WE always strive to maintain the image of a loving couple in the public eye, and I’ve even gone so far as to let Abigail sit in my lap as she is currently, but her blunt statement shocks me.
Rodney’s hands tremble as he stoops to gather the papers scattered over the floor.
“Oh! Me! I’ll help!”
I raise a hand before Abigail can dash to his side. “H-He’s fine. Go back to your work, Abby.” I kneel to assist him instead, willing the heat in my ears to dissipate.
Rodney crouches next to me in the shadow of my desk. Damn it! Shut up already.
“I-I-I heard His Highness has i-i-invited you to work in the palace, my lady. Y-Y-You’re so talented—are you not interested? Oh, i-is this the right record f-f-for this district?”
“I like my lord’s reward more. No, this one belongs here, and that one goes there.”
“I-I see. So this one’s f-f-for this. R-Reward? Y-You seem very close.”
“He always brings back delicious souvenirs, so I look forward to welcoming him home.”
“Delicious? B-B-But the palace serves delicious food too. Here, th-th-this village, I couldn’t find it on any m-map.”
“It’s here. My lord’s souvenirs are special.”
The conversation lurches between the two in that strange way, and I don’t dare even glance at them. I’m starting to sweat, for goodness’ sake. Rodney has resumed his seat without a word.
“When he was in m-m-magic school, V-Viscount Noel was r-really cute with a cool attitude, so he was v-very popular.”
“Wait, wait, wait! What did you—” I leap to my feet in protest, only to knock my hip painfully into the chair. Rodney! What…? Don’t look at me like that!
“My lord was cute?” Abigail leans over the back of the sofa, head in one hand as she contemplates me with a serious expression.
Damn. To be called cute? I’ll never admit something like that.
“…Cute,” she mutters.
Rodney makes a choking sound.
Fine, I concede I hit puberty late and took a while to start gaining height. Not that I was very small, but since the other boys were already big and tall, I looked skinny in comparison.
“I think Master only began to bulk up around seventeen years of age. Before that, he did have sort of an ambiguous vibe,” Rodney supplies unhelpfully.
“Seventeen…” she repeats.
“Th-Th-That’s right. M-My classmates said the same thing. Yes. Viscount Noel w-was always unpredictable, so I-I was wondering if he’s s-still the same.”
“Didn’t you think so too, Miss Rickman?” teases Rodney.
“M-M-Me?! I-I-I wouldn’t d-dare!”
“You sure about that?”
“How surprising… My lord is always smiling, and he’s so kind,” Abigail muses.
“I-I-I see. Th-That’s really unexpec— Ouch!”
The male aide, I think his name is McGregor, elbows Rickman hard in her side. About time. My subordinates would never allow one another to get so out of hand.
✦ ✦ ✦
🎂🎂🎂
THE aides finally leave right before lunch.
“It’s smoked salmon from Mother-in-Law!”
While an excited Abigail gushes over her bagel sandwich as Rodney slices it in half, I break the seal on the letter McGregor passed to me on his way out. The wax bears no signet, so I presume it’s from Prince Dominic. “Yes. Cream cheese and salmon do go well together.” How cute she is.
Although he promised not to probe into the particulars of her Gift, he did witness all the peculiar events that transpired in Longhurst, and would likely want to understand them to a degree. Which is fine as long as he keeps his findings a secret.
“My lord, it’s chewy but crunchy but chewy again.”
“Is it tasty?”
“Yes! You should have one too, my lord!”
The documents he unearthed in the crown’s clandestine archive before our trip merely warn not to meddle with Longhurst. His letter seems to concern his research since. And considering that it contains classified information from a repository of forbidden texts, the prince did well to sneak it to me via his aide.
I scan the contents. It is an account of how, about two hundred years past, the royal family annexed a small, forested country bordering Longhurst.
Besieged by disasters such as droughts, heavy rains, and landslides, the country was soon left ungoverned since no noble wanted to settle there. Presently, it’s simply a neutral parcel of land with no appeal. Does the royal family seek to restore it to glory?
Actually, the rain that accompanied our departure from Longhurst has yet to cease, and messenger birds bring reports that some fields have been inundated with water. The territory is essentially a forest surrounded by mountains, the land decreasing in altitude the further in one travels. That was why the prince couldn’t assign more staff to help us. Everyone is busy dealing with what’s happening there.
Despite my wish for all the fertile soil and locals to be washed away by the flooding, the region is under the management of the royal family. Longhurst’s revitalization is probably possible, though it will definitely take a long time. I still hope that all those plotting to harm Abigail suffer such that they have neither the time nor energy to pursue her anymore.
As lunch draws to a close, I’m informed that our guards have arrived as scheduled, and we head to the entrance to meet them. Unfortunate, since I wanted to let Abigail nap in the bedroom adjoining my office before our next appointment.
As we walk the corridor, her red hair catches the sunlight streaming through the windows, its glossy shine drawing the eyes of everyone who passes us.
If only I could keep her from public view. If only I could go home with her now.
She pulls at her sleeves and extends her arms. She looks up at me, her lips tight with determination and her golden eyes bright. “I need to buy clothes, my lord.”
“O-Oh? How rare. Shall I have the seamstress visit?”
“Yes. I’m seventeen too and will get bigger soon.”
“Hmm?”
“Humans can grow bigger…”
“Oh, I see, yes, but there’s no rush. We’ll order new clothes once you actually do.”
How cute! I doubt she’ll grow any taller, but I can’t tell her that!