«It will be decided as our tradition dictates: with a duel. The loser will be left with nothing. The winner takes all.»
The marquis’ words echoed solemnly in the room, the echo dragging along the walls and perating the air around us. Then, as if struck by lightning, everything suddenly fell into place: Frederick’s twisted smile, his sudden visit, his miserable provocation...
A slight curve ford on my lips, barely perceptible.
"... After all, you’re still very young," I thought.
There was no bitterness, no surprise. Rather, I was eagerly awaiting it.
The marquis leaned back in his seat with a slight sigh, as if concluding a minor business deal. Without taking his eyes off the papers piled on his desk, he spoke indifferently.
—The duel will take place in two weeks.
At one point, those words might have terrified . Now, however, I expected it.
—Perfect —I replied, my tone stripped of all reverence, almost as if comnting on sothing trivial...
He didn’t even care. He simply raised his hand in a brief, almost disdainful gesture.
—You may leave.
I inclined my head slightly, then left the study without looking back.
***
Back in my room, a sigh escaped my lips, carrying with it the tension that still weighed on from having slept in the dungeon. I felt the mattress sink gently beneath my body, warm and soft. So different from the cold wooden board, I lay there for a mont, still. Forgetting the discomfort of that place.
—The academy, huh...? —I murmured to myself, my gaze lost on the ceiling.
For a mont, my thoughts drifted, lulled by the fatigue consuming . I rembered the marquis’s words, Frederick’s face twisted in fear... and then, without knowing how, I found myself thinking of sothing far more distant.
"A scent I thought I had forgotten, and the comforting sll of burning wood..."
My heavy eyelids began to close slowly, the warmth of the blankets wrapping around , gently pulling into a deep sleep.
.
.
.
The fireplace crackled softly, casting our shadows all over the room. The scent of burning wood mingled with my mother’s light perfu, who had resting on her lap. Her fingers played with my hair, untangling the stubborn strands crowning my head.
She had an open book, though she was no longer reading. Her eyes were lost sowhere far away, and when she spoke, her voice sounded distant—but even so, I didn’t miss a single word.
—You know, Daven? —she said, tilting her head just slightly—. Mama t the marquis at the academy... in quite a peculiar way. Do you want to hear it?
I nodded at once, over and over.
Her lips curved into a playful smile as she looked at .
—I enrolled on a scholarship, just a simple commoner —she confessed, with a smile that held a touch of pride—. I always had the best grades, and that, along with my rather striking looks, ant many nobles didn’t see kindly... especially the young ladies.
For a mont her eyes grew cold and faintly irritated. Then, unexpectedly, she puffed out her cheeks a little, making an adorable pout that shattered her earlier air completely.
—Why was he always surrounded by girls... —she added in a low, almost annoyed murmur that made chuckle.
She looked away, a tiny flush rising all the way to her ears, as if embarrassed by what she had admitted.
—Ahem... —she cleared her throat and continued.
—The first ti I truly saw him. It was one night... I had stayed late studying in the library, completely absorbed in my books. And then, when I looked up... there he was.
She paused a mont, her eyes shining with a soft, misty light. She seed to embrace that mory so tenderly I feared to disturb it by breathing too loud.
—He was sitting in a corner, reading sothing out of the ordinary... —she laughed very softly, covering her mouth with her hand—. Maybe it was a romance novel, she said as she looked at .
"Hehe..." I laughed gently.
—Then suddenly our eyes t. —She spoke savoring that mory with sweetness— I saw him look away so quickly, his cheeks flushed. It was the first ti I ever saw him so clumsy.
She let out a long sigh, her chest rising and falling slowly. Then she hugged tenderly for a few seconds before letting go to play with my hair.
—From that mont on, I couldn’t stop watching him. —her voice cracked just slightly—. And before I even realized... I had fallen in love with that rigid boy.
I didn’t know what to say. She laughed softly and gave a kiss on the cheek, her breath brushing against my skin.
—That’s why, my dear Daven... I want you to go to the academy. To live mories that make you feel just as silly and happy as your mother did that night.
I blinked, sothing burned behind my eyes without warning.
—Uh... do I have to go...? —I asked, my voice barely a thread.
—Yes. —She brushed her nose against mine, smiling against my trembling lips—. Promise .
—Alright... —I swallowed—. Give your pinky. I said shyly.
Her laugh was a whisper that filled my chest. She intertwined her finger with mine, firm, sealing the promise with a small kiss on my forehead.
—Now there’s no escape. —She whispered, closing her eyes—. You’ll be happy, whether you want to or not.
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