Chapter Seventeen – Kalon
A Peculiar Woman
“Where is my fiancée?”
Hayes looked at me wearily. “In her office, sir, as her note said.”
I unclipped the heavy cape from my neck and tossed it on an empty chair. “And why is she in her office and not greeting me outside?”
“She’s busy with her work and discovering how much of a ‘corrupt bastard’ the previous duke was.” He paused, then held up his hands. “That’s her description, not mine.”
I flattened my hands on the desk. “She said that? Out loud?”
“The corrupt bastard part? Yes. I asked her to be mindful of her language, and she told me she would ‘call a spade a spade and a bastard a bastard’ if she so pleased.”
I barely restrained myself from laughing. “She may use whatever language she sees fit. You know I don’t care about such things.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
“Ark, what is this ‘work’ she’s busy with? She’s barely been here for ten days and has no staff other than the maids who accompanied her.” I turned to my most trusted butler. “Is she redesigning the gardens or something? Ordering dresses?”
Ark coughed into his hand and straightened up.
Something awfully similar to pride flickered over his face.
“No, Your Highness. Her Ladyship has been spending time observing the knights’ training to select her personal knight and asked Sir Otto about monsters.
During the conversation, she found out about the purpose of your expedition and was quite upset about the lack of aid available to victims of monster hunts. ”
I grunted and sat down, pulling the first stack of paperwork towards me. “That’s always been the case. That cowardly bastard left behind more money than one could spend in a lifetime but no real policies. I’ve been too busy to do anything about it, despite my best efforts.”
“Which is why Lady Alicia has decided to create an aid policy for the victims of monster hunts.”
I stilled.
She was what?
“Say that again.”
“Her Ladyship has been working on an aid policy for the victims of monster hunts,” Ark repeated with a sparkle in his old eyes. “Her immediate attention has been on creating an emergency fund to assist those from the Baldor Village. She’s been reviewing the financial statements to allocate funds.”
She was what?
“That’s a great deal of work. How is she faring?”
“Very well,” Hayes answered. “In fact, she’s remarkably bright. Her ideas are beyond anything we could have put together, as much as it pains me to admit.”
Strange.
“Has she always been this intelligent? It doesn’t line up with what I heard about her.” I tapped my fingers against the desk. “That goes above and beyond the duties of a Grand Duchess, never mind the daughter of a marquess. A policy like this is more suited to the Council.”
Or it would be if they were educated.
Fuck. While I didn’t regret rewarding true heroes of Stein with nobility, it wasn’t a secret that they didn’t have the education to draw this sort of thing up. My actions would be beneficial in the future, but for now, we were doomed to struggle.
Hayes cleared his throat. “She was very studious when she was younger, sir. From what I read in the report on her, Marquess Vermillion put a lot of stock into her education. What she received was arguably befitting of a Crown Princess, although I’m not sure Her Ladyship realises it.”
That would make sense.
I knew how my father and stepmother felt about Lady Alicia Vermillion, so the marquess would certainly be aware she was their first choice for Crown Princess. I had been, and that was exactly why I’d been shocked when my father had acquiesced to my request to marry her.
I also knew how incensed Eudocia had become when she’d found out.
“Hmm.” I clasped my hands in front of me and rested my chin on them. “Her maternal family is the Lovetts, is that right?”
He nodded. “Ivelle Lovett is her mother and the Marquess’ first wife. Her brother, Duke Lovett, was consulted on your engagement and gave his consent.”
“Interesting. The Lovetts have little power in the empire since their divine power waned. I wonder why the marquess asked his permission.”
“I’m not sure. We were unable to plant anyone in either the Vermillion or Lovett household until recently.”
“Where did we succeed?”
“The Vermillions. Lady Alicia brought two maids with her, and Illusion was able to send someone to replace one of those maids a few days ago.” Sir Hayes put an envelope in front of me. “Apparently, the marchioness and Lady Sophia have been furious over Lady Alicia’s engagement to you.”
“That explains why the marquess mentioned his other daughter when we met to negotiate terms, but he didn’t seem surprised when I told him it was Alicia I was directly proposing to.
” I pulled the report out and glanced over it.
“The marchioness had her sights set on the Crown Prince for Lady Sophia?”
Ark coughed. “Yes, Your Highness, you’re correct. It appears the marchioness has high hopes for her daughter’s marriage, but Lady Sophia’s education is lacking in comparison to Lady Alicia’s.”
