'My priority right now is my duchy, my people'

As much as Amelia wanted to look away, her eyes were glued to the duke. She hasn't seen him in months and only heard of him through his ambiguous letters that informed her nothing of anything.

Though she's aware of the stares that bore her back and judged them, she didn't mind. And it seemed that neither the duke was bothered about them too. As they continued to dance slowly, eyes fixed on each other, their breathing became one.

"How are you these past few months?" Alexander asked simply.

"You would've known if you actually tried to know about it instead of sending me a random gift and letters."

"That wasn't just a random gift," he reasoned.

"What was it then? An engagement ring?"

"Well…" Alexander tilted his head slightly to the side. "Not really. I wouldn't give my wife-to-be such a cheap ring. More of like a promise ring?"

"Promise ring, huh?"

"You didn't wear it," he sounded disappointed, but Amelia chose to ignore him. The duchess looked past him and saw Ancel's worried face and Christa, who was probably trying to formulate what kind of excuse would be appropriate to deviate from the rumors that their dance might rouse again.

"About our agreem—"

Amelia wasn't able to finish her statement when she blushed as Alexander said, "I miss you so badly that I'd like to take you away this instant and kiss you."

Stunned at his bold declaration, Amelia was at a loss for words. She kept trying to put together a reply but what came out of her were broken words, which made the duke break into a short giggle before he straightened himself again.

"Can't I?" he added, his eyes looking pleading.

Amelia felt uneasy. She wanted to look away, but every time that she did, she's pulled in by some sort of gravity making her stare at Alexander's mouth. She's aware of the judging eyes around them but there's only little she could do from where she stood. For a moment, she didn't care about it or them.

"I heard that there's a few who asked your hand for marriage. Did you decline them properly?"

"My priority right now is my duchy, my people."

"You should've told them that you're already taken." Amelia shivered when the duke's breath touched her ear. "You smell nice, but your dress showed a lot more skin than I thought your advisor would permit you to. Staring at you at a distance was torture. I felt like punching every man who came to you for a talk." Amelia blushed. He was observing her too! "I wanted to talk to you the moment I saw you, but my sister was clinging onto me, and then I got pulled into a bunch of boring conversations." Alexander rolled his eyes, and the duchess looked down to hide a chuckle.

After a while, Amelia said, "Well, to me, you didn't look a bit dejected. It even seems to me that you were enjoying yourself being surrounded by a bunch of ladies that were clearly vying for your favor. And they wore far revealing clothes with cleavages that could fit a silverware or two than me." Amelia looked the other way, but her maddened eyes quickly gave her away. The Duchess didn't realize how annoyed she sounded until she saw the duke's playful smile.

Amelia tried to hide her embarrassment by glaring at Alexander. And though her face was red to her ears, she denied any teasing and asked that they end the dance. But the duke wasn't buying it, and he even slid his hand a tad lower for comfort.

"What do I do?" Alexander whispered, chirpier, "I'm so happy it's kind of hard to keep a straight face." Amelia's brow raised when the duke turned to look elsewhere. "Ah… I want to kiss you right now, but I can't," he murmured, and the duchess' mouth gaped as she felt him tug her a little closer. "Can I?"

The duchess blushed again and suddenly felt a little dizzy. Her heart throbbed so much she could hear it. He must be crazy, Amelia thought. Was he so deprived of bodily desires that all he could talk about was kissing? And his hand!

Silence befell between the two rulers, and just when the music was about to end, Amelia let out a sigh of relief when Alexander stopped to look back at Piers, smiling at them even though the air around him felt entirely different.

"Since the music's about to end, I'd love to dance with Lia too." The two men had a short but intense staring moment before the duke stepped back and bowed. He glared at Piers once more before he left, but Duke Mulford's son waved at him in jest.

"Well, that was… intense," Piers kidded as he looked back at Alexander before bowing to the duchess, "Aren't you relieved to see me, my dear sister?" he asked, beaming from ear to ear.

"I don't know what you're talking about…." Amelia answered, averting his querying eyes.

"If you stare at each other so passionately like that, people will start to talk. Looking at you both was cringing, you know that? Like bleh!" Piers faked vomiting to ease the duchess and continued to say, "It won't be long until people start finding out that you two are engaged for real."

"How did you—"

"Uhm, you just told me," Piers grinned, and Amelia almost stopped breathing. She forgot how the second Mulford son mastered a way of taking information right from other people's mouths. "Personally, Lia, I don't know how that duke would deal with the emperor and his law that forbids marriage between two rulers of a duchy, but I must admit, I don't hate how happy you looked when you saw him."

"Happy? Me?" Amelia scoffed.

"You've been worried about something since the start of the ball—heck, the moment you arrived here, I knew that something was bothering you. We were inseparable, remember? I'd know you just by looking." Piers smiled at her, and Amelia lowered her head, a little embarrassed. "Sure, you talked and smiled, and whatnot to other people, but when that duke stood in front of you? Your face brightened instantly. Though I'd have to hand it to him, he also looked completely enamored of you."

