Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 50: A Gift From The Capital

Chapter 50: A Gift From The Capital

The carriage finally stopped in front of the main entrance of the castle. Tillian opened the door and helped Aideen descend the steps and the moment her feet touched the frozen ground, she was trapped in the sudden embrace of a woman who always smelled like freshly baked pies and clean linen.

"Goodness, Bella!"

The princess staggered but Bella did not allow her to fall; instead, she tightened her hold around the lady’s petite body and exclaimed,

"Forgive me my sentiments, My Lady, but I am simply so happy to see you again! That demon Ahspid kept telling us all these horrible tales about the Capital, Safie almost went insane! I am so glad that you have returned unharmed!"

"Come on, Bella, you will suffocate the lady! Save your emotions for later."

Stanis took a step forward and offered the Duke a bow, practically peeled the maid away from Aideen, and greeted the lady in a kind voice,

"Welcome back home, Your Highness."

Bella playfully slapped the knight on his shoulder and nodded,

"Yes, welcome back home, My Lady!"

’Home... I’m definitely home.’

Despite the cold air biting her tender skin, Aideen could not help but feel incredible warmth spreading within her chest.

When she was returning to the Capital, her ’home’ for twenty-two years, nobody cared to greet her. But here, in a place where everything was still somewhat new and people were mere strangers, she was treated with the affection and respect she had never imagined she would experience.

Tillian was right – The North was her home now. A home she could build from scratch and mold it to be the happiest place in the world.

"Look at you smiling, Your Highness! What a wonderful sight! Did you miss us just as much as we missed you?"

Bella’s soft voice made Aideen smile even wider but before she could fight off the soaring feeling of embarrassment that prevented her from responding, Tillian placed his heavy hand on the princess’s shoulder and shot the maid a somewhat cold, stern look.

"That’s enough, Bella, you are making Her Highness uncomfortable. Instruct Safie to prepare the lady’s bath, meanwhile, take her to the dining room and make sure she eats a proper meal."

The Duke then leaned over, his face leveling with Aideen’s, and whispered in her ear,

"Please make sure to get a lot of rest, Your Highness. I still have some things to take care of, so I will be in my study for a while. If you wake up before dinner, please send Bella to inform me. Perhaps we can have another dinner together."

His lips stretched into a wide smile as he noticed a slight blush playing upon the princess’s cheeks. He then nodded at Bella, lightly pushed Aideen towards her, and watched as the two women disappeared behind the castle’s entrance.

Turning to Stanis with a serious expression on his face, Tillian continued,

"Let’s go, we still have some work to do."

The knight nodded and followed his Lord to the back door of the castle. Suddenly, he winced as his dark eyes slid over the Duke’s blond hair, and asked rather mockingly,

"I see Avir gave you a haircut, Your Grace."

Tillian stopped, ran his long fingers through his hair, noticing a shorter lock right behind his neck, and released a disappointed sigh.

"Make sure to instruct your employees properly next time. I did not give him openings just so that he could get near my face. You know I have to stay handsome for her."

***

"Are you sure you don’t want to rest, Your Grace? I took care of everything for today, there is really nothing to worry about."

Stanis stood next to the Duke’s desk while Tillian fell heavily into his chair and started nervously tapping his black fountain pen over the desk’s polished surface. Once this little comforting action was finished, he rubbed his tired eyes, and finally answered,

"There is no time to rest, Stanis. I may have gotten rid of that imbecile of a Count and managed to free her from the grip of the Royal Family, but she is still not entirely safe. We need to get married as soon as possible to make sure Aideen is protected by my name."

Despite the logical and reasonable urgency of Tillian’s words, Stanis could not help but ask the obvious question,

"So why did you not do it in the Capital? The Temple is right there, you could have just paid the first available priest to get it over with."

The Duke only shook his head, his hands still covering his stinging eyes,

"I did not want to stay there any longer. The mere thought of being around them was making me sick. Moreover, the place we had to stay at was a sty, I could not let Aideen spend another cold night in there."

