Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 58: The Locked Room

Chapter 58: The Locked Room

Aideen closed her palm, offering Ahspid a somewhat sad look. The mage raised his eyebrows in frustration and questioned,

"What’s wrong, My Lady? Aren’t you happy?"

The princess found herself at a loss for words.

Indeed, she was happy—how could she not be? Yet, at the same time, a myriad of emotions swirled within her, overwhelming her mind and entangling her already complicated feelings.

Throughout her life, nobody had shown interest in teaching her anything. People often perceived her disability as a hindrance, assuming that time spent on her education would be a futile endeavor. The princess had encountered this belief so frequently that she had come to believe it herself.

Today, however, in just a span of a couple of hours, she had managed to acquire the skills of reading, writing, and even casting her very first spell. Despite the modest nature of her newfound powers compared to Ahspid’s, it marked significant progress for someone like her.

Aideen felt a sense of pride swelling within her, yet she remained humble, not allowing the fleeting hint of arrogance to take root in her mind. She was well aware that a considerable journey still lay ahead of her.

"I am happy, Ahspid, truly."

The mage tenderly brushed the back of his right hand over the lady’s cheek, adopting a slightly patronizing tone as he inquired,

"Then what are these waterworks?"

Flustered, Aideen turned away from the man. She quickly wiped the tears off her face, took a deep breath to compose her feelings, and then turned back to Ahspid, forcing a big smile.

"I’m sorry, these are tears of joy, of course!"

"Sure, sure, if you say so, Your Highness."

Deciding to dismiss that suppressed emotional response, Ahspid continued,

"Well, I must admit, I was not expecting much from you today, but you have done quite well, My Lady. For someone who has had her mana asleep for twenty-two years, such rapid progress is truly remarkable."

The princess widened her eyes in excitement and leaned closer to the mage, nearly shouting,

"Truly? You really think so, Ahspid?!"

Startled, Ahspid’s body involuntarily recoiled, nearly causing him to lose his balance and teeter off his seat. Clearing his throat awkwardly with a loud cough, he shot Aideen a stern look and nodded.

"Yes, you possess exceptional abilities, Your Highness. I am eagerly anticipating the discovery of more of your talents."

The woman smiled again, this time genuinely, a strong blush coloring her porcelain cheeks in a distinct shade of peachy pink. She hadn’t expected Ahspid to shower her with so much praise, but she was undeniably relishing it.

Finally, it wasn’t just her looks—something that was beyond her control—that garnered such acclaim, but rather, her innate abilities. She acknowledged that she could allow herself to bask in this kind of praise, at least for a brief period of time.

Still blushing and smiling uncontrollably, she slid the thumb of her left hand over the skin of her right palm exactly where the snowflake had touched it earlier. She then released a somewhat heavy sigh and whispered,

"This was just a starting point. I have to practice more to make the most out of this spell..."

Ahspid rose to his feet, adding his agreement to her quiet remark,

"Yes, Your Highness, and this is precisely what you will be doing for the rest of the evening. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to retire for today. I have a sudden urge to catch up on my reading."

He was already prepared to leave when he felt the princess tugging the sleeve of his black mage’s uniform. The man looked down at Aideen, his eyebrows arched in bewilderment, and asked,

"What is it, My Lady?"

Though she indeed wanted to talk to the magus about something else, the princess felt hesitant. Once confident, the lady suddenly became shy, unsure if she should have delayed Ahspid in the first place.

Growing tired of her reluctance, the man decided to assist the princess with her silent burden, saying,

"Come on, what is it, Your Highness? Neither of us should be spending the whole day here waiting for you to finally speak up."

After taking another deep breath, Aideen finally nodded and said,

"That ’trick’ you did with the runic writing... The one that made it palpable—could you do this with any type of writing?"

Ahspid stretched his reddish lips into a wide grin and leaned closer to the woman, asking,

"I could. Why?"

"I... I want to learn the Continental language as well. I want to learn how to read and write. If... If you could spare some more time to teach me the basics of reading and writing this way and also the spell that I could use with any book or letter, then I could practice the rest on my own! As you said earlier, I only need to start."