They looked like that? Amelia wanted to melt onto the floor in evaporate in the air. She didn't know if she should be happy that Piers approved or anxious that he knew about them. Piers knowing about it wasn't so bad since she could trust him but telling her all those observations of his was too much for the duchess.

"The rumor might intensify after tonight, and you should also be extra careful, sister. There's a lot of people out there who doesn't like you two separately what more if you unite your houses? And probably…" he stopped to think, "I'll give three days at most until you're called by the emperor. He's not going to stay quiet about this after the blatant display of affection, you know."

Piers was right. With how things looked between them earlier, they might as well just announce their engagement to everyone. They were lucky that even with how the rumors about them have been going around for a while, the emperor has yet to take any action towards it when he should be. Any more and it might escalate to something else soon enough.

They shouldn't be fanning the smoke this early yet.

It's not the right time.

"Don't worry, though," Amelia looked at Piers with furrowed brows, "With Clement's notorious rumors, there would still be a person or two who would say that he's just seducing you for personal gains." He patted Amelia's head and placed his forefinger between her brows, "Though, I don't want to say this—and it pains me to say this—don't believe all the rumors about him. He has… some good points too. And remember," Piers smiled at the duchess one last time before distancing himself, "We're all here for you. You know that, right?"

When Amelia looked around and realized that the music already ended, she curtsied low, and Piers escorted her to where her advisor and the others have gathered. They welcomed the duchess back with a smile, but the lack of questions on the subject of her dancing with the duke made Amelia a little tensed.

Thankfully, that feeling was short-lived, and Amelia was able to enjoy herself until the end. There were a few dances before the celebration ended, and the duchess tried to look for Duke Mulford so she could ask him for a dance, but he was busy entertaining his guests that he had barely any time to do anything else. And since she knew that the duke would drop things for her, she didn't dare to ask him.

It was past midnight when the ball ended, but anyone who wished to stay behind was welcome to do so. There's still plenty of food and wine to go around.

Most of the people who stayed were either staying for business or for romance—or perhaps for both. Others left early to have some time to enjoy the festivity being held at Aclador's town square, while some left early to go home.

Amelia was tired too, and her eyes were heavy. When the duke finally had some free time, she greeted him with another happy birthday and said they would have plenty of time to talk tomorrow. Her eyes also darted at Leticia, supported by Alexander's secretary, who waved goodbye at her at a distance, looking a little drunk. Scanning the hall once more, the duchess saw Alexander still talking to some men in suits at one corner of the hall with his personal knight staying at a distance.

Her shoulders felt a little stiff, so Arabella offered to take the duchess' cape so she could relax a little. Piers also came to her and teasingly informed Amelia that her fiancé and his companions rented a manor at the town square and have been in Aclador for days before the celebration.

Though the last bit of information about Alexander confused the duchess, she still nodded and covered her mouth as a yawn escaped from her. But just when everything seemed to end peacefully, Amelia was alerted by Christa, who was standing beside her, looking at the others who were still going around the hall.

"That one looked awfully dubious," she murmured. When the duchess turned to see what she meant, Christa stopped her, saying, "No, don't look. Just nod your head and smile at me."

Confused and downright curious, it took Amelia a lot of restraint not to look back. As much as she could remember, there's probably only a handful of guests left. Vance already excused himself to talk to someone, and Arabella and Ancel went to say farewell to a family friend coming from another kingdom. So, only Christa was with her and Laila at a short distance.

"He keeps on looking this way and is being calculative." The lady said as she pretended to look around the hall, waving at whoever she felt like waving at. Amelia, too, bowed her head and waved to those in her line of sight.

"What does he look like?"

"A manservant. Slim, a bit on the short side. Face looks normal." Christa managed to joke around. "He just refilled his tray with more champagne even though it's unnecessary. He just looked around to see where Mr. Vance and the others are." Christa sneered, and the duchess was surprised at how the daughter of her best tactician behaved, "Sometimes I'm glad how others see us ladies as harmless beings."

The duchess giggled. What Christa said was true. For sure, no one would know about a daughter of a Marchioness and what she's capable of. Though understandably, no one would suspect Christa as someone well-versed in physical combat as a form of self-defense. But news about Amelia being raised and trained by the Mulfords should have been known by the entire empire after the commotion at the Gathering.

So, what's the point of attacking her despite that fact?

"He probably has a small dagger with him. You know how to dodge a frontal attack, right?" Christa whispered worriedly. "By the looks of it, he only has one chance to do this. I'm going to give you a signal when he comes by, so face him not a second late, or there would definitely be blood tonight."

"Who do you think I am?" Amelia smirked, but at the back of her mind, she was already seething. People who killed her parents, and the ones who tried to poison her, must be so impatient to kill her that even at the Mulford's palace, they came to get her.

