CHAPTER 5.5: REST

***The Dupree Palace library…***

“Kuro? Kuro…? Milord? Are you still with me?”

“Ah, yes…now, where are we?”

Kuro’s secretary and chamberlain, the Duchess of Braunhauer, Eris, stopped writing and put down her papers. She just stared at him for a quite a while, as if trying to read his thoughts.

Well, she’s not a saint, so Kuro’s confident his private sentiments are safe within the confines of his mind.

“I think we should stop this for a while,” she suddenly declared, setting aside the reports they received from the recruiting officers.

“Err…wait, what’s that we’re talking about?”

“Kuro,” Eris tried to hide her irritation by keeping a gentle voice, yet she continued, “you’ve been out of yourself lately. You’re just staring at the air even as we talk to you, and try to catch your attention. I think you need a break.”

“Uh, sorry…it’s just that, I got lots of concerns going on.”

The duchess gave the duke another long stare, and sighed. Then she grabbed him and held his head close to her chest. “Look, it’s not that I don’t understand what you’re going through,” she said as she stroked Kuro’s hair. “But, aren’t you pushing yourself too much? If you’re tired, you can always leave the recruitment and training matters to me. Remember, my family used to run a huge mercenary business before, so I know what to do with organizing and preparing armed companies.”

“Hmm…thank you for your concern, Eris,” the duke gently squeezed her hand. “However, I’m not really that tired. I mean, I can still deal with the matters of the army we’re creating; what worries me are those expectations being put to me by everyone…haha.”

“Oh…expectations of who?”

“Well, the Lady Seirna—”

“She…” Eris eyes widened in surprise, “…she talked to you?”

“Personal matters…but yeah, Her Holiness did talk to me, mostly about the threat in Cherwoods, urging me to speed up the army preparations, which I can’t do without compromising the soldiers’ efficiency and survival. And also, there’s also the Lady Meanor. She begged me to save her lover, the Lord Gerard—that elf whom the Seductress possessed, and is now the de facto authority in Cherwoods.”

“Wow…I can’t believe she really did tell you that.”

“You know about her request?”

The young maid nodded. “She’s been asking me about it, maybe testing the waters about your mood towards her. After all, that elf distrusted you until now.”

“You’re not a saint yet you got good eyes.”

“Call it a woman’s intuition, milord,” she winked at him. “Still, though, I’m kind of annoyed at the Lady Meanor. After all that you did for her, sacrificing your right eye? She’s still got the guts to request more from you.”

“She can’t help it, I guess. I mean, if you put yourself in her shoes…the man you love is in danger, won’t you do the same?”

“Well, you always put yourself in danger, that’s why I can’t stop worrying.”

Kuro was honestly surprised by her words. He knew of Eris’ feelings towards him, but the way she answered got him flustered. ‘Smooth talking there, huh, Eris?’ he thought.

“Make no mistake, milord. I understand why the Lady Meanor requested it; however, I still can’t help but get angry. I don’t want to see my future husband hurt at all.”

‘Yes, I love you too, Eris,’ Kuro said to himself.

Then, they both fell silent for a few moments, before Eris said, “See…well, I’m also afraid, you know? That monster in Cherwoods…we don’t even know what the future holds. Maybe Her Holiness the Lady Natasha does, but as for us, we have no idea.”

“Yes…” the duke nodded, but honestly, he didn’t know what to say. Kuro understood their fears; he would like to pass this burden to someone else, if he could.

“No, I think you took my fears for something else,” the duchess corrected him. “The Seductress? No, I’m not afraid of her. At least, not more than at the thought of losing you again, milord. Remember those six years I—we—forgot about you? I’m scared that it will happen again. Looking back at those times, I feel guilty that you’re not even bitter at us for doing that.”

“I don’t think you guys can help it though,” Kuro pointed out. “When the saints severed the connection between Cherflammen and the other worlds, it’s only natural that everyone would forget the people left in that realm. Well, I got bitter, alright…though not because you guys forgot about me, but more on my fate. I think it’s only normal that I expect some kind of a ‘good ending’ when I sacrificed a lot. However, Fate decreed I go to that dark, cold prison. Isn’t it kind of ironic? Although I’ve known a lot of people in my old world that suffered because they did the right thing, it was a different feeling when you’re the one who’s in their place.”

Kuro could tell that Eris took his words the wrong way. She said nothing, and the lady’s hands stopped caressing his head. The duke turned and face her; the sadness in the duchess’ eyes were overwhelming and…well, even though he was not used to it, he held her face.

“Eris, uhm…you know, I don’t want to lose the people I love in the most painful manner. So, if I’m given the chance to do it, I’ll do it again,” Kuro paused, because yes, he just said the very thing they were afraid of. He quickly retorted it with, “Well, I’ll come back alive, no worries.”

The duke’s heartbeat went faster. Gazing at Eris like that, when she’s at her most vulnerable, was something he didn’t expect. Feeling her soft, auburn hair, looking at her dark brown eyes. She was so beautiful, yet…her sadness was chipping his heart away. Kuro never wanted to make this lovely lady sad.

However…

Eris suddenly laughed, though not that type intended to insult him. It was more of an amused laugh, something Kuro was pleasantly surprised about. “Milord, you’re really cute when you’re nervous,” she said with a nasty smirk, though her cheeks were also red. “Yes, I know that it pains you more to see us suffer, but it’s the same for us. We don’t want you to always put your life on the line; you can rely on us more. Like Her Holiness the Lady Madelaine and Lady Lilyhaven, I love you enough to ask you to share your burdens on me.”

The Duke of Maverny stared at the Braunhauer duchess. Though she was still young, this lady was willing to go into hardships just to help someone like him. Well, as the man she loved, Kuro swore in his heart he won’t waste that trust.

“Thank you, Eris,” the duke kissed her hand, just like how a knight would pledge his faithfulness to his lady. “So, uh, can you please take care of the recruitment and training for me? I have to attend to the other issues for a while, so this plan will be successful.”