Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 21: A Gift

Chapter 21: A Gift

Sir Stanis placed a neat, white envelope bearing the scarlet royal seal on the desk in front of Tillian. He hid his hands behind his back, and his scarred face deformed into a wide grin.

"Our messenger was turned away because the King’s messenger was already en route here. This is the official invitation to visit the Capital and the Royal Palace."

The duke deftly opened the envelope with a sharp silver letter opener. He quickly scanned the letter’s contents and tossed it back onto the desk, stretching his lips into a smug grin as well.

"It appears Count Crueder has already conferred with the King. Our modest delivery certainly stirred up some nerves."

"So what are you planning to do when you meet His Majesty? The Royal Law dictates that only the King can grant permission for a divorce between nobles, but I don’t think Euris Ruan will make it happen simply because you have the princess in your hands. Perhaps killing the mercenaries was a bad decision, after all, we could have used them as witnesses."

Tillian slid the index finger of his right hand across his lips, the soft, cool sensation from Aideen’s skin still lingered in his memories, then reclined in his leather-covered chair, and replied,

"Well, since we knew about Crueder’s plan all along, I decided to rely on something more convincing than a testimony of some rogues. That night, I had one of my traders pass through the forest with his caravan. We have at least six witnesses to testify against the Count."

Stanis arched his thick eyebrows, a surprised exclamation nearly escaping his lips.

"You’ve got a trader as your witness?! Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"I wanted things to happen naturally. It’s a trader that goes from the Capital directly to Utar. I tasked him with some menial tasks just to have him cross the forest at the right time. Since he has to pass the North before crossing the border with Utar, there will be nothing suspicious about him meeting me and delivering this information. And since everybody is aware of the traders’ chatty nature, the thought of him spreading the rumors of the Zelon’s granddaughter being assaulted will make King Euris lose his cool."

Stanis clapped his hands, a wide grin cutting his face in two as he exclaimed in admiration,

"Impressive, Your Grace! As expected, you’ve orchestrated everything, leaving no gaps in the plot! What a loss to this Kingdom to have you confined here instead of commanding the Royal Army!"

The duke lowered his red gaze, picking up the Royal Invitation once again. As he silently fidgeted with the letter, his assistant awkwardly cleared his throat, realizing the mistake he’d made by uttering his previous remark, and continued in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice,

"So... When are we leaving for the Capital, then? I will have to find someone to lead the surveying in our absence."

Tillian shook his head and fixed his eyes on Stanis.

"You are not going, I’m going alone."

"Alone?! Why?"

Duke Valentine crossed his strong arms in front of his chest and furrowed his eyebrows as he offered Stanis an explanation,

"The King already knows that Aideen is in our hands so he most likely will send his knights here while I’m gone and bring her back. This time, he will be able to lock her in the Temple under strict guard making everyone believe that the princess has gone insane from the fear of being abducted by me. The Royal Knights are probably already on their way here and will just wait for me to leave before attacking the castle. While my offer might change the King’s mind, I still want to make sure that nobody hurts Aideen or anyone else in this castle. I want you here, Stanis."

Stanis took a short step forward, prepared to retort but Tillian raised his hand, commanding his assistant to stop, and concluded in a cold voice,

"This is not a request, Sir Stanis. This is an order."

Although still reluctantly, Sir Stanis lowered his head and answered in a defeated tone,

"... Yes, Your Grace."

***

After spending more time alone in his study, Tillian set aside a pile of trading papers and rubbed his tired eyes.

The clock’s hands were showing ten minutes past two. The man brushed his soft blonde hair away from his forehead and released a weary sigh.

’I should really get some rest.’

The duke left his study, quietly closing the door behind him in order to not make any noise that might disturb the castle dwellers, and froze on the spot, even his breathing nearly stopped as he saw Aideen quietly walking in the hallway.

The princess moved slowly and carefully, each step as light as a feather, her thin pale hands gliding over the surface of the objects in the hallway, outlining their shapes as if she was remaking them once again with her tender fingers.

From time to time, she would pause and close her eyes as if trying to concentrate even more than before, a light smile grazing her plump lips whenever her fingertips would stumble upon an interesting engravement or curious pattern on the surface she was examining.

’She is memorizing her way around. How cute...’

As if under a spell, Tillian found himself following behind Aideen, carefully watching over her akin to a loyal guard while she continued to memorize the objects in the hallway.

Suddenly, the man’s eyes noticed a slight fold in the carpet just a second before the princess’s foot got caught in it.

But he wasn’t late.

With a suppressed gasp, Aideen tripped over the fold but instead of falling to the floor, she found herself gently held in somebody’s arms.

"Your Grace?"

She recognized his scent right away – a subtle musky smell combined with the smell of leather that always lingered around his body, perhaps from all the hours spent sitting in the leather chairs.

Shy and confused, the princess leaned against Tilian’s arms, placing her left hand on top of his left wrist, and felt a familiar silk material carefully wrapped around the duke’s wrist – a thin silk ribbon that the man had been wearing religiously for years.

Neither Aideen nor the duke had any intention to break the silence that hung between them. With her hands on Tillian’s arms and her back leaning against his muscular chest, the lady felt her body turn hot again while her heart was nothing but a frightened bird inside her rib cage.

At last, mustering all the courage to make the first step, the princess whispered,

"Thank you, Your Grace."

The duke parted his lips to offer her a reply but Aideen continued, freeing herself from his embrace,

"I apologize for wandering around the castle so late at night. I want to familiarize myself with it as soon as possible to release Bella from the daunting task of guiding me around. I know it can be tiring. I will only need a few more nights to memorize everything, I promise!"

The man smiled and shook his head, placing his big hand on the princess’s shoulder in a somewhat reassuring gesture.

"Please, do not apologize for anything, Your Highness. Soon, you will be the lady of the castle, so feel free to do anything you want here."

His words, although kind and warm, made Aideen nervous again and Tillian seemed to have caught on that.

"Do you always do your memorizing at such late hours?"

A slight blush pained the lady’s cheeks as she nodded,

"Yes. I just... Do not want to disturb anyone with my presence."

"Oh..."

Somehow, her reply made the duke feel a subtle surge of anger. He wanted to retort again but Aideen carefully removed his heavy hand off her shoulder and offered him a graceful bow.

"It is indeed very late now, Your Grace. We both should get some rest. Good night."

"Do you need me to help you get back to your bedroom, Your Highness?"

Aideen shook her head and smiled.

"No, thank you, I can do it on my own."

Surprisingly disappointed, Tillian let out a brief sigh and surrendered,

"Very well, then. Good night."

He turned around and started walking in the direction of his bedroom when all of a sudden he heard Aideen’s voice gently touch his back with its melodic undertone,

"Your Grace?"

"Yes, Your Highness?"

The duke paused and turned around, waiting for her to continue.

"You have a silk ribbon tied around your wrist... Would you mind telling me where you got it?"

Tillian hesitated. He covered his left wrist with his right hand as if in an attempt to hide the ribbon, then sighed again, and finally replied,

"It... It was a gift. Well, I am really tired, Your Highness. Please excuse me."

He quickly marched away, and as his heavy steps disappeared behind the doors of his bedroom, Aideen clenched her left palm into a loose fist and whispered,

"A gift? Strange... I can swear it was one of my mother’s ribbons."