Chapter 9.

An invitation that cannot be refused.

The King personally wrote a letter to visit the duchy and formalize some business alliances with Duke Blake, all this in order to corroborate if what old man Erick had said was really true and then he sealed that letter with his personal signature ring and asked one of his guards to deliver it to the duke as soon as possible.

So when the duke received the letter he was a little surprised because it could be seen that it was more like he was asking for permission to enter and corroborate something more than a commercial alliance, it was really worth accepting the King's proposal, the answer was simple: if he accepted letting himself be carried away by the sentimental situation that the King was going through, it was obvious that there would be no commercial strategies, but rather personal discussions, but it also had to be taken into account that King Cyprian V had maintained the reign impeccable without any socio-political scandal or invasions of other independent states, therefore, a commercial alliance would be beneficial for the economy of the duchy because they could mutually benefit from this type of alliances, therefore, it was an invitation that could not be rejected and as much as he wanted to reject it to keep the integrity of the queen a secret, he had to put above her the people who were under his command, so, he sent the guard who had brought the invitation back with the confirmation that they were welcome at any time. And when Cyprian read that such a vague answer had reached his hands, he suddenly felt that the duke had an ace up his sleeve for this type of situation, knowing the promiscuity that was involved in the duke's name, anything was to be expected.

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The duke visited the mansion secretly to inform Eva that her husband would visit the duchy in a couple of days and they would not know when he would leave, therefore, he would send her and her son to the Kingdom of Torrien, where one of his lovers was raising his only son away from the pressure of those who co-ruled the duchy; And so, Eva left the duchy for Torrien being escorted by some of the duke's personal guards and once they reached the plains where the residence of the duke's mistress named Delfina was located, who was raising Brett Claous, a 3-year-old boy who enjoyed good health and great luxuries and who in the future would make him one of the most coveted men among the cream of society...

The women, upon seeing each other, did not know where to begin; Delfina looked at her curious to know exactly who she was, since the duke had only mentioned her as a favor to a close friend, but that would mean that both were somehow as intimate as she was with the duke or she really was a friend as mentioned in the letter, so without any taboo and in the most direct way possible, she asked Eva if she had slept with the duke, that surprised Eva who said: the duke and I do not have that kind of relationship, we are close, but not to that point, which was reassuring for Delfina who sighed with relief and said: it is good to know, because if it were the opposite I would not know how to deal with you.

One of the maids took Eva to her chambers to rest and asked her if she needed help to take care of the child while she slept for a while, at first Eva was hesitant to accept or not the help that the maid was offering her, but when she realized the energy that her son had, it was more than evident that the tiredness in her shoulders would not allow her to stay a little longer with him, so accepting this proposal the maid took the child and Eva lay down until she fell deeply asleep…

Two weeks passed since the duke had received the invitation from the King when the latter arrived at the duchy in a surprising way, but the duke was not stupid and had sent some spies to the Kingdom to know exactly why she would want to visit the duchy so soon; And upon learning that it was not a commercial visit but rather to confirm whether the queen was really the duke's lover, for which very smiling, the duke had noticed that in the portrait he had of the queen and the child there were unique features that were difficult to conceal such as the color of the hair and her eyes of different colors, then, the duke was obliged to ask a herbalist to prepare for them an organic tonic that was not dangerous for children and women that would allow them to change the color of their eyes for a short period of time; and after receiving the generous payment it was more than obvious that the herbalist would do it with pleasure, devoting herself for several nights to making that tonic that they had urgently ordered... and so, when the King arrived, the first thing he found was a bunch of children with white wigs that they had eyes of different colors, just like a lot of women who met this characteristic... almost as if it had been successfully anticipated, which further enraged the King, who was trying to cope with the situation in front of him, because the Duke gave him a sly smile saying: welcome, Your Majesty, to the duchy...

That attitude only meant one thing: they had arrived at the right place, but at the wrong time, because the Duke seemed to have premeditated the situation in advance, so much so that even the old man Erick, who was accompanying his Highness, could not help but show his face of disgust at this lack of respect disguised as good faith.

After they were placed inside the Duke's palace, the old man asked the King what he intended to do in this situation, to which Cyprian simply replied: we have come exclusively to make commercial and strategic alliances, I do not see why I should worry about anything else, to which the old man said: but it seems that everyone here is making fun of your situation; And looking at him coldly the King asked him: and ¿what is my situation according to your criteria?, so the old man realizing where he was standing said with a slightly softer voice: majesty, you must not deny the fact that the queen is hidden in the duchy somewhere… none of the other elders really believe that the queen is in a field and seeing the duke's attitude, it is only a confirmation that the lover and the child can be the queen and the heir, and taking the King with one hand the old man's neck, he squeezed it and firmly said to him: I have had enough patience with you filthy old men, if I say that she is in the field, then she is in the field and do not dare to cross the line, because it is more than evident that we are not on the same floor, ¿do you understand old man or do I have to explain it again…?

The old man left that room scared and furious, he had never seen such a defiant attitude as the one he had just witnessed, it was as if the King was a totally different person and probably he was, only he did not let others see his true attitude, so analyzing a little the situation he himself had gotten into, out of curiosity he realized that it was most likely that the queen had fled from the King because she knew much better the true attitude and personality that the latter had, then it did not seem far-fetched to him that a woman as beautiful as Queen Eva was captivated by an overwhelming personality like that of Duke Blake, seeing it from that point they would even seem like a couple made in heaven.