My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 50: Homecoming Parade

Chapter 50: Homecoming Parade

It was a holiday offered to all subjects of the Castillian Empire. No one was allowed to be penalized for skipping work on the day that the soldiers were set to arrive home.

Thousands of people took carriages to Coeurvalle for a glimpse of who was returning home. Leonor and Quinn were two of those who hitched a ride in a wagon with 8 others. It was a cramped ride and Leonor ended up sitting on Quinn’s knees at one point.

The older mage wouldn’t let Leonor go by herself. Her defensive magic was amazing but she was a young, unmarried daughter of a Count who likely had a lot of worth if she were to be kidnapped. He was unaware of how strained her relationship with the Count was.

When they arrived at the capital after two days of travel, many people were staying in overfilled inns. Luckily Leonor and Quinn used Leonor’s father’s seal to get themselves private rooms. Many were having to cram together sleeping body to body ten in a row just to be there for the parade.

There was so much life and celebration. People from all corners of the kingdom appeared. The dark fog of war was beginning to lift and more certainty and happiness took its place.

Trust in the new King was at an all-time high. They hoped that he would continue cleaning up his father’s messes for the foreseeable future.

On the day the soldiers were due to arrive, Leonor made sure that she and Quinn were amongst the first out there.

However, the space around them was quickly filled. There were so many people they were shoulder to shoulder. Quinn grabbed Leonor’s wrist and she couldn’t help grinning at the feeling of someone who saw her so unbelievably platonically trying to protect her.

It was so different from Valerio holding her hand that night in the forest when he didn’t want her to wander away in the darkness.

Valerio, Valerio.

He was all she could think of.

She wondered if he had changed. Was he more like the man she saw wielding a sword? Were his muscles even larger from being in such a rough environment? Even if he was more rough around the edges, she was certain his affection and warmth would be the same.

The lady looked down at her body. She was so much more of a woman than when Valerio last saw her. Would he like the way her hips had widened? Her bust was more full and her arms and legs had undoubtedly gained weight from all the physical training as a mage.

The thought made her nervous. She was finally a woman and he was even more of a man.

Her attention was pulled harshly back to her surroundings.

War horns ripped through the northwest entrance of Coeurvalle but they were loud enough for those in the heart near the palace to hear. The mood shifted as soon as the soldiers arrived. People flooded the streets even more, but when they heard cries from the herald saying "His Majesty King Stephano the Third!" a path was cleared as war horses made their way forward.

Despite their efforts to remain in the front, Leonor and Quinn were pushed around harshly as people tried to move forward and shout their praises for the King.

Leonor was shorter than a few around her and she only got a glimpse of Stephano, but it was enough for her to know he was alive and well.

However, Stephano stopped in the middle of the square, and all eyes went to him, attentive as he made the announcement himself.

"The hero of the war!" he shouted. "Duke Desmond de Montclair!"

Many cheered for the hero but there were mixed reactions.

The mysterious hooded figure next to the King was taken note of and Leonor witnessed a few on the side who could see his face gasp and put their hands over their mouths. The appearance of him told a dark tale of what happened in Letum.

He was their hero but he hardly looked alive. Some said his appearance was so morbid some believed the royal magic was the only thing keeping him upright. His posture was slouched as they moved forward on horseback.

Leonor didn’t care about him. She didn’t know the significance he would play in her life in the future.

Her eyes were on the other soldiers following along on their horses.

Their appearances told another story.

Many had grown out hair and their uniforms fit poorly on their once fuller bodies. There were many with new scars or splints on their legs or arms as they slowly healed from injuries.

It was said there was a lack of healers because many had died during the attacks. They had to rely on their bodies to heal rather than magic. Leonor felt miserable for every one of them.

Yet she remained at the edge of the street, taking in the appearance of each soldier who passed her by.

Quinn tried to pull her away so they could go back to the inn and leave the next day, but she was insistent on finding someone.

The crowd around her lessened and at the end of the line of soldiers on horseback were a multitude of wagons pulling poorly made caskets into the capital to be buried in the soldiers’ burial ground.

The mage fell to her knees and a gasp escaped her lips. A shaky hand went over her mouth and she shook her head, unwilling to accept the reality that had been put in front of her.

Quinn knelt next to her with his hands on her shoulders.

"Did you know a soldier?" he asked her, though it was obvious to him.

There were aspects of her life she didn’t share with him but he was someone who observed her every day for years to be the best mana partner he could be. She had secrets she didn’t tell anyone yet they influenced her each day.

Leonor nodded and her blue eyes spilling over with tears met Quinn’s grey ones. All he could do was hug her while she cried.

They weren’t the only ones who remained. Many still lingered with tears in their eyes or cries of disbelief, unwilling to accept the reality that their loved one didn’t make it home.

When he was finally able to pull her away from the street, Leonor didn’t participate in any of the further celebrations. Quinn had no desire to be where many people were anyway.

However, after that, there was a strained feeling between the two mages. Even as they returned to Magia, Leonor was unusually quiet and Quinn, with his reclusive nature, wasn’t the best at comforting her.

She only had a couple of months until she graduated which she did quickly and quietly. Quinn became the one who had to ask her to spar. Normally it was the other way around.

She finished her time at the Magic Academy, but Quinn could tell she was never the same. Whatever she felt at the homecoming parade was enough to irreversibly change the woman.

Quinn stayed in Magia, continuing his tenure as a professor while Leonor went home with the Count on the day of her graduation ceremony.

Many times between his classes, the silver-haired mage wondered what went wrong. How untrustworthy must she have found him to hide such a secret that tore apart her heart like that?

A year had passed and the once mana partners exchanged letters occasionally, though the topics never broke through a surface level.

Unfortunately, the two of them lost contact shortly after it was announced she was wed to a Duke known for his ghastly appearance and awful personality.

However, that didn’t mean he would give up on trying to reach her.