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One week until Chevalier’s birthday. One week.
And I still didn’t have a present for him.
I stared sightlessly at the snow-covered scenery outside the carriage window, reviewing everything in my head. The orchestra, the banquet, the theme for the decorations, the guest list—I’d arranged it all, and I had a new appreciation for what Sariel did every day. The guest list, in particular, had been a headache. This wasn’t an event that warranted inviting the entire kingdom, so I had to pick and choose, and I had to formulate a polite, acceptable apology for those who didn’t make the list. And deliver it. Over and over and over again.
It had been much easier to come up with an escape plan for Chevalier and me to leave the party early. That part of his birthday celebration was really for the kingdom, not Chevalier. I knew the quiet dinner I had planned for the two of us in his private library was the part he would enjoy.
Of course, that was also the part where I was supposed to give him a present.
What could I give a king who had an entire country at his fingertips?
“Ivetta,” breathed a voice directly in my ear.
I gasped and jumped in my seat. Clavis burst out laughing behind me. I spun to glare at him, including the two red-heads sitting across from me for good measure. Theresa had her hand over her mouth, amusement dancing in her green eyes, and Cyran, Clavis’ right-hand man, wasn’t doing any better at hiding his mirth.
“Very funny,” I said dryly. “You all switched seats.”
“Well, you weren’t answering me before,” Clavis reasoned, grinning unapologetically. “Now, what is so important that you would ignore your handsome and gracious host who is escorting you personally to his fabulous estate, which, by the way, is far superior to every other estate in Rhodolite in every way?”
Cyran rolled his eyes. “You’re so humble.”
“Thank you,” Clavis said smugly.
Theresa dropped her hand from her mouth and smirked at me. “I bet I can guess. You’re still stuck about Chevalier’s present, aren’t you? Why don’t you just get him a book and be done with it?”
“Because I always get him a new book whenever I see one he doesn’t have,” I replied. “And this is his birthday. The present needs to be special.”
“Hm. That’s concerning,” Clavis said, frowning.
I glanced over at Theresa and Cyran. She shook her head, and he shrugged. “What is?” I asked Clavis.
He sighed heavily. “Let me explain something to you, Ivetta. Chev doesn’t like parties. He’s not big on birthdays, and he doesn’t care about presents. But you’ve wasted the last three weeks planning a birthday party for him, and now, you’re wasting an entire carriage ride across a beautiful winter landscape with the very best of company trying to think of the perfect gift for a man who already has what he wants. It’s just sad, really. And I can’t let it continue.”
Cyran groaned and put his head in his hands.
“Fortunately for you,” Clavis continued brightly, “I already planned every detail of this trip down to the minute, so you won’t even have time to think about Chev.”
“Every minute?” I repeated nervously, glancing over at Theresa and Cyran again.
“If he says ‘every minute,’ he means ‘every minute,’” Cyran confirmed without lifting his head. “Sorry, Princess.”
“And we’re here!”
The early snow lent its own beauty to any setting, but the blanket of white also hid what were probably elaborate gardens, sculptures, and other assorted lavish decorations standard with the wealthiest estates around Rhodolite. I did my best to show adequate appreciation as the carriage rolled down the drive, although my mind was still wandering. This visit to Clavis’ estate, and the part of Rhodolite under his governance, made me nervous. I’d been acutely aware of his special attention toward me ever since that surprise breakfast in bed, and I knew this couldn’t remain unspoken and unresolved for much longer. He was starting to make me uncomfortable.
“Welcome to LeLouch Manor,” he said, leaping from the carriage and landing lightly on the front steps. “Your hand, milady.”
“Thank you,” I said politely, taking his hand. This was normal. This was fine.
“We’ll start with a tour,” he said, “and then we’ll have dinner—”
“Young Master Clavis,” a gray-haired man dressed as a butler interrupted as he stepped through the front doors. “A gentleman would give a lady time to settle into her room first.”
