay?" Mary reassures her warmly welcoming her which made her hug her more tightly.

"M'kay!" Iris said as she breaks their hug and started walking away on the streets waving her left hand to Mary as her right hand is handling the apples 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 house she bumped into someone who was in the exact height as she is but was a 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 guy after bumping into someone but the guy was also hurrying up. He had no time to entertain people in his current situation

Though when he saw the girl who had bumped him earlier, he was surprised for a sudden minute as she exactly reminded him of one of his friends.

They had the same ocean blue eyes. Though he just shrugged the thought of how gorgeous the young woman was in front of him he was sure she's a commoner because of her clothes yet not mentioning how pale her skin was, how pointed her nose was and how thin her red lips were.

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

"No worries my lady. I was also at fault there. I would like to excuse myself now" the guy said smiling at the Iris which she found attractive as the guy had this dark hair and blue eyes, pale skin, pointed nose and, thin red lips.

Goodness! How could I bump into a gorgeous man at this time of the day and in this street?! She thought as she was held up for a bit but because of the guy hurrying as he excused himself, she hadn't even replied yet to him as he already disappeared in her view

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 but a lady? Maybe just for courtesy but it's the first time she experienced being called like one and it made her feel warm and nostalgic for some reason because she felt like her whole world was slowly moving, lie she was in a loop in time

Iris just shrugged that thought as she remembered 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 as this is the kind of command he gives that can make people around him be coward and shiver like they're the prey of that predatory person.

The old man was the very Grand Duke of the Maxwell family, Derius Maxwell, he's known for being a strict but righteous Duke on the outside but people never knew what he does behind the scenes.

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 to find the illegitimate son that escaped the household earlier

The two were shivering from fear of the duke's wrath as he might ultimately do something beyond their grasp. So in the end, they immediately went to find Lucius to avoid angering the Duke more.

The duke was angry at the moment knowing some of the documents went missing from his table. Those were the documents that will prove to the public his sins for doing illegal activities as well as killing commoners who disobeyed his orders.

He knew one thing from the past that someone always sent him the pieces of evidence but clever as he is he's making sure that 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 of being investigated so he never did it again but only continuously sent the person money.

Until one day, the person was nowhere to be contacted by the duke and the pieces of evidence had stopped coming to him thinking he died to some accident but beyond the Duke's knowledge he was someone who lives well in the commoner's area the very man who was a former spy of the emperor for the nobles.

In truth, the emperor never really trusted the nobles in the first place because they're like hungry predators who want to claim the throne for themselves.

So he set a spy, that is his illegitimate son, for the nobles. That's his job to be allowed to stay in the imperial family unknown by the public.

The emperor legitimately had three children 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 guy 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 emperor made him a spy and that thing was the very purpose of the child. Never did the emperor or any of the children help the guy as 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 very emperor himself.

He vowed revenge by that time but he thought to himself, he's helpless in that very kind of situation and he needed something powerful to accomplish ruining the imperial family that's built with lies, pretense, and greed.

But he never accomplish it because that 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 girl was the only girl the Duke and Duchess have in the Williams household

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

Going back, in 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 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 appearing 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 still had to be washed properly before eating, Grey" as Grey 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 Iris 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 and 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 that making her confused for a bit but immediately shrugged the thought as they hugged each other in the kitchen and Grey 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 and this very moment is my happiness with my father of course who was so busy with his part-time jobs