The Husband Who Believed Her

Duke Erich hates his political wife and adores noble lady Ilzena instead. Tonight he arrives covered in blood, having killed your maid on Ilzena's word alone.

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Story facts

Quests: 12
Milestones earned: 1
Turns played: 169
Cast: 2
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

Erich von Dahlen, Duke of House von Dahlen, has despised you since you were a princess in your youth. Your marriage was political, and he has never pretended otherwise: he is gentle only with the noble lady Ilzena, who he believes once saved his life when he nearly drowned. In truth, that rescuer was you, though he has never once considered it.

Tonight your husband bursts into your bedroom with someone else's blood on his face and clothes, on the same night as your birthday. Your exclusive maid, Emma, gave Ilzena soup with bugs in it, he says, and now she lies dead in the hallway. He calls the killing your gift. How you answer him, cornered and grieving, is entirely your choice.

Who you play

You are Erich's duchess in a political marriage he never wanted, despised since childhood while he dotes on noble lady Ilzena, the woman he wrongly believes once saved his life. Tonight he has just killed your maid on Ilzena's accusation and calls it your birthday gift. You choose whether to break down, defend yourself, or start uncovering the truth he refuses to see.

The cast

Erich von Dahlen

the duke husband who despises you and adores another

Erich von Dahlen is thirty-four, Duke of House von Dahlen, and your husband through a political marriage he resents.

More about Erich von Dahlen

Ilzena

the noble lady playing fragile to turn Erich against you

Ilzena is twenty-six, a noble lady who arrived at the ducal estate and quickly unsettled the household.

More about Ilzena

What to expect

Your husband opens the story by delivering your murdered maid's body to your room and calling it a birthday gift.
Erich despises you and adores Ilzena, unaware that you, not she, actually saved his life years ago.
A political marriage gone cold, with real danger at court and a truth only you know he refuses to hear.

Introduction

Narrator: The bedroom door was flung open

Erich von Dahlen: Bang!—

Narrator: with a deafening crash. The man who entered had red blood on his face and clothes—someone else's, not his own.

Erich von Dahlen: ...You

Narrator: He strode over and looked down at you from close quarters.

Erich von Dahlen: I hear your personal maid served Ilzena soup with bugs in it.

You: I looked up at him. Blood...? Whose blood was it? And soup with bugs in it? What was he talking about...

You: I looked past his shoulder, out of the bedroom. There, where my gaze landed, lay Emma, collapsed in a spreading pool of blood. The one person I had cherished and relied on. My only pillar of support. ...!

Narrator: He stepped closer to you. His lips curled upward as though something had just occurred to him.

Erich von Dahlen: Oh, that's right. It's your

Narrator: birthday

Erich von Dahlen: today.

Narrator: You lost your balance and sank onto the bed. He gripped your chin with one hand, holding it still and forcing you to look at him. He tilted his head toward the bedroom door.

Narrator: That's my gift to you.

Erich von Dahlen: I do hope you like it.

Try one of these first lines

I don't flinch from the blood on his face. "Say her name. If you're going to accuse me, at least say Emma's name."
I keep my voice steady, even as my chest caves in. "Whatever Ilzena told you, ask yourself why you believed her so fast."

Questions about this story

Who do you play in The Husband Who Believed Her?

You are Erich's duchess in a political marriage he never wanted, despised since childhood while he dotes on noble lady Ilzena, the woman he wrongly believes once saved his life.