Ah, to be back in my own office - certainly dryer and cleaner than a war-tent.

There was pile of work waiting for me.

Glancing over it, I notice most of it had been completed.

A delicate hand-writing adorned many of the pages.

In some cases the same hand had written symbols in an unfamiliar script.

A code?

Something to check into later.

Scraps of notepad paper were attached to many of the documents with concise and to the point remarks.

"Spending amount seems to be suspect and uneven - should be lower as per head count. Either incompetent or signs of fraud. Suggest an audit."

"Overall good work by this merchant. Suggest expanding reliance on core products - if possible get them to be our exclusive provider - might garner better prices?"

"Travel between these two towns seems to have become more dangerous - suggest sending a fake merchant with hidden armed escort to verify if there is now resident bandits operating in the vicinity."

And so forth...

Neither I nor my steward could have done a better job.

I shook the small silver bell that lived on the corner of my desk. 

It had no clapper - it was a magical tool that made the steward's cuff links light up, where-ever he was on the estate.

A few moments later a soft knock on the office door, followed by the entrance of my steward.

"Steward. Is this the Duchess' work?"

Hm, why did I call Katiana "Duchess" just now?

Ah well, looking at all this completed work, I suppose she deserves that title.

For now.

"Indeed my Lord - my Lady diligently went through all these documents during your absence - the larger pile on the left I have vetted and taken care of as per my duty and responsibility. It is only this much smaller pile that is awaiting my Lordship's approval." [Steward]

"I see. You may retire for the night."

"Thank you, my Lord." [Steward]

I went back to reading the reports and Katiana's comments.

---

After a few moments I let out a sigh.

"Report."

A shadowy figure appeared next to my desk.

"Hehe - I never could hide from you, Dukey..." [Shadow]

"Cheeky as always... what do you have for me, Shadow?" 

"We were able to start tracking down your wife's movement after she left her father's house." [Shadow]

"And?"

"Well, it isn't much yet, my apologies - but she landed in a small town called Maldeva just a week after she disappeared from the capital. We are not yet clear how she got there, but we suspect she must have joined a trading caravan, as a week is too short a time for walking such a distance." [Shadow]

"Maldeva.... Maldeva... hm. Only thing I can think of is a monastery dedicated to the Goddess of Creation that is there - otherwise just a small farming community, no?" 

The shadowy figure nodded.

"What we also found out is she stayed at the cheapest inn - not a bad place, clean, run by a quiet family. She first paid for one night, three nights in a row. Then on the forth day, she paid for a week. After the week she paid for a month, three months in a row. And then she disappeared again." [Shadow]

"Her situation must have improved while she stayed there. Dig deeper. Where did she get the money?"

"Of course, we are already on that. I'll take my leave for now, Dukey." [Shadow]

"Wait - does this mean anything to you?"

I pointed at one of the unknown and weird set of symbols Katiana had left in the margin of a report on water usage in one of the less than productive farming communities.

"No... can't say I've ever seen that - and I know several languages, including three lost ones." [Shadow]

Well, was worth a try.

I waved my hand in dismissal - with that the agent faded back into nothing, and I soon felt his presence leave the room.

Cheeky bugger - sometimes wish I had left him to rot in that foreign prison.

But then I'd be short one of the best agents I had.

---

In the morning I knocked on the door that led to the Duchess' rooms.

A maid opened and exited. 

The moment she noticed me, she curtsied.

"My Lord - my Lady will be out in a moment." [Maid]

I nodded and the maid scurried back inside.

A few breaths later the door opened again and Katiana exited.

She wore a different dress today. 

The cloth was also expensive and she was otherwise unadorned, same as yesterday. 

This time her hair was braided down her back.

My hand reached out and stopped mid air, waiting for hers.

"Good morning dear wife Katiana. I hope you rested well."

This time without skipping a beat she put her hand in mine.

She smelled of ripe apricot this morning - I surveyed her face, and could not tell if she had any makeup on or not.

Either she was bare faced, or her maids were master cosmeticians.

"Good morning dear husband Nitram. I did indeed sleep well, and I hope you, too?" [Katiana]

I nodded, and led her to the dining room, where a simple but tasteful break fast waited on us.

My steward waited for us.

"I trust you rested well, my Lady?" [Steward]

"I did indeed, Stephanus, thank you for your concern. I see the kitchen has outdone themselves again." [Katiana]

My left eyebrow shot up again without permission. 

I will need to get that looked at if this continues.

Since when have these two gotten so close?

Only a very small number of people know the steward's name - I never call him by anything other than "steward", myself.

"It is only thanks to my Lady's suggestions and recipes that we all can enjoy such an expanded palette of dishes." [Stephanus the Steward]

While saying that the steward helped Katiana to her chair.

---

During our meal I asked Katiana some questions about her work that I had checked last night.

She gave excellent and creative answers.

I did not touch on the strange symbols that I had discovered on some of the papers - even though I admit my curiosity was itching.

Just as I was on my second cup of tea, a commotion at the door.

The steward entered, one of my couriers following him.

"My Lord, there seems to be an urgent issue in one of your fiefs..." [Stephanus the Steward]

"Report." 

"May the Duke's sword swing ever sharply. There has been a monster outbreak near Grindenwald. The mayor humbly requests two or three of the 100 to help crush this danger." [Courier]

Hmmm.... I looked at Katiana - she was calmly nibbling on a buttered toast.

What did she remind me more of?

A rabbit or a chipmunk?

It was a tossup.

"I will deal with it myself with a few of the new recruits - they have need of some extra training."

I stood and gave Katiana a peck on her forehead.

"Dear wife Katiana, I am sorry to leave so soon again, but I will back in less than a week."

A short huff that only I noticed escaped her lips - at this close range I saw her cheeks redden a bit.

Her eyes widened for just a heartbeat before her face returned to normal.

Then Katiana smiled and nodded.

"Of course dear husband Nitram - I await you returning in full health." [Katiana]

---