Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 156: The Answer Every Woman Wants To Hear

Chapter 156: The Answer Every Woman Wants To Hear

The mage removed his bare hands from the Duke’s body and wiped the scarce beads of sweat from his forehead, his somewhat tired voice addressing the princess,

"It was a very brave but undeniably clever decision to risk using your magic to help with the fever, Your Highness. I must confess, if it were not for your decision, I might have been too late. I am impressed and incredibly proud of you. Well done."

Several hours after Aideen had fallen asleep, Sir Noah brought Ahspid, who successfully healed Tillian’s wounds and put a sleeping spell on him to help his body effectively recover.

While the princess was still happy from her own miraculous success and fluttered from her teacher’s encouraging words, she had to urge herself to remain levelheaded. Therefore, with a look of determination on her tired face, she grabbed the mage by the hand and declared,

"Ahspid, I want you to teach me healing magic too!"

Ahspid raised his eyebrows in bewilderment.

"Healing magic? Your Highness, I’m afraid I cannot do this. If one wishes to acquire the abilities of a healer mage, one must attend special classes in the Holy Church, which for you would mean returning to the Capital."

"Holy Church?" Aideen was surprised as well. "But why?"

"Healing magic comes from the holy power, My Lady, and the mage that wants to use it has to learn how to properly tame it. Unfortunately, there is no other way around it."

The princess felt a new wave of despair washing over her, her heart becoming overwhelmed with sadness. The man noticed the depressive tint clouding the lady’s face and rushed to reassure her once again,

"Do not worry, Your Highness, there are truly not so many cases when one needs to use healing magic; the situation has to be desperate, I must say. And even if worse comes to worst, the healers are usually in close proximity, as the law requires every fiefdom to have at least one close by."

Aideen offered the mage a somewhat reprimanding look as she retorted,

"Yes, every fiefdom but The North."

Ahspid responded with a warm chuckle, lightening the tension between them that only seemed to grow despite the crisis having been successfully averted. He then stood closer to the princess and patted her gently on the head, adding in a kind voice,

"Well, you have me now. Have I ever refused to offer my services as a healer before?"

Aideen pouted her lips in a playful manner, unwilling to let the matter go so easily, although she had to admit that going back to the Capital was a rather dreadful thought to entertain.

’This is indeed something I would only consider if I were to be in dire need of learning healing magic. The Holy Church works closely with the alchemist organization which means Prince Valon is a frequent guest there... Ahspid is right, he is here and he never refused to help when it came to saving someone’s life.’

***

As Duke Valentine still needed time to recover, and for that, as urged by both Ahspid and the doctor, he needed lots of rest, eventually, the decision was made to send only the Raven Knights on the trip around The North while Aideen and Tillian decided to return to their castle together with the mage.

It was a rather tough but necessary decision, and although Tillian was convinced his people would understand the reason for such measures, he still asked the knights to convey his apologies to the villagers and make sure they collect their complaints and requests so that he could help them once he has recovered.

The journey back to the castle was tiring as well. Neither Aideen nor Tillian felt their best selves to travel carefree; therefore, it took them a lot longer to get back.

"When I offered that you took a carriage you refused, but now look at this––you borrowed the only carriage the poor villagers had and forcefully stuffed me into it!"

Tillian scoffed rather loudly, which made his wife furrow her eyebrows with annoyance. Though she was not particularly happy about his playful nagging, she was glad to see improvements in his mood, stemming from the improving condition of his health.

"I’m glad you can jest now, Your Grace; it means you are getting better! I will not entertain your antics with a serious retort simply because I still pity your state."

"Your Grace again? Oof, I guess I have made the mistake of falling out of my wife’s grace."

Leaning closer to the princess, the Duke rested his head on her shoulder and murmured, "I’m sorry, Aideen. I will be an obedient husband from now on."

With a long sigh escaping her lips, Aideen too placed her head on top of Tillian’s and said,

"The answer every woman wants to hear."

When they finally arrived at the castle’s territory, their subordinates were already waiting for them, lined up in front of the main entrance as servants do when they greet the royals.

Swaying from side to side, Duke Valentine was the first one to descend from the carriage, offering his assistance to the princess, who stepped down right behind him. As they walked up to the people waiting for their arrival, Bella was the first one to express her distress,

"What a nuisance you are, Your Grace, really!" Placing both hands on her sides, the maid puffed up her face, raising her tone at the Duke as if she were scolding a naughty child. "Every time you leave for those trips, something is bound to happen to you! I was hoping that once you got married, you would become more cautious, but you are still the same!"

Somehow, Aideen felt incredibly guilty and offered Bella a droopy expression in hopes that it would save her from the maid’s scolding. Luckily for her, it worked.

Thus, with a long and still annoyed sigh, she nudged the married couple on their backs, urging them to come inside.

"Come on, we cannot spend all day here. Martin has prepared a very good meal, and I expect the two of you to finish everything!"

Before they could enter the castle, however, they were forced to stop by the breathy voice of one of the guardian knights who rushed toward the main entrance, his tone filled with a sense of urgency as he exclaimed,

"Your Grace! We have guests from the Capital!"