As soon as I reached Kyre, I checked all the accounts. No embezzlements nor acts of that sort were evident, so I relaxed and spent the following two months like just any nobleman without worries.

Jeffrey Wilhelm invited me to visit him, as he had someone to introduce to me. I found out that, during the time I was away, Jeffrey Wilhelm found a wife.

Well, rather than found, he was imposed one.

His father also used the chance to retreat and make him take over the family, including the title of Count.

The man that I met had a family and a name. Yet, he seemed the same as always to me.

I was worried for the young lady that had become Countess Wilhelm, but she turned out just perfect for my friend. She was educated and polite, the first couple of minutes. She would speak freely without caring about who was listening. And she would send her husband away to have fun without a single worry.

«You two are still young, and our Lord needs distractions,» she explained before ordering the servants to prepare a carriage. «I have my children to take care of.»

«Children?»

I had heard about it, but I thought Jeffrey had only a son. Did the lady bring another one from a previous marriage?

«Yes, I became a father,» he confirmed. «I have another son now.»

«Another?» I hadn't met the first one either, and he had been married for barely a year. Where did the second one come from? Did he have twins?

«Oh, it's part of the reason why I was sent to war...» he confessed.

A part of the reason?

The story he was going to tell me felt as if his illegitimate son was the principal reason for his staying at the front. Not just part of it.

«I had a relationship with a maid, so my father decided I needed to settle down. He sent me to war, telling me to come back with some achievement, or dead. In the end, I disobeyed and came back regardless.»

«You had a son from a maid?»

«Yes. I didn't know it, though. I would have used it as an excuse to avoid war... I mean, I would have taken care of my woman if I knew!»

«And what happened to the maid?»

«She left with a great sum of money. My father kept the little bastard. In case I died, he wanted someone that resembled me. Also, Anne Mary didn't even frown when I told her. She just nodded and made it clear that it would have been her child that will inherit the title and lands.»

«Really? Your wife must be very understanding.»

«She dresses up the little bastard like a prince and makes the cooks prepare snacks for him. On the other side, she repeats that he must protect his brother all the time. She's using my firstborn to her own benefit!»

«She's treating him better than you.»

«Whatever. I'm not all that unhappy to be married.»

«There are worse scenarios,» I chuckled as we continued our walk in the city streets. We didn't have anything to do, certainly not to visit the places Anne Mary had suggested.

Seeing their married life proceed so smoothly made me think about Thea more often. I would remember our nights together, sometimes waking up sweating and with the unsettling urge to hug or kiss her.

Yet, she was far from me. She was years in the future. I had to be patient and wait, and I could hold her again.

That year, Kyre was assigned a few ambassadors from the most prominent countries. It might have been a sign of my land's prosperity, but a few of the other kingdoms thought it was a good idea to have a representative next to me.

The man Asteria sent was a familiar face. Nicholas Zolokis, the man I so much wanted to kill.

I didn't know why, for goodness. But it was so difficult to resist that urge. I talked with the Ambassador for a few minutes when he came to Stoneyard to greet me and introduce himself.

Who knows what he thought when he saw my frown?

It was odd that a person he never met nor noticed had so much antipathy towards him, right?

«What does Asteria see in Kyre, though?» I inquired, curious to see if he would have found some pretty, meaningless words.

«Asteria and Ethiro's relations are improving, which means that we have to make friends now that we can,» he explained.

Except the relations hadn't improved one bit.

After greeting him, I walked to my chambers with a terrible headache.

Leaving that mess to Martia felt like washing my hands from all the troubles.

I didn't doubt the path I'd chosen until, that night, the rest of my memories came back altogether. I remembered the reason why I hated that man so much.

First of all, I felt again that painful jealousy, that sense of abandonment when my wife didn't have time for me. It turned out she couldn't talk late into the night because the poison had started damaging her body.

I had pouted for something she didn't have any control over. If only I had a chance to change the events, I would at least be more understanding.

Then, the fact that there was poison in my memories hit me like an arrow. There was something so wrong in all of that, and only when I recalled the last banquet, I realised the depth of that tragedy.

My son died in my arms, all because of an idea that seemed harmless.

All the court, everyone that was worth something, met the same end as Elias. And my Queen had her own, cruel destiny.

I revived my last day with painful precision. I cried like a child, wondering why did I have to remember something like that.

Only in the morning, I made a decision. Nothing would have stopped me from saving my Queen.

There wasn't a price too high to pay to see my son again, this time to save him from Asteria's plots.

To do so, though, I couldn't become a powerless consort. I had to grow my power enough to protect my wife, even at the cost of keeping her far from her city. After all, Asteria only wanted the harbour. If Ethiro became powerful enough to pose a threat, no one would have dared to attack one of its allies.

Even more, if Polis became a part of the Empire...

That morning, I didn't meet anyone. I stayed alone in the office and thought about the future with a clear view for the first time. Meeting my wife and conceiving my son was still my top priority, but there were many more aspects I had to consider.

First of all, my chances to win in the long run.

If living in Polis was so dangerous, I might have tried bringing my Queen to Kyre. I could protect her here; the only problem was how to convince her to abandon her city.

After a few days of thinking, planning, and praying, I took my irrevocable decision. I had to conquer Polis and bring my Queen away from there. I would have made her settle in the Palace, maybe even in Kyre, and then I would have convinced her to marry me.

I had some more time to train my charming skills. And fighting too, in case anyone else had the same idea.

I knew her well; I had steady chances of making her fall for me. Or at least make her accept to become my wife. If I didn't succeed with nice actions, I would have just begged.

Every day, for years.

She would have accepted just to make me shut up.

I wrote to his majesty and asked him to let me take care of Polis in person. While waiting for a reply, I realised that my wife's arrival required preparations.

After enough tailors arrived in Stoneyard, I made them design the clothes. They were so numerous in my mind, but I didn't know how to express those images with words.

I described the gowns to the dumbfounded tailors, who thought the Lord of Kyre had just discovered his fashion vein.

«Like this, my Lord?» one of them tried, showing me a sketch.

«The waist is higher, and the sleeves larger. Hmm, large sleeves aren't the best for this cold weather... Make them just large enough to be comfortable.»

«But with a higher waist, the corset would be useless. It would be a pity...»

«Corset?» I needed a moment to understand what that was. «Oh, no need for that thing.»

My wife was just wonderful without any cage around her body. It would have been uncomfortable to hug her if she was protected by splits of bones.

«Is my Lord sure?»

«Yes, of course,» I nodded.

Even though I wasn't confident that my wife would let me hug her just yet.

Well, one day, she would allow me. I just needed to be patient. And plan her clothes in such a way that the awaited day felt more comfortable.