From that night onward, Alexis came and went from the ducal estate of House Lates as though it were his own home. Word spread that he had fallen for the captivating young lady with the red hair.
At first, Alexis had thought of Delilah as a sort of amusement — but the more they spoke, the more he found her shallow way of thinking mirrored his own, and that suited him perfectly.
The two were now openly conducting their affair at the ducal estate, and today was one such day.
Alexis lay with his shirt discarded, holding Delilah close. This was markedly different from the way he had carried himself after that first encounter. To still be holding her even after the heat of their passion had cooled and the sweat had long since dried — that was something else entirely.
“There hasn’t been anything particularly interesting in the gossip lately — not since the business with your sister. It’s a shame.”
“I know. I’ve been wondering just how miserably my sister is living now — she always made such a show of being the legitimate daughter.”
Oh — the languid haze after lovemaking had let something slip that shouldn’t have. Inwardly mortified, Delilah——
— had braced herself to be cast aside, but Alexis’s reaction was entirely unexpected.
“You feel that way too? So do I.”
Alexis turned to face her with a smile, as though he found her all the more endearing for it.
“Everyone thinks the same thing in the end — so why put on that insufferable show of pretending otherwise.”
“I find it absurd as well. The noblewomen who are more interested in gossip than anyone else whisper amongst themselves and pass it along, then act as though they haven’t a care in the world — it’s truly contemptible. And what’s more——”
Delilah was about to continue when a knock sounded and a maid entered.
The moment she saw the two of them, the maid startled violently. She had been out on an errand that morning and hadn’t heard that Alexis had arrived.
“I — I’m so sorry! Your Highness, my lady…… please forgive me. I was sent out on an errand first thing this morning and hadn’t heard the news. I only came to clean as I usually do——”
As the maid’s explanations stretched on, Delilah fixed her with a withering glare.
“How dare someone like you disturb His Highness’s rest?”
At that, the maid’s face drained to white — as though she had suffered Delilah’s temper before — and her shoulders began to tremble.
“To think that such a creature should lay eyes on His Highness — it is unforgivable.”
Those red eyes were bright with amusement. Alexis watched Delilah with curiosity, wondering what she would do next.
“Get on your knees.”
Whether from fear or resignation, the maid made no further plea and simply knelt.
“Now strike your own cheeks with your own hands, and keep striking. When your lips split and bleed — only then will I consider the punishment complete.”
Delilah and Alexis were alike indeed. Alexis found himself eager to watch the punishment unfold. Constrained as he had always been in the imperial palace — every word and action held to a standard — he found a kind of entertainment in this.
“What are you waiting for?”
At Delilah’s sharp voice, the maid raised her own palm and struck her cheek with a resounding crack. How many more times would she have to endure that sound before Delilah would let her go.
And so the afternoon passed slowly for the two of them, with this small amusement to while away the time.
***
Annabella’s days, by contrast, were spent in warmth and tenderness.
Grace had summoned Madame Hailey — said to be the finest dressmaker on the continent — and had a full wardrobe commissioned for Annabella, every gown a complete set. Each dress came with matching gloves, a hat, a fan, shoes, and a clutch — the finest materials, the finest hands to make them, and the result was something of extraordinary quality.
House Lates was wealthy enough that Annabella had seen many beautiful things — but compared to what lay before her today, even those seemed modest.
“Just as I thought — you have Aubrey’s and my blue eyes and fair complexion, and blue suits you remarkably well.”
Grace lavished praise on Annabella with the ardor of someone desperately courting the object of an unrequited love, and tried to press every imaginable thing upon her. The years of separation had been long, and the royal couple wanted to make up for that lost time with everything they had.
Just then, a lady-in-waiting approached Grace and spoke softly.
“Your Majesty the Queen, Grand Duke Farrel has arrived.”
“Ah…… I did ask him to come today.”
Grace had been so absorbed in all things Annabella lately that everything else slipped her mind with ease.
“Let us have tea in the garden. Annabella, would you join us? You’re dressed just right for it — it isn’t far, but we ought to give that outfit somewhere to be seen.”
“I’d love to.”
Annabella fell into step beside Grace. As they entered the garden, Milton, who had been waiting for them, joined naturally alongside.
“What is that place over there — the one with the white drapes?”
Annabella looked curiously toward a space set apart in one corner of the garden.
“That is our palace’s indoor garden. It’s kept at a constant temperature regardless of the season — flowers and greenery are planted there, and it’s a place for reading or taking tea.”
The word minor kingdom seemed designed to conceal just how rich and beautiful Elaise truly was. As evidence of that, the royal palace of Elaise boasted gardens that rivaled those of the Empire itself — and even an indoor garden the Empire had nothing to match.
“As it happens, I’ve arranged for our tea today to be held in the indoor garden.”
