The Duke's family

"The Duke of Palmer and his family is here for a visit," the maid nervously answered.

Fuck! They weren't supposed to be here today. I wasn't ready for this.

It was not only me who had a surprised expression on my face, my whole family was mirroring the same expression. Not even they saw this coming, because, from father's words, it appeared as if they will be visiting a few days later. So, why is this happening?

Is there a glitch in the system?

Mother was again the first one to break out from the surprising event. She was quick to get into the role of the Duchess of Del Lavine, barking orders at the maids to get the rooms and mansion ready, while she brought half of the staff including Mr. Butler with us to greet The Palmers.

I tried to control my labored breathing as I watched the carriage with Palmer's logo making its way towards us. It felt as if my impending doom is slowly tightening its grip around my throat – cutting off my air supply. I know that all of this is only in my head, but it still felt so real that it was terrifying.

The Palmer's carriage finally came to a stop in front of us, and the coachman stepped down to open the doors for his masters.

The door opened and a man who appeared to be slightly younger than my father got down first. He was a man of medium built and had black hair with brownish-red eyes.

After getting down, he stretched out his hand inside the carriage for the female to get down. She was a woman with shining blonde hair and eyes with the prettiest shade of green. Her beauty was something completely out of this world, it almost felt like she can rival the goddesses residing in heaven.

The last one to get down was a young boy. He was the same age as me and had hair that was as dark as night and eyes as bright as a ruby shining in the dark of the night. It was none other than Theoder Brian Palmer – my fiance and the one who will kill me. Well, it hasn't happened yet, so let's work hard to prevent those disastrous events from happening.

Now coming back to the current events of the storyline, the young boy timidly followed his parents and pressed himself behind his father's legs, trying to hide in plain sight. It was quite an adorable sight, to be honest. I would've gladly befriended him if only he didn't scream trouble.

"How are you doing my friend?" The Duke of Palmer heartily greeted my father, who returned it with equal gusto. After exchanging formal pleasantries, the duke of Palmer then proceeded to introduce his family members to us.

"This is my wife – Theresa Ann Palmer," he said while pointing towards the goddess-like woman, who curtsied in response.

"And this is my son, Theoder," he said while gesturing towards the young boy, who was still hiding behind his father's leg. Instead of curtseying, he continued to hide behind his father's leg.

"Theoder, go on, introduce yourself, son," the duke urged his son again but was only met with resistance from him.

"Theoder!"

All of us were startled when we heard his mother call his name sternly. It may not be as loud as a yell, but the hint of warning and threat was quite evident in her tone, which only confused me further. Why is this happening? I didn't have much time to observe the Duchess of Palmer's expression because my eyes then quickly moved towards Theoder. To my utter confusion, or in better words – bafflement, Theoder was shaking like a small and wounded animal.

Is he scared...of the duchess?

"Hello. I am Theoder Brian Palmer. Nice to meet you," the boy timidly greeted us.

"That's my good boy," the duchess smiled while patting him lightly on his head.

Now, this would have been a really sweet gesture if only the boy wouldn't have flinched at that small contact.

The duchess's seemingly happy smile may have seemed to be quite pure L at first glance, but there was something definitely unsettling about it. How do I know this? Simple. I was a psychology major before dying.

Then again. What the hell is going on here?