Clavis’ brows drew together just a little. “Ivetta, this is the seneschal of the estate,” he said, his tone now subdued.
“Princess Ivetta,” the seneschal said, taking my hand and bowing deeply to place a kiss on it. “Delighted to meet you. And who is this lovely lady?” he asked, straightening up and turning a kind smile on Theresa as Cyran helped her out of the carriage. She blushed and turned wide eyes on me.
“This is Theresa,” I supplied. “My maid.”
“Not just a maid if she accompanies her mistress on her travels, but a lady-in-waiting,” the seneschal corrected me. “As Lady Leticia was for the former queen. I am honored to make your acquaintance, milady.”
He bowed to Theresa and kissed her hand, too. She darted a clear look of confusion at me. I lifted my shoulders in a slight shrug.
“Did you know Lady Leticia well?” I asked the dignified older gentleman as he straightened up again.
“She was like a daughter to me. Master Clavis, will you not invite your guests in out of the cold?”
“Ah, of course,” Clavis said, oddly flustered. “Cyran, if you’ll—”
“Yeah, I know. Alright, follow the carriage, and I’ll show you guys to the stables,” he called to my guards, his usual rough, uncultured speech and movements standing in stark contrast to the refined seneschal. “She’ll be safe with Clavis until we catch up. Well…” He paused, halfway into the carriage, and then he shrugged and offered me a look of sympathy. “Safe enough, anyway.”
The carriage rolled away, with my guards following on horseback. They’d bundled up well before leaving the palace, but I still felt bad about them and Charlie having to be outside all day in the cold.
“This way, if you will, Princess Ivetta.”
The seneschal continued his interesting blend of courteous servile deference toward me and gentle fatherly direction toward Clavis, and it didn’t take long to realize this man had essentially raised both Clavis and his mother, Leticia. I smiled to myself when I thought about it later that night, when dinner and the tour had concluded and Theresa and I were getting ready for bed. He had done a good job. Yes, Clavis was a prankster and a troublemaker, but he was also a consummate gentleman. Most of the time.
“‘Lady-in-waiting,’” Theresa said. “I like that. Makes me sound all fancy.”
I hummed an acknowledgement from the bed as I opened my book. A piece of paper fell out.
“And Clavis behaves better around him, too,” she continued. “But you still need to talk to him. He’ll keep pestering you until you tell him flat out to stop it.”
I unfolded the paper and smiled at the sight of Chevalier’s beautiful cursive. He and I had taken to writing notes to each other, since government affairs had kept him busier than usual lately. I hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye to him yesterday. I wondered when he found the time to slip this into my book.
Ivetta,
I will have time to assist you with your language studies when we return to the palace. In the meantime, I suspect you will find Clavis’ unique method of governance interesting, and there are a number of shops in the area you may enjoy browsing, though you are far too concerned with finding the perfect present for me. It would be a better use of your time to explore the rather extensive library at LeLouch estate. There is a red-bound book with gold lettering on the third shelf from the floor immediately to the left of the entrance that you will like.
You can expect some unusual behavior from Clavis this visit, but do not allow it to concern you. I will handle him shortly.
Chevalier
“Are you even listening to me?” Theresa demanded. “Ivetta?”
“Oh, sorry,” I said, folding the letter again and returning it to the book. “You were saying something about Clavis?”
She frowned at me for a moment, and then her expression relaxed into a smile. “Chevalier wrote you a letter again, didn’t he?”
I nodded, the smile I’d been trying to hide breaking free. “He did.”
She climbed under the covers on her side of the bed and scooted closer to me. “Well, c’mon, let me see it.”
“I have to go to the library tomorrow,” I said, handing it to her. “I almost want to go right now, but it’s kind of late for that.”
She took a moment to read the lines, and then she asked, “How does he even do that? I know his memory is freakishly good, but how many times has he even been to this library?”
“Well, their mothers were best friends, so they probably came here often when they were children,” I reasoned.
