"Take a look at it." I said as she picked up the documents.
She held them with trembling fingers, her eyes darting across the lines of logistics, land surveys, and intercepted 'orders'
"...what is this ?" she asked, her voice small and tight.
"Evidence," I stated, my voice devoid of emotion. "As you can see, these documents indicate that Galos have been eyeing the Mines of your Carvy territory for a while. And the only way to take it was ...well, defeating the Carvy family. Or taking it as a dowry, which had a very low chances of happening. So, he still gave the marriage, most likely, expecting to get rejected."
"I see..." She stared at the papers for a long time. I could see the tension leaving her shoulders, the jagged edges of her self-loathing beginning to smooth over.
She is taking it more calmly than i had anticipated. Fortunately, she have calmed down.
That should be natural, since if, what the documents show is real, Galos would most likely, attack Carvy regardless of whether his proposal got accepted or not. Maybe he would try something else to take the mines. Accepting the proposal would have only invited the wolf into the house sooner.
She seemed to find a flicker of peace in that thought. And that was the goal.
Of course, all of her assumptions would be correct, only if what the documents show her is actually real.
...Which is not the case. Since, these Documents, every word on those pages—the surveys, the orders, the dates—was a fabrication, forged on my own command.
Why did I forge them ?
Because I knew. If I succeeded in finding her, She would most definitely blame this tragedy on herself. So, this was the only way I could think of to lessen her guilt.
I hate lies. I despise them. People who lie and even if it is myself lying, I still hate it.
But...
I looked at her who was reading the documents with utmost attention.
If it's for the sake of bringing a little piece of mind to her, it's all worth it.
After that, she told me the remaining story of what she has been doing for the past months.
...and it was not a pleasant story.
She had survived as an adventurer, because being the sheltered lady she was, magic was the only thing she could make a living out of.
But adventurers deal with not just monsters but also humans. Both bad and good ones.
And She too hadn't just faced monsters, she had faced the predatory gaze of men who saw a lone, beautiful woman as a prize.
There were apparently times when she was almost kidnapped and even... Forget it.
In short, in these past months she has learned the meaning of the phrase, 'Beauty is a Sin that will drown you, if you do not have the power to protect it.'
Fortunately, the worst had been avoided. Had it not... I would have spent my afternoon personally preparing the Volk dungeons, polishing the 'tools' of interrogation for guests who would never see the sun again.
It would also be a great opportunity to practice the '105 ways to kill and torture a man', that our commander had taught Us. I still have not tried 63 out of 105 ways, after all.
The reason she did not come earlier to the Volk house, despite having my card was because, she did not have anyone to trust in the Volk house, except for me. And my family members did not know about her either.
"I heard the rumors of your return about a month ago," she whispered, her eyes drifting to the window. "I've been traveling ever since. I didn't have money for a carriage throughout the whole journey, so I... I walked. I had to reach you, Theo. You were the only one left."
The reason she was in such a haggard state, was because she has continuously been traveling to come here, for me. And that pains me ..even more.
*******
Once the fever broke and the color returned to her cheeks, the dynamic in my room shifted from medical emergency to a battle of wills. she had decided to work as a maid in the Volk estate.
"I am going to work as a maid, Theo," she announced, her voice regaining that sharp, rhythmic clarity I had missed for two years.
"Absolutely not," I countered, not even looking up from my ledger. "You are a guest of this House. You will rest, you will recover, and you will stay out of sight."
"I am not a guest; I am a refugee," she said, standing her ground with a stubbornness that would have made a mule proud. "I will earn my keep"
At first, i refused but she insisted, saying that she can't stay here for free and she doesn't want to go anywhere else.
Not like I would allow her to go somewhere else, as long as i am here.
Working and living among commoners for these past months seems to have taught her some ridiculous sense of integrity.
I advised her to dye her hair but she was reluctant to do that as well and so, I gave her a low level artifact from the Volk treasury, a simple silver hairpin shaped like a lotus.
It can't even change the appearance of the face but only the hair or skin or eye color. But it was enough.
Perfect for her.
I told the head maid to keep an eye on her and make sure she is not doing too much work. I strictly advice her to give her enough tasks to satisfy her 'integrity,' but ensure she is never assigned to heavy labor.
********
Months passed by.
During these months, I spent a lot of my time with her.
Eventually after a long time, I came to realise my feelings as well as hers. Not that i did not know before, but... I just wasn't sure. It is not my domain of expertise, after all.
And in my defence, She always used round about approach, instead of direct confrontation.
I proposed marriage to her several times. Each time, I was met with a gentle, firm refusal.
But i could tell, the problem did not lie in me but rather in the complex problems that I might have to face later on, if I bring her, a fallen noble daughter, a woman the world deemed dead and now a commoner, as the lady of the Volk house.
And she also seemed to hate the very idea of getting married or rather ....she was afraid of it? I did not know the reason.
But, I was still happy to be able to spend time with her.
But, my joy did not live long. A Royal decree came.
The new King gave his Royal decree. A decree for me to Marry his sister, the princess, Princess Gilda Von Regulus.