Once Iris exited the room, Louis de Armelia, her father, reflected on their conversation and chuckled. A great deal had happened, and all in a single day. First, Iris’s expulsion from the academy and the nullification of her engagement…all in step with established procedure. The truth was, he could have stopped her at any point once he learned of her actions during the term. He hadn’t, however, in order to have her engagement nullified.
That was for the best. Even if his daughter hadn’t acted like a lovelorn fool, he would have claimed she was sick and had the engagement nullified by his own power. Either way, once that was done, he had intended to make her step back from noble society by entering a nunnery. She had been so besotted with the second prince that he had been sure she wouldn’t listen, but such was the way of willful girls.
However, at this evening’s meeting, Iris had seemed calm, even relieved, despite the humiliating final encounter with the man she loved. Not only that, she managed to express her arguments with incisive clarity.
Interesting… he thought.
The demands of his position meant he wasn’t often able to interact with his children, leaving his wife to spoil them instead. It seemed his daughter had grown into a well-bred noble, with no faults to speak of. His son, on the other hand, had grown overconfident and seemed to lack any kind of follow-through. The duke’s plan had been to whip his son into shape once he started his governing duties.
Plans aside, his daughter had spoken with surprising insight into key elements, and even guessed his thoughts with pinpoint accuracy. How tragic, he thought at first, that my daughter should possess a keener eye for the flow of the world than my son. At least she knew her worth.
All in all, it was as if, in the blink of an eye, she had become a totally different person. However, during her speech, he’d reflected on prior cases of her odd behavior. The most prominent example of this was her disinterest in expensive presents; instead, she repeatedly negotiated for permission to take in common-born orphans.
The duke had initially assumed Iris desired a set of servants trained to attend her needs from an early age, and thus he had given his consent. Her repeated failure to treat the orphans as her staff had seemed quite strange, but he let it pass for a time, until the day he insisted on a shred of decorum. Her expression today had brought him straight back to that time.
She does nothing with these orphans. What a waste, he’d thought. And now here he was, appointing her acting governor. What a whimsical impulse. Fortunately, Sebastian was currently governing in the duke’s place; he would prevent Iris from making any truly irreversible mistakes.
All in all, it would prove interesting to see exactly what Iris could accomplish.
As the duke continued to mull over their exchange, his wife, Merellis Reiser Armelia, entered the study.
“Dear, must Iris really…?” She didn’t yet know what he’d told their daughter. Thus, concerned, Merellis had come to ask about her.
“No, I changed my mind. She is to return to our territory and assume duties as acting governor.”
“My! But isn’t that too much responsibility?” Her tone leapt for joy upon hearing Iris wouldn’t be confined to a nunnery, but her concern quickly found a new roost.
“She showed promise today. It could be fruitful to test her.”
“Really? I understand she was far too straightforward in today’s incident, so entrusting her with such a task… It worries me.”
Today’s incident… In other words, the nullification of her engagement due to her quarrels with a baron’s daughter. Iris had come straight out and admitted to her “snide comments.” The duke snorted. Iris could have used her position as a duke’s daughter to gain allies, solidify her foundation, and manipulate popular sentiment, if she’d so wished. And yet she had resorted to the most frivolous, straightforward tactics imaginable.
As a result, she’d been chased into a corner with no chance to defend herself against things she hadn’t even done. She had allowed herself to be used by the other children who disliked the baron’s daughter. They had masterfully manipulated the situation, incriminating Iris for events she had not in truth been involved with. Louis couldn’t help but wish Iris had picked up a bit of Merellis’s worldly wisdom. He disliked how his wife coddled their children, but she was strict with herself and her conduct was such that, as her husband, Louis never had reason to interfere with her affairs. At present, Merellis seemed to blame Louis for foreseeing the fallout and doing nothing to stop it.
“Iris must have learned something from this incident,” Louis mused. “She really has changed. She spoke as if she truly understood her position.”
“Well… Hee hee! You still seem so calm. I suppose she didn’t hit upon your true intentions yet, did she?”
Louis smiled wryly. There was one thing Iris had failed to pick up on: the reason he had permitted her engagement. As prime minister, he of course would have preferred she be betrothed to the first prince. However, he’d assented to her union with Prince Edward simply because his daughter wanted it. People called him the Icy Prime Minister, but in the end, he was just another father inclined to be sweet on his daughter.
Ultimately, as Iris had stated, he had resigned himself to thinking of the engagement as a means to control the second prince. Once it was approved, he had abandoned the notion of hands-off neutrality and taken to following the royal family’s every move, adjusting his long-term plans in accordance.
I was so convinced that with my power, I could shape the world how I wished… I hardly deserve to judge my son. The corner of the duke’s lips turned up in a sneer. In reality, the battle for the throne had grown privately vicious, despite his efforts. Eventually, Iris would be thrown into that whirlpool.
Thus, he had decided to have her step back from noble society before she fell too deep into the current. Of course, once the commotion died down, he’d planned to have her return home. But Iris’s performance today made him rethink this decision. She was no longer a little girl to be coddled and protected. In fact, the duke even dared hope she could overcome the rapids on her own. He was excited to see just how she would proceed.
✦ ✦ ✦
Upon receiving my father’s orders I, Iris, moved to the duchy of Armelia. Today was my first day back.
The duchy of Armelia was situated southeast of the capital, about a week’s carriage ride away taking the straightest road. To the east was the sea, and to the west rose mountains. Its lands were vast, second only to the capital, and it overflowed with natural beauty. Its port and bountiful agriculture put it in a unique position to trade with other countries. Furthermore, the careful policies of generations of dukes had long maintained public order.
Before entering the academy, Berne, my mother, and I had spent our days here outside of the social season. Ever since I moved away, however, I had spent even my extended holidays at the country estate, so it did feel quite nostalgic to be back.
The bright rising sun illuminated the land as I did my early morning yoga. Morning exercise wakes up the body and is good for your health. And, well, I’d grown a little chubby. The grand position of duke’s daughter meant I could eat as much luxurious, high-calorie food as I wanted, so of course I’d put on weight. Thus, on top of exercise, I had also decided to diet.
“Good morning, my lady—eep!”
“Oh, Tanya. Morning.”
Obviously, she had come with me to the duchy. Since I wasn’t to be banished to a nunnery, I assumed this was fine. But what had her so riled up?
“‘Morning,’ nothing! My lady, what in the world are you doing dressed like that?”
“Dressed like what?”
I looked at my clothes: a hastily thrown-on servant’s hemp pants and top. Perfect for exercising, no? “I’m thinking of exercising every morning to keep up my health. I chose something easy to move in, but was that a mistake?”
“You’re…exercising?” Tanya looked at me, puzzled. I suppose it was odd, to say the least, to see a daughter of the peerage stretching and moving in such a way.
“Yes, I read in a book that if you don’t keep your body moving, it’s bad for your health. Thus, I’ll be doing this every morning. Try not to be surprised every time.”
“Understood… Forgive me.”
“It’s fine. Now that I’m sweaty, could you draw me a bath?”
“Of course.”
Once Tanya was done, I bathed and then had breakfast. Since I had just exercised, I had quite an appetite. I still remembered to maintain a healthy nutritional balance, though.
“I’d like to speak to Sebastian about the future. Could you set up an appointment for me?”
“Right away.”
Tanya quickly did as I asked, and just before noon I went to see Sebastian.