Teo heaved a soul-deep sigh. He stared up at the ceiling, then kneaded his forehead in frustration, ruffling his still-wet bangs. “I need not be physically present to deduce that the two of you have not crossed that particular threshold. The morning after such an event typically leaves the lady in a state of lethargy—at the very least, deprived of a proper night’s rest. Her Highness, on the morning following your wedding, appeared anything but fatigued.”
I nodded along, almost impressed despite the delicate nature of the conversation. Could one truly discern so much from mere secondhand observation? But as admiration flickered within me, a sense of violation smothered it out. This was our privacy he was trampling upon!
“Teo, I have nothing but respect for your keen eye for detail, but would you please refrain from using it to pry into my private life?” I asked sharply. “What happens between Lina and me is none of your business!”
He heaved a smaller sigh this time, then straightened up and looked attentively at me. “Allow me to remind you, Your Highness, that you came to me. And allow me to ask you this: Have you considered how Her Highness might feel about all this? Have you asked her? She is more sensitive than most, and I would wager that your silence on the matter of your consummation, or rather, the lack thereof, has already planted seeds of anxiety in her heart far deeper than any action on your part ever could.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“How much longer do you intend to take advantage of her kindness?” he continued. “If you believe her patience to be boundless, then you’ll have an unpleasant surprise when she eventually loses her faith in you.”
His mellifluous tone and wide grin belied the sharp and cutting nature of his words.
“But let us pray it doesn’t come to that,” he added, delivering a final, ominous blow.
Unable to refute his points, I felt my shoulders slump. An image of Lina filled my mind, her turning her back to me for the final time as she walked away. Goodbye, Edward. Her voice echoed with a painful clarity, and panic surged within me.
“She’s...going to leave me?” I whispered.
“Perhaps,” Teodore said coldly. “Oh, but of course, I only mean that she might do so emotionally. You two are bound in a political marriage, after all. Divorce is not a liberty allowed to either of you.”
“N-Not emotionally!” I cried out in alarm, my brow furrowing as fear churned violently within my chest. I clenched my fists, struggling to maintain my composure. The mere thought of her distancing herself from me, especially now that we had finally begun to grow closer, was too painful to bear.
Teodore gave a small, indifferent shrug. “Then you would be wise to heed my counsel. I am not asking you to stride at once to your chambers and take her right then and there. I am only requesting that you consider it with the gravity it deserves.”
I let out a pained grunt.
“As a matter of fact, why are you so reticent on the matter?” Teodore pressed.
The simplicity and directness of the question, coming as it did from my only childhood friend, froze me to the core. I tried to avert my gaze, but I found myself unable to look away from Teodore’s chilling smile. A cold sweat broke out across my back, my instincts screaming at me: Speak now, or you will never hear the end of this.
“Teo.” My voice was choked. “Promise me you won’t laugh.”
“I promise,” he answered immediately, in a tone that was for once devoid of any mockery.
“The reason I haven’t been able to bring myself to consummate my marriage with Lina is...I fear I would be unable to take her gently.”
A crack formed in Teo’s ever-present smile. “Excuse me?” The lines beside his eyes drew further taut, as if to say, I knew you were an idiot, but this...
He sighed deeply. “It is as I thought. You suffer from nothing short of abject cowardice. Poor Princess Carolina, my sympathy is with her—for she must have the patience of a Saint to deal with a man so utterly spineless.”
I let out another groan.
The smile disappeared from Teo’s face—a sure sign, as I came to recognize, that a serious lecture was imminent. “A woman’s first time is often more inclined to be painful than not, and I have no doubt that Her Highness is far more aware of this than I,” he said, his voice steady and unyielding. “Therefore—act. And soon—unless you want her heart to drift away.”
A heavy sigh escaped me. Despite his stern tone, I knew that his advice came from a place of genuine concern. Teo had always been the one unafraid to take on the unenviable tasks, to say the harsh truths that needed to be heard.
I didn’t want to hurt Carolina. I held that conviction close to my heart. But if the choice was between hurting her or losing her companionship forever, I wasn’t sure I had the strength to stand by my convictions. I knew that she was the woman meant to stand by me for the rest of my life. I wanted her to know that her place was beside me, to feel safe and comfortable in letting me be her protector for all her days. And as I arrived at that conclusion, I finally felt a semblance of strength start to seep back into my voice. “All right,” I said. “I’ll think on it—carefully.”
A satisfied glint appeared in Teo’s peridot eyes. He nodded, and I immediately began to consider my options. At any rate, whatever happens—or doesn’t happen, as the case may be—should wait until the night of Noel at the very least. Lina is preoccupied with her ceremonial duties right now, and I don’t want to do anything that might disrupt her focus. Not that I intended to press her into anything she won’t be comfortable with, of course! I’m merely trying to anticipate the worst-case scenario, since this will be the first time for both of us.
This was the kind of sad man I was. Even as I resolved to treasure Lina, my mind kept running with excuses, filling me with doubts. My cheeks flushed, my eyes darted nervously around the room, and I heard a derisive laugh escape Teo’s lips.
“You truly are a spineless coward, aren’t you, Your Highness?” he sighed, his tone dripping with amusement.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the glint of giddy impudence behind them unmistakable as he began fastening the buttons of his shirt.