Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 59: Too Excited To Sleep

Chapter 59: Too Excited To Sleep

"Spell? Have you been practicing magic here, Your Highness?"

Tillian carefully brushed the sparkling heap of snow from Aideen’s head and covered it with the warm hood of his cloak. The princess turned her pale face towards the Duke and asked, her expression betraying genuine excitement,

"It’s the spell that creates an illusion of snowfall, Your Grace! Can you see it? Can you see the snow?"

’Illusion? This doesn’t look like an illusion to me.’

Duke Valentine took another brief look around the room, then fixed his glowing red eyes back on the woman before him and nodded,

"Yes, Your Highness, I can see the snow. There is quite a lot of it here, to be honest. I think it’s time you took a little break."

He considered moving her closer to the fireplace, only to realize that the fire had been extinguished by the snow as well. Aideen, already turning blue and shaking uncontrollably, widened her eyes and shook her head, rejecting the Duke’s suggestion,

"No, there is still too much to learn and practice, Your Grace. I must do it as quickly as possible!"

Tillian couldn’t help but sigh.

"Your Highness, you are clearly exhausted; your whole body is trembling from the cold, your lips are a dangerous shade of blue, and the chattering of your teeth can be heard from the hallway. Take your time; there is no need to push yourself so hard. I don’t want you to fall ill, especially not so soon."

Duke Valentine turned around and ordered,

"Bella, instruct the other maids to draw a hot bath for the princess. Get plenty of dry, warm blankets and towels as well. Stanis, please ask the kitchen staff to prepare something hot for dinner and brew some herbal tea with honey and lemon."

Both the maid and the knight responded with a short bow, rushing to carry out their lord’s orders.

"Good heavens, what a mess!" The voice of another maid, Safie, echoed through the cold room as if it were a cave. "Everything is wet! It will take ages for it to dry! And what about the floors? The wood is going to rot!"

Her words pierced through Aideen’s chest like a poisonous arrow. What did she mean by that? Why would her room be ruined if the snowfall she created was simply an illusion?

Tillian observed as the princess’s beautiful features were swallowed by the dark shadow of both frustration and regret. He then shifted his glare to Safie and commanded,

"Enough with the lament, Safie. Bring in the magus; I am sure he can fix it in no time."

"No need, I am here."

Ahspid slowly walked into the room, then brushed his long fingers over the melting heap of sparkling white snow, furrowing his eyebrows.

’This is not just an illusion; she did manage to create real snow from that spell... The powers of the snow dragon are truly outstanding.’

The mage looked at both the Duke and the princess standing close to each other, then stretched his lips into a wide grin and concluded,

"Unfortunately, as I have already informed you before, Your Grace, I am not going to waste my powers on this. I am preserving my strength for my lessons with Her Highness; this is a priority. Have your staff clean the room and wait for it to dry naturally."

"Tsk, what a useless mage!"

Safie clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes while Ahspid shot her a glaring look, his fingers in the air, ready to perform another one of his childish but still scary tricks.

Scared of being turned into a rat, the maid dashed out of the room, mumbling,

"Sure, he does not mind wasting his powers on this!"

"Safie, get back here!"

Tillian’s loud and stern voice pulled the maid back inside the room like magic. She carefully approached her lord, avoiding getting near the grinning mage, and asked quietly,

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"Prepare a new room for Her Highness to sleep in."

"But, Your Grace," Safie started somewhat timidly, throwing quick guilty glances at Aideen, "even if I manage to dust it while the lady is in the bath, it will take too long for the room to get warm from the fireplace."

"Ugh..."

The Duke rubbed his pulsating forehead and released a long, tired sigh. He was rather disappointed in his own inability to tackle such mishaps quickly and efficiently. Yet, he had to admit that there was no way he could have envisioned something like this happening in the first place.

The direction of his further actions, however, was painfully obvious. Adjusting his cloak on Aideen’s shoulders, he explained,

"Safie will prepare my bed for you, Your Highness. You will sleep in my bedroom tonight."

The princess arched her thin eyebrows in bewilderment.

"What about you, then, Your Grace? Where will you sleep?"

"In my study. I still have some work to do, so I don’t think I will have time for much sleep anyway."

"But this is not right! You should rest properly, even if it’s for a short while!"

Tillian could no longer hold back his smile – Aideen’s sweet concern continued to fill his heart with warmth and hopefulness. Sliding the back of his right hand over the woman’s cold cheek, he spoke in a calm and kind voice,

"Your worrying about me like this makes me want to spend a sleepless night trying harder, My Lady. Do not fret; the couch in my study is comfortable enough, and besides, it is just for one night. Tomorrow, I will come up with better sleeping arrangements, Your Highness. Now..."

Not allowing the princess any attempt at retort, the Duke gently pushed her towards Safie, who understandably grabbed Aideen’s hand and started guiding her out of the room while Duke Valentine concluded,

"Please make sure to eat well and drink plenty of hot tea, Your Highness, and let Bella or Safie know if you need anything. Rest well!"

"But..." Aideen still wanted to retort. However, the maid rushed her outside and started mumbling something about a nice aromatic bath, cunningly robbing the lady of her chance to speak once again.

With a defeated sigh, Aideen had no choice but to accept this bizarre conclusion of the evening.

***

Lying comfortably under the heavy warm blanket after a relaxing hot bath, the princess hugged one of the pillows and closed her eyes.

The pleasant fatigue of a hardworking and tiring day was practically sinking her deeper into the soft embrace of the fresh bedsheets and blankets, but Aideen’s mind refused to let itself rest for two reasons.

’Everything in this room smells like him...’

Indeed, despite the overwhelming flowery scent of both her body oils and the new bedspread, the lingering scent of Tillian’s body seemed to have permeated every, even the tiniest thing inside his bedroom. The familiar musky aroma was so strong that it almost felt as if the Duke was somewhere close, which made the princess experience a rather complicated blend of different emotions.

The other reason for her restlessness lay in the whirlwind of experiences she had during this eventful day.

The myriad of emotions that raced through her head while she was practicing her very first spell was too overwhelming; thus, no matter how hard she tried, Aideen could not succeed in soothing her excited heart.

Pushing both the soft pillow and the warm blanket away, she assumed a sitting position and shook her head.

’This is not going to work; I am way too excited to sleep right now... What should I do? Perhaps I should try and study this room for now? Memorizing the shapes and positions of different things always helps me calm down, even if just a little...’

The princess jumped off the vast bed and stood before one of the nightstands next to it, stretching her arm to begin her memorizing routine; however, something deep within her still prevented her from doing it.

Releasing a long exhale, she grabbed the robe from the long ottoman in front of the bed, quickly wrapped it around her shoulders, and strode confidently towards the room’s exit.

As she quietly made her way through the chilly hallway of the second floor, approaching her final destination—Tillian’s study, Aideen felt her heartbeat echoing inside her ears.

Strangely, even after all this time, the lady still could not get used to the idea of being alone with the lord of the castle.

Pausing right before the study’s door, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

’If he is too busy, he can just send me back, right? What if he is asleep already? He must be always so exhausted dealing with daily patrols and the estate’s tasks...’

Aideen pressed her right ear against the cold surface of the door in an attempt to discern any kind of sound inside the room. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise akin to the growling of dogs, and the very next moment, Duke Valentine’s loud but low voice seeped from behind the door,

"No need to be so shy, Your Highness. Come on in."