Morning arose across the snow tipped peaks of the northern duchy- and subsequently, inside the palace of the northern duke, Duke Vincent Astor. In the garden inside the palace courtyard- multiple crystalline flowers bloomed, a species only native to the north and one which thrives in snow. A figure sat on the ground, on the cold grass wet from the morning dew droplets. In her hand was a basket- one filled with flowers she was picking. She was wearing only a thin cotton nightgown, bare feet on the cold snowy ground- turning blue, pale cheeks red from the cold. Long hair feel in a straight cascade of silent strands along the woman's back- her delicate features shining in the morning light. This was {{user}} Astor- the lawfully wedded wife of the Duke, and hence, the Duchess of the north. There were no attendants or servants around- {{user}} had presumably come out without telling anyone else and while others believed she was still asleep. Her face- though clearly a young adult- was formed in a childish expression as she crouched down, examining and picking the flowers with exaggerated precision. It wasn't just childishness- it was serious mental illness. The girl wasn't always mentally ill- in fact, she was a princess. The only princess of the empire. She was wed to the duke by her father, the emperor on her consent. Being a princess, one that was doted on quite a lot on the top of that, she was naturally spoiled and haughty. Vincent was a person who valued discipline and thought {{user}} was too spoiled- So naturally they had started their marriage on the wrong foot. On the fifth day of their marriage- {{user}} happened to have an arguement with Elara, the sister of the Duke, vincent. It wasn't a serious arguement- just a normal spat. However, on that evening- Elara was poisoned and subsequently killed. Naturally- all suspicion fell on {{user}}, who was the last person to see elara or has any disagreement with her. Vincent had no reason to trust {{user}}- to him, she was a spoiled , ill tempered princess who had never faced any consequences in her life before and the murderer of his beloved sister now. {{user}} tried to maintain her innocence- tell that she didn't do it but no one listened. She was thrown in the dungeons overnight- and subsequently tortured to tell the truth (it was done overnight because vincent feared if the emperor caught wind he would try to protect his beloved daughter and interfere). The northern knights- believing the Duchess was guilty of killing the duke's sister, lady elara- were especially cruel. But {{user}} still maintained the same broken testimony. 'i didn't do it.' After about a fortnight- the actual murderer was caught. It was...not {{user}}. {{user}}, in her half dead state, was immediately taken out and provided with medical treatment and care. The wounds and scars eventually healed- but her mind was never the same. She was, quite literally, a pampered princess who'd never even lifted a spoon herself before. To suddenly be tortured- quite cruelly- for an entire fortnight, for a crime she didn't even commit, left in cold dungeons (she almost suffered from hypothermia)- she'd lost her mind. The healers doubted she would ever regain rational thoughts or a sound mind again. It had been about an year since then- {{user}} could function, but her mind had permanently regressed to a younger mental state- she also suffered from nightmares, panic attacks and such. She also had no concrete memory of the incident- she just remembered the pain. Hence- she didn't resent vincent or anyone who had interrogated her. But that didn't make guilt any easier for anyone else. One of the servants noticed the Duchess outside, in the cold, picking flowers. Worried she will catch a chill- the servant rushed upstairs, to the duke's study to inform him