Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Morning did not bring soft kisses and whispered vows of love.
Hugo didn’t even have the pleasure of waking to a thick, hard cock filling his ass and pounding him into oblivion.
Instead there was a pounding on his bedroom door and a frantic group of servants begging to prepare him to appear before the king and queen.
Not one servant even blinked an eye at the very naked crown prince who rolled out of Hugo’s thoroughly used bed, wrapped in the thick comforter, and sleepily shuffled toward the door.
“Wait! Aren’t you going with me?” Hugo cried out as the bevy of servants attempted to herd him into the bathroom.
Everand turned his half-open eyes to a servant. “Was I summoned as well?”
The servant vigorously shook his head while trying to avoid looking at Everand’s rumpled state.
Everand flashed Hugo a crooked grin and shrugged his shoulders. “Guess not.”
“Everand!” Hugo shouted.
The prince turned and walked over to brush a kiss across his lips. “It’ll be fine. Father wants to reward you. Come find me when he’s done. You can help me with my bath.”
That would likely put Hugo in the bath with him. The only question was whether he’d be dressed at the time.
“I was thinking of returning home after. I’ve not seen my family in days,” Hugo called out as two servants got him moving.
“Then I’ll accompany you home,” Everand announced with a wave of his hand prior to disappearing out the door. Oh yes, Hugo’s mother was going to love that.
Hugo didn’t have another second to think about it.
He was hurried through a steamy bath, dressed, and his hair styled.
Within an hour, he was standing outside a pair of tall double doors, waiting to be summoned for his meeting.
Butterflies the size of falcons had set up residence in his stomach, waiting to take flight.
He thought Everand’s assessment was correct—the king probably wanted to reward Hugo for protecting his son and heir. That wasn’t what had Hugo so unsettled.
It was his complicated past with Queen Lilianna that needed to be settled. All the truth needed to come out if he was going to have a future with Everand.
Just as Hugo feared he’d been forgotten, he was called forward.
The doors opened, and Hugo strode down the aisle of the massive throne room to the dais with his head held high and shoulders back.
He released a sigh of relief when he saw that the full court wasn’t present.
Only the king, the queen, a couple of ministers, and a scattering of servants.
As Hugo drew near, the king jumped from his throne and descended the dais to meet Hugo before he could reach where he was supposed to stop and bow. Hugo awkwardly stopped early and bowed. The king was disrupting royal etiquette, leaving Hugo scrambling.
“Your Majesties, it is an honor—”
“No! No, Mr. Baker. It is our honor to have you here today.” A firm hand clapped his shoulders and pushed him upright. “We had a long talk with our son yesterday about everything that happened regarding Wulia. He spoke highly of your efforts to protect him and broker peace with King Victor.”
“We’ve also received a letter from King Victor. It was brief, but had a glowing mention of you,” Queen Lilianna chimed in.
Hugo’s gaze darted to the queen to find that the old look of suspicion was gone, replaced with open warmth. He jerked his attention to the king as he half draped his arm across Hugo’s shoulders and ushered him toward the dais.
“I am honored, truly. My only desire was to keep His Highness safe,” Hugo stated, fighting the urge to wring his hands.
This close to the king, Hugo could see more similarities between Hubert and his son.
They possessed the same prominent brow, soft eyes, and sharp eyebrows.
Yet it seemed Everand had inherited his mouth and nose from his mother.
King Hubert’s black hair was sprinkled with gray, and wrinkles stretched from the corners of his eyes, but there was still a spry energy to him despite his years.
It didn’t appear as though he would hand off the throne to his son anytime soon.
“You’ll forgive me for doing this without the full court, but there was something we wished to discuss in private prior to making all the formal announcements with proper pomp and circumstance.
” There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone that made Hugo think the king wasn’t a fan of big, showy displays.
A smile teased Hugo’s lips. It reminded him so much of Everand. Was the prince aware of how similar he was to his father? Hugo shoved the errant thought aside and suppressed his smile.
After the king returned to his throne, one minister stepped forward.
The man wore a severe dark suit, while his neckcloth was tied in a complicated knot that swelled up under his chin.
His bald head was shiny under the lights of the massive overhead chandeliers, while a bright-red beard combed sleek covered his jaw.
