Donna watched as the two lovebirds made their way through the hallway. She didn’t sense any danger, but it was still wise to keep within distance. With that, she gave Marquis Hannington a quick bow.
“We’ll be on our way then,” she told him. “I’m sure we’ll have more time to talk soon in our liege’s palace.”
“Right…” the Marquis said. “I’ll see you soon then, Donna.”
As Donna turned to leave, Marquis Hannington called out to her one last time. She turned around to meet his gaze.
“Keep a close eye on the Duke,” he warned. “I don’t want our liege to get mixed up between him and the king, but it seems inevitable.”
Donna noted it down in her memory. She nodded at the Marquis and turned back around to leave. Marquis Hannington stood there in the middle of the hallway for a little bit, watching Donna’s back get smaller.
He sighed, “Please be careful, my liege.”
He continued to walk towards the direction of High Priest Skylark’s office.
—
We quickly made our way to the palace. As the gates came into view, we simply went inside. When it came to the concubine palace, guards were mostly stationed to a designated concubine. Fantasia didn't have any guards, so she comes and goes as she pleases. That's how you know how insignificant the king thought she was. The tea set was just icing on the cake.
As soon as we reached the front entrance, a male voice called out from outside. It was the chamberlain, August Winifred. I've never truly seen him. Donna would tell me how he's in charge of keeping things organized in the palaces.
His shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes complimented his stoic expression. Skin of ivory. He wore a black and white suit like a butler, but was far from one.
I heard Donna's voice, "Hello, Mr. Winifred. Are you here to greet our liege?"
That would be a bone-faced lie. There's no way that the chamberlain, another supporter of the king, would be here to greet the deposed queen.
"Our liege needs to see his majesty immediately," August said to her.
"May I ask why? His majesty never summoned our liege in the past three years."
"You shouldn't be questioning the summons of his majesty when you're just a lowly servant. Know your place, Donna."
Excuse me?
When I heard August badmouth Donna, somewhere deep in the pit of my soul roared. My left eye glowed in slight annoyance to the chamberlain. Damien, who sat across from me quietly, noticed the glow and leaned forward. He placed a hand on my cheek and forced eye contact with me.
I can't deal with his seductive eyes right now, but it definitely calmed me down a little.
"We'll have to work on your emotions," Damien sighed. "Stay here, I'll deal with this situation."
"You're just going into the lion's den? Just like that?" I asked him, my left eye still glowing.
"If I don't, you might activate your Sword. We'll have an even bigger issue on our hands then."
I guess being upset would make Donna's powers activate. Or maybe if I wish for something to happen out of anger? I'll have to ask my mother when I go to sleep tonight.
For right now, it's best to keep a low profile and stick to the plan. Letting Damien handle it will give fuel to the rumors as well.
I nodded, "Go ahead. I'll be right here."
He smiled slyly, "Good."
He planted a small peck on my forehead again. Oh my goodness gracious, I just got done calming down. Pink tinted my cheeks as I lowered my head to be away from his gaze.
With that being said, the door opened and Damien stepped out to confront the chamberlain.
—
It's just like King Victor said.
The chamberlain, August, was standing in front of Duke Silvercrest's carriage. It was obvious that Lady Everdeen was inside. He just needed to drag her out and put her in front of the king to answer for the rumors that had been circulating.
That woman may not be the queen anymore, but she's still one of the king's wives. She should have some tact and stop ruining the reputation of the royal family.
It would be easier for the king to just divorce her and send her back to her homeland. Many nobles voiced in favor of that opinion as well, but he refused for the sake of peace.
Lady Everdeen should be honored to be in the position that she's in. Instead, she's going around the kingdom, giving her body up any chance she gets just for an ounce of attention.
And to the king's brother, no less! She must have gone mad.
The rumors alone were humiliating enough. Riding the Duke's carriage to the concubine palace after spending the night? What a disgrace to this kingdom.
Even Donna, the impertinent maid, accompanied the promiscuous concubine on her excursion. August doesn’t even think that she tried to stop her. For all he knows, the maid was probably fooling around as well.
She had the audacity to question the king’s motives for summoning his own wife. No one cares how long it’s been since they’ve last seen each other. If you receive a summons, you must answer. Otherwise, it’s considered treason.
So he did what he does best and belittled the maid for simply not obeying. He’s in charge of staffing and making sure the palaces are in order anyway. If he really wanted to, he could simply fire her. No need to waste the royal budget on another maid for an ungrateful concubine.
But then, something caught August’s eye. It was Donna’s eyes. He made eye contact for a quick second and her brown eyes flickered with red steady flames. When she blinked, the flames disappeared.
“What was that?” August asked.
“What was what, Mr. Winifred?” Donna asked, confused.
“Your… Nevermind. Forget it.”
Donna continued to look confused. August swore that her eyes were on fire for a second. His thought process was cut off by the sound of the carriage door opening. Finally, he gets to take that woman to the king.
But it wasn’t the concubine that stepped out of the carriage. It was Duke Silvercrest himself, in the flesh. August turned white in the face and quickly bowed to him.
—
“Duke Silvercrest, what a beautiful morning, your highness,” August greeted.
“It was a beautiful morning, wasn’t it?” Damien said, walking closer to Donna’s side.
With a small glance, without shooting a look this time, Damien made eye contact with Donna. Her eyes flickered a dull red flame before giving out with a few blinks. It was just as he thought. If he hadn’t calmed Fantasia down a little bit, there would have been a bloodbath.
August got back up, “If I may, your highness, what’s your reason for visiting the concubine palace?”
“I didn’t know that I needed a reason to come home every so often, Mr. Winifred,” Damien retorted.
August clenched his teeth, “We’ve been hearing some ridiculous rumors and simply wish to make sure your reputation remains unharmed, your highness.”
“And what could possibly ruin my reputation?”
“You had one of the king’s wives in your chambers last night, didn’t you?”
“Are you interogating a member of the royal family, chamberlain?”
“My apologies if it comes off that way, your highness. Are you saying that the rumors are groundless then?”
Damien smirked, “No, they aren’t.”
August gave a look of surprise. The Duke had just confirmed that a rumor was indeed fact. Even though the concubine is one of the king’s wives, this kingdom still recognizes polygamy. A woman can only have one lover and one husband, but a man can have many.
In this case, it makes it look like Fantasia has two lovers. A married man and the king’s youngest brother. Damien is pretty sure that with this revelation, the chamberlain might try to find new ways to have Fantasia divorced from the royal family altogether.
“We shared a passionate night together. It was a nice change of pace from being on the battlefield,” Damien continued.
“Do you realize what you’re saying, Duke Silvercrest?” the chamberlain warned.
“Mr. Winifred, I don’t live in the palace anymore. You shouldn’t be the one to advise on my private life,” Damien warned back. “I hope I don’t have to repeat myself.”
Damien turned around back to the carriage door and opened it. Fantasia was sitting there, waiting patiently for him to come back. He stepped back into the carriage and scooped Fantasia back up.
Fantasia blinked, “What’s happening?”
“Just follow my lead,” he said.
She simply nodded. Damien took her out of the carriage in his arms.
“Pretend to sleep,” he instructed.
Fantasia began to realize what was happening. As long as she appears to be too tired, she won’t have to see the king. She got a little cozy, laying her head on the crook of Damien’s neck and closing her eyes.
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