Saved By The Mad Duke -
Chapter 51: A Sentimental Person
Chapter 51: A Sentimental Person
"You want me to do what?"
Ahspid rounded his eyes for a second, his face completely expressionless and frozen. Then, when it seemed like the silence inside the room would deafen everyone present, he suddenly burst into laughter that could only belong to a madman.
The magus was brought to the Duke’s study right after the latter finished his conversation with Sir Stanis, and while he was still reluctant to cooperate with anyone but Princess Aideen, he had no choice but to listen to the man’s requests.
Tillian watched the mage’s body shake as he continued to laugh, allowing him to have his fit. It took Ahspid quite some time to get a hold of himself again and when he was finally done laughing and wiped his tears, the Duke tossed the rejection letter he brought from the Temple, and said,
"I know you are still registered at the Holy Church, Ahspid. Just because they’ve lost their grip on you doesn’t mean you don’t have their seal. It’s not something you can just easily dispose of. You might be crazy but you still don’t cross the line, and that is precisely why you were hiding here instead of running off and side with a different kingdom, betraying the Brotherhood of Mages."
Ahspid lowered his purple eyes and fixed them on the rejection letter placed in front of him.
Tillian was not wrong; although the mage fled the Capital right after Ruans captured the throne, he still could not leave Geraldion to start a new life elsewhere. Not even in Utar.
Because he still had unfinished business here.
The man slowly picked up the letter with his right hand, numerous magical rings flickering under the candlelight as he fidgeted with the white piece of paper. Then, with his eyes still glued to the Temple’s seal, he asked somewhat coldly, yet with a hint of sadness in his voice,
"Are they still looking for me? Did you tell them where I was?"
Tillian shook his head.
"No. And this is why you have no choice but to do as I say. I got you that thing you were looking for and I got you the eyes of a snow dragon. Now do your part of our deal. Unless you want me to hand you over to the Royal Family. After all, you are still the Royal Mage. Or at least that’s what your magic seal says anyway."
Furrowing his bright purple eyes in irritation, Ahspid clutched the letter in his hand and grumbled in an annoyed, yet defeated tone,
"Fine, I’ll do it. I will get the two of you married, Your Grace."
***
Bella kept pacing back and forth in front of Aideen’s bedroom. In her hands was the small blue velvet box she fished out of the large green box brought for her from the Capital. She paused, gently pressed the box against her chest, and sighed, resuming her nervous pacing.
"What are you sighing about here?"
The sudden sound of the familiar male voice made Bella jump and almost drop the box to the floor but she managed to catch it just when the falling item leveled with her shoulders.
Frightened, the maid leaned against the wall and tried to calm her racing heart with a few long, deep inhales, before finally shooting a rather angry glare at Tillian who watched her clumsy distress with a nonchalant expression.
"Goodness, Your Grace! I understand that you need to be discreet when hunting but when you sneak up on people like that, someone is bound to get a heart attack! Especially with Lady Aideen, who mostly relies on the sounds surrounding her! I swear to all holy, I will put a small bell on you, like on a cat!"
The Duke released a soft chuckle, then shifted his eyes to the velvet box in Bella’s hands, and said, stretching his hand out to take it,
"I see you have already checked out your gifts. Did you like them? Her Highness picked them out herself."
The maid clicked her tongue and shook her head in disapproval as she replied,
"How could you put something this precious there? What if it got lost? I could have overlooked it and thrown the box out together with this!"
"Stop it, Bella, you would never do something as careless as throwing a thing without thoroughly checking it first. This is why you are working here in the first place."
The woman could not help but chuckle as Tillian’s words were true. She was very careful and attentive when it came to managing every little thing inside the castle and that was precisely why her services were irreplaceable while she herself was treated with utmost respect by other members of the help.
"I see your skill at flattery keeps improving, Your Grace! Oh, what a fox you are already! I can only imagine what kind of things that man is writing in his letters to you; he must be quite the ladies’ man himself!"
The Duke stretched his lips into a subtle smile, a strong blush of embarrassment playing on his cheeks. Bella finally unglued herself from the hallway wall, took a step towards her lord, and whispered,
"I could not resist looking inside the box, Your Grace. I have never seen anything as beautiful before, it must have cost you a fortune!"
"Tsk!" Tillian clicked his tongue in a playful fit of irritation, but then released a defeated sigh, and opened the box to let maid look inside it one more time, "So you think it’s beautiful?"
"Why, of course! I could never even imagine that they are able to make the rings like this! That’s a very delicate craftsmanship for sure!"
The Duke’s glowing gaze fixed on the contents of the blue velvet box too and felt as if an enormous weight was lifted off his shoulders.
He had been preparing for this wedding far longer than anyone would assume but what was even more important than the ceremony itself, was the way he wanted to propose.
Duke Valentine was still a stranger to all things romantic. However, thanks to his ’mentor,’ who had been guiding him in the delicate art of winning a lady’s heart, he managed to engrave one crucial principle into his mind – even if he couldn’t make the proposal itself perfect, he had no right to present a woman with a subpar engagement ring.
Thus, he spent months in the harsh and dangerous caves of The North looking for a unique gem – the snow diamond.
According to the legends and tales, snow diamonds were incredibly rare and could only be found in The North, right near the border with Utar because they were ’the dragon’s tears’. They possessed a unique light-blue color and could reflect and memorize the color of the sky.
After countless failed attempts to find it, the Raven Knights tried to convince Tillian that such a diamond was nothing but an element of a fairytale, much like the philosopher’s stone for the alchemist, but the Duke was not ready to give up hope.
And his persistence finally paid off.
Just a few days before Aideen’s arrival, he found a snow diamond as big as a golden coin and decided to use it for the engagement ring which was then taken by him to the Capital and shaped into a beautiful little snowflake by the most talented goldsmith in entire Geraldion.
It was indeed a work of art, a masterpiece of a ring, and Tillian could not wait to give it to the princess.
"Look at you all smiling, Your Grace. What a wonderful change! Ever since Her Highness has come here, you started looking a lot better, a lot brighter. Even Sir Stanis has noticed the drastic change. Do you love her that much?"
Tillian closed the box and hid it inside the pocket of his pants, offering the maid a surprisingly stern look which, however, failed to intimidate her as she was already aware that it was the result of him being incredibly shy.
In an awkward attempt to change the subject, the Duke retrieved a dirty red ribbon from the other pocket and gave it to Bella.
"I need you to clean and mend this for me as soon as possible."
The woman examined the ribbon under the warm light of the hallway lamp, then shifted her surprised eyes to her lord, and nodded,
"Of course, Your Grace... But isn’t it the ribbon? Whatever happened to it? You have been cherishing it for so long, only took it off to have it cleaned..."
Tillian could not help but sigh – he was disappointed just as much.
"Well, I admit, it has served as a precious memory for me throughout all these years... I have never thought of myself as a sentimental person, but I guess I have always been one, considering how I find it so difficult to see this ribbon damaged."
Bella gently tapped the man on the shoulder and smiled, offering him a warm consolation,
"There is nothing wrong with feeling attached to things that are linked to warm memories. However... Perhaps now is the time you start making new memories together and link them to new things. The ones that are much harder to damage."
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