My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 254: Highs to Lows

Chapter 254: Highs to Lows

Leonor woke up early the following day.

It was so early that the sun hadn’t even breached the horizon and she decided to roll over and catch more sleep.

However, as she did, she let out a light groan of pain.

Her lower back was wrecked. When she lifted her arm to hold her back, her arm was destroyed as well.

As she pulled her legs to her chest to curl into a ball of pain, those were sore as well and she groaned in defeat.

"What is it?" Desmond asked, up with a startle, never having woken up like that before beside Leonor.

"I’m so sore," she whined.

The duke sat up and his eyebrow lowered as frustration overtook him.

"Do I need to talk to Quinn?" he asked. "This doesn’t seem right."

Leonor peeked from the ball of pain she had hidden herself in and saw Desmond become palpably frustrated.

"This is normal," she assured him. "I felt exactly like this when I was in the Magic Academy. Defensive magic is incredibly physical. I need to build up my strength again to train like this."

She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut again.

"You went through this by yourself in the Academy?" Desmond asked in disbelief.

"I had no other choice," she said. "I couldn’t request maids to give me a soothing bath. I wasn’t allowed maids at the Academy. I also didn’t want to be the student who was taken down because she felt it was too much. No one else backed away even though they felt just like I did."

"I hate to see you like this," Desmond admitted. "I wish I could do more for you."

"Don’t worry so much," Leonor said. "I will be back to normal in a couple of days. Quinn assured me that today would be far less strenuous. I’m sure I’ll work with mana more than having to spar."

"Good," Desmond said, wanting to say so much more but knowing he was going to start burdening her further, he stopped. "You ought to stay in bed as long as possible. Even I don’t have to go to the palace for a couple more hours."

"Then cuddle with me," she said, straightening her body out but the movement was punctuated with a groan that Desmond didn’t like to hear.

He relented by allowing her to use his shoulder as a pillow and he wrapped his arms gently around her.

"I feel partially responsible for getting you to this point," he uttered against the top of her head. "I should have paid better attention to the state you were in."

"The state I was in was amorous," she whispered into his chest. "I wanted you and you wanted me and I felt nothing else."

He couldn’t argue with that.

They didn’t get any more sleep, but they found it nice to slowly wake up with one another. Only when the sun peeked slightly over the horizon and through the vast amount of buildings that surrounded them, did the ducal couple finally get out of bed.

Leonor got into a traveling dress with narrower skirts that she could move around in much easier than the gown she wore when she was first at the palace. It was her white flag of surrender. She could not do anything that day that required strenuous activity.

As she walked through the palace with Desmond, her thighs burned with each step. When she was to say goodbye to her husband, lifting her arm to grasp his caused her bicep to burn.

"Tell him to go easy on you today," Desmond whispered to her.

He was already wearing his hood but Leonor lifted her hand and gently touched the scarred side of his face. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to face people who looked down at him for his appearance which she didn’t find terrifying whatsoever.

"Tell them to do the same to you," she uttered.

That morning, he finally confessed to her how hard it had been to be around such prejudiced people. Their glances of disgust paired with their words about the Eirenguardians made him feel powerless.

At least she knew he had a guard dog named King Stephano who would step in if things got much worse.

Leonor pulled Desmond down so she could plant a kiss on his cheek, shrouded by his hood.

She made sure to do it knowing nobles were walking by and going into the meeting hall. By the time she and Desmond left, she wanted the whole kingdom to know that she was madly in love with the duke.

Perhaps it may even get back to her father that she was happy rather than as miserable as he wanted her to be by sending her to someone who people claimed to be a monster just under the surface of his scarring.

Since Stephano hadn’t shown himself in the meeting hall yet, Leonor decided to move on. She didn’t need to greet the king if he wasn’t there and she didn’t particularly care to get better acquainted with the nobles.

Before Leonor could pass another long hallway and head out the door that would take her to the pathway leading to the mage’s quarter, she was stopped by a familiar voice that left her completely horrified.

"Hello, dear sister," Anna Maria said. "Or, rather, should I say, your grace?"

Leonor felt sick to her stomach the moment her sister’s words reached her ears.

"Yes, my lady, it would be best for you to address me appropriately considering we’re in the palace," Leonor managed to respond.

As she looked at her sister and was met with light brown hair and pale brown eyes, she saw her sister’s eyes already traveling down her entire ensemble that day and judging her harshly.

The dress certainly wasn’t shabby by any means and was made by a talented seamstress with expensive material. Most of it was hidden under the wool cloak she wore anyway. However, it still wasn’t something particularly fashionable or befitting of a duchess who was presenting herself as such in the palace.

Leonor didn’t know that people were visiting the palace or she would have been more on guard.

"Wonderful to see you, my lady," Leonor quickly excused herself. "I have other matters to attend to."

She all but ran outside, desperate to get out of Anna’s suffocating presence.

The cold air outdoors was enough to cool off her head, but when she found Quinn on the other side of the door, she felt unstable and clung to his arm as he led her to a chair.

"What’s the matter, your grace?" he asked, sure to be quiet considering there were a few listening ears nearby.

"My sister," she whispered. "She’s here. My father must not be far behind."