In moments like these it were great to understand exactly what was happening. "A simple snake like that doesn't discern whether she's a real beast tamer, Damon." The king sighed while leaning back, rubbing his temples.
Taking out his pipe, he was about to light it before taking the briefest look at her that she didn't even realize before putting it back away. "Do you not think we've been keeping observations on her, or do you believe I am a fool who cannot tell the difference?" He questioned the king, eyes glaring into him.
Shaking his head, the king stood upright again and thought about it for a moment. "No, you've always been very thorough. I will permit it on one condition." He replied, staring at her as she held the snake in her hand, letting it slither around.
Closing his eyes, the Duke leaned back and allowed him to speak, crossing his arms. "If she were a beast tamer, you are to immediately build a sanctuary within the Argyris estate and report to me periodically about her progress." As if expected it, the Duke scoffed.
"You've always been like this," he spoke while getting up, dusting himself off. "even all those years back you said the same thing when i married her." That caught her attention, just how far back does this story go that the novel never mentioned?
Picking her up, the snake slithered into her neck as he pulled it out easily, nearly squishing it between his fingers while walking towards the door. "How is she?" The king asked, bringing him to a holt before the door.
Pausing briefly, the Duke had an almost somber look in his eyes. "If you're so curious go check on her yourself. I'm sure she'd love to see you." She couldn't tell if the last part was sarcasm, but wondered if he were referring to her mother, considering the earlier conversation, or the two absent wives one being hurt and the being under house arrest currently.
Leaving without saying anything, she guessed that only the Argyris family would act like this, she needed to take notes once she survived. Survived not the hunt, but the Duke.
Carrying her back to his room, he practically just left her on the bed while staring from a chair across the room by a desk. He was just staring, but she swore there was a hole he stared through. Breaking the silence, she finally managed something incomprehensible out, it's not like it mattered since he wouldn't understand a baby.
"Ba." It felt embarrassing, but she didn't think an infant would know that a snake is called a snake. The last thing she wanted was the Duke's suspicion of her already knowing things. Outstretching her hands, she decided to stare back at him, rather than look away out of fear, she couldn't let it become a habit.
Opening his hand, the struggling snake was ecstatic as it was let down, making it's way towards her. Gladly taking the opportunity to just distract her nerves and play with it, having enough looking at the Duke, she begun to observe it's scales and eyes, looking pure blue and the iridescence never failing to amuse her.
She wasn't sure how many hours passed, but the clock in the room only moved by five minutes as the snake once again slithered to her neck, resting there as her stomach let out a small growl, not being fed her lunch due to greeting the family and getting stuck as something to observe in two different rooms.
Looking up she had nearly screamed. Why was this beast so close to her? She thought as she now observed him, his footsteps as silent and nonexistent as his presence when appearing before enemies, or in this case his own child. As her stomach growled again, she hoped she didn't turn look as humiliated as she felt.
The Duke blinked, the first time she'd seen any expression like that. Not one of cockiness, resting bitch face syndrome, a smug look, or anything similar. His face was filled with momentary confusion as his lashes fluttered repeatedly while staring at her stomach. She wondered just went through his head.
Do children eat solid foods? It's not like she's a regular child anyways, she was an Argyris the Duke thought before making his way towards his bag. Did he even have food? The answer was no, he didn't. He was stuck at a stalemate, get her mother excited to have her back and then not give her back, or let this child starve and worry her mother.
Saved by the door opening, in came his attendant, the man with brown hair and violet eyes, smiling brightly. "Hi hi! My family's made it safely if you're wondering." He closed the door behind him, only to try and leave as soon as he saw the Duke staring a hole into his child.
"You took too long. I'll kill you," the Duke said while getting up, the other man sweatdropping as he tried to go for the doorknob, only to have a knife thrown beside his head. "Hurry up and get something to eat." He ordered, the man confused.
"Did you not eat last night? You don't typically eat more than one meal." He asked as the Duke looked at him as though he were a completely idiot, which he probably did believe he was, actually.
Pointing towards the child, the attendant immediately got the message and excused himself to take care of it, even if it weren't the Duke's estate, he sure treated it like it were, she thought as he sat on the bed, the weight lowering it slightly as he leaned back, hand running through his hair, for the first time looking a mix between calm and relieved.
Turning his head to look at her, she heard him mumbling something she didn't quite understand. "That damned bastard needs to retire and name an inheritor immediately with how senile he's become to not even recognize a hostile and venomous species handled by a child to be enough concrete proof they're a beast tamer."