Crazy Duke and Fallen Queen [Side Stories]

Summer in Kyre is beautiful.

The temperature rises, and the wind isn't as icy as during the rest of the year. One can dare to wear fewer clothes and ride in the wild.

Autumn will be warm as well, just like the last two I witnessed. It's just winter that is really cold, but the rest of the year is quite enjoyable.

Alexander and I spent most of our private time walking in the gardens or playing with Lavinia under the shadows of a tree.

The little ball's black curls have grown, and her hair now frames her round face and big eyes.

Today, to her and my future husband's extreme joy, she spent the whole morning with Alexander. I had to get ready for the ceremony, so he decided to take care of my daughter.

He should get ready too, but he's not as excited as the first time we got married. Or the second. He's kind of used to it.

«My Lady, the hair is done,» the maid says before taking a step back and holding a mirror to let me see the back of my head.

«Good,» I approve.

Unlike the first time, I'm not wearing red. This time, I'm all in white. A bit hypocritical, given that I already have a daughter. But, whatever. Alexander provided me with a gown that could suit Polis's uses for the first wedding.

This time, I will follow Kyre's traditions.

The sapphire that the late Empress Grandmother gifted me is already in my hair, fulfilling half of the tradition Martia told me about.

It's old, and it's blue. The dress is new, as every wedding dress these days.

I just need something borrowed, and I'm good.

Lady Lyana walks in with a white, candid purse. Oh, that one isn't mine.

«My Lady, if you haven't borrowed anything yet, it would be my honour to help.»

«Oh,» I chuckle. «I was just considering the matter. You're always there to save me, lady Lyana.»

«Also, the guards told me that a carriage from the capital has just arrived.»

«They made it in time,» I sigh.

My sister in law knew about the marriage from the beginning. She's also the first one whom I wrote to tell about Alexander's decision.

She's most probably the only one that understood my reasons. And she's happy that I gave her brother a chance to choose.

Even if it would have been complicated to have children without marriage. Not because of us, of course. Because of all the papers that we would have needed to sign to allow our offspring to have Alexander's name and right of succession.

«You're ready, my Lady,» my lady in waiting says after analysing my figure. «But we absolutely can't be there on time!»

«What?»

I'm in a bit of a hurry to get married here.

«The bride has to be late.»

«I don't like being late,» I point out.

«It's tradition!»

Are the people around here manipulating me with the excuse of traditions? Oh, whatever.

I don't like the thought of making Alexander wait any longer. He'll stand there, in front of the castle dwellers, alone. And I? I'll stand here, still alone.

We're better when we're together: that's a given.

«Five minutes,» lady Lyana compromises when she sees my expression.

Alexander and I spent months engaged.

It was a nice period: we would have dates, walk in the gardens and talk. My dear also bought me gifts every time he came back from a long journey, and I embroidered many of his shirts. Every single one he forgot in my room after a secret encounter.

He would also be proper at every moment, never touching me in public and looking for a dark corner before dragging me there to kiss. Such a perfect fiancée.

I also played my part accordingly, telling him to wait and pretending to resist every time. But then, I wanted his hands on me even more than him.

The sweetest moments were with Lavinia. Alexander never skipped a day without seeing her, even when he was too busy to meet me.

He would send Pericle to fetch our daughter and bring her to the office. Somehow, the little ball didn't mind being dispatched from one side to the other like a letter.

She even started liking Pericle. My husband's aide became her second nanny, after Kate.

Oh, Kate! She's already in the garden with the guest, isn't she? In the end, there was a knight that caught her attention. I didn't play the matchmaker in this case because my handmaid was faster and knew what she was doing.

She just asked permission to marry because, apparently, servants aren't free to form families without asking their lords here in Ethiro.

«I expect high profits this autumn, my Lady,» lady Lyana comments, observing my wedding dress with a grin. «The noblewomen of Kyre will for once bring a trend to the capital, I'm sure of it.»

«With Princess Lyland acting as a proxy, they'll order as many of the new models as possible,» I chuckle.

Lady Lyana, contrarily to Kate, doesn't seem to have any intention of getting married. It's not my business, and I won't ask her if she doesn't want to talk about it.

Moreover, if she stays here forever, I'll have one of the most skilled businesswomen in the continent working for me. Who could have imagined that such a shy and reserved lady would have fun in a world of men?

I sent her to procure some raw materials for one of our businesses a few months ago. She got them at such a price that even Diogenes would have felt embarrassed.

«I've asked the right people, my Lady,» she had explained back then. «The merchants that are louder often lie about price and quality.»

She's been a valid assistant for both my private businesses and the Lady's duties.

Before we have time to leave, Princess Lyland appears at the door.

«I've found you, sister, finally!» she exclaims. «You should have chosen a room closer to Xander's. There are plenty as large as this one.»

«I will move into the Lord's room soon,» I reply. Then, I walk to Martia and offer her my hand.

She holds it, happy that I allow physical contact. She's so similar to Alexander in this matter. They both communicate through their skin.

«Where is my niece, by the way?» she inquires, looking in every corner in search of the little ball.

«With her father,» I say.

Thinking of it again, being late won't have much of an effect. Father and daughter must be having fun together, at this very moment.

I don't even feel guilty for making them wait. Not anymore.

«Oh, I can take care of your child for a couple of days,» Martia offers, grinning with Kyre's signature evil grin.

«There's no need,» I chuckle. Alexander and I won't close in a room to fulfil duties. Not for two days, I remember with a sigh.

«Also, I hope you don't mind if Bertha came with me.»

Bertha Grahm? I'm not sure I don't mind. But yet, she helped me in the most dangerous moment.

«Of course not. My husband's relatives are always welcome,» I say with a big smile. Maybe, I should have avoided so much emphasis on the word relatives.