“Was she not offered the same educational opportunities?”
“She was, but the marchioness had Lady Sophia socialising from a very young age. That took valuable time away from the young lady’s studies.”
Ha.
The difference between the two sisters ran deeper than their maternal blood, it seemed.
Of course, Illusion had also told me the rumour that Sophia had been the one who pushed Alicia down the stairs. I’d initially been sceptical when Jinx passed that on, but the more I heard, the more viable I thought that rumour to be.
And the inexplicable anger I felt over it…
“As far as I know, my father wasn’t considering second daughters for Torin unless the first daughter was already married. She would never be an option.”
“It is as you say. The marchioness has been seeking marriage proposals from ducal houses ever since, but the most powerful houses are reluctant given their recent scandal. The Alansias and Trelawneys both had their eyes on Lady Alicia, so are unwilling to marry their heirs to her younger sister.”
Yes.
Ezra Alansia had made that point clear to me with all his grumbling about how I’d apparently swept in and stolen his wife at the last minute.
I chuckled. “The marchioness should consider herself lucky if they entertain Sophia as an option for their second sons, what with her behaviour. All the nobles in the capital will know what tricks she’s been up to.”
“Indeed.” Ark handed me another envelope. “This is a report on Lady Alicia’s activities since she arrived.”
“Let me read this.” I opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside, quickly scanning over them.
Ha.
So, she had an altercation with Hayes on her arrival, buttered up Ark and Ingrid, almost put the head chef in an early grave with her compliments, and had been befriending the knights by plying them with refreshing drinks and snacks while observing their training.
Only to ultimately hear about the expedition to Baldor Village and turn into a humanitarian politician.
What an eventful few days for my darling fiancée.
I sat back in my chair and rubbed my chin, enjoying the feeling of my lips curving into a smirk. For someone who’d been so mouthy and hostile during our dance at the spring ball, she’d certainly made herself at home here in the castle since her arrival.
“What a peculiar woman,” I remarked, putting the report down on my desk. “Who’s been assisting her on this aid project until now?”
“I have,” Hayes said. “You said you wanted to wait until you returned to appoint her staff, so I offered my services.”
Mm. He knew all too well how devastating these monster attacks could be to the lower classes, so it wasn’t surprising that he’d decided to help her despite his initial dislike.
“Continue to do so,” I ordered. “You have personal experience with this type of situation, and she will ultimately have to present this to the Council for approval. Draw up a list of suitable aide candidates while you work with her. Ark will assist me in the meantime.”
“But sir—”
“Sir Hayes, you’re the leader of the Stein Knights. Don’t be a baby. After all, you have a lot of grovelling to do where she’s concerned, don’t you?” I met his eyes and gripped my sword. “Or would you rather face punishment for disrespecting my fiancée?”
He tensed. “She said she forgave me!”
“But I didn’t.” I smiled flatly at him. “You forgot your place, you insolent little shit, so think of this as your penance.”
Hayes sighed, sagging. “I will assist her to the best of my ability, sir.”
“What about her knight? If she’s been observing them, she’s surely got a person in mind. House Vermillion produces the best knights in the empire. Some of our knightage started their training there before they were sent to the palace and ultimately settled here.”
“Forgive me, but I have no idea. She often comes with one of her maids and observes quietly before bringing us refreshments in our breaks, but she’s shown no favouritism.”
“I hope the knightage aren’t finding themselves too spoilt.”
“No, sir. If anything, they work harder than ever to impress Her Ladyship. It’s rather boosted the general morale.”
I supposed that was never a bad thing.
“Your Highness, there is one knight she’s taken notice of.” Ark pulled a sheet of paper from his breast pocket and handed it over. “Lady Alicia asked me about her the day she arrived.”
“Dame Alexandrina Draper. Interesting.” I looked at Hayes. “Any reason why she’d pick her out of all the knights available?”
“Not at all. Rina accompanied us on Lady Alicia’s arrival, but I don’t believe they’ve had any interactions since then.”
I tilted my head to the side as I scanned the profile on Dame Alexandrina. The third child and only daughter of Count Draper and a talented swordswoman who had a record of besting several First Order knights.
She was indeed qualified to guard Alicia, but why did Alicia ask about her specifically?
“Hmm. Ark, did you say my fiancée is in her office?”