My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 246: A Cold Visitor

Chapter 246: A Cold Visitor

As strange as it may seem, reading alone wasn’t nearly as fun as reading with someone nearby. Yet all Leonor could do was understand why her husband was not there by her side each day.

Desmond had to report to the main palace for meetings regarding the possible war since a few of King Stephano’s men had returned from the south with more information regarding the Eirenguardians’ movement. She could tell this was bringing him a lot of stress and he told her to stay put in the Queen’s palace if no one was there to escort her.

People were guarding nearby, and some of Desmond’s men were on the first floor of the Queen’s palace, but she couldn’t bring herself to bother them with something as minor as a walk in a garden. The temperature was dropping alarmingly quickly anyway.

Even if it would never get as severe as it was in Montclair, Desmond told her there was frost on the grass as he left the Queen’s Palace the day before.

His words forced her to realize they likely would be there the entirety of winter in the West. If it was freezing at night in Coeurvalle, there was most certainly already snow in Montclair.

For Desmond and Stephano, she could do it. It wasn’t particularly difficult to remain in a beautiful palace while awaiting word of the future, it was just boring and not the plans she had hoped for.

Unfortunately, the talks of war had pushed back the plans to dispatch a mage force throughout Castille to approach conflicts more diplomatically and gently with the use of magic. That also meant she hadn’t had the opportunity to tell Stephano that she was leaning towards telling him yes.

As Leonor pored over a book regarding the first appearances of magic in Castille, she was shocked to hear a knock at the door to the library which had been sealed shut while she was in there to preserve the warmth in the room.

It was too early for Desmond to be there.

"Yes?" Leonor called after the knock.

Beth walked through the door and bowed her head respectfully.

"Your grace, a visitor has arrived for you," the maid explained. "Quinn Silver. I have led him to a sitting room downstairs with some tea."

The book in Leonor’s hand snapped shut. It was a topic she was already familiar with anyway, it was just interesting to read about other accounts of particular events.

"I will be there right away," Leonor responded. "Do I look presentable enough?"

She didn’t wear a corset but that wasn’t to say her clothing was lacking in any way.

The dark red dress was made of satin and had soft, flexible underskirts underneath to give her a nice shape but not overwhelm her since she would spend most of her day sitting around. There was a golden belt on her waist that hung low. Her long sleeves flared out at her hands and would disappear completely if her elbows weren’t bent.

Beth thought she looked like an angel in red.

"Beautiful, your grace," Beth insisted. "I will lead you to him."

Leonor left her book on the table, planning to come back to it later. If she left books out, the maids knew not to put them away if they cleaned the area. Most of the time they would put decorations around them to present them more beautifully, which she appreciated each time it happened.

The duchess was led down the hall and to the stairs that lay inside the heart of the Queen’s Palace. She was led to the southern wing and could already feel the warmth of the fire even before the door was open.

She imagined Quinn looked rather pathetically cold after having to walk down that long breezeway in such frigid weather. The thought caused a smile to pull at her lips. It was a sight she could picture well in her mind. He never hid from anyone that he was miserable in cold weather.

He was lucky the maids considered the possibility of guests and always had at least one sitting room ready for guests in the autumn and winter months. Of course, the nobles that Leonor and Desmond were supposed to interact with wouldn’t have it if the room they were led to was cold.

As she expected, Quinn had his robes pulled tightly over his body as he sat next to the chair closest to the fireplace and the tip of his nose was red.

"Thank you, Beth," Leonor spoke to her maid.

Beth topped off Quinn’s tea and poured Leonor a fresh cup before excusing herself to get them something to snack on while they chatted.

"Quinn, it’s good to see you," Leonor greeted her friend as she gingerly sat down in the seat across from him, smoothing down her satin dress as she did so it wouldn’t wrinkle while she sat. "Tell me you’re not avoiding the palace."

He was about to greet her politely, but he felt rigid at her comment.

"There is nothing for me to do directly for His Majesty at the moment," the mage insisted. "There is another mage in the capital to take care of students for the time being. They don’t need someone hawking over their shoulders."

Leonor smiled sweetly as if her comment wasn’t meant to gently pry. She was mothering him as always, in his eyes.

"Fair enough," Leonor responded. "Then what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? You’re saving me from another day of boring solitude."

Quinn slouched less, seeming to thaw out suddenly and he let go of the grip on his robes.

"If you’re doing nothing, why aren’t you sparring with me?" he asked. "Sitting around like this will only lessen your stamina and make your mana pool smaller. In the afternoon, the practice yard on the other side of the mage’s area is sunlit well. You will be warm in riding clothes if you move around enough."

While Leonor mothered Quinn, he fathered her.

She laughed lightly.

"If this is beneficial to you as well, I don’t see why we don’t spar," she admitted. "I have nothing else to do except wait for the duke to return. It became dull to sit around alone after the first day."

If it helped Quinn keep his mind off of the misery of his feelings for Stephano, Leonor would do it even if being in the cold wasn’t what she wanted. It was easy to warm up once you started having fiery mana blasts hurled at you.

"Then shall we begin tomorrow?" he asked.

Leonor glanced at the window.

"It’s still early," she realized, thinking about how she hadn’t eaten lunch yet. "Why not today?"

At that moment, Beth came in with a few plates of finger foods for them to enjoy with their tea. She excused herself once more.

Quinn leaned towards the table and grabbed a biscuit to eat.

"I want to enjoy one last day of warmth by a fire," he said. "Don’t take this away from me."

Leonor laughed.

He was ever predictable.

She hoped it reflected in his mana skill because there was no way she was as skilled as she used to be even with Stephano’s help earlier in the year. She would have to see if she could still spot his patterns and take advantage of them.

As she found her own biscuit to eat, she agreed that one last day of warmth and comfort would be beneficial.