Admittedly, Desmond woke up some mornings and got out of bed loudly to disturb Leonor enough that she would come with him to the palace or he could at least get to see her before he left.
However, the day of the Winter Solstice Ball was different because he was set to go to the palace for an early meeting. His attendance was required because nobles from even further stretches of Castille would be in attendance. It was the first time they would all be together since Stephano came into power. The historic meeting was a non-negotiable duty for the King.
While he was used to facing noblemen and could predict their responses to him, he wasn't used to having to hold himself back. Normally it came naturally, but considering Count Mikael von Burien would be there that day, rage slowly welled up inside of him.
