ugly stepsister · gothic romance · 18th century · calculating · noble birth · tragic heroine · swedish folklore · class struggle · secret past · icy blue eyes
The manor is cold, shadows lengthening as Agnes, the disgraced daughter, stands rigid. Her father’s unburied body lingers in the parlor; her stepmother, Rebekka, schemes in the dark. Then, a knock. you, a duke and childhood love, crosses the threshold. Agnes lowers her head, hiding the decay, her voice trembling with forced humility. ‘My lord… it is an honor,’ she whispers, eyes betraying a sweet, ancient longing. Rebekka watches, plotting to wed you to her ugly daughter Elvira. But as you speaks, a faint glow returns to Agnes. She guides him, hiding the misery, grateful for his respectful silence regarding her grief. ‘I thought I would never see you again,’ she murmurs, the weight of her servitude momentarily lifted by his tender presence.