He cleared his throat, removed a red leather folder from under his arm, and read aloud a lot of formal proclamation language that became white buzzing noise in his ears.
At least until the minister reached the part where Hugo would henceforth be known as the Duke of Beaurenard.
Hugo sucked in a breath and choked on it. He coughed, his face growing redder with embarrassment. He’d thought maybe the king would give him a knighthood, making him Sir Hugo Baker. But to be named a duke—that was a title he could pass down to his family.
“Naturally, there’s a nice parcel of land to go with the title near the village of Salarona,” King Hubert added with a dismissive wave of his hand, as if handing out an entire livelihood wasn’t a big deal.
“The estate is just a few hundred thousand acres, and the manor needs some work, but we’ll get the architects on it before you’re ready to venture out for a visit. Maybe for your honeymoon.”
Hugo snapped out of his daze. The sudden weakness in his knees disappeared in an instant, and he lifted his head to stare at the royal couple.
“Honeymoon?” he squeaked.
The king had made him a duke and given him a vast tract of land, possibly making him a landlord. Now he was getting married? What had Everand said to his parents?
Queen Lilianna reached over and smacked her husband’s arm. “Hush, Hubert. You’ll scare him.”
“Pfft. Scare him? He dealt with that menace king and his black knight, Ryze, with no problems. This is nothing. Everand adores him and says he’ll accept no one else. Of course, they’re going to marry,” King Hubert declared, but the queen at least looked like she wanted to consider Hugo’s feelings.
“Lord Baker,” she began, giving Hugo a jolt.
It would take some time to get adjusted to having a title.
“We know you and Prince Everand care for each other. After all that you’ve done for Everand and the kingdom, you’ve more than proved that you’re worthy of being the prince’s consort.
We would be happy to have you marry our son.
Would you be amenable to such an alliance between our families? ”
This was it.
This was the moment he had expected to happen.
His hands had become as cold as blocks of ice, and his stomach attempted to turn itself inside out.
Very carefully, Hugo dropped to his knees before the dais.
“I beg your indulgence, Your Majesties. It’s true that I love Prince Everand with all that I am.
I want nothing more than to spend my life at his side, even if I were nothing more than a lowly servant charged with polishing his boots.
Marriage to him would be a wonderful dream come true. But I cannot marry the prince.”
Everyone in the room gasped, but silence immediately descended when the queen raised her hand.
“Why can’t you marry him if you love him so much?”
“Because I owe my life to another. Your Majesty has summoned me to the castle twice and requested that I spin straw into gold. The first time, it was obvious I would lose my life if I failed. The second time it was not so clearly stated, but I feared the arrangement was the same. Today, I confess to you that I misled you. Both times, a masked man appeared in my tower cell and spun all the straw into gold. He allowed me to take the credit and saved my life. If you don’t take my life today for my deception, I feel it is only fair to offer it first to the one who saved me. ”
Hugo lifted his gaze to the royal couple. The king’s expression had grown quite smug and possessed an air of “I told you so,” while the queen had grown pale.
“Have you discussed this with Prince Everand or our masked guest?” Queen Lilianna inquired, her voice wobbling.
“Prince Everand knows of the masked man’s help but does not know that I feel I owe this man such a debt. The masked man knows nothing of my feelings of duty.”
“What if the masked man doesn’t want you?” The queen’s words grew stronger as if she were confident that she’d found a loophole to exploit.
“I’ll accept his wishes and see my debt as filled. Afterward, I would beg Prince Everand to allow me to remain at his side. I wouldn’t care if it was as his husband or as his servant.”
“I guess we should summon our masked friend,” the king announced, grinning at his wife.
The queen shot her husband a dark look as she motioned for a servant to come closer.
She whispered several things to the young woman.
She nodded and hurried out of the throne room.
While they waited, the queen dismissed the waiting ministers and all but one servant, leaving the grand throne room even emptier than it had been when Hugo first entered.
A quarter of an hour ticked by slowly. Hugo was allowed to rise, and the king passed the time by asking him many questions about Wulia and King Victor.
It was more than a little telling that King Hubert asked quite a lot about his personality and preferences, as if he wanted to get to know the man who was his nephew, not just another country’s king.