it was a story told to every generation. a story of the current duke responsible for the death of her family members. rumored to have killed her brothers first, her mother and her father, last—all to receive the power to abuse her family's powers. it was said that she did all of those deeds because of how she was unfairly treated when she bears a curse that could potentially cause doom to a person, even a whole country. another reason could be, which is another rumor that the duke is born from a mother with no status, meaning she was a bastard child from just a slave. everything seems to just be rumors and myths and no one knew the truth.

the duke has never actually made a public appearance and no one knew how she exactly looked like. perhaps she was a child that was never revealed to the public. which made some people scared if the rumors were somewhat true and how they could be handled by a demon or some sort(which is kind of childish). nevertheless, no harm since to have come to the land of altaria ever since the big incident, and no one dared to question the death of most of the family in front of the palace walls, fearing it would lead them to the same fate. it was only left unsolved.

and there was irene listening to the story once again. it had been a few years back since she first heard it from her father and how he warned not to get too close to the ducal residence. of course, the younger version of irene listened to her father closely. and now she was looking at an ahjumma scaring off the children with her slightly threatening way of telling the story. saying if that they misbehave, the duchess will be out to get them with her dangerous magic powers. quite childish, irene thought yet giggles at the children's frightened reaction, seemingly amused. 

irene stays at the story-telling session, besides some of the parents who had to look after their children. most of the children inside the ahjumma's circle were from an orphanage or just didn't have a home. the young blonde was familiar with the few who have helped her out a couple of times. the little ones liked helping out irene especially. maybe because of her pure and kind aura. everyone knew the young florist who roams around town to sometimes give out flowers or pick out some at the nearby forest and local greenhouse. you could just say she was popular in the area but not to an extent. everyone's mother adored irene and wished to have a daughter like her.

speaking of a daughter. irene is the daughter of sir wilfred bae, who's a well off businessman. meaning she had came from a relatively wealthy family lineage despite her role right now as a florist. a year ago, before she had this job, she had always liked nature, especially flowers. her father took notice of this and was kind enough or was just forced by the stubborn and persuasive attitude of the young irene to let her start her very own shop.

thus she's here in the homey town of liberty, which was situated near the ducal residence, the town being regarded as high importance when it comes to goods and trades.

but enough about that, irene has an errand to do, "it's irene-unnie/noona!" the kids cheered when they saw their favorite person come by their circle, "the kids have been waiting for your arrival, irene-ssi. some were pretty antsy that you wouldn't be coming today," the ahjumma says.

irene smiles and pets one of the older kid named yeri's head, "is that right, yeri-ah?"

"everyone here was just excited for the treats you bring us, irene-unnie," yeri was one of irene's number one helper. well, that was what yeri titled herself as, and in return, irene taught her how to read and gave her treats(in this deal, irene gave the most). although, they were more of a mother-daughter relationship though. yeri didn't have great parents to take care of her so she had to set in an orphanage.

"oh right, your treats! make sure to share them while i run my errand, yeri-ah." irene hands yeri the basket full of snacks that were made by her and the baker named wendy, who owns a shop across from hers, "yes ma'am!" the younger salutes with a mischievous grin plastered on her face, taking the basket full of treats and turning to share it with the rest. irene waves goodbye to the children and ahjumma and sets off, strolling the streets, not forgetting to spare a wave and a smile to whom she passed by. 

the colors of pale cream on the buildings were what she's used to seeing and the colorful stands that the vendors at the side have been always great to see. irene stopped by a fruit and vegetable vendor to pick out snacks for her little pet at home and for herself too if in any case, she gets hungry.

a sudden fluff of cotton, made it's way to her left shoulder from the hood of her capelet startled her but made her laugh after, "oh, it's just you snow. i'm glad to know you're here with me although you're quite lazy most of the time." the tiny fluffball of a bunny, who irene thought was at home, nudged its nose against her cheek, "hm? you weren't that tired today so you decided to come?" irene nods meekly, feeling glad she has a companion today and pets the head of snow with her right hand. 

the buildings began to scarce and the forest meets her view. she questions what path she was going as there was no trail beneath her feet. her usual trip consists of signs and landmarks—were not in sight. irene reached for the pockets of her bag, searching for the map she uses whenever she almost or does get lost but to no vain. the scroll of paper wasn't inside her bag full of items that help her in her ventures. she pats her dress and to her other pockets, trying to find it desperately. she was supposed to be headed to one of the local greenhouses that she often goes to and that she should've remembered where already yet her bad memory with directions often stirs her away from the actual path.

"oh no."

the blonde almost panics when she was met with the thought that she was indeed lost, not knowing why her feet even lead her here, "h-how did i just... i, i know where it is but i'm somehow here?" irene tries a solution of going back to where she came from but in the state of panic she also forgot where she came from. plus, the circle of trees that surround her made it more confusing. while irene was busy mumbling to herself about a solution, her calm bunny, contrasting her panicked state right now, had hopped off of her shouldering, hopping to a nearby bush to feast on some leaves, "oh dear, snow, don't just hop away like that." irene says, picking up the white bunny from the ground into her palms.

irene sighs, figuring if she should just walk around the area to search for any living or civilization to get help from. the area didn't seem so familiar so she might as well do that. irene walks through the dense, green forest with snow in her palms, her eyes searching for the help she needed. the small trek consisted of a nervous irene and a still calm snow. for the past few minutes, both have only seen trees, trees, and more trees. the only good thing that ir