"Okay, you win, who is this husband of yours?" Protector Klienn asked, giving in, and Helen smirked at his defeat.
"Walter? He,..." she started, then paused. Her action made the protector narrow his eyes at her.
"Don't tell me you don't know who your husband is," he said.
"Of course, I know! It's just that I know him as a person. You are asking about his occupation," she said and he frowned.
"You don't know what he does? Helen, he gave you The Religion's stay-away order!"
"He had always been like that. Since I met him, he... well, I don't really know," she said with a blush. Of course, this was a lie. She wanted to say that Walter worked for Lady Wickshire, and after she had heard of how powerful Lady Wickshire could be the night of her uncle's wedding, she was confident her clan could not touch him. Especially now that he is working. But, people don't just come out to say that a person work's for Lady Wickshire. That is why she had kept quiet all these years when she noticed her friends; Lord Morge and Lord of Merve were working for the lady. To her, this was a trump card. Her new family with Walter needed protection. She knew that standing against the clan was not something she could do on her own. She needed to keep some things hidden.
"What do you mean by this?" Protector Klienn did not like the fact that some unknown man was married to Helen. What was his motive? Did he know that Helen has become the only remaining heir from the direct line? If he knows this, did he have a hand in the demise of the other descendants? These questions crossed the protector's mind, but he did not voice them.
"I was trying to help the king get rid of his former queen. At the time, money from the vault was missing and Walter knew about it. I already knew about it; a spy from the Mclears family, who were keeping the money for the queen, told me that all the Mclears' fortune was gone. I remember I was in a meeting with Jodanham, an asset manager when I first saw him. I had some people investigate and found out he was very busy that night, around the area the money was kept. So when a witness appeared that would identify that he knew where the money was and was possibly the one who took it, I did not want the money to be found. So, I traced him and helped him handle the witness," Helen explained and Protector Klienn listened.
"So, you met him by coincidence, is what you are saying?" he asked with a frown.
"Yes," Helen answered.
"Then, what about your marriage? The way I see it, all that you have explained could not have happened that long ago, given the fact that the queen was dethroned recently. Don't tell me you married him within weeks," the protector's frown deepened.
"Well, I-I kind of... made a move. He was too busy for such things," she said and he paused.
"You pursued this man, is what you are telling me?" he suddenly looked tired and aged.
"It's not like that, he would have asked me eventually, he just needed time to come around to it. We have our entire lives to grow together," she said coyly.
"So, he did not even ask you to marry him and you are not even sure he loves you," he concluded.
"Uncle! I never said such. He does, he is just not an expressive person!" she protested and the protector suddenly felt a headache coming. He suddenly pitied the man married to her.
"Did he at least walk to the wedding himself or was he tricked to go there?" he asked, curiously. He was really curious. He knew how far Helen could go to get what she wanted.
"I did not abduct my husband to my wedding!" she fumed.