“…You’re welcome.”
As the kallum blossoms danced around him, bathing in the light of the setting sun, Derek smiled softly.
And thus—I finally attained a fake boyfriend.
Right after our agreement was formed, Derek and I had a thorough conversation. We had to get our stories straight so we wouldn’t mess up on the big day. If Father gave us the third degree and our questions didn’t sync up, our little lie would be dead in the water.
I pushed for the secret-romance-blossomed-between-us-since-childhood trope, but Derek rejected me outright. The big meanie.
“Isn’t that…a bit too difficult to pull off? Since childhood is a tall order. We barely had any interactions back then. The more they dig into our pasts, the more cracks in the story they’ll find.”
“Okay then, how about we say it started a few months ago?”
“That would probably be a good timeline. It’s after the war, besides,” Derek agreed. “We can say our feelings changed because the war was over.”
“Ooh, let’s say we exchanged letters under fake names.”
And that’s how we hammered down all the little details.
“Do you suppose we should do more lover-like things leading up to the formal introduction?” I asked.
Like see each other more often? Or go on dates?
“I wouldn’t mind that…”
I sense a “but.”
“Suddenly being out in the open together would be a bit too contrived—it would actually raise suspicion. You’ve supposedly kept your lover secret this whole time, after all. Why would you suddenly act chummy with me just days before the formal introduction?”
Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t do that…
It would be more natural to just keep things as they have been until the day-of…
“But we did dance together at the junior ball, didn’t we?” I asked.
“Well, that’s neither here nor there. The nobility is keeping watch in real time whether I fall to destruction or glory. According to my subordinates, my odds are sixty-forty.”
What the hell? Sixty…forty?
My confusion must have shown, for Derek smirked and explained, “The nobility are starved for excitement, right? So they place bets. The odds of me falling to destruction are sixty percent, and the odds of me rising to glory are forty. Well, actually, after the survey, the odds changed to fifty-fifty… In other words, only Octavia knows my fate.”
“Well, you’re playing the role of my lover—you’d better rise to glory.”
“I appreciate your vote of confidence.”
Lastly, we arranged to have Derek come to the castle the day before the Meet the Parents to go over a final checklist together. He had plans to visit Sil that day anyway, so that worked out well. Until he was introduced formally as my lover, he would “happen to bump into me” while visiting Sil. During that meeting, we would go over our plan of attack for the next day, and this would include practicing lovingly calling each other by name and such.
That way, I could also get a Sil update from Derek, so win-win!
After that little strategy meeting, I got in my carriage and headed back home. I turned and waved at Lucinda, who came to see me off.
“We depart!”
At the signal, Klifford and two soldiers gripped their horse reins and galloped as the carriage took off. I watched the Nightfellow villa get smaller and smaller through the carriage window.
I set Blackfeather down by my side and reclined into the bench seat.
Ahh… Now that the fake boyfriend dilemma was resolved, I suddenly felt very tired.
Karl’s driving was impeccable as ever, so the ride was smooth and comfortable.
“…”
My mind went blank in relief.
I rubbed my eyes… I was getting sleepy.
Just like the carriage ride over, I was jostled for a mere thirty minutes before we passed through the castle gate and parked the carriage. The sudden stop jolted me awake from my little doze. I shook my head to ward off my drowsiness. I had to get out.
Oopsie, can’t forget my things—I need Blackfeather and that thing I asked Lucinda for.
I grabbed the basket handle. Lucinda had placed them in a cute basket so it would be easy for me to carry. Klifford had already dismounted and was offering me a hand, but as I had to carry the basket with both hands, I stepped outside on my own.
Okay. Now, let’s get right to it—
I pulled one of the items out of the basket. It was something I requested the minute our teatime was over. The special confectionary that could only be enjoyed at the Nightfellow villa—specialty eba!
I had asked if she could send some to the castle in a few days, but she insisted I take some home with me that very day and asked the chef to whip up a batch then and there.
So I returned to the castle with a souvenir. Even though my main objective was to get my own stash, since I’d told her it was mostly to give away as gifts, each pastry was individually wrapped…and there were way more eba in the basket than I had anticipated.
I’ll divvy most of these up with my handmaids and—
“Klifford.” I called to him, holding out some of the specialty eba. Klifford’s gaze fell to the eba in my hand, a hint of doubt mixing with the indigo in his eyes. “This is for you.”
“For me—”
I nodded. “Remember how you helped me eat breakfast yesterday when I went to visit my father in his study?”
“But there’s no reason to give me anything this time.”
Right, I gave him those sandwiches under the premise that we couldn’t finish them all. Aha. I guess Klifford needs some sort of reason to accept a gift. Okay, let’s give him a reason.