Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 79: True Partners Grow Together

Chapter 79: True Partners Grow Together

"There is no need for pretentious courtesy or sensibility. I am blind therefore I am limited in my abilities. However, I am no princess, I am no queen, and I am definitely no damsel in distress. The moment I set foot in this place, I became one with it. You called me Aideen Valentine, and this is who I am now. I am a Valentine and a descendant of a great lineage.

I might not look like I am capable of doing a lot, but for someone like His Grace, I am willing to do anything to help him become more powerful, and he will do the same for me. This is what true partners do –– they grow together. In everything."

Aideen felt like she used all the powers she had, both magical and physical, to utter these words without stuttering, but she still had to make an enormous effort in order to stay tall and not betray her frightened state by either a change in her breathing or any movement on her face.

The dining hall remained silent as if the princess’s brief speech erased every last source of sound that had existed in it before.

Avir could not come up with any response he deemed at least remotely reasonable but he knew that he was expected to say something. Thus, lowering his voice to the modest tones of submission, the man stood up, bowed down, and finally said,

"I sincerely apologize, My Lady. I am ignorant, uneducated, I make mistakes I then deeply regret so all I can do is apologize. Please forgive me."

The lady swallowed an invisible dry lump stuck in her throat and tried to reply in the same calm and serious voice,

"I am uneducated, too, Sir Avir, yet I never use this as an excuse for anything. I accept your apology but I must warn you not to be so reckless in the future when talking about Valentines. Remember that disrespecting anyone close to His Grace is the same as disrespecting the Duke himself."

"Yes, I will remember that, My Lady."

With the forced air of solemn grace, Aideen then turned to face Tillian, offered him a light nod, and excused herself,

"I apologize, Your Graze, but I must leave first. I am feeling rather tired so I would like to get some rest."

The Duke, too, rose to his feet, a troubled expression shading his face. With a voice filled with concern and worry, he asked,

"Are you feeling unwell? Would you like me to escort you back to your bedroom?"

The princess rejected his kind offer with a shake of her head,

"There is no need, Your Grace, it is but a mere fatigue, it will not prevent me from successfully finding my way back myself."

With another elegant bow to their guests, she clasped her hands in front of her stomach and started carefully walking towards the room’s exit, silently praying that she would not make the mistake of stumbling on her way out as well, especially since the entire room was still as silent as dead.

As she finally approached the doors, Aideen could not help but feel a strange flow of power surging within her and desperately seeking its outlet. As if guided by some sort of a magic spell, the princess turned around to face the mercenaries one more time, and said,

"Sir Avir?"

Startled, the man jumped to his feet and bowed down.

"Yes, My Lady?"

Instead of a verbal reply, the woman snapped her fingers and the next thing everyone in the dining hall saw was a large snowball landing on the mercenary’s face.

With a somewhat irritated frown on her porcelain face, Aideen turned back around and left the room, confidently slamming the door behind her back.

***

The lady’s bedroom was shrouded in solitary silence with only the light serenity of the crackling fireplace filling its space.

Aideen stood next to the tall window with her head pressed against the thick, cold, textured glass, her sharp hearing focused on the ominous howling song of the wind outside the castle walls.

She did not know how long it had been since she returned to her room and how exactly she ended up glued to the window, immersed in a thinking state, but her deep trance was instantly shattered once a light knocking sound touched the surface of her bedroom’s door.

"Please come in."

The moment she finished her invitation, the door swung open with a quiet creak and the woman sensed the familiar musky scent reaching its invisible hands as the person wearing it walked inside.

"Your Grace? Is the banquet over already?"

Standing before his fiancee, the Duke carefully fixed the soft shawl wrapped around the woman’s shoulders, and replied,

"Once you left, staying there seemed unbearable, Your Highness. The guys finished their meals and went back to the knights’ quarters to rest. They have an early trip back to the Capital anyway, staying up late would not have done them any good."

"I see..." Aideen lowered her head and continued in a rather apologetic tone, "I’m sorry I ruined the dinner, Your Grace. I was a bit offended so I selfishly defended my honor, but I failed to realize that my actions could turn your relationship with your subordinates sour."

Widening his eyes in bewilderment, Tillian placed his hands on top of the lady’s shoulders and shook his head,

"Do not ever apologize for something like this, My Lady! if anything, your memorable exit only made those men respect you even more!"

He tried to lighten the mood with a light scoff, recalling the good laugh they all had once Aideen left the room, but seeing how the princess still felt rather uncomfortable, he regained a serious expression once more, and continued,

"What happened there is entirely my fault."

"Your Grace––"

"You helped me recognize my error, Your Highness. I should have told you about everything I do right away, instead of trying to be overprotective and shielding you from any kind of work. Please understand that I had only good intentions in mind but, as you can tell now, good intentions can be punishable. As long as I keep you away from your rightful duties, you can never become the true lady of this land, it is perfectly clear to me now. Therefore, from this point on, if there is anything you want to do or be involved in, you can do it, My Lady. As long as it is not dangerous, of course."

Aideen could not contain her happiness. Scared at first, she was glad that Tillian finally recognized her as his equal.

"Thank you, Your Grace. I promise I will do my best to help you. Just like we agreed from the very beginning."