The castle was a place of overwhelming female energy.

Shirley sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled gently. "Madam, please relax. I'm just going to do a quick check-up."

"Alright," Flavia nodded.

"Can you tell me where you're feeling uncomfortable?" Shirley asked.

"My head hurts terribly," Flavia said. "It feels like something inside is trying to

break free." It was a sensation she couldn't quite describe.

"I see," Shirley said soothingly. "Just lie back down and try to relax."

"Okay," Flavia agreed, settling back onto the pillows.

Shirley opened her medical bag, took out a small vial, and removed the cork stopper. She held it under Flavia's nose and waved it gently. A faint, sweet scent filled Flavia's nostrils. A moment later, she lost consciousness and drifted into a deep sleep.

The Dowager motioned to Shirley. "Come with me."

"Of course," Shirley replied, following the Dowager out of the room.

When Flavia awoke again, a maid was standing over her with a handful of colorful pills. "Madam, these are the medications Dr. Shirley prescribed for you. Please take them now."

"What's wrong with me?" Flavia asked, pressing her temples.

"Dr. Shirley said you're showing signs of schizophrenia and a type of hysteria," the maid explained. "She said it's crucial that you take your medication on time, or the consequences could be severe."

Schizophrenia? Hysteria?

Flavia frowned. So that was it. The strange dreams, her intense reaction to a name she'd never heard before... it was all because she was sick?

"Madam, please take your medicine before the water gets cold," the maid urged.

"Alright." Flavia came back to her senses and took the pills and glass of water, swallowing the five or six capsules in one go.

Once Flavia had taken her medicine, the maid returned to the front hall where the Dowager and Rosemary were chatting.

"Dowager."

The Dowager glanced up. "Did she take all of it?"

"Yes," the maid confirmed. "I watched her swallow every last pill."

The Dowager let out a breath of relief. "Good. From now on, make sure she takes her medicine on time every day."

"Yes, Dowager."

"You may go," the Dowager dismissed her with a wave.

Once the maid was gone, Rosemary looked at her mother with confusion. "What happened? You're putting her back on the medication? I thought we stopped that over a decade ago."

The Dowager's expression was grim. "Today, she asked me who Freya was." Freya!

"Oh my god," Rosemary gasped, covering her mouth. "How is that possible? Is she... is she actually starting to remember?"

The Dowager scoffed. "What's there to be afraid of? As long as I'm here, she

won't cause any trouble. For the rest of her life, she will be Quinton's wife and the daughter-in-law of the Vance family. Nothing more."

Rosemary glanced around

nervously. "Maybe we shouldn't have

been so soft on her and stopped the medication in the first place." No normal person suffers from

amnesia for over twenty years. Flavia's current state was the result of a decade of potent psychiatric drugs, which had only been. ten years

been

ago.

discontinued the

had assumed that after all that time, her memories were gone for good. They never expected this.

The Dowager's eyes glinted with a cruel light. "Since the bitch is getting restless, she can stay on her

this time. Until the day, she dies." She

medication for the rest of her lifon et

had given Flavia a chance, and

Flavia had squandered it.

Rosemary nodded, her gaze as venomous as a snake. "You're right. A restless woman like her should be

Dong.

icated until

dead."

The grandfather clock in the hall chimed the hour. The Dowager looked up. Seven o'clock.

She rose from her chair. "I'm going to the chapel for my prayers." It was her unbreakable routine. A devout believer, she went to the chapel every@vening at seven to pray, finishing precisely at nine. For

twenty years, she had never missed

a day.

FindNovel.net

In the chapel, the Dowager clas-ped her hands and knelt reverently on the prayer cushion, bowing her head before beginning her nightly prayers.

The day after the exams ended, Caitlin and Celia flew back to the Capital. After handling some matters there, they boarded another plane, this time bound for Valerium. Celeste decided to join them.

After a full day and night of travel, their flight landed in Clayton, the capital of Valerium, at just after five in the morning.

As they disembarked, Celia smiled. "Freya, March, let me take you to the hotel first. You two get a full day of rest, and I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning to take you to my family's estate."