The Unwanted Duchess Claims Her Throne

Chapter 6

Word Count: 1061 | Released on: 17/06/2026

s certain they were gone, she let herself limp, the pain she'd been suppressing flooding back into her ankle with a vengeance. She hissed through

ch of his clothes. She found nothing to identify him, only a well-made dagger strapped to his calf and a leather coin purse that was completely empty. She took the dagger, its weight solid and reassuring in her hand, and hi

maidservant scurried to the door, carrying a wooden box. Inside was a fresh dress, shoes, and toiletries. Cordelia had folded, for now, wanting

ld barely force it in, the velvet straining at the seams. She bit down on the pain and laced it as loosely as she dared. It would have to do. She dragged the unconscious man to a small, hidden cellar she'd remembered, every step send

g carriage without a backward glance. Only once she was seated, hidden behind the curta

rpening them into weapons. She cataloged every family secret, every financial misdeed, every hidden shame. By the time the c

ke Julian Wells, and her stepmother, Cordelia, were seated on a large settee, faces grim. Her half-siblings, Reginald and Lillian, stood

d his hand on the table. "You have t

ace handkerchief. "Oh, Elenore, my dear child. How could you do somethin

added, voice dripping with sanctimony. "Duke Hawtho

their accusing faces to an empty armchair, each step measured and deliberate, refusing to limp despite the dagger of p

Their accusations faltered, dying in the face of her utter indifference. Juli

ucer with a soft, deliberate click. The sound drew every eye. She fina

ou are speaking to." They stared, confused. A small, chilling smile touched her lips. "Are you speaking to Elenore We

ratic precedence, her marriage had elevated her. As the wife of a more powerful Duke, her rank was now higher than a

She stared at her stepdaughter as if seeing her for the first time. With a single question, Elenore had dismantled their entire tribunal. She

Now then," she said, her voice soft as silk and just as d

t silence, the balance of power shifted, irrevocably a

Chapter End

Claim Your Bonus at the APP

Open

The Unwanted Duchess Claims Her Throne

Marmaduke Ryder History

“I was the legitimate daughter of a Duke, exiled for years and finally forced into a political marriage to save my family's declining status. But on my wedding night, I woke up paralyzed on the cold stone floor, only to find my new husband entangled in my marital bed with my malicious half-sister. It was a carefully staged humiliation. My sister mocked me from the tangled sheets, while my husband looked down at me with utter boredom and disgust. Worse yet, the suffocating incense filling the room was a potent aphrodisiac-a "wedding gift" supplied by my own biological father to break my will and ensure I became a submissive pawn. The original owner of this body died of heartbreak right then and there, suffocated by a lifetime of being treated like worthless garbage by her own blood. She didn't understand why her family hated her so much, or why they would conspire to destroy her dignity on the very night she was supposed to become a Duchess. But the timid girl who would have cried and begged was gone. Opening my eyes, the soul of a top-tier modern operative took over. I didn't shed a single tear. Instead, I pulled a six-inch steel hairpin from my hair, pressed the wickedly sharp point directly against my new husband's throat, and smiled. "I am the ghost who has come to collect your debts."”