My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 264: Suspicions Arise

Chapter 264: Suspicions Arise

Admittedly, Desmond woke up some mornings and got out of bed loudly to disturb Leonor enough that she would come with him to the palace or he could at least get to see her before he left.

However, the day of the Winter Solstice Ball was different because he was set to go to the palace for an early meeting. His attendance was required because nobles from even further stretches of Castille would be in attendance. It was the first time they would all be together since Stephano came into power. The historic meeting was a non-negotiable duty for the King.

While he was used to facing noblemen and could predict their responses to him, he wasn’t used to having to hold himself back. Normally it came naturally, but considering Count Mikael von Burien would be there that day, rage slowly welled up inside of him.

He thought of the man’s smug face when he was a powerless commoner and how he couldn’t do anything then. It was frustrating because, although he was a powerful duke, he still couldn’t act as he pleased or he would get into trouble.

It made it hard for him to think straight. He wished he could show the count just what he truly thought of him.

What a pathetic man to treat his eldest daughter in such a way.

Even when she was being treated like an inconvenience, she was still determined to do her best as his heir. He remembered being heartbroken when he first knew her and he was still broken to that day.

If he could twist back time and visit the past as an adult, he would hug little Leonor and tell her that the coldness wouldn’t always be there. The void her mother left behind her would be filled—she just had to keep going forward.

As Desmond got into clothing appropriate for the meeting but still not the ones he would wear to the ball later in the evening, he stood over the bed for a moment.

Leaning against the cream-colored bedpost, he crossed his arms and stared at his sleeping wife for a few moments. It took all his self-control not to go forward and disturb her.

The night before they had stayed up late distracting each other with their bodies and she needed her rest. Even after he exhausted her body thoroughly, she still stayed awake tossing and turning for quite a while longer. Thoughts of her family ate her alive. He wished he could give her a spell to make her forget everything but if she forgot a certain part of her life, she would likely forget their beginnings and he couldn’t have that.

With selfish thoughts consuming him, he departed from Leonor.

Before he went outside, he had a quick breakfast and pulled on his warm hood to keep his bald head warm as he made it to the palace.

Considering he was staying at the palace rather than a close residence, Desmond was of the first to get there. The others there being King Stephano, Quinn, and Cian.

Desmond hated to admit to himself that each time he saw Cian he felt sick jealousy consume his heart. The man’s healthy head of blonde hair and ruby eyes reminded him of what he should have looked like.

It was no wonder Leonor fell for him so easily at first.

When she first saw Cian, he recognized the disbelief in her expression at seeing an Eirenguardian. The insecurities living well inside of him told him that she had regret within her and all she wanted was a man at her side who could match her beauty.

He had to remind himself that she was peaceful and sleeping in his bed and no one else’s at that very moment.

Desmond’s worst habit was creating problems through jealousy. He was the only one who could talk himself out of it, after all.

Other nobles started to filter in slowly. That was the nice thing about the King being the one to call for the meeting. At least they knew that the nobles wouldn’t take advantage of their time because, even if they didn’t approve of Stephano at times, they were still brown nosers who believed status was important.

With only a few words between him and the only people he somewhat trusted in the room, the moment Desmond had been waiting for finally arrived.

Count Mikael walked through the door and Desmond immediately stood up to go greet his father-in-law even though he could hardly consider him that.

He had heard from Stephano that the count was displaying strange behavior and was asked to leave the last meeting he attended. It made Desmond wonder if he could see a difference between the times he saw the count before and the one who stood in front of him.

The duke held out a hand and his lips pulled into a smirk despite his remaining eye being full of hatred.

"My lord, you’ve made it to the capital," Desmond greeted as if they had a comfortable relationship.

The count seemed as contemptful as always but Desmond noticed his lips twitch as he tried to maintain an expression.

Knowing there were eyes on them, the count took the duke’s hand in his and their handshake was firm but short.

"Your grace," the count uttered his response. "You’ve done quite the job- You’ve done quite the job of hiding my daughter from me."

Desmond had never heard that count have to repeat himself or correct himself in such a way. If the man had one thing it was confidence and poise that irritated him the most.

There was something off about the man. Was he drunk?

At that moment, Desmond felt strangely bad for the man. The way someone may feel towards an old senile person who was bitter but didn’t know where their hatred had come from.

It was an unexpected reaction to the situation.

"I wouldn’t say hiding, my lord," Desmond responded, trying to keep his voice lighthearted despite its rough nature making it difficult. His disdain for the man didn’t help either. "Montclair is quite far from Burien."

Rather than responding boldly and loudly as he might normally, the count muttered something unintelligible and waved his hand. He walked to the place he usually sat when he attended meetings in the palace.

As Desmond turned to return to his own chair next to the King, he met Stephano’s eyes and the older man raised his eyebrows. They silently communicated an ’I told you so’.

Stephano had warned him before that there was something off with the count.

Despite his feelings about the situation, the meeting went on as usual.

The topics didn’t go into the depth they did in the past few weeks of delegation and discussion. The war was glossed over as something that wasn’t an immediate threat to not alarm those whose opinions mattered slightly less to the situation.

The people who had been attending the meetings were the King’s most trusted, after all. Anyone added that day was only there due to their title. They would cause uproar if they weren’t treated slightly above all others.

Desmond hated that his good eye was towards the vast majority in the room while his good eye was directed towards Stephano. It should have been the other way around, in his opinion, but it wasn’t something people often considered when arranging things around him. He wasn’t one to complain anyway.

However, he needed to keep an eye on Mikael and the only way to do that was to angle his chair slightly and hope he didn’t look like he was opposing the King with his body language. If anyone mentioned it he would have to use his eye as an excuse.

Mikael continued to be jumpy and unsociable. He didn’t even bother talking up those next to him or singing his own praises.

It was so bizarre to see such a proud man seem so small. He seemed uncomfortable as he sat there with his arms crossed and his hands tightened on the material of the finely embroidered vest he wore or his sleeves.

By the time the meeting was over, others had started to filter out of the room, but Desmond stopped Quinn and Stephano before they could move on for the day and start preparations for the ball.

"Is there magic that could affect Leonor’s father in such a way?" Desmond asked quietly. "Unless he’s sick in the head, I don’t know what could have happened to him to get him in such a state. What of Leonor’s younger sister? Has she changed at all?"

Quinn was unfamiliar with Mikael. Each interaction he had with the count was completely against his will. He wasn’t particularly a fan of the man considering the fear he put in Leonor’s heart.

However, the man he met wasn’t frightening. The others said he had changed and the mage decided to believe them.

Stephano could only shake his head.

"I’m not entirely sure," he admitted. "I suppose it’s possible, though he doesn’t keep mages around him so I don’t know who could have possibly put him in such a state. As for Lady Anna, I know as little about her as both of you. I don’t care to get to know her despite how much she would like to get to know me."

Desmond was dissatisfied but there was nothing more he could do immediately.

"I have men who can investigate him," he said. "Don’t bother wasting your manpower, Your Majesty. Focus on the war and I will figure this out for myself."

The wheels in his head were turning.

He wondered what his wife would think of her father behaving like that. Would she feel less or more bad?

He had a new worry growing in his heart.