The Grand Duchess Escape

“Relax. No one will be able to harm you anymore.”

Calix whispered the same words to her over and over again. That she and her sister were safe and would always be, so she could stop worrying.

The touch of his hand on her slender back was indescribably sweet and tender.

As the minutes passed, Asella’s whimpering slowly subsided. Her heart, unable to settle into its own rhythm, calmed down a bit. A couple of short shudders followed before she finally drifted off into what he had hoped would be a peaceful sleep.

Even after her breathing had steadied, Calix remained for some time, holding her close and never letting go.

It was only after a while that he pulled away and carefully eased her back onto the bed. He pulled the covers around her waist and draped them over her slender shoulders.

The long, silver lashes that curled between her closed eyelids were slightly damp. Then, Calix’s long fingers brushed the tears away from the corners of her eyes.

‘…’

The man’s eyes flickered with an emotion that he could barely contain as he gazed at his sleeping wife.

* * *

It was a little after dawn when Calix left Asella’s bedchamber. A line of knights, as well as the Grand Duke escorts, who had started their day early, stood at the door.

Scanning them with an indifferent gaze, Calix commanded in a flat tone.

“Keep quiet.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Calix turned away without a second thought. Now that he’d given the order to remain silent, there would be no foolish ones who would run their mouths and defy his orders.

He knew Asella would not sleep well once she realized he had come. She was so afraid of him that the mere sight of him would make her pale, unable to make eye contact with him, and shrink back into herself.

His steps were steady as he walked down the hallway in the pale dawn glow. He entered another building through a long passageway and barely reached the corner that led to his office.

The Grand Duke’s vassal, as diligent as his master, greeted Calix with a polite greeting.

“Have you had a comfortable rest, Your Excellency?”

Calix gave a slight nod and entered the office with Ryzen. The room looked exactly as it had last night, just before he’d gone to find Asella.

Which meant that the papers he’d thrown aside when he’d stormed out of his seat were scattered across the desk and even the floor.

Ryzen began to pick up the papers in surprise.

“I’ll check on those who entered and left the office.”

“No need. I did this.”

“Your Excellency?”

Ryzen’s eyes widened in shock.

This was none other than Calix who loathed having anything untidy in his office, even when he was working. He maintained an almost impenetrable stack of papers, each one neatly arranged.

“…Did something happen last night?”

Rysen raised a question, which was uncharacteristic of him. There was no way he could believe this was his master’s behavior.

Of course, Calix had no reason to respond to this question.

The events of the previous night began to flash through his mind.  What he had seen last night was probably something she would have preferred to keep hidden until the end. But then, Asella’s pale, bloodless face remained embedded in his mind.

Calix leaned back against the back of the couch. The leather against his back felt cool because of the early morning chill. He closed and opened his eyes lazily as he gave a short command.

“Summon the priest.”

“Do you feel any discomfort, Your Excellency?”

“It’s not for me.”

Calix trailed off, recalling his wife’s insistence on not telling anyone about her injured wrist.

“Any priest who can perform full body restoration.”

Ryzen paused. The cost of divine healing was not nearly as effective as its expense. To his master, Calix Benvito, it was a small sum of money, worth no more than a drop of water in a vast ocean.

Regardless, the Grand Duke hated useless things. He was nonchalant about most things and indifferent to others, and he was relentless when it came to getting rid of those who annoyed him. And yet…

There was a trace of warmth in his usually cold and distant red eyes.

And whatever was the reason for his master’s concern, it must have been…

“You said the last priest was a high-ranking priest. Summon them. As soon as possible.”

“As you command.”

He couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on.

Wasn’t it only yesterday that the Grand Duke and his wife were sitting in a stifling cold atmosphere? Or, more precisely, his master was furious, one-sidedly so.

At any rate, the Grand Duke’s wrath had been so great that the entire Knights’ Order was scotched to the ground– Zeke, whose mouth had run off without a care in the world, was now lying half-corpse-like on the ground and struggling to regain his footing.

But a moment ago, when his master had ordered him to summon the priest, there had been an undeniable warmth in his tone. His face, which had always been as cold as a glacier, had softened slightly as he spoke.

‘Did the two of them reconcile?’

Something must have changed between the Grand Duke and his wife last night that he did not know about but this was not a thing he could stick his nose in carelessly.