At Milton’s words, something flickered briefly in Grace’s eyes — but she smiled all the same.
“That’s right, so we did. But it seems the servants inadvertently set the tea service out in the outdoor garden by mistake. Let us have them redo it.”
The moment their granddaughter showed interest in the indoor garden, the royal couple immediately changed the venue without a second thought. Having lived as husband and wife for so many years, they were perfectly in step — able to spin a small fiction without so much as a blink between them.
It was the first time in Annabella’s life that she had ever stepped inside an indoor garden. She pushed open the door and entered, and a world entirely enclosed within walls revealed itself — trees proud with green leaves, vines climbing all the way to the ceiling, flowers blooming in vivid color despite the season being all wrong for them, and at the very center, a magnificent table.
Annabella let out a soft breath of wonder, as though she had stepped into a fairy tale she had read as a child.
“What a wonderful space.”
“If you like it, I’ll have another one built for you.”
Milton stroked his magnificent mustache as he said it.
“As it happens, I was just thinking it would be nice to have another indoor garden like this one.”
Grace was not about to be outdone. That they were husband and wife had become almost beside the point — what mattered now, and only now, was the love of Annabella standing before them, the very image of their lost daughter.
“Oh, we ought to have Cedric come this way as well.”
At the mention of Cedric, Annabella’s heart gave a small thud.
“Ah, it’s not that we changed the meeting place at all — hmm, it seems the fellow got confused and headed to the outdoor garden.”
“The palace was extended recently — he must have gotten turned around.”
“Quite so. Even the finest knight can lose his way.”
Annabella continued to pretend she hadn’t noticed her grandparents’ endearing little fabrications. She knew well enough how much they thought of her.
And of all people, it was Cedric who was coming. She wasn’t sure why, but she had been quietly looking forward to seeing him — which was rather inconvenient.
‘I suppose the more I see of him, the clearer things will become.’
Annabella found herself wanting to understand, once and for all, what that feeling actually was.
“Shall we try the new dessert they developed specially for our Annabella, while we wait for Cedric?”
“Yes, I’d love that.”
Annabella had been drifting off in thought about Cedric, but Grace’s words brought her back with a bright smile.
Sweets were always a welcome thing for Annabella. The delicately and prettily crafted confections dissolved in her mouth like clouds.
***
It had struck him as rather odd that the King and Queen of Elaise — people who never went back on their word — had abruptly changed the meeting place. When Cedric stepped into the indoor garden and saw Annabella laughing with flushed cheeks and a radiant smile, he understood the situation well enough.
“I present myself before Their Majesties.”
Cedric offered his greeting first, then acknowledged Annabella with a brief nod.
“I hope I am not stealing you away from an enjoyable time.”
At his courteous question, the royal couple assured him he wasn’t — a small, white lie.
“Not at all.”
Annabella was the only one who truly meant it.
She looked at him openly, as she had the last time — dressed as impeccably as before in his dark formal uniform. The more she looked, the more her heart began to stir, for reasons she couldn’t quite name.
No matter how many times she looked, the uniform suited him remarkably well. The epaulette tassels on the shoulders were black as well, which matched his eyes perfectly.
“Quite the accomplished young lady, I must say.”
And yet the sardonic edge she had met on their first encounter had not been washed out with a change of clothes.
‘There he is.’
Annabella caught his meaning instantly and fired back without missing a beat.
“How kind of you to think so. The Grand Duke seems a man of impeccable manners himself.”
The royal couple didn’t catch it — but the two of them had just landed a hit on each other.
For all that he had started it, Cedric found he couldn’t take his eyes off Annabella — standing there in her blue dress, beautiful as a single bloom.
He had thought her beautiful at their first meeting — but shrouded in darkness as she had been, he hadn’t known she possessed this kind of vivid, luminous beauty, blooming like a flower just opened. Above all, Annabella’s eyes were bluer than the clearest midday sky, and he found them nothing short of breathtaking.
“So then, what do you say to this proposal, Cedric?”
‘Blast.’
He had been so busy looking at Annabella that the King’s words had gone in one ear and out the other. A flash of something close to embarrassment crossed Cedric’s face as it briefly stiffened.
“Pardon?”
“The proposal I mentioned previously. I cannot promise to send troops outright — but could I not at least provide weapons in the meantime?”
“Ah — for us in the north, that would be most welcome.”
Fortunately Cedric caught the thread of it and answered aptly. Annabella watched his momentary flustering and laughed to herself. After the way he had rattled her at their first meeting, this was the least he deserved.
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bluemoon238
Yep, totally agree! Man deserves nothing more than to become a wife and child slave like the green forests in other novels. For now, he remains in my reader’s good grace. Love their tit for tat relationship so far. Imagine them old and married like that with children and grandkids rolling their eyes
‘They’re at it again!’