Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 62: The Mysterious Boy

Chapter 62: The Mysterious Boy

"But it was drastically different that time."

A light, almost imperceptible smile graced Aideen’s lips as she took a momentary pause to compose her emotions before continuing.

"What do you mean by that?" Tillian asked, freezing on the spot and awaiting her reply with an evident hint of anxiety.

The princess fidgeted with a wavy lock of her long, dark red hair and spoke again,

"I was playing alone with my puppy outside my mother’s greenhouse. It was early in the morning, so Valon was supposed to attend his usual alchemy classes. However, much to my shock, he still came, as if someone had informed him that there was yet another precious living being he could torture. He was very upset that morning... He said that my hiding the puppy from him was akin to treason because, as a member of the Royal Family, he was supposed to be informed about everything new or out of the normal order happening within the palace’s territory, including, or rather especially, my desolate quarters.

Then he asked me to hand the puppy over to him at once. I cannot even begin to describe how hard I begged, how I pleaded with him not to hurt it, but he was unwavering in his decision. Even when I fell on my knees and wailed, he was still unbothered. He told me that all of this was happening because I was stupid and selfish, and had never bothered to ask him for permission to have a pet. Yet, what was the use of it? He would never say yes anyway, and I was so lonely..."

Aideen struggled with another strong urge to burst into tears. She had never shared this story with anyone before; in fact, it was the first time she was revealing such a profoundly significant and painful part of her childhood that had a lasting impact on her future in the Royal Palace.

The woman was not sure whether it was even a good idea to do so, but Tillian’s understanding silence and his overall comforting presence next to her gave her unexpected courage to go on. Once again, only with him, she felt like she could talk about absolutely everything.

And so, with another deep inhale to soothe her complicated feelings, the princess continued,

"He wanted to take it away from me again, but this time, I did not want to give up so easily. When my begging did not work, I refused to surrender the puppy. And that was when he got truly mad. I could practically feel his simmering anger, his hatred both towards me and my innocent pet.

Valon grabbed me by my wrists and was about to finally get his hands on the puppy when all of a sudden, completely out of the blue, someone else interfered."

"Really?"

The Duke arched his eyebrows, expressing his surprise at that unexpected twist in Aideen’s story. The princess nodded and added,

"Yes, it was completely unexpected... It was a boy, probably older than both the prince and me. When he jumped right between us, I knew that he was taller because when he spoke, his voice was echoing above my head."

"So who was it? And what did he do next?"

Tillian fixed his deep eyes on the lady, eagerly waiting for her explanation. However, her reply was preceded by a shake of her head.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea who that boy was. As you know, I have never really socialized with anyone in that place, and nobody was allowed to visit me either.

But he was definitely the bravest boy I have ever met. As he stood in front of me, he confidently ordered Valon to leave us both alone, to which the prince only laughed and drew his training sword – something he had never done before in my presence – and threatened him that if he would not step away from me, he would attack him.

To my great astonishment, the mysterious boy scoffed as well and said that he was not scared of him. This, however, only angered Valon even more; he swung his sword at him. I could hear the metal whistle as it cut through the air above our heads, but what shocked me even more was that boy’s actions. He grabbed the blade with his hand and broke it! The sword snapped as if it were a mere toy! I never thought such a thing was even possible! It snapped like a twig!

Valon was probably frightened to death. He dropped the other part of the sword to the ground and ran away, screaming all kinds of nasty threats in our direction, but I could not care less for any of them. For the first time in my life, someone took my side, someone protected me from him. A complete stranger protected me! I was bewildered beyond comprehension. But I was also incredibly happy."

Aideen shifted her big eyes to Tillian and offered him a light, yet somewhat sad smile.

"The boy’s hand was bleeding because Valon’s blade was still sharp enough to cut through his skin, especially since he grabbed his sword so tightly. It was rather hectic; I even panicked a little because I had no idea how to deal with the wound. But the boy was more collected than me. He asked me for my ribbon to wrap around his hand in order to stop the bleeding, and I offered him one of my mother’s silk ribbons, which my nanny used to tie my hair. Somehow, I believed that it was magical because it was brought here from another kingdom.

It was so silly of me. I did what he asked and wrapped the ribbon around his palm. I can still remember how rough his hand was; it was obvious that he himself was no stranger to rigorous training with a sword. Even with all that blood covering his palm, I could feel all the tiny scars and calluses that were covering his skin. If he did not see a healer after that, that wound probably left quite a deep scar too."

"So you did not meet that boy after that day?"

The Duke’s low voice cut through the silent pause left by the princess, and she shook her head again.

"No. Right after I finished attending to his wound, I was called back to my quarters by my nanny. No matter how many times or whom I asked, nobody could tell me anything about that mysterious boy I met in front of my mother’s greenhouse. Quite a bizarre encounter, wouldn’t you agree, Your Grace? I have been calling him my ’Secret Hero’ ever since, and that is how I engraved his presence in my memory."

’A Secret Hero, huh? Perhaps it is time we finally unveil this mystery once and for all.’

Tillian slid his fingers over the red silk ribbon wrapped around his wrist and released a long sigh. He could not explain what he was trying to achieve with the impending actions, but neither his heart nor his mind could remain still any longer.

Thus, Duke Valentine suddenly rose to his feet, slowly walked around the wooden desk, then stood right in front of Aideen. He took a few more moments to gather his courage, then carefully took the princess’s right wrist in his, and placed it on the open palm of his left hand, initiating a familiar tactile contact between them once again.

Startled at first, the woman did not know what she was supposed to do. However, once the initial feeling of perplexity dissipated, she slowly moved her fingertips over the Duke’s skin, and widened her eyes.

"The scar... It was you?"

Still without saying a word, Tillian untied the silk ribbon from his left wrist and placed it in his palm next to Aideen’s fingers, allowing her to come to another conclusion by herself. The princess held the ribbon between her fingers for what seemed to be an eternity, then finally raised her head and asked, still utterly astonished,

"But how... Why did you keep it a secret this whole time, Your Grace? Why did you not tell me right away?"

The man covered her hand with his and smiled,

"Honestly, I’m not entirely sure, Your Highness. I wanted to, on numerous occasions, but it seemed like I could never come up with the right words or the right timing. What is more... I did not know if you even remembered our meeting that day; after all, it has been quite a while. And, of course, I guess I was afraid. I was afraid of your reaction. I was afraid that it did not mean anything to you or if it did, you found it strange. I guess there were many things that were preventing me from confessing, huh? Forgive me, Your Highness; unfortunately, I have no idea what else to say at this point."

Tillian removed his hands from Aideen’s and took a step back, leaving the red ribbon in her hand and allowing her some room to breathe and collect her thoughts.

And the princess surely needed that.