Inside the guest room, Amalthea continued observing her daughter's face with red eyes after finishing her crying mania.
Duke Augustus entered the room bringing her attention to him. He smiled faintly and reached his wife's side, "She looks just as pretty as you Thea"
Thea shook her head, "She is far more beautiful than me"
"No, my wife is the prettiest!" he exclaimed earning a glare from her.
"My daughter is the prettiest!" they kept on arguing until Clara broke their chitchat.
"I do not mean to interrupt, but I just wanted to inform you both that young lord has returned your graces"
Amalthea got up from her chair and strode towards Clarence, "Where is he? Go and ask him to come here"
Clara sighed, "Young lord warned us not to disturb him, your grace"
"Let him be Thea" the duke chimed in their exchange, "He must be tired after traveling"
The duchess agreed with her husband and moved back towards his daughter's side.
"Thea...I want to discuss something important with you"
"What is it?" she asked in confusion.
Augustus stared at his wife and looked back at his daughter and said, "Let us call her Iris from now on. She was injured very badly when I saw her on the stream, It is better to keep her identity hidden for now"
"You want to replace Iris with Irene?" she asked not at all liking his suggestion. 'What does he mean by calling Irene other names?'
The duke shook his head vigorously, "You misinterpreted by words Thea. I'm doing this to keep our daughter safe"
"Care to explain this in detail?" she asked still annoyed
He nodded his head, "I found her shoulder injured with an arrow, her legs were filled with scabs before the healing process. Assessing all of this, I think that she was being chased by someone, and I don't wish to put her life in even more jeopardy by revealing her identity. Only some of us know about you having twin baby girls and it will not arise any suspicion" he sighed seeing the frown on his wife's face and continued, "At least agree to this until I find out about her enemies"
Amalthea didn't want to agree but she knew it was the last option left for them, "Fine" she agreed after contemplating, "But I will agree to this after receiving Irene's permission when she wakes up"
"Let's do that" he too agreed with his wife's suggestion. Then he looked at his wife's tired face, "You should eat something and take a rest. I'll wake you up later"
Thea got up from the bed because she too felt haggard. She wanted to greet her daughter with a bright face once she woke up, "Get me some light snack and tea Clara" she said walking out of the room. Peterson was standing just outside the door, so she notified him to bring some tea for her husband and left the hallway.
She climbed the stairs and reached her chamber but a loud shattering sound resounded across her chamber. The duchess frowned as she realized that the noise came from her son's room.
Rushing across the hallway she knocked on the door, "Cliff are you alright? What is that noise dear?"
There was no reply so she knocked again, "At least answer something Cliff! You are worrying me"
After some time, he finally opened the huge double door adorned with gold. A luxurious room decorated with red and golden color greeted Thea as she entered the room.
A young man with silver hair stood leaning against the railing of the huge window. Shards of flower vases scattered on the ground around his legs. His hand was clenched into fists showing the anger he was quelling.
His mother's heart ached for her son. Yesterday was a complete nightmare for their family. Iris breathed her last, and they discovered poison in her body which was being fed to her by her nanny from a young age. She fainted after witnessing her daughter's suffering in her last moments, Her son left the duchy in absolute horror.
Clifford was always considerate of his little sister. He understood his sister's condition and supported their parents in taking care of her even after being only two years older than her. He was a baby himself, but never once complained about their parents' attention directed towards his sister. He avoided going out to play with other kids of his age because he didn't want to leave his sister alone. Iris always felt guilty towards her brother but he never blamed her for anything.
The duchess felt her eyes sting with tears seeing her son's misery-filled eyes. Those amethyst eyes of her son which always shone were now filled with emptiness.
She closed her eyes trying to calm her sadness. Then she crossed the broken pieces of the vase and held his hand, "Come with me"
Clifford frowned and followed his mother as she dragged him out of his room towards the stairs, "Where are you taking me, mom?"
His mother just remained silent and continued pulling him reaching the hallway of guest rooms. Striding towards the last room, she pushed opened the door.
Duke Augustus looked up from his book towards them, "What's wrong?" he understood that something was wrong seeing his wife's tear-filled eyes, "What happened Thea?" he repeated his question.
The duchess ignored her husband's query and turned back at her son, "Come here" she gestured towards him to come forward.
Clifford took a small step forward and looked at the girl in bed with a stupor.
"It is Irene" his eyes widened hearing his mother's words. He glanced at his father with an inquiring gaze and staggered after receiving a nod from the latter.
"I found her beside the stream behind our manor. She was severely injured when I found her and Dr.Stanley used his healing magic to treat her" his father explained everything understanding his son's inner turmoil.
Clifford's amethyst eyes mellowed looking at his little sister. His grief cooled down the moment his eyes saw his long-lost sister's face.
"Has Irene still not regained her consciousness?"
His father shook his head, "Dr.Stanley said that it could take a few more hours, and don't call her Irene from now on"
Seeing his son's confused face, he answered vaguely, "She is Iris from today and I will explain the reason for this later"
Clifford nodded his head and turned back towards his sister. He blinked his eyes as he saw her fingers twitching, "She is gaining her consciousness, dad, mom!" his loud voice alarmed his parents and they saw the girl flutter open her eyes.