Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Sasha and Blair’s eyes both twinkled.
I had them hooked.
“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,” Georgina said. “I’ve always wanted to visit, and it’ll give me an opportunity to get more of that tea I love.”
“Oh, I can send you some.” I smiled. “It can be difficult to get hold of, but I’m sure if I ask Kalon, he’ll be able to get some without any problem.”
“Oh-ho, that’s right. You call him Kalon.” She rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands, smiling sweetly at me. “Aren’t you two getting along well?”
Blair pulled out a chair and sat down, adopting the same position as Georgina. “Yes, you looked quite cosy at the ball last night. Who would have thought the cold, cruel Beast of the Battlefield could look at someone so gently?”
My cheeks flamed. “Stop teasing me.”
“It is interesting,” Sasha said, tilting her head. “To think it’s not been long since you moved to Stein and you’re already so close. Did you know each other before the spring ball?”
“No, that was the first time we met, aside from formal greetings. I suppose it’s as simple as us being together and finding that we have some things in common.”
“Are you a secret warlord, Allie?” Blair asked. “What else could he possibly be interested in?”
Vivi reached over with her fan and tapped it against Blair’s shoulder. “Mind your words, Blair. For all the rumours about him, he’s still the Grand Duke of Stein and the First Prince of the Empire.”
“Ooh, has he won you over, too?” Georgina said with a grin. “Perhaps we’ve misjudged him all this time.”
I sipped my tea.
Mhm.
That was exactly what had happened, my friends.
Although I wasn’t entirely sure that I knew Kalon all that well either. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that what I knew about him was only skin deep. It was only what I’d learnt from the book and the rumours—none of what I knew about him had come from his own lips.
I’d deliberately drawn a line between us thinking that I would one day be leaving him, but now…
Well. Things were different now.
Even with all those things considered, I still felt as though I had a good grasp on who Kalon was. Sure, he was a ruthless person on the battlefield and wouldn’t entertain betrayal within the walls of his castle, but I could apply that to any other noble in this empire. Maybe he was possessive in a way that toed the line of toxic, but our time together had shown that I was, too.
The Kalon I’d come to know was thoughtful and kind. He uplifted his subordinates and forgave petty mistakes. He worked hard and was a lord revered by his people, and even those who didn’t like him had no choice but to respect him.
He was guarded. He had a wall built to protect himself, and I could hardly blame him for that. After all, he’d watched his mother be poisoned to death and had to survive numerous attempts on his life courtesy of Eudocia—and he’d had his birthright stolen from him after being forced to the brutal frontlines of a war by that same woman.
It was no wonder he’d kept people at arm’s length. It was easier for him if people feared him. If they feared him, they would never try to get close to him.
If he wasn’t close to anyone, he could never suffer the pain of losing them.
I was the obvious exception to that rule, but then again, he’d told me I was always his exception to every rule.
I desperately wished everyone else could see the wonderful person he hid behind his carefully constructed armour.
Would my friends coming to visit us be the opening for that? If they saw him in a place where he was comfortable, would they see who he truly was?
“Lady Alicia, you have a visitor,” Sir Otto said from the front of the tent. “She said her name is Lillia de Armand.”
I paused. What did she want? “Very well, send her in.”
He nodded and pulled the curtain to the side, and I stood to greet her.
“I’m sorry for the intrusion,” Lillia said, stepping inside. “Oh, I didn’t realise you had company.”
I guess she was deciding to forgo etiquette by speaking first. “Yes, I do,” I said sharply, then quickly introduced everyone to her. “This is Lady Lillia de Armand. She debuted this weekend.”
Perhaps it was because my friends had all picked up on my discomfort, but their greetings to her were quite chilly. Even Lillia seemed marginally taken aback by how cool they were, especially Vivi and Georgina.
Right.
In the book, they’d become her closest friends once Alicia had started to torment her. After a particularly nasty discussion, Lillia had run away, and Georgina and Vivi had happened across her crying and helped her.