Count Constantine paced incessantly in his dark, silent study, where ominous shadows played on the walls, stirred by the warm orange light of a lone candle flickering in the wind created by his movements.
Furrowed eyebrows and a tense posture revealed the depths of his unease, to the point where even breathing seemed to inflict pain. His hands remained hidden behind his back, the right palm clutching a crumpled letter with the royal seal pressed below its contents.
His nervous and frantic brain found itself engulfed in a relentless storm of emotions, prompting sighs and groans each time he paused to examine even a single sentiment for a fleeting second.
With another loud, neurotic groan, the man finally stopped and leaned against the desk, thinking,
'Where the hell did that bitch disappear to? That mercenary promised that the bandits he hired would definitely do the job properly but instead, they all just vanished! And now the King demands an explanation! That damned woman, I hope she is dead and is rotting in hell!'
His angry venting ceased abruptly, disrupted by a brief, barely audible knock on the door, and the person behind it identified themselves as the Head Butler of the house.
"What is it? Come in!"
The tall, thin man with a carefully mended short white beard, neatly styled white hair, and small golden-framed glasses entered the study promptly, holding a large, old wooden box in front of his chest.
"I apologize for intruding, My Lord, but this box was left in front of the entrance not so long ago. Although nobody saw the person who left it, the writing on the box suggests that it was addressed to you."
"Oh... Put it on the floor and leave."
"Yes, My Lord."
The butler followed Constantine's orders, carefully placing the box on the floor next to the desk, and swiftly exited the study.
Count Crueder took a step toward the box but then hesitated. Having been involved in many shady deals himself, he knew firsthand what it meant to receive an anonymous delivery, having made many such deliveries before as well.
Nevertheless, curiosity overcame him. After all, what could this mysterious package possibly contain? Since taking Princess Aideen as his wife, his authority had soared even within the questionable circles he frequented. As a result, he was convinced that threatening him now required one to be either immortal or incredibly stupid.
Swallowing hard, an invisible lump lodged in his throat, Constantine mustered all his courage. He crouched in front of the box and finally opened it.
"Argh!"
He screamed and jumped back to his feet, nearly falling over as his body collided with the corner of the desk.
"What in the world..?"
The source of his shock lay in the contents of that gruesome delivery. Within the box, two rotting heads of deceased men greeted him, accompanied by a yellow sheet of paper placed atop their foreheads.
"Could it be?.."
The Count recognized the faces immediately—they belonged to the very same bandits he had hired to kill Aideen on her way to the Temple.
With his heart pounding loudly in his ears and a pale, trembling hand, he slowly reached to take the paper, suppressing the violent urge to vomit. As his fingers managed to grasp the note, he turned it over and began to read, his eyes widening even more with each word they encountered.
The note had only one sentence written on it.
"Miss your wife yet?"
***
Aideen pulled her knees closer to her chest, hugging them with both arms as she placed her chin on top of them. The soft crackling of the fireplace to her left enveloped her with its comforting warmth.
'I fell asleep. I fell asleep and failed to meet him. Should I try again tonight? I wonder if it was one of the maids who brought me back to my room… Surely, it wasn't him, right?'
Her inner musings were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.
"Your Highness, it's Bella! May I come in?"
"Yes, of course!"
As if she were not waiting for permission, Bella rushed inside the bedroom even before Aideen could finish her sentence. Breathing heavily, she marched straight to the lady's bed and dropped a heavy pile of clothes on top of it, wiping glistening beads of sweat off her forehead.
The princess, bewildered by such an unusual commotion from the maid's side, carefully approached the bed and asked in a timid tone,
"Bella? What is going on?"
Still trying to desperately catch her breath, Bella let out a long, tired exhale and replied,
"The weather has improved a lot today, Your Highness! His Grace has granted his permission for you to go outside!"
"Really? He has?"
Aideen took another step toward the maid, her face beaming with unconcealed, almost childish excitement. Bella confirmed her words with a short humming sound, still trying to calm her breathing. Then, she tapped her chubby hand on the pile of clothes laid on the bed and added,
"I have brought you some warm dresses and fur coats to wear. Let us try them on!"
'Fur coats?'
The princess slowly slid her pale hand over the clothes, feeling a strange chill running down her spine.
'It feels so soft...'
It wasn't because she was appalled by the softness of the fur that touched her skin but because she couldn't remember the last time she had the chance to wear something so extravagantly expensive as a properly made fur coat.
"There are many different creatures living in the Black Forest next to the border. His Grace likes to go hunting there almost every month. The coat you are touching right now was made from the pelts of silver foxes. Their fur is very soft and has a nice silver undertone to the pristine white color of their pelts. It is by far the most expensive coat one can buy in Geraldion or beyond!"
Bella proudly described the fur coat in the princess's hands, observing as Aideen's lips began to slowly stretch into a subtle, yet somewhat happy smile.
She continued to carefully fidget with the clothing item, savoring the luxurious feel of the fur and processing the information about its rare and prestigious origin.
'He was gracious enough to offer me the most expensive coat while even the royal family has only ever given me a cheap fur stole...'
Satisfied with such a reaction, the maid took the coat from the lady's hands and concluded,
"It looks like I made the right decision to put this coat on top of the others. No wonder His Grace was confident you would like it the best!"
Aideen arched her eyebrows in bewilderment and locked her hands in front of her stomach as her eyes sparkled with both excitement and surprise.
"He did?"