The mage fixed his purple eyes on Aideen’s glowing face for a few moments, then rested his gloved hand on top of her head and concluded in a jokingly stern tone,

"Very well. But only if you promise me that it will not take a toll on your primary task, which is unsealing your powers."

The princess jumped to her feet and declared with a voice full of enthusiasm,

"It won’t, Ahspid, I promise!"

"Alright, I’ll see what I can do for you, Your Highness."

***

"So when will you give out the order to commence the wedding preparations, Your Grace?"

Stanis jumped off his horse, watching Tillian instructing one of the knights to take his black stallion back to the stables.

Shaking the snow off his shoulders and adjusting his cape, the Duke began his way towards the back entrance of the castle, answering his aide’s question in a rather dismissive manner,

"There is not much to prepare, honestly. We have enough food and wine, we have our wedding attire ready, and the magus agreed to hold our wedding ceremony instead of a priest. I am certain that Bella and Safie will take care of the rest on demand rather quickly."

Tillian narrowed his eyes, a knowing look in his gaze.

"You cannot lie to me, Your Grace. I’ve known you since the moment you crawled out of your mother’s womb. You want to have that thing built first, don’t you?"

Stanis nudged his lord on the side, offering him a playful grin, and added,

"Who would have thought that you could turn into such a romantic! But do you really think that mage will agree to use his powers for it? He refused to keep this castle warm, after all, and you even offered him a hefty pay for such a favor. If you couldn’t buy him with money, I don’t think you can buy him with a mere sentiment."

Tillian opened the door and went inside the castle, shrugging his shoulders at Stanis’s reasonable concern.

"I am sure he won’t be able to refuse this time simply because it’s not for me but for the princess. Trust me, our sentiments will rub off on him eventually."

The knight couldn’t help but laugh – the Duke’s unwavering confidence in nearly anything never ceased to amaze him.

As they ascended to the second floor of the castle on their way to Duke Valetnine’s study to resume their usual routine, they noticed Bella pacing back and forth in front of Aideen’s bedroom, nervously biting her nails, her face pale with worry and frustration.

"What are you doing up so late? Did something happen?"

Tillian walked up to the pacing maid, his own expression acquiring a slightly worried shade. Bella, somewhat relieved by the appearance of her lord, rushed towards him and answered in a loud whisper,

"Goodness, Your Grace! What are we going to do? Her Highness locked herself inside her room and ordered that nobody come in no matter what!"

Both Tillian and Stanis raised their eyebrows in shock.

"What do you mean? Why? Did something happen to her? Was it that idiot Ahspid?"

Bella shook her head and lowered her eyes, saying,

"I honestly have no idea! The mage does not tell me anything, only grins ominously like he always does. She refused her dinner and did not even reply whenever I tried talking to her later. It has been more than five hours already, what if she did something to herself?!"

"Alright, calm down, no need to jump to such dreadful conclusions."

Tillian lightly pushed the maid away from the door, then grabbed the cold round door handle. He pressed his ear to the door and shouted,

"Your Highness? Are you alright? Could you please just answer me?"

But the room still answered with silence.

Furrowing his eyebrows, the Duke twisted the handle, applying enough strength to break the lock. He swung the door open and froze on the spot, confronted by an unexpected sight that left him momentarily stunned.

"Goodness..."

Bella’s quiet voice seeped into the room from behind Duke Valentine, whose glowing red eyes were frantically scanning the space.

It was indeed a shocking display – the room was freezing cold and covered in snow, with thousands of tiny glistening snowflakes floating in the air as if there were no roof above the space.

In the middle stood Aideen – both of her hands stretched out in front of her, her entire body trembling, while a quite large heap of snow had already formed on the top of her head.

"Your Highness, what is going on here?"

Tillian rushed to the princess, wrapping his thick cloak around Aideen’s cold body. The woman only offered him a happy smile, replying in a trembling but proud voice,

"It’s working, Your Grace. The spell is finally working!"