«Since the Archduchess is now married to the Archduke, she's his responsibility. Am I right?» he started.

Oh, good. His majesty wasn't targeting my wife. I was the only one that would have paid the price for any disrespect. She didn't need to show respect after the way they treated her.

We treated her. After all, I was the one that caused the most pain to her.

It wasn't such a big deal, losing lands. It was nothing in comparison to Thea's pain.

After being deprived of a part of my territories and my father's title, I felt extraordinarily relieved. Thea wasn't going to be targeted in front of everyone in the throne room. That was what mattered. I could lose everything I owned as long as she was safe.

I didn't care at all about territories and titles. I would have regained everything one day.

However, my wife certainly didn't care about my title. She had just been forced to marry me; she wasn't willing to compromise just for my sake.

Still, she curtseyed. She bent her knees a few degrees, but she didn't bow her head. She was quite unhappy about all of that.

We left the throne hall, and I showed her the way towards my quarters in the Palace. I wasn't expecting our marriage. Fortunately, I prepared her chambers and some clothes.

We were going to have dinner in my chambers, but then? Should I still have made her sleep in my room? Or should I have accompanied her to her own?

Oh, it was the first night of marriage: we were supposed to share the bed. It would have become problematic if gossip about us sleeping in separate rooms was heard. It was better to sleep together, at least for the first night.

«This wing of the palace is for my use, so you can walk around here freely,» I said, stopping next to a window.

Thea looked at me and then out. She observed the garden with curiosity, stepping on tiptoe to see better. After gazing around for a few seconds, she returned her attention to me. I felt her stare for the whole time, even though I didn't dare to turn towards her. I didn't want to scare her, and I didn't want to let her read my thoughts.

«I'll show you your chamber tomorrow. For now, just remember how to get here. I'll introduce you to my personal servants. The maids are all from the Palace, so be careful around them...»

She wasn't naive; she knew that dangers were in all corners. Yet, I couldn't refrain from reminding her that I was one of her few allies in the Palace. The only other one was Martia, but Thea didn't know about her yet.

Well, the fact that we were already married speeded up my plans. All that remained was to woo Thea until surrender. I would have used all my capabilities, and Thea wouldn't have been able to simply ignore me.

I opened the door and walked into the waiting room. I let Thea follow me instead of showing her to go before me. She was still frightened: I had to make her feel like I didn't have any ill intentions.

Which meant acting as if I wasn't all happy to finally be reunited.

Thea closed the door, and I glanced at her for a moment. Her fingers were clenched in fists, but her hands were trembling. She looked at me as if I was some kind of monster.

What was the issue? Should I have made her walk inside first, in the end?

Her back was straight, probably because of habit. Her eyes were wide open and directed at me. She was afraid, indeed, but she didn't run away from confrontation.

I hadn't realised before that she was only a young girl in a foreign world. How could I make her feel at ease without frightening her even more?

What was better: approaching her to try bringing some comfort or to pretend to be cold and uninterested?

After a few seconds of pondering, I decided on the second option.

I remembered a certain book in my office, where it was written that women prefer aloof men. If that was true, pretending to be cold would have attracted my wife.

Oh, it was worth a try. In the end, being too clingy would have scared her for sure. Being cold would have, in the worst scenario, made her ignore me. I could try winning her over in the future.

She couldn't run away; we were already married. Also, she would have tried something to ensure a more stable position. She wouldn't have rejected all my attention, hoping to gain some advantage in the situation we were in.

«You can undress,» I whispered and walked to the couch.

I sat down and focused on drinking a glass of water as if it was the most challenging task of my life. In part, it was. I only wanted to run to Thea, hug her, feed her some good food and make her forget about the last weeks.

Yet, my sacrifice was all so that I could reach a future reward. It was worth it!

While forcing my mind to ignore my new wife, I heard the noise of clothes slipping.

How much was it taking her to get rid of the cape and reach me?

The mantle was heavy, but it didn't have many strings to undo. Just one.

Was she stuck? No, she would have removed it swiftly regardless of the knot.

I resisted the urge to turn for a whole minute, but then I wondered if Thea was waiting for me to invite her to sit.

I widened my eyes when her naked body came into my sight. She was standing straight, her fists clenched and her hair braided. Her eyes were peeking at me from under her lashes.

I opened my mouth to say something, just anything, but I couldn't talk. The shock had taken away all my capabilities.

The act-cold strategy was already working! No, wait...

So soon?