“And ‘unusual behavior.’ Everything Clavis does is ‘unusual.’” She handed the letter back to me and flopped onto her back, pulling the covers up to her chin. “If I were you, I’d forget reading and go to sleep right now. It sounds like Clavis has a busy day lined up for us tomorrow.”
“What do you think the book is about?” I asked, rereading that line.
She rolled onto her side, away from me. “It’s probably some sappy poetry saying all the lovey-dovey stuff he’s too stoic to say himself. You know, Clavis was right about that.”
“About what?”
“About Chevalier already having what he wants. Everybody knows he only wants you. Goodnight.”
I stared at her back for a moment, eyes wide and cheeks burning. At least she hadn’t suggested I go to bed with him for his birthday. I’d been bracing myself for that jest, but it hadn’t come yet. Then again, she hadn’t even gone to bed with Leon, strangely enough.
“Goodnight,” I finally said.
She didn’t reply.
I closed the letter inside the book, set it on the nightstand, doused the candle, and laid down. Maybe she was already asleep, but I’d be staring at the ceiling for a while. Sleep never came as easily to me as it came to her. Except when I was with Chevalier.
My nightmares were becoming less frequent, and with him traveling all the time and Theresa not staying out all night with Leon, it was rare for them to happen on a night when he was there and Theresa was gone. The last time I’d slept with him was the night of the twins’ birthday party. I remembered the warmth I felt as I cuddled up to his side on the sofa in front of the fireplace, and I remembered the pleasant buzz of a glass of wine making the conversation and laughter around us more and more distant, and then I woke up in his bed.
I smiled and closed my eyes, imagining his arms around me. Maybe I wasn’t ready to take that next step, but I loved waking up to those sleepy crystal blue eyes and hearing his rough morning voice.
“Ivetta?” Theresa asked softly.
“Hm?”
She sighed and rolled over to face me. “I think I need to break things off with Leon.”
That jolted me out of my peaceful thoughts. “What? Why?”
“It’s just…” She sighed again and said, “I like him. I really do. He’s a good friend, and we have a lot of fun. But he really, really likes me. And I don’t…feel that.”
“Well, you haven’t even been dating for two months, Theresa. It takes time to develop feelings for someone.”
“It didn’t take that long for you and Chevalier.”
“Chevalier and I were…different,” I said carefully. “Going through enough life-or-death situations together makes things move quicker, I guess.”
She laughed. “Yeah, probably. So, you think I should get kidnapped by a psychopath and see what happens?”
Only Theresa could make that funny.
“No, that comes with a bunch of problems you probably don’t want to deal with,” I said, laughing, too. “How about you just talk to him?”
“Oh, yeah, that would go over great,” she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. “‘Hey, Leon, I know you really care about me, and maybe even love me, but I just think of you as a good time.’ He’ll understand that for sure.”
“If you only thought of him as a ‘good time,’ you wouldn’t be worrying about this right now,” I pointed out.
There was a moment of silence before she replied.
“No, I guess not,” she admitted.
“So, just tell him what you told me. You like him, but you don’t have feelings for him yet, and you don’t want to lead him on. Isn’t that about it?”
“Yeah, that’s the gist of it.”
“Then he can decide if he wants to keep things going. I mean, you could still develop feelings for him. Or you might not. Either way, he’ll know where things stand.”
Silence fell for a few minutes, long enough for me to wonder if she had drifted off to sleep.
“He’s the best kisser I’ve ever had,” she finally said.
I laughed. “Are you going to tell him that?”
“Of course not. You can’t tell a guy something like that, especially him and his brothers. They all have egos as big as houses.”
“True. Chevalier can be a real pain about it sometimes. He knows exactly what he does to me, and he uses that to tease me at the worst times.”
She laughed softly. “You two are really cute.”
I blushed and smiled in the dark. “Thank you.”
“Do you remember when you first started at the palace, and I told you I felt sorry for you, working for Chevalier? And that you wouldn’t stay?”
“Yes?”
“I’m glad you did.”
“Me, too."7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVNeN4vNHo
