His body stiffened beneath me.
"Now," I whispered.
"Here?" His voice was strained with tension.
I smoothed my hand along his neck, feeling the tautness there. "Why not?"
We were newlyweds who'd barely been alone since arriving in the capital. The royal castle felt borrowed, watched, wrong for intimacy. But here, wrapped in his cloak at the hot springs, everything was different.
Kaian's groan suggested he was warring with himself.
"Let's prepare the carriage," he said abruptly, his voice rough with decision.
"What?"
"To the capital mansion. Now."
"You mean... leave here? Now?"
He looked at me with something between exasperation and hunger. "Aren't you the one who insisted on 'now'?"
I felt a delicious shiver run down my spine—the sensation of being hunted by a predator. I pulled my hand back, suddenly shy.
"I was just... saying something."
"The Duchess's words and actions are too reckless," he said coldly. "You require education."
Before I could protest, he wrapped me—still wet from the springs—in his cloak and carried me toward the carriage with grim satisfaction.
"Hunting rabbits is also fun in its own way," he murmured.
---
## The Temnes Mansion
The capital residence of the Duke of Temnes had been in chaos since dawn.
The Duke, who rarely visited the capital, was finally attending the King's Birthday celebration. Servants had been preparing for weeks to impress him. But when the carriage arrived last night, it was with the Duchess, whom the Duke carried like a bundle into the house, still wrapped and clearly asleep.
The maids had rushed to the windows, desperate to glimpse the legendary Duke before he disappeared into the private chambers.
"Is he as handsome as they say?"
"More handsome. Much more."
"I bet money on reconciliation between Vermont and Temnes," one servant declared.
"You lost that bet," another replied, collecting coin with a grin. "The Duke came in carrying the Duchess like she was precious cargo. That's not a warring couple."
What no one mentioned was the glimpse of red hair spilling from the cloak—Vermont's infamous red hair, legendary in the capital's gossip circles.
Vermont, the mysterious northern territory. The Grand Duke with red hair and golden eyes, burning alone against the frozen world.
"Is that hair even real?"
"You could dye fabric that color, but never human hair..."
By morning, word had spread through the mansion. The Duke had married a Vermont woman. The rivalry territory had united through marriage.
And the Duke had carried her to bed with unmistakable possession.
---
## The Private Chambers
Safe behind the heavy wooden door, the world outside ceased to exist.
"Claudel," Kaian murmured, stroking my back as I lay against him.
"Yes?"
"Are you hungry?"
"Sleepy," I mumbled, pulling the blanket higher. "The beds here are like Rowen's."
"They are exactly what my mother selected," he replied. "Sleep more."
When food arrived, the hunger that seized me was almost violent. My stomach clenched at the scent alone.
*Again with this voracious appetite.*
I'd never been like this—gasping for food, consumed by hunger the moment I smelled it. It was as if my body's dependence on constant nutrition had somehow intensified after Herzol.
*I should ask the doctor about this when we return to Rowen.*
But watching Kaian carefully cut meat into bite-sized pieces, feeding me soup with methodical care, I couldn't bring myself to worry. He was here. I was alive. That was enough.
After I'd cleared my plate, I apologized. "I'm sorry about leaving the hunting grounds so abruptly."
"Don't apologize." He was unmoved. "I brought you there because your leg hurt. Rest will heal it."
*He left his plans entirely for me.*
The realization filled me with such joy that I had to ask the question that had been troubling me.
"Princess Bianque wanted to marry you?"
Kaian didn't seem surprised by the sudden question. "Before her parents died, the Queen asked about marriage between us."
"And you refused?"
"Clearly."
"Why?"
"Because Valquiterre is like my brother. Bianque is like family. I couldn't marry her." He paused. "Besides, Bianque doesn't truly want me. She wants a suitable match, and our blood is close enough that it would work politically. She's throwing a tantrum because there's no one else of equal status in the kingdom."
"But the Queen suggested it," I pressed. "If you'd married her instead of me, you could have fought Vermont without restraint. You'd have gained territory, power—"
His eyes went cold in a way that made my breath catch.
"If Valquiterre had asked me to marry Bianque, I would have chosen challenge instead. War, not marriage. I would have burned Vermont to ash." He leaned close, his voice dropping. "Even if I explain this, you won't understand. Stop asking questions you don't truly want answered."
The implication was clear: Valquiterre had chosen to marry him to *me* specifically, not for strategic advantage. And Kaian had accepted because...
*Because of me.*
Not out of duty. Not for power. For me.
"I understand," I whispered.
He pulled me close, and I let myself believe it was true.
---