"Quinn is in Coeurvalle?" Leonor asked eagerly.
She had always assud he would stay in Magia and it always made her sad because the travel to Coeurvalle was nearly a week but to central Magia it was over half a month.
"He was traveling for quite a while after taking a sabbatical from the Academy," Stephano explained. "I caught him before he could settle anywhere else. He replaced a palace mage because I don’t want anyone I’m not familiar with in the palace."
"I’m so happy he’s sowhere with soone he trusts," she said. "I hope you are exercising his abilities. He grew into such an impressive mage after graduating and staying to teach future generations of students."
However, she always felt guilty about Quinn. She knew she had changed after Valerio didn’t return from the war. He tried to be a good friend by continuing to send her letters. However, the last went unresolved because she was married to the duke shortly after.
Considering her father probably had no one attending to her room, it could still be sitting in the sa spot on her desk. Luckily they never said anything to one another that was particularly secret.
"I’ll bother him until he’s annoyed with ," Stephano said before sipping down so light, dry wine. "I’ll tell him that you gave permission."
"Perhaps I’ll send him a letter," Leonor said and glanced at Desmond. "That would be alright, wouldn’t it?"
He had been standoffish and she hoped her request wouldn’t be t with resistance.
"If he’s your friend, you should talk to him," Desmond responded.
Leonor offered her husband a small smile. She wanted to reach out and grasp his gloved hand to show her thanks, but she held back.
"The last ti I saw you in person, Your Majesty, Quinn was with ," Leonor admitted.
"At the Academy," Stephano said.
"At the hocoming parade," she corrected him gently, giving nothing else of her feelings at that ti.
She knew that Stephano could guess how that ti would have affected her. He likely looked for Valerio as well but ca up with nothing. She wondered if he properly mourned for his friend. Perhaps he had to continue with his life because it was such a busy period for him.
The duchess sipped wine, distracting herself for a mont. She felt Desmond’s eyes on her but it was for a different reason than she expected.
"Our wedding wasn’t the first ti you saw ," Desmond realized.
"That’s true," Leonor admitted. "Although I was mostly there to see if Stephano was alright. I didn’t know how you would play into my future. You were on the other side of the parade from as well."
"I could hardly see at that ti anyway," Desmond admitted and downed his wine as well.
Desmond knew she was lying. She didn’t travel all that way to see the king. She must have been there for Valerio. Unfortunately for her, Valerio died with the dragon that day.
As guilty as he felt, he realized another lie was added to the pile between them. He had complicated feelings about whether he should be honored or disappointed. She was lying to him and for him.
Stephano could sense the environnt, but rather than shying away, he pushed for more.
"Perhaps I should have introduced the two of you much sooner," the king said.
Stephano had three eyes staring at him in shock but was comfortable under pressure, and sipped his wine casually as if he wasn’t on the verge of revealing secrets to the both of them.
Leonor lightly cleared her throat and brushed out the skirts of the blue dress she wore.
"Would either of you like to go on a walk this evening?" she asked. "I would like to look at the garden."
"I would like to," Stephano was the first to speak up.
"The two of you ought to go," Desmond said. "There’s sothing I must check up on first."
Leonor’s need to seek information from Stephano made her blind to the fact that her husband was irritated. His irritated voice wasn’t far from his usual gravelly tone, but she was one of the few who could tell. Unfortunately, she wasn’t paying attention
However, she didn’t imagine him being capable of jealousy considering he didn’t show interest in her since he asked Count Mikael for her hand in marriage.
"My lady," Stephano said and offered his hand to help Leonor from her chair. "We won’t be outside long, your grace. The weather is still a bit cold in the west."
The king still had a thin composition and wore furs out of necessity rather than what most people thought was a flaunting of his title and wealth.
Before Leonor could leave, she placed her hand on Desmond’s shoulder as if asking for forgiveness for what she was about to do. She was dying to hear the truth from Stephano. He was the only person who could give it to her.
She offered her husband a slight smile before she left and took her cloak from one of the maids.
She and Stephano could walk out the doors at the heart of the estate and onto the path that would take them through the courtyard garden. The cold air was biting but so much warr than the winter so Leonor wouldn’t complain.
Knowing that Desmond hadn’t revealed anything to Leonor, Stephano couldn’t keep back his questioning.
"Do you like it here?" he asked her.
Leonor smiled slightly.
"I do," she said. "Much better than Burien. The colder weather is worth being away from my father." She tucked her hair behind her ear when it fell into her face because of a light gust of wind. "Now I have to wonder why you approved of marrying soone who isn’t Valerio."
Stephano was teetering on the edge of irritation that Desmond hadn’t co clean with the truth. He would look like an accomplice if the truth ca out in an unsavory way. Because of what Desmond had done for him, he wouldn’t be the person who told Leonor himself.
"Valerio didn’t co ho," Stephano said gently. "I found soone who needed a wife. Soone with enough money to give you a better life than the one you previously knew. Even your desire to be your father’s heir was not worth the hell he put you through. Let whichever poor bastard marries your sister handle that."
Leonor’s only response was a nod even though she was frowning. She hated it even though it was the truth.
They quietly walked until they made it to the edge of the pond. Both of their familiars ca out of the brush and found interest in the water.
Eve was seeing if there was another fish while Alara was there to see what Eve was doing.
Leonor felt heavy with further questions and sat down on one of the benches near the pond.
"Please tell the truth," she said, causing dread to well up inside Stephano.
Stephano turned to Leonor, neither confirming nor denying that he would. His life was too complicated to promise anyone anything.
"Did he die?" she asked. "Am I holding out hope for no reason?"
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