Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
I needed to avoid her.
This Lillia. Whoever the hell she was.
There was something about that woman that had bothered Allie ever since Baroness Kilgard had introduced her to us. No matter what Allie said to me, I wasn’t stupid, nor was I blind.
She’d been shaken at the mere sight of Lady Lillia.
I didn’t believe the story about knowing someone who looked like her. Allie was a terrible liar, and she’d been far too interested in how I felt about Lady Lillia for it to be a fleeting thought of hers.
What was it that upset her so much?
Was it as simple as she said, or did it have to do with her drunken mumblings? At that time, she’d been adamant that I would fall in love with Lillia and leave her, but the very idea of that was reprehensible.
Where had she even gotten that idea? She’d rambled on about a book, but none of it had made sense. I’d written it off as alcohol-induced rambling, but now, it bugged me in a way I couldn’t pinpoint.
Somehow, she knew Lillia de Armand. For some strange reason, she was adamant I would fall in love with that woman and, worse, lead Allie herself to her death.
Why?
How did she know her?
What made her think those things?
And what the hell did a book have to do with it?
The only thing that remotely pleased me about her drunken ramblings was her insistence that Alicia Vermillion would fall in love with me.
The sooner the better, as far as I was concerned.
If she fell in love with me, then perhaps she’d dismiss her ridiculous idea of delaying our marriage.
Was the reason for that—settling in in Stein—even the truth? Or had she lied? If her insistence that I’d fall for Lillia came from a place of premonition thanks to her ability to wield divine power, I couldn’t deny the possibility that she’d walked into this engagement having already set an end date for it.
What did Allie know that I didn’t?
I rode into the small clearing and dismounted, then grabbed my bow and loaded an arrow, aiming ahead. I pulled back the string and released it, and the arrow whooshed through the air, slamming into the tree trunk a mere half inch above Ezra’s head.
“What the—” He woke with a start and grabbed his head, throwing himself to the side. “What was that for, you bastard?”
“Is that how you speak to your superior?” I put my bow back and glared down at him. “That was only half an inch above your head, you know.”
“You could have woken me up like a normal person.”
“That’s what you get for sleeping on a hunt.”
“Pfft.” Ezra got to his feet and stretched his arms up, yawning. “What did you want to see me here for? I thought you said it was too risky.”
“My head mage has an impenetrable privacy barrier erected. We’re fine here.”
“I could have done that.”
“I told you to come and work for me in Stein.” I shrugged. “You’re the one who refused.”
“Oh, come on. I can’t go anywhere as the heir. Especially not while my father is publicly neutral on House Alansia’s position over who the next Emperor should be.” Ezra rubbed the back of his neck. “You know how tense things are getting amongst the nobles.”
Mm. He wasn’t wrong. Not only had my achievements on the battlefield gained me a great deal of support despite my reputation but so had my position as Grand Duke of Stein. The changes I’d implemented had already made big differences, and those who supported my succession to the throne were convinced that such political successes only strengthened the argument that I should be heir to the throne.
After all, the position of the Grand Duke was akin to that of a king, and I’d already shown I was a more than capable ruler.
“Is that why those rumours about Allie are going around?” I asked, folding my arms as I leant against a tree.
“Allie?” Ezra raised his eyebrows. “My, aren’t we affectionate, Your Highness?”
“Shut up and answer the question before I take her your hand as a trophy instead of a bearwolf.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yes. I’m sure you’ve already figured it out, but they started from Marchioness Vermillion. From what I can deduce, it originated with one of the errand boys, but they covered their tracks well.”
“Not well enough if you found out that easily. What purpose does it serve the marchioness to spread such rumours?”
“Nothing but spite. She’s furious that Marquess Vermillion has put his foot down and taken control of some of the household affairs to bring her and Lady Sophia in line, so she’s seeking to discredit Lady Alicia’s work. The nobles supporting Torin have latched onto it.”
“What good does it do them? Her policy has been lauded across the empire as a good thing, so why would his faction seek to accredit it to me? Surely, they can see it only strengthens my side’s position.”