I've already finished packing my things. I instructed Prim to make sure we haven't left anything behind.

After two days in the dazzling company of the Viscount, I'm more than willing to return to the woods and stay with a bunch of bandits for a month. At least, they didn't make remarks on my supposed utility.

As soon as Alexander is back, we'll leave.

«We can't afford to raise suspicions,» I explain to Prim, who is eating her nails because of nervousness. «We have to wait and leave without hurry. Once in the Palace, this will be important for the sentence. It shouldn't look like we set the Viscount up.»

«Yes, your grace,» she murmurs.

«Have some tea,» I say and offer her a cup.

She gulps down the liquid, not noticing the hotness of it. I stop a grin before making her feel even more nervous.

I've observed the movements of all the people living here. Yet, I couldn't notice any pattern guiding me to a place holding hundreds of captives.

Even slaves need to eat. Since nothing noticeable happened, it means that they're kept somewhere else. As snooping around is dangerous and useless, we just waited a day, and Alexander accompanied the Viscount to the exchange.

«Your grace is so good at waiting,» Prim comments when staying still becomes unbearable.

«It must be because my job has been ordering people around and then waiting with patience that my plans are fulfilled,» I reply. As a Queen, I wasn't required to do anything by myself. There was always someone else working for me.

Waiting to have something finished was torture, but I eventually got used to it. Now, as a Lady, there are quite a few things I can do. I'm bad at most of them, like embroidery and painting, but the process makes me feel needed no matter the results.

«And here I thought that noblewomen had it easier,» the girl sighs. «I couldn't live like this, every day.»

«It's not every day,» I chuckle. Not from when I stopped being a Queen. It's just sometimes when the circumstances force me to defend myself or attack someone.

When dangers are far, my life is quite peaceful.

«It will be over soon,» I reassure her. «You'll have your mother and siblings back. Or at least you'll know what happened to them... The Viscount will be punished for his crimes, and something like this won't happen again.»

«It's not the first time the Viscount changes, but it didn't help in the past. It only got worse...»

«I guess that after seeing how a rebellion caused the fall of his father, he became stern to avoid you fighting against him. And he almost succeeded.»

«If it wasn't for milady passing by, we would have lost our families for good. And we would have thought that they all died. The truth is so much worse than death...»

«Indeed,» I say.

Slavery is worse than death in many aspects except one: from slavery, one can run away. One may live long enough to come back.

A couple of voices reaches us from the hallway, and Prim gets up and stands behind me as she's been instructed. I sip the tea, pretending not to have noticed the two men approaching.

«As you've seen, your grace, the people from Asteria know well the meaning of the word secrecy. They will deliver your message without advertising it around.» Viscount Prothus is speaking when they are at the door.

«I wouldn't be so careless if I were you, Viscount.» Alexander is a step behind, following him in the room and paying no attention to the maid nor me. He continues to talk as if it was normal for him not to acknowledge his wife's presence.

No smiles, no welcome kiss. Not even a glance. He's perfectly cold.

«What you're doing is questionable, for sure,» he continues. «And that amount of people might attract some attention. What will you do if someone comes asking what happened to them?»

«I've been careful, your grace. All those peasants are related to a group of bandits. If someone comes asking for them, I can just imprison him on the spot. There's no use wasting time with that.»

«Bandits? Are there bandits in this area?» Alexander mutters, stopping his walk and glaring at the Viscount. «I didn't know about it. I wouldn't have risked coming here with two guards alone if I had notice of bandits roaming in your fief.»

«They infest the forest. Avoid that road, and you'll be fine. Also, the path to and from the capital doesn't pass through the woods. You have nothing to worry about, your grace.»

«Mhm, that's good.»

Alexander stops next to my chair and looks down at me.

«Ready?» he inquires with the same clinic tone.

I just nod, and he turns towards the door.

«It was a pleasure to have met you, Viscount. I hope we'll see each other soon. Hopefully, at the court.»

«Yes, your grace. It was my honour!»

That said, we walk to the exit and get on the carriage. Alexander doesn't look back to check if I'm there, but he can hear my steps as I walk. I know he's conscious of my position, so I don't feel ignored even if he's not looking at me.

It feels cold not to have his eyes on me. But this will be solved in a few minutes. Just the time to get on the carriage.

He helps me up, as no gentleman in the Empire would allow a lady to climb on a carriage on her own.

The contact between our hands is short, but it's enough to squeeze our fingers together and remember that this is all fake. Not that I forgot it.

When the door is closed and the coachman directs the horses to start moving, I lean back on the seat and sigh.

«It was so hard for you, wasn't it?» Alexander inquires, already stretching out his arms to embrace me. He drags me in his lap and starts kissing my face and neck. «I haven't seen you so silent in a while. Maybe ever...»

«You're making it sound as if your wife is too chatty and noisy.»

«Oh, my dear, it's quite the contrary. But you're not silent either. Admit it: you can't keep quiet when you have something to say or a plan to carry on. It's part of you.»

«Maybe I was too surprised by my husband's cold stare to react. You didn't even look at me,» I pout. «What kind of behaviour is that?»

«One of a man not valuing his wife in the right way,» he confesses with a shrug. «Hence, there's no need to attack him through her.»

«Last year, you showed your devotion to the whole court.»

«Things change, Thea. A year passed, almost. This husband of yours might have grown tired of acting like an idiot.»

«So, this year, we're going to be cold to one another?»

«Yes, we will. Not much, just enough to make the right people think that our good relationship is just a farce.»

«And what about this?» I whisper, touching my stomach. «How are you going to explain this, you cold husband?»

«I guess it's part of my marital duty,» he replies. «Producing an heir to be a step closer to the throne. It has nothing to do with things between you and me.»

«You have an answer for everything.»

«We can't hide forever. Now that we started it, we better cut the monsters' heads before they have time to hurt us. We can't stop from this point on.»

«I agree,» I sigh. We have to attack with all our strength to make sure the head is cut off. We can't afford a small cut on the monsters' necks because, in that case, the falling head would be ours.

«When this is all over, I won't allow you to be in danger ever again. Even if it means tying you to the bed for good,» he murmurs against my neck. «I've waited to meet you, to live together in peace... But that day seems never to come. I'm so tired, Thea.»

«I know,» I say. «But that day will come, I promise. Once we stop Asteria's invasion and expose the people planning a coup, we'll have our peace far from everyone.»

«In Kyre?»

«Sure,» I chuckle. «Where else could we stay?»

«We had enough dreaming of the future,» he decides, all of a sudden. «Get back to the present and observe.»

«Observe what?» I ask, confused.

«What is going to happen to the Viscount. Our plan has set into motion. Let's see if everything proceeds as expected.»

«Aren't we supposed to reach the capital in a hurry?»

«We'll go once settled the matters with the kidnapped people. Now, be silent. You don't want the guards to hear our presence here.»

«Guards? Hear?»

I look out of the window and notice that the carriage stopped in between some bushes, right next to a small cliff. It's difficult to spot us here, indeed. But we can look at what happens on the road without much difficulty.

Not the guards nor the Asterians have passed here yet, which means we're early and can look at the show from beginning to end.