NanNan

He could only be relieved he had the foresight to send Davier to watch over Olivia's return to the Castle. He just wished her return had not been so secretive and full of peril. He wanted her to return in splendor. Especially after the way he had sent her off.

His NanNan still wasn't speaking to him after that incident. Hopefully Olivia could help him with that. He was raised by her. She was the one who taught him how to be a man. This was why she was so upset at him after doing that to Olivia's reputation. Now though, he had chosen to marry Olivia. His NanNan should be okay with him now...right?

He really hoped so.

Adarian signed off on the imprisonment of Greyson. He would keep the man imprisoned as collateral. He was not ready to arrest the Marquis yet. He would wait until he had more evidence against Graciella and the Marquis.

Adarian finally finished his paperwork about an hour before dinner. He didn't realize it, but having Olivia at his side, even if she was just reading and not doing anything else, helped him to be more productive.

He was still expecting to have to do more paperwork tomorrow, but he had somehow finished it all today before dinner. How was it that having a distraction in his office made him more productive?

He could hear her breathe, and he could hear and see her every movement. He could tell married life with her would be peaceful. She just sat there quietly most of the time. She didn't try to fill the silence with any chatter. But the silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was nice and cozy. He could practically see the years ahead of him with her, and he felt that it would be very peaceful. There was a huge difference between peaceful and boring though. With Olivia's personality, he could tell, life with her would never be boring.

Because Adarian had finished his work so early, he had nothing to do, an hour before dinner time. He looked over at Olivia still reading, She had gotten much further in the book than he thought she would considering the way she struggled with it at first. He had put away the account book with her scrap paper in it. When he checked the numbers again, if at that time she wasn't present he would at least be able to look at her handwriting.

He tapped her hand to get her attention, "are you at a good stopping point?"

Olivia looked at him, and then his empty desk. She closed the book, "We're done?" She smiled at him. At least she had found some interesting things in that history book. It started so boring, but it got better as she got used to the writing style. Somehow she powered through it by reading the really boring parts mimicking the voice of that one teacher in the 80's movie Ferris Bueller's day off.

"Mmhm," He looked at her and wondered if he could ask her for this favor. He knew it was better to ask her. She might say no, but that was the worst that could happen. "Can I ask you something?"

Olivia nodded with a questioning look.

"Will you come with me to talk to NanNan?" He felt slightly embarrassed asking his wife to come talk to his nanny. He had always called her NanNan since he was a young child. It was a term of endearment at this point. He would never stop calling her by that name.

Olivia smiled. She had met very few people in this world. But she remembered the lady who was in the room with her and the king when she woke from her fever. She liked her a lot. She nodded in agreement as she smiled. "I like her."

Adarian smiled. He was glad Olivia liked his NanNan. "She raised me" he explained as he walked out of the office with her. In the hallway, he asked one of the butlers where she was at.

…

…

Olivia was a little astonished at the way Adarian approached the woman. He had grabbed some flowers from the garden on his way to meet her, and put them in a small bouquet. As he did so he explained why his NanNan was angry with him. He asked her to play along.

NanNan was cleaning the windows in one of the parlors. "NanNan," Adarian called out timidly as she went in. The woman turned and bowed slightly without really responding.

Olivia made an 'Oh' with her lips not saying it out loud. She had never seen anyone treat a king like this. 'Is this ok? Didn't most people respect the monarchs of a country because the whole {Off with their heads} sort of thing?'

"NanNan, I want to introduce you to someone." Adarian pushed the small of Olivia's back to stand beside him. "I brought her here yesterday, so I could Marry her."

NanNan looked up and saw Olivia. She remembered how sensible the girl was a few days ago waking up in the king's bed. She had been so calm through the entire ordeal. But she also noted the girl's innocent reactions. How was it here were so many rumors surrounding such an innocent thing. She knew how to judge someone's character pretty well. There were always small tell-tale signs when someone had a fake reaction. Olivia didn't give out any fake reactions that she could notice.

Olivia also remained kind even after the King had left the room. She didn't take out her frustrations on them like a lot of other Nobles would have done. She had even been expecting Olivia to act out because the King had left her like that, possibly ruining her relationship with her Fiance.

NanNan liked Oscar when he was young, but as he got older, he changed. That boy was too different in his outward actions. Then he had an affair with his cousin, the king's wife. That had destroyed the last shred of respect she had for Oscar. Even if she thought Oscar deserved punishment, his royal majesty didn't have to drag a sweet girl like Olivia into it. That was the real reason she was mad at the king. And she let him know it too. But now this sweet girl was standing before her, politely being introduced.

"Hello," Olivia called out. She didn't quite feel comfortable calling the woman NanNan. She still hadn't heard the woman's real name. "Nice to meet you. Officially I mean." She smiled slightly and bit her lip out of nervousness.

Adarian looked at her thinking he was really going to have to talk to her about biting her lip. She would have to stop or he was going to start biting it for her.

NanNan saw the way Adarian looked at Olivia. She was pleased. Adarian had fallen for the girl in such a short time. Did he not realize the difference in how he treated Olivia? She was also glad because he had listened to her words. She had told him his grudge with Oscar was understandable, but his actions, ruining an innocent girl just to satisfy his own revenge was beneath him. She had taught him better than that. She had been so disappointed. But now he brought Olivia over. He must have spoken to her yesterday, and somehow fallen in love during that short time.

This was good. She smiled at Olivia, "Please call me NanNan."

Olivia smiled and nodded, "NanNan, Thank you for raising him."

NanNan really approved of this girl. In this girl's eyes she had been elevated in status. She smiled at Adarian. "You're getting married?" He beamed a big smile back at her. She had forgiven him! "Yes. Once she completes her Royal training we'll get married. But I already consider her my wife."

Olivia stiffened a bit. 'He's really laying it on thick trying to win her over isn't he? Does he really think she'll believe him?'

NanNan did. She gobbled it up. She saw Olivia's reaction and saw that Adarian still had not completely won the girl over, but he did seem to gain her trust so far.

Olivia looked at the interactions between Adarian and NanNan, who had never even been mentioned in the novel, 'Thinking back on it, Adarian's character is also very different from the Novel. In the novel he was much more overbearing. He was aloof, and at the start of their marriage, cruel to Graciella. But in this reality he is so sweet all the time. He's really adorable. Why is everything so different?'