Stanis’s reply was preceded by a long sigh,

"I see... Well, we do not really have that many options, Your Grace. The village south of the forest has a chapel, perhaps I could bring their priest to the castle and ask him to marry you here."

"There is no need for that. There is someone who is already living in the castle and can get us married here."

The knight raised his thick brown eyebrows, his eyes wide in genuine bewilderment.

"There is? Who is it?"

Tillian briefly curled his lips into a grin and said,

"The magus."

"The mage?!" Stanis still could not believe the Duke’s words, "How can that man marry the two of you, Your Grace?"

Duke Valentine’s explanation was simple,

"Every single mage has to enter a pact with the Holy Church and register their abilities. It is required in case one of them decides to start causing trouble; the paladins can then easily identify the mage by the powers they use and hold them responsible. At the same time, this deal allows the mages to assist with the birth of children instead of the midwives, cure sick and wounded people instead of the doctors, and, of course, if the noblemen from distant lands want to get married but cannot get a priest to do it, the mages are allowed to do that too."

Stanis scratched his chin in a contemplating manner, allowing himself a few minutes to let the Duke’s words sink in. Then he shook his head and retorted,

"That might be true, Your Grace, but don’t you need to have an official letter of rejection from the priest in order to do it? If I remember correctly, without that letter, the wedding will not be considered legitimate."

Tillian unbuttoned his black jacket, pulled out a small white envelope with the Holy Church’s seal on it, and smiled,

"One step ahead already."

***

"I don’t know if this can be called a lucky coincidence, My Lady, but a day before your return, the weather was calm and sunny. I dried these sheets in the sun, what a pleasant scent they now have! This does not happen often."

Bella covered Aideen with a thick white blanket, tucking her in like a small child which made the princess feel rather embarrassed. Engrossed in the important task of making the lady as comfortable as she assumed possible, the maid continued,

"Heavens know I was ready to kick that Ahspid naked out of the castle and let him freeze his bottom! The stories he told us about the Capital were beyond horrible!"

She finally stopped adjusting the blanket, carefully took a seat beside Aideen, and asked in a rather timid voice,

"It is not that horrible, right? I simply cannot accept the fact that Your Highness had to spend so many years surrounded by such atrocities."

’What exactly did that crazy magus tell her?’

Aideen was not sure what kind of response would soothe Bella’s anxious mind, thus, she simply decided to change the subject to a more pleasant one. Freeing her left arm from the warmth of the thick blanket, she gestured at the pile of bags and boxes brought from the Capital, and smiled,

"I completely forgot! I bought a gift for you, too, Bella. His Grace said it was a big green box. Go on, open it!"

"Goodness, My Lady, you should not have! A gift from the Capital, for a maid..."

The princess could not help but click her tongue in disapproval,

"You are not just a maid, Bella, you are my loyal helper and my friend, I will be very offended if you refuse to accept the gift!"

Bella nearly jumped to her feet and exclaimed,

"Oh no, I did not mean to offend you, Your Highness! Never! I’m just... Well, thank you kindly, My Lady, thank you so much!"

The woman rushed to the pile of boxes and retrieved the green box as per Aideen’s description. She hesitated for a moment, her heart too weak to handle the excitement, then finally opened the top, and gasped in astonishment.

"Oh my! I can’t believe my eyes!"

The maid’s genuine fascination brought a wide smile to the princess’s face.

"I know you like knitting so I brought you the most expensive knitting set from the Capital. I was convinced that the yarn was of the greatest quality in the entire Kingdom. I hope you like it."

"Like it? Heavens, Your Highness, this is simply beyond beautiful... Oh, I have never seen such vibrant colors in my entire life... What can I make with all of this, oh!"

Aideen released a soft, happy chuckle while Bella continued to look through the contents of the box.

Suddenly, she stopped, her fingers brushing over a small blue velvet box, hidden deeply under the layers of colorful yarn. Carefully, she took the box in her hands, contemplating whether she could open it, then shook her head, and hid the box inside the pocket of her white apron.

’Careless, as always. I better go find him right away!’