---Evening---
Spending the rest of the day wandering around the festival, the eight of us enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. Trying out different food stalls, playing several carnival games, and dancing with each of them as the orchestra played, I did my utmost to make today special for each of them. Sitting by the roaring bonfire, as the festival began to wind down for the day, I looked up at the sky for a moment and let out a peaceful sigh.
"Thank you for letting me join your group today, Victor. I have not enjoyed myself this much since I was about your age.", she admitted, hugging the stuffed bear I won for her at a carnival game.
Since the others were off grabbing their dinner and we were alone, I decided to broach the elephant in the room. Even though she appeared happy on the outside, it was plain to see that watching me express my affections for my fiancées and mistresses had worn her down. Putting up a front so Angelica and Clarice would not see her pain, Mylene was at her breaking point now.
"Mylene, it is not my place to say anything, but why do you stay in your unhappy marriage?", I asked her, wanting to be straight with her, "While the others may not see your pain, I would like to think I know you well enough to see through your façade."
"What…what are you saying, Victor?", she inquired, not wanting to expose her pain to me.
"Mylene, you know exactly what I mean. I am not here to extort you or manipulate you, I genuinely do care about your wellbeing. You are starving for affection and love from people that either refuse to or are incapable of showing it.", I remarked, looking her dead in the eyes.
Opening her mouth to refute that, she paused for a moment before closing her mouth again. Hugging her stuffed animal tight enough that its head about popped off, Mylene nodded her head in acknowledgment.
"I cannot fathom the immense pressure you are under. Your marriage to Roland was meant to safeguard your homeland, but it has been slowly eating away at you this whole time. You have done everything you possibly can to get him to open to you, but like Julius and his friends did to their ex-fiancées, he has shut you out.", I remarked, assuming he felt trapped in his marriage with Mylene too, "That is why you feel so bad for Angelica, Clarice, and Deirdre, you know exactly what it is like to love someone who never loves you back."
"Yes…you are right…", Mylene acknowledged, as she began to sniffle, "When I first met Roland, I fell in love with him at first sight. He looked just like the heroic princes in the books I read as a girl. I was so blinded by the dream I had for our future, that I could not see the cold and indifferent expression in his eyes. Back then, I had no idea that Roland was madly in love with another woman and our arranged marriage ruined that for him. While he has never raised a hand to me or threatened me, everything he does with me is a chore in his eyes. There is no love or warmth like with his true love and harem…I am merely an entity that he must tolerate."
"Why stay in the marriage then?", I inquired, "Your country has two blood connections now to the Holfort Royal Family, Julius and Erica. You could leave Roland and find happiness elsewhere."
"Victor, I am an aging woman who is well past her- ", Mylene began to say before I covered her mouth with my hand.
Staring into her eyes, I told her that most noblemen would give anything to be with a woman like her. Reminding her that she is a faithful, kindhearted, loving, loyal woman, there were very few women I knew that could match her. Overwhelmed by the compliments I was giving her; she shook her head refusing to believe it was true.
"Who would want to marry the former Queen?", she laughed, dryly.
"I would marry you in a heartbeat.", I told her, as I held her hands, "It may not mean much coming from a young man like me, but I truly care deeply about you. Seeing your beautiful smile wither away slowly day by day enrages me to no end. That idiot husband of yours refuses to look past your arranged marriage to give you an honest chance. I do not want to see you continue to wither away and die of heartache and loneliness. If you were my wife, you would never have to spend a lonely night alone and I would cherish you like no other man."
Dumbfounded by my words, I genuinely hoped that my words reached her. Even though I was strongly against stealing a man's wife from them, in this case, Roland could care less if Mylene dropped dead here and now. Given what Mylene said, he would probably promote his true love to be his new Queen and forget all about her. A man that could move on so quickly from such a wonderful woman did not deserve her.
"I will not force you to give me an answer, but I hope you give it some thought. There will always be a place for you in my heart, regardless of whether we stay ruler and subject or become a couple.", I told her, sensing the others walking back toward us, "Take all the time you need, it will be some time before I leave this world behind and venture out into the stars forever."
"What do you mean before you venture off into the stars? Is there something you have not told me?", Mylene asked, confused by my meaning.
"For the moment, I will only say this. My dream is to travel the universe together with the people I love. I want to share the adventure and excitement of seeing things that no one has ever seen before.", I explained, with a warm smile.
Had what I said come from anyone else, she probably would have thought they were fools. Having shown her many amazing, unbelievable things already, a sparkle of excitement flickered in her eyes. Not wanting to push her too much, I quickly kissed her on the forehead before letting go of her hands. Touching the spot where I kissed her for a moment, Mylene looked at the fire moment with a smile.
"…I will consider it.", she murmured, as the others walked over with food in hand.
Satisfied with her answer, I turned and greeted everyone as they returned. Handing Mylene and I our food, they sat down and began discussing our plan for the second day of the festival. Surprised that Deirdre was acting as if she were part of the crew, I glanced over to Angelica and Clarice for an explanation.
"She wants to assist us with our booth, and after how this morning went, I felt it would be nice to have another set of hands.", Angelica said.
"She can jump between the counter and the kitchen since she knows how to cook.", Clarice added.
"You can cook?", I asked, surprised by this information.
"My grandmother taught me a great deal of things, cooking was one of them.", Deirdre boasted, as she puffed her chest out.
Rolling their eyes, Angelica and Clarice were none too happy about her bragging. Having only learned the very basics from Lucoa and Olivia, they were upset that she knew more than them. Sensing a competitive rivalry forming between them, I hoped my poor kitchen could take the abuse. As I was about to take a bite of food, Luxion removed his cloaking and began updating me on an ongoing problem.
Speaking in English, to avoid causing a panic, the women looked at me wanting to know what was said. Motioning for them to wait a moment, I gave Luxion my marching orders.
"Continue to monitor their movements and relay their endpoint to Earl Roseblade and Duke Redgrave. Have Commander Yoma provide support as needed to both men. I do not want the fighting to spill out onto the streets.", I ordered.
Transmitting my orders to my forces, Luxion quickly resumed floating over my shoulder normally. Explaining the situation to everyone, the noblewomen furled their brows in anger. Unhappy that the Principality Agents slipped through so easily, Mylene was adamant about beefing up security in the port now to prevent this from happening again. Asking me if I needed to leave to handle the situation, I nodded to Luxion who brought up a live feed of their movements for us.
"I do not have to lift a finger, they are doing all the work for me.", I chuckled, with a sinister smile, "The moment they arrive at their destination, Angelica and Deirdre's fathers will be informed so they can deal with them accordingly. In the event things turn violent, I have men nearby who will eliminate them before it spills out into the streets."
"Wow!! Is this how you monitor the border too?!", Deirdre gasped, fascinated by what she was seeing.
"Yes, I use this technology to monitor our borders and enemy movements. This is partially why I was confident enough to say the Principality will never cross the southern border again. Unfortunately, these rats appear to have come through another country this time.", I said, looking up the vessel they came in on, "It came from the Alzer Republic…are we at odds with them?"
Shaking their heads, the noblewomen assured me we were on friendly terms with them. Wondering if there was a faction inside the republic that disliked us, I decided to have Jarvis and Luxion investigate it further. Eating our food in silence, we continued to watch the agents duck and weave their way into the noble district.