I was super interested in the premise of this and read the spoilers so here is your warning, this entire thing is a bundle of angst and torture for the female lead! She’s unable to get away from the duke due to a silencing spell that was put on her and it’s a giant pile of misunderstandings between the male lead (who is the prince smh) and female lead. Eventually, she is framed for a crime and gets locked up in a tower. Keep in mind the fl regards the ml as her escape from the duke but when she attempts to escape for her mother, the duke verbally abuses her on how she was used this entire time, he never loved her, etc. fl is crying, heartbroken but is able to escape eventually and along the way, finds out she’s actually able to talk again because the magician who placed the curse on her died. Fl explains her whole life story to one of the prince’s trusted aid who had previously suspected she was under a curse and tells him to go back and tell the prince or smthn. She finds out her mother has committed suicide after killing the duke and is absolutely devastated, so she attempts to kill herself when the prince (ml) finds her and is heartbroken because he finally found out the truth from his aid. Then it’s another book of the fl finally being rescued by the ml and brought to the palace, but she’s now broken and is merely a shell of her previous self cos her mother dead.
There Were Times When I Wished You Were Dead