"Well of course you are." Thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.
"Welcome duke. Please make yourself comfortable." She said with a fake smile.
"Call me Noah as you always do." He said as he was settling down.
"Umm… sure, Noah?" she casually spoke it as she was sitting down.
"She hadn't changed even a bit. I can't get used to that face of hers. She was quite pretty earlier. Well, it's not like I am the same either." Noah had a train of thoughts and was staring blankly as Janice offered her a cup of tea.
"Hey Noah, what is your business with me today?" she asked with a smile.
"I must use these little opportunities to get close to him." She thought to herself. "It was Janice's last wish after all." She thought as she sipped on her tea.
"I came to thank you for taking care of me yesterday. What would you like in return?" Noah asked casually.
There was a moment of silence. And then Janice spoke,
"Do you take me for a merchant? Someone who would only give something to get something in return?" she asked as she was getting furious.
"Why is she getting angry. She always wanted something in return. Why does she act like this now? She clearly is Janice Green right? I must find time to test it. Or did that damn Reaper cheat me? I must find out." Noah thought to himself.
"Ok if you don't want anything in return then my job here is done. I'll get going. Let's have dinner tonight if you would like?" he asked her as he got up.
"I guess I am ok with it." She said without any hesitation.
"Then I'll take my leave." He said as he got up and left the room.
"Did he say that Janice always used to call him Noah? That doesn't seem like something Duke Gilbert could have said to Janice. His behavior is unusual. Something is getting more and more suspicious. I must make my moves quickly." Janice calmly thought to herself.
The day was going as usual.
The mansion was moderately busy as always too and Janice was thinking about finding clues as she sat restlessly in her room.
"I think I can understand why Duke Noah got actively involved with Wendy Brooks, and the sole reason would be to stay on close terms with Royal Family." She thought while striding back and forth in her room. And then suddenly by mistake, she bumped against an old shelf that stood in the corner of the room.
"Ouch!" her elbow got scratched a little.
But then suddenly a book fell down from the bottom shelf that was maybe supposed to stay hidden.
"Hmm? What is this?", thinking this she opened the diary.
There were only a few starting pages that were filled.
'Janice Tyler,
Today is my wedding to Duke Gilbert.
He looks like a sharp, intelligent, smart, and sincere man. I feel that this will be a good marriage.
But there are a lot of questions that are storming the mind.
And all the answers will lie back home. With Éclair Dream.
In Gyros Village.'
"But still the question is, why get married to Janice Tyler, who was already set to marry Kyte? Did Janice fall in love with Noah even before getting engaged with Kyte? Or was it Noah who wanted Janice? But that doesn't seem like the case since Janice and Noah are having worst relationship possible. Since this is the case, the first clue that I might find can be from the place where Janice comes from. The Gyros Village." Janice quickly came up with an idea.
She searched for a few more things and found a bundle of newspaper tied together with a ribbon that seemed to be very old. "Janice must have had a reason to hide these behind this shelf in such a secrecy." She whispered. And then she quickly read through some of the highlighted parts and immediately knew what had to be done.
"Cindy." She called.
Cindy stormed in.
"Yes, my lady?" she asked with a bow as she dashed in.
"What should the duke be doing now?" Janice asked casually.
"He went to attend the assembly in the royal castle." Cindy replied immediately.
Janice gave Cindy a brief stare indicating that 'You know a lot about the duke?' and said, "Well then prepare a carriage for me. I would love to leave immediately."
"Yes, my lady, I will get ready too.", Cindy said as she was leaving.
"No, you don't have to leave with me. I'll be going by myself." Janice ordered.
Cindy bowed and went out of the room.
"Where is she going now? I must tell Countess Wendy quickly." Cindy thought to herself.
Within the next few minutes, the carriage was prepared.
Janice went down to where the carriage was supposed to be and got on it.
"Take me to the Sun Market." She commanded the driver.
He was shocked but still had no option so he had to take the duchess to the market.
'The Sun Market', was the market in the day and an illegal business by the night. It wasn't a place anyone would want to visit just to buy groceries, it was far more dangerous than that. That place was filled with men of corrupt nobles and freelancing assassins. It was what we call the door to the 'Underworld'. With all kinds of people doing their illegal businesses, the royals also didn't oppose the function of the Sun Market.
"I have to go to the Gyros Village but the key to knowing Janice better is in the Sun Market." Janice quietly pondered as she was watching the passing fields.
"By now Cindy might have warned other maids about my departure and also sent a message to Wendy, probably they will also provoke the duke too since I left without saying anything. If she is sharp enough, she might even come behind me to track where I am going. But I don't guess she will be doing that for now. She knows that I can't go far and I won't go far leaving the duke. And thus I have to use this chance to the fullest." Janice smirked.
Soon they reached the place from where there was a road going deep in the alley. Janice got down from the carriage.
"Wait for me till I come out of the market." Janice instructed.
The driver left with the carriage and there she stood alone.
An alley that could easily give shivers to even the strongest man alive, it was right in front of her. A place that reeks of crimes and power.
She knew that after she crosses that alley, she would enter a totally new world. A world that won't welcome her as an aristocrat or as a duchess. But she had to meet that one person in the alley.
"Janice's mother." She mumbled.
Hera Tyler, Janice Tyler's mother, was a prostitute and a fortune teller. She used to work as a psychic by the day and prostitute by the night in the Sun Market. More importantly she was a smart lady who helped Baron Tyler, Janice's father, to spread his influence among the high ranking nobles.
"What happened to that a proud noble lady, that she had to become a prostitute and work in a shady and irreputable place like this. This is where my search for all the answers begins." She motivated herself and started her journey down the alley to the Sun Market.
Soon as she walked through the alley, the chill and darkness ended as she reached the opposite side of the alley.
And to her surprise, there was a lively atmosphere in what was supposed to be a dark and dreary place, in the sun market.
"I thought it would look much grimmer but this place is nothing like that." She mumbled.
On the contrary, it was a big place. Now her only job was to find where did Janice's mother work.
"There was nothing specific mentioned about the place but there was a name …" she thought hard.
"What was the name?" she tried remembering hard. And then suddenly remembered,
"Éclair Dream!" she mumbled.
"Yes?" a voice from behind her answered.