beta
So read spoilers but i think this story is so predictable that everyone could've guessed it. Not that that's bad though! Stories that are familiar are reliable.
Yes the duke is Anita's real father. The emperor and his mistress (NOT the empress she's innocent!) used black magic to kill the Duchess and all witnesses of Anita's birth, and curse Anita. The marquis was also cursed by the emperor to keep the fact that Anita wasnt his child a secret.
The reason why the Duke didnt figure this out until late in the story is because the emperor tampered with the ancient relics and even sent in a fake daughter (yes theres a fake daughter arc) Also most of the people who knew anything about the Duchess and child's disappearance were killed or cursed to forget.
The emperor had a big inferiority complex and didnt like the fact that both the Duke and Archduke bore children with divine powers. The mistress was also skilled in black magic so she provided him access to keeping them down. But it came at a great cost.
Also rest assured Axion, Arabella and even the Crown Prince are good people and not snakes.
There are alot of cliches in this but there's enough uniqueness to it that I'd say its worth reading. I also left out a lot of points