As the smell of burning parchment slowly faded into the quiet of his chamber, Miller closed the window. He swallowed hard, his heart doing a nervous flutter as he walked over to the old connecting door that led straight into the Viscountess’s bedroom. He raised his hand to knock, but found himself freezing up, hovering in front of the wood for a few agonizing minutes.
Click... clack...
The door suddenly rattled from the other side, swinging open before he could make a sound.
“I knew it. You take a step forward with so much confidence, only to take a step back just as quickly,” Francesca said, leaning heavily on her cane as she looked up at him with an amused sigh.
“What? I did make the first move in the dining room, you know!” Miller defended himself, clenching his hands into defensive fists as he muttered, “I am trying just as much as you are...”
Francesca smiled warmly, reaching out to gently take one of his hands in hers. “I know, Miller. I was just teasing you.”
Miller nodded, his tense shoulders relaxing. Supporting her carefully, he walked with Francesca into her bedroom. He leaned down and effortlessly scooped her up, placing her gently onto the plush mattress of her large bed.
Settling against the pillows, Francesca looked up at him with an expectant, slightly mischievous glint in her eyes. “We have already slept on a shared bed once before, so... shouldn't we try to make some real progress tonight?”
“W-what exactly do you have in mind...?” Miller asked, a fierce blush already creeping onto his cheeks.
Francesca squeezed his hand. “Let’s try embracing each other while we sleep.”
Miller’s face instantly flushed a deep, vibrant crimson. His mind went wild, completely misinterpreting her words and taking 'embrace' as a provocative double entendre.
Noticing the wild, panicked look in his eyes, Francesca laughed out loud and sharply dragged him down onto the mattress alongside her. “Wait! What on earth are you thinking?! I literally just meant hugging!”
“Ah...” Miller murmured, settling onto the bed and wrapping his large, strong arms securely around her waist, pulling her close against his chest. Francesca smirked, resting her head against him. “Woah... look at you, showing quite a bit of eagerness, huh?” she teased, waiting for him to stammer out an excuse.
Instead, Miller let out a soft, contented sigh. “Yes... I am.”
Hearing his completely honest, unhesitating reply, the words caught in Francesca's throat. The tables were instantly turned yet again, and her own face flushed a bright, burning red. Locked tightly in his warm embrace, the room fell into a comfortable, quiet rhythm as they simply stayed like that, drifting off to sleep together in the heart of the northern Ironwood mountain.
____
____
The next morning, as the bright rays of sunlight broke over the peaks and hit Francesca's face, she opened her eyes. She didn't feel Miller's warm presence next to her, so she lazily waved her hand around the empty sheets, still drowsy and trying to find him.
“Ah... I woke up first. I didn’t want to disturb your sleep,” Miller's voice called out softly. He was already standing across the room, fully dressed in his official coat and preparing to attend the morning's meetings.
“Why are you up so early?” Francesca yawned, sitting up against the headboard and stretching her arms wide.
“Well... your father has been making it rather difficult for us to start construction on the two proposed roads,” Miller said, shifting to sit on the edge of the mattress as he struggled to tie his cravat. “He's systematically raising the prices of all raw materials across the neighboring territories.”
Francesca crawled forward across the soft sheets, reaching out to gently take the fabric from his clumsy fingers. “Let me do it.”
Miller relaxed, letting Francesca take over as he continued to vent his frustrations. “Plus, there's the usual rubbish the council of vassals is up to. They are completely adverse to any defense strategy other than their age-old 'one-road policy.' Because of that, the meetings just keep moving in circles. If only the Duke would run out of expendable money soon, he'd be forced to stop inflating the local market prices.”
Francesca meticulously finished tying the perfect knot in his cravat, giving it a gentle, final pat against his chest. “That won’t happen, Miller. It’s true that even a Duke can’t keep throwing funds away indefinitely just to artificially inflate prices... which means this is clearly not his actual end game. He doesn’t operate like that.”
Miller stood up, nodding grimly as her political insight hit the mark. “You are right... I doubt that price inflation is the whole plan he has in mind, either.” He let out a sigh, adjusting his lapels. “That’s exactly what the council and I will be discussing today. Hopefully, someone will actually bring something useful to the table for once.”
As Miller turned to leave, Francesca reached out and caught his hand. He stopped in his tracks, turning back to look at her in confusion.
Francesca didn't say a word. She simply closed her eyes, tilted her chin up, and pointed a deliberate finger right to the center of her forehead, pushing her face slightly forward.
“W-what exactly do you wish... for me to do...” Miller stammered. He clearly understood exactly what she wanted, yet his nervous nature made him ask anyway.
Francesca simply shook his hand gently, refusing to open her eyes or back down, letting out a soft, expectant, “Hmm.”
Miller readied himself, taking one deep, stabilizing breath. Then, moving with the lightning-fast speed of a seasoned battlefield commander, he leaned down, planted a quick, tender peck right on her forehead, and instantly rushed out of the bedroom.
Out in the corridor, Miller’s boots stamped heavily against the stone floor as he walked away at a brisk pace. His face was flushed a brilliant, burning red, but a wide, unstoppable smile was plastered across his lips.
Back in the quiet bedroom, Francesca sat frozen on the sheets, her own face burning just as bright red. Pressing her fingertips softly against the spot where his lips had just been, a matching, happy smile finally broke across her face.