But she's not going down without a fight again this time.

No, not anymore.

A few moments later after playing pretend with Christa, she noted the lady shifted her gaze and suddenly cleared her throat. But given the suddenness of what happened next, Christa couldn't help but let out a shriek when Laila screamed upon seeing what transpired on her way back to the duchess' side.

Though everything went fast, to Amelia, it was all too slow. By the time the lady beside her cleared her throat, she quickly turned to face her attacker with enraged eyes. The duchess pivoted on one foot to get out of the manservants' line of sight. She then grabbed his wrist with one hand and the other at the base of his neck. And with all her might, Amelia shouted, pushing the man as hard as she could, twisting his arm that forced him to lose the small dagger he was hiding inside along the cuff of his sleeve, which Christa was quick to kick away.

With her knee and her weight pinning the man down, Amelia grabbed his other arm and twisted it so both of his hands were on his back.

The man was no bigger than Ancel. He was skinny and short. Rather than a man, he looked like another boy.

A recollection of what happened at the dungeon came back to Amelia, and her eyes shook. She had loosened her grip a little, and the man was quick to notice. He immediately took the opportunity and forced himself free, pushing the duchess onto the floor.

The ladies' yells hurt Amelia's ears, and the frantic commands of the men in the hall aggravated her even more so.

"Not again!" The duchess almost cursed as her heart raced, and her face reddened as she struggled against her dress and heeled shoes to stand so she could at least get ahold of even the man's clothes. But when it slipped from her fingers, instead of calling for her knight or her lady assassin, or anyone from her House, Amelia yelled, "Alexander!"

Amelia shouted it from her subconscious. But as if the duke were suddenly teleported in front of the manservant, the sound of a heavy fist landing on flesh and breaking a couple bones echoed slightly throughout that hall and the attacker fell back with a strong thud against the marbled floor.

"Jyver!" the duke shouted, and his knight was immediately behind him. Arabella and Ancel arrived too, surprised. The lady assassin ran towards the duchess, and her brother helped Jyver take the unconscious manservant away.

"Duchess!" Christa fell beside her, inspecting her for any cuts or injuries.

"Lia! Duchess!" it's Vance.

"Cice, are you okay?" Alexander asked, out of breath, his hands cupping her face.

"I think I ripped the back of my gown," the duchess said tonelessly as Christa and Arabella helped her up. Once she was up, Alexander undid his cape and placed it on Amelia. He was about to walk her out of the hall when the duchess' secretary came between them, the palm of his hand touching the duke's chest.

"Thank you, Duke Clement. I can take it from here." The old advisor said, putting his arm around the duchess' shoulders. "Duke Mulford, I am sorry to ruin your celebration."

"It's okay. Just bring Lia back to her room. I'll take care of things here." The duke said, and he called his knights to escort everyone back to their quarters.

Looking back, Amelia clenched on Alexander's cape tighter as concerned eyes followed her before turning his back when one of his knights came.

**********

Morning came, but sleep didn't visit the duchess at all. As Amelia looked to her right, the sun's rays were starting to peek through the thick drapes. Returning her gaze back to the ceiling of her canopied bed, she let out a long sigh—that would be another few years off of her life.

After the turmoil at the grand hall, Amelia humored about how Madame Camelia would be mad at what happened to her dress to lighten the mood, but none of them were laughing with her. When she was done changing, Vance came through the door with Duke Mulford. They both checked on her and informed her that Ayland and the Mulford brothers were worried but were told not to come since she needed to rest.

But rest was the last thing she wanted. Sleep was nowhere to be found.

Since she laid her back on the bed after changing into her nightgown, Amelia kept thinking if it would be like the last time. If she's going to sneak into the garden again and be brought to a dungeon where she's going to kill another person for the sake of the so-called justice.

The duchess asked herself again and again if she could kill her attacker better this time. If seeking justice for herself won't be so heavy to bear as the last time. If she could do it without her hand trembling and heart racing. There were a lot of ifs that needed answering.

With one sharp inhale, the duchess grabbed her blanket and pushed it aside. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she heard carriages drawn somewhere, so Amelia got up and went to one side of her window. She peeked through the drapes and saw carriages being filled with the visitors' luggage. Some were already at the palace gates. Not far in the distance, the duchess saw Elias talking to some people—he must've woken early to see his father's guests off.

Looking at the clock, it was only a few minutes past six. Amelia looked around and saw a pitcher of water on the side table. Though her throat was dry, she ignored it thinking that someone might've slipped something again. She should be more cautious.

Amelia laid down at the small, cushioned bench at the foot of her bed, one knee folded, and the other stretched as she elevated it on the bench's arm.

There's still two hours before it's time for her ladies-in-waiting, staying in the room next to her, to wake her up.

Not long after, as sleep finally started to creep in, the duchess brought her arm over her eyes while the other rested on her torso.