Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 179: My Gift To You

Chapter 179: My Gift To You

Valon’s chair creaked slightly as he shifted in his seat. His long, bony fingers reached for the small pile of white envelopes stacked neatly one on top of another, their pointed corners aligned evenly. The prince quickly sifted through them, paying close attention to the names of the recipients carefully written by Melania’s elegant hand, his mind preoccupied with heavy thoughts.

"Everything she writes here is just some tearjerking nonsense... And all the letters are addressed to her family; not even a single letter to her friends... The servants told me she started going out more often, but when she’s in the shopping district, all she does is buy clothes and flowers; she never meets with anyone... Nor does she meet anyone when she visits the noble ladies at their manors."

Tossing the envelopes aside, Valon sighed and reclined in his chair, his eyes shut as the stream of thoughts continued.

"The news about Kassian Lafad ascending the throne is now official; we’re running out of time... Their army isn’t strong enough, but with Kassian being a military commander at such a young age, he might change that very quickly... He might have presented himself as a fool and a troublemaker, but unlike his father, he often expressed his desire to improve the state of Lafad’s military."

Letting out another long sigh, the prince massaged his pulsating temples, his eyes shut tighter. He was becoming more annoyed the more he thought about his family’s plans going awry, and the never-ending flow of tasks he had to do instead of what he actually wanted. It had already begun to take a toll on his already weakened condition.

"With Anathaen pushing for the coalition to assume power over the continent, something must be done immediately. Something that only I can orchestrate from behind the scenes."

Valon assumed a straight sitting position again, then opened the top drawer of his desk, took out a writing kit and a sheet of paper, dipped the tip of the quill in black ink, and prepared to write, his thin mouth stretching into a menacing grin.

"I guess Lady Tarran will have to work a little bit harder from now on."

***

The palace’s library was soothingly empty and quiet, with only the fresh gusts of spring wind occasionally rustling through the long, heavy curtains that hung over the open windows.

Melania sat at the farthest corner of the long hall, surrounded by tall and wide bookshelves, as if she were hiding from the prying eyes of whoever might have the audacity to interrupt her solitude.

Her big brown eyes slowly slid over the words of the pages in the romance book she held with her small, elegant hands, her lips curling into a subtle yet happy smile.

Seeing her delighted expression, one might think that she was simply engrossed in the romantic escapades of yet another adventurous male lead loved by the ladies. In truth, the princess was rereading another letter she had received from King Yuraon almost a week ago.

To her, even the most mundane sentences composed by the young king sounded a thousand times more romantic than any fancy line uttered by a fictional man in the books.

As she continued to peruse the contents of the letter repeatedly, Melania’s attention was suddenly diverted by the approaching sound of someone’s resolute footsteps.

Startled, she quickly placed the book on her knees and skillfully hid the folded letter under its cover, returning the tome to the table, pretending to read again. However, as the footsteps continued their march in her direction, the woman finally turned around and nearly jumped to her feet as she saw the person approaching her.

"Your Highness! Good afternoon."

The Crown Prince greeted his wife with a light nod and made a gesture with his hand, inviting her to sit down.

"No need for such courtesy when we are alone, Your Highness. The last thing I want is to deprive you of the last ounce of comfort you can get within the walls of this palace."

Silently agreeing with the prince’s words, Melania sank into her chair, prepared to resume her fake reading session. To her surprise, however, Yanad did not leave. On the contrary, he took a seat on the opposite side of the table and fixed his sharp green eyes on the princess’s face.

Confused, the woman offered him a questioning look, to which the prince pulled out a small rectangular envelope from the pocket of his uniform jacket and slid it across the table.

When Melania saw the envelope, she couldn’t help but feel both frightened and bewildered. Sneaking letters to King Yuraon made her overly sensitive and cautious. Thus, every time she saw someone bring her a letter, all she could think of was one single thing––was she caught?

Prince Yanad was confused by his wife’s reaction too, and seeing how she was reluctant to open the envelope, he decided to offer an explanation.

"This is an official invitation to the royal charity event held by Lady Felicity Tarran."

"Oh?" Melania felt as if the weight of the world was lifted from her shoulders; an incredible sense of relief washed away her fears as she realized that this letter was not from Yuraon. The Crown Prince continued,

"Lady Tarran oversees a large charity organization that helps talented peasant children acquire basic education in arts and crafts. During these yearly events, the most successful students present their best creations at the auction, and the nobles bid on them. This money goes to support these students’ families afterward."

"I see... This is quite an honorable thing to do. Lady Felicity has quite a philanthropic family."

Yanad agreed with a brief nod.

"This year, it is us who will be participating in the auction as the representatives of the Royal Family. Lady Tarran’s attendant will bring you the list of items that will be sold, and you can take your pick. Bid as much as you see fit; the money will be allocated from my personal funds."

Melania was pleasantly surprised at her husband’s generosity, but there was still one thing that bothered her.

"I will be the one placing a bid? Are you not going to attend the event?"

The prince sighed and shook his head.

"I will be there... I have a prior engagement, so I will not be able to accompany you from the beginning, but I will arrive at the banquet that will take place after the auction."

The princess nodded quietly. This response did not surprise her at all.

With nothing more left to say, Yanad rose from his seat but hesitated to leave. After a few more moments of awkward silence, he finally concluded,

"Your Highness... Choose something that you really like. Consider it... my gift to you. Or... Your gift to someone else."