Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 137: Something Of That Sort

Chapter 137: Something Of That Sort

"Stanis..." With his eyes firmly fixed on the woman behind his desk, Tillian ordered his aide, "Take Safie with you and leave. Do not disturb us until we leave this room."

Both Sir Nygard and the maid glared at Khala one last time before bowing to their lord and leaving his study as ordered. Without saying a single word, the Duke walked up to his desk, stood right before it, and crossed his arms, his glaring eyes drilling right through his old acquaintance.

Khala, tired from the man’s hostile glare, finally rose to her feet as well and noted,

"Why does every single person in this castle look so angry? Everyone is treating me like I’m some kind of criminal."

"Like a criminal?" Tillian arched his eyebrows, utterly stunned by Khala’s remark. "Isn’t that who you truly are, Khala? A criminal?"

Clearly angry, the woman slammed her hands on top of the wooden desk with a loud thud and leaned slightly forward, her narrowed golden eyes flaming with irritation as she shouted,

"Ha! And who, pray tell, pushed me into such a life? You rejected me in everything, so what choice did I have?"

Duke Valentine could not help but scoff.

"The never-ending tear-jerking lament... Sure, blame me for your life choices, like you always do. We are the same age, but while I work hard to reach my goals, all you do is make mistakes and blame others for them. Aren’t you tired of this? I think it’s time you finally grew up, Khala."

"Shut up!"

With the speed and skill of a seasoned warrior, the young woman retrieved a small knife from the inside pocket of her black leather vest and threw it at Tillian, who, on the other hand, dodged it just as skillfully by pushing it away with his left hand.

Noticing a small scratch left by her knife, Khala fixed her eyes on the Duke’s left wrist, her lips spreading into a wide grin.

"Oh... So now that she is here, you don’t even wear her present anymore? I thought now you’d be able to change their colors every day, according to the mood. She probably has dozens of them to spare! Or maybe she cherishes them way too much to let her husband waste the precious Utarian silk?"

The woman’s words made Tillian look down at his wrist and cover it with his right hand, reflecting on how the lost feeling of the red silk ribbon was now long gone, and yet, somehow, he still did not miss it. Because what he truly needed was not the ribbon but the person it belonged to.

Then, he shifted his gaze back to his unwelcome guest and asked,

"Why did you come here? I thought my warning was loud and clear––never come here again. Ever."

At last, Khala walked from behind the desk and shrugged her shoulders as if she had never heard of that warning before,

"I was waiting for you to come to me first but you ignored all my invitations. I had no choice but to come here instead."

"Yes, I have seen your invitations..." the Duke ran his fingers through his blond hair, brushing them away from his forehead, and continued, now in a colder voice, "If I came to you instead, you would have been beheaded right away. You and all your people."

The woman could not suppress a loud laugh that echoed within the quiet walls of her friend’s study like thunder.

"Oof, how scary! Do you show this side of you to your wife as well? Does she, too, call you the Mad Dog behind your back? I am not an expert, but I don’t think that the wife who fears her husband can be called happy."

Tillian did not rush to offer her his response. He watched as she walked towards him, his red glare firmly glued to her grinning face. Standing right in front of him, Khala, too, took a few moments to examine his face before finally continuing,

"Come on, relax. All that frowning will erase all your efforts to stay handsome. I came here to ask for a favor... After all, we used to be friends. Or something of that sort."

The man’s reply was even colder now,

"I don’t help criminals. You are wasting your time here."

Now, Khala was getting seriously angry.

"Listen to what I have to say first, and then you can decide, alright? It’s in your interest too, believe me."

"Very well. What do you have to say?"

"I need to stay here for some time, in The North... Well, preferably in this castle."

Now, it was Tillian’s turn to laugh at her.

"Are you out of your mind? Have you finally lost the last few marbles that were still there inside your thick skull?"

Khala released a long and annoyed sigh.

"I stole something very valuable from the leader of Sadion mercenaries a few years ago, and his men are still looking for me... I was able to get away during all these years, but they finally caught up to us near the border with Davoor. It looks like they lost us when we approached The North. I don’t think they will dare to come here, so I just need to wait until they leave, and then I will disappear again. Forever this time. I promise."

"You are a fool if you thought I would help you, Khala."

Snapping at last, the woman grabbed the Duke by the collar of his shirt and almost hissed,

"No, you are a fool if you think you won’t, Tillian. Or do you want me to go to the king and tell him that your wife is an unregistered mage? I wonder what will happen to both of you then."

With another deep wrinkle forming between his eyebrows, Tillian grabbed Khala’s hands and pulled them away from his body as he answered,

"Three days. My knights will divert their attention and make them leave this land. After that, I want you gone forever. If I ever see you again, you are dead."

Khala curled her lips into a wide smile and bowed,

"Thank you kindly, Your Grace."