“Ugh, figures,” Kaon muttered under his breath, yanking on the stubbornly unbudging door. Silence settled once again, broken only by the faint echo of his own frustrated grunts. Damn it, Leonidas!
Taking a deep breath to cool his head, Kaon turned around, feeling utterly defeated. “Uh, looks like there’s a bit of a situation here,” he mumbled, picturing Leonidas’ smug grin in his mind.
Thankfully, Alessia didn’t seem to be in the mood for teasing. She just offered a small, understanding smile and gestured towards her open door. “Why don’t you come in for now, Kaon? It’s getting late.”
He couldn’t help but follow her lead. There wasn’t much of a choice, and the open door felt like a beacon in the sea of frustration.
***
Alessia’s room was a mirror image of his, except for the glaring absence of her personal touch. Unpacked bags still lingered in the hallway, a reminder of how recent her arrival was. Stepping into the familiar space, Kaon felt a flicker of relief wash over him.
Though facing his own door felt like the wiser choice now, hindsight always seemed to have the upper hand. He cleared his throat. “Listen, I’m totally down to share a room, but…”
Kaon trailed off, letting the unspoken concern hang in the air.
Alessia’s eyes softened, and her brow furrowed slightly. “If being here with me makes you uncomfortable…”
“No, no, not at all!” Kaon interjected quickly. Honestly, ‘uncomfortable’ didn’t quite capture it. Sure, sharing a room was a first for him, but his discomfort paled in comparison to what she must be feeling. Thrust into unfamiliar territory, essentially enemy territory at that, with a stranger – a much larger stranger – for company? Scary wasn’t even the word.
For him, this was awkward. For her, it was probably downright terrifying.
“Well, then it’s settled,” Alessia declared, a hint of shyness coloring her voice as she paused near the flimsy lace curtains. “After the engagement, we’ll be married anyway.”
Engagement. Marriage. Words that, as a sixteen-year-old, always felt so far away. But here she was, embracing their forced future with a maturity that left him speechless. And suddenly, the reality of their situation hit him square in the chest, making him feel as shy as she looked.
“Uh, maybe that was a little forward?” she mumbled, a charming laugh escaping her lips. It had the bizarre effect of making his ears burn.
He cleared his throat again, a clumsy attempt to regain his composure. With a mumbled “goodnight,” he swept past her and drew the curtains closed – basically making a run for his side of the suite.
“Sleep well, Kaon,” Alessia called after him.
“You too, Alessia,” he managed to reply, not wanting to appear rude. The words felt heavy in his mouth, weighed down by the unexpected turn of events.
***
Kaon’s confident reply couldn’t mask his sleeplessness. Dawn broke before he finally drifted off, only to be rudely awakened by rustling sounds.
“Ugh, field training today,” he groaned, clutching his head. The thought of grueling exercises under a scorching sun with almost no sleep was enough to make him want to crawl back under the covers.
Forcing himself back to sleep wasn’t an option. Through the flimsy barrier of the lace curtains, he saw a faint silhouette. The rustling sounds turned into the rhythmic folding of blankets – Alessia, the very reason for his sleepless night and early wake-up, was already an early bird.
The soft sounds soon stopped, replaced by the faint trickle of running water. The sound, insignificant on its own, inexplicably kept him awake all night. Maybe it was just the novelty of sharing a room.
“Diligent too, huh?” Kaon muttered, forcing his thoughts away. It was clear Alessia wasn’t one for laziness. Waking up early on her first day in a new place, sleep-deprived or not, spoke volumes. Fortunately, early risers were the norm on the Ferdinand estate. Laziness was a cardinal sin – their pride rested on producing the kingdom’s finest knights.
He’d never met a mage from Ingelos, but from past encounters with mages visiting their territory, he knew their routines tended to be erratic and unpredictable. A stark contrast to the regimented life of knights. He just didn’t get their aversion to schedules.
An unsettling thought jolted him awake. Alessia was a mage, and the sole reason Ferdinand needed one was to scout the monster-infested forest and eliminate threats.
‘That fragile frame in the monster forest?’
Dread gnawed at him. Sure, it was her job, but he couldn’t shake the image of her collapsing in fear.
The door creaked open. Even though he wasn’t doing anything wrong, Kaon feigned sleep, squeezing his eyes shut. Apparently, she was ready to head out at the crack of dawn.
Wait, where was she going? Alessia wouldn’t know the layout of the estate; their tour wasn’t scheduled until evening. Wandering off alone this early didn’t make sense.
“But she’s a mage,” he reminded himself. Their curiosity was legendary, so waking up early to explore wouldn’t be out of character.
With a sigh, Kaon decided to let it slide for now. He had bigger worries than her impromptu exploration.
***
Sleep refused to come easy. Kaon had always been a worrier, and shoving anxieties aside wasn’t exactly his strong suit. A million what-ifs swirled in his head: what if she got lost, what if she stumbled upon someone…anything could happen!
With barely a few hours before his grueling field training, Kaon twisted and turned under the covers, snatching at whatever sleep he could.
‘What if she gets in trouble?’ He knew he was overthinking, but right now, he might be Alessia’s only ally in the estate. The responsibility weighed heavily on him.
He headed straight for the stairs. Alessia didn’t strike him as reckless enough to wander into unfamiliar rooms, so she must be downstairs somewhere.
However, her voice, laced with a surprising amount of exasperation, greeted him before he even reached the first floor. It was coming from the entrance hall.
Kaon’s heart lurched. Was there trouble with one of the servants? A full-blown fight was out of the question, of course. Social status was a big deal, and even though Alessia belonged to an enemy family, she was still a princess. But any kind of conflict wouldn’t be good – it would only give Ferdinand’s enemies ammunition.
Curiosity piqued, Kaon crept closer to the railing. He could now see who Alessia was talking to – Madeleine. But unlike her usual pleasant demeanor, Madeleine sounded strangely curt.
“What do you mean? It’s nothing special,” Madeleine brushed off Alessia’s praise about the upkeep of the mansion.
“You’ve been managing this place for forty years! That’s a big deal,” Alessia countered, her voice unwavering.
The conversation was bizarre. Kaon decided to hold off on intervening and listen further.
“I was so surprised when I arrived,” Alessia continued. “Everyone said it was an old manor, but it doesn’t look old at all. The maids must have worked very hard every day.”
So, unless his ears were deceiving him, Alessia was complimenting Madeleine, and she was not backing down despite the other woman’s coldness.
“Hard work? I just do what needs to be done,” Madeleine mumbled dismissively.
“They say you can tell how well a manor is run just by looking at the front door,” Alessia said.
“I don’t know about that, but I suppose the entrance does make a first impression,” Madeleine conceded.
“And this manor gives the impression that you’re in control, that you’ve taken care of everything.”
Alessia’s gentle praise chipped away at Madeleine’s frosty exterior. “Oh, you flatter me! Of course I manage the place, but there are others who wouldn’t be happy if they heard me say that…Oh, never mind.”
“I think I understand,” Alessia said softly, then leaned in and whispered, “Actually, the Ingelos estate isn’t kept this clean.”
And that was it. The dam broke.
“Alright, alright, if you insist! But there’s no need to deny it so much, it makes an old lady blush!” Madeleine chuckled, her mood completely transformed. It was like watching ice melt under a spring sun. She even started asking about what kind of food Alessia liked.
Kaon, who had been gripping the railing, slowly backed away. It suddenly dawned on him that his fiancée’s life in Ferdinand might take a very unexpected turn.
🍉🍉🍉
