Once we got to the mansion, Ryia and I had little time to get fixed up before being whisked away to the dining hall. As soon as we sat down, Ryia’s father, Duke Sommers, began bombarding us about our overnight stay. He listened proudly as Ryia recounted everything and responded with rapid-fire questions on every detail she gave. Even though she’d already expressed that she had little excitement over the event, I found it hard to believe that the girl sitting next to me was the same Ryia that I had read about. I thought she’d be squealing with every answer, just as excited as her father was. Once she had seemed to answer all his questions and the conversation died down, Ryia sat up in her chair and took a deep breath in.
“Actually, father, would it be okay for us to visit the eastern district in the capital? I believe it would be beneficial for June and me to officially thank the Alterio’s aid in person for his help,” Ryia asked calmly. She turned to me, and I gave her a smile of confirmation, trying to hide how nervous I was. If we couldn’t go, it would throw a massive wrench into my already poorly constructed plan. She looked so confident, but as soon as the duke’s attention swung to her, her hands began to shake along with her voice, “I mean, I just thought it would be better to go in person. Since tensions are high, a letter would be too impersonal. I’d ask them over but with the ball coming up, I’m sure they are too busy for the trave-”
With her last sentence, the duke’s face turned from a scowl to an ominous grin, gears shifting behind his eyes. He seemed nice enough when I was reading, and even until now, but something had changed in the past few minutes.
He cut off her babbling. “That sounds like a great idea. I’ll arrange for a mail carrier to leave tomorrow morning, so have a letter ready by then.” His voice was deep and sharp. Normally, it would be pleasant, but the vile intent threaded through it made the hair on the back of my neck stand tall.
Everyone at the table was taken aback by the ease with which he agreed. Even the duchess’s hands hovered frozen above her plate while she eyed her husband quizzically.
“She makes a good point,” the duke said to his wife, seeming to have read her mind, “with the political climate, it would only cause more bad blood and lower the public’s opinion of us.”
“Thank you, father.” Ryia smiled. I could feel her shaking her fists under the table with a level of enthusiasm that I’d expected earlier on.
As dinner came to a close, I found myself being held back at the duke’s command.
“Come, sit a bit closer,” he said, motioning to the now-empty diagonal to his. I did as he said and sat next to him, the only sound in the hall being the scrape of the chair against the floor.
He stared me down with a scowl for what felt like several minutes, not saying anything. “You’ve done a fine job,” he cracked a thin smile, “you’re really going above and beyond. To even put yourself in danger like that for your job… I’m sure you are upset that you two could not stay long despite your efforts, but I was afraid that you’d overstay your welcome. Next time, if you have a plan tell me in advance, that way I can do my part properly, and we can avoid such issues.”
I chewed on my lip, not knowing how to respond to him, or if I should even respond at all. My job? As far as I knew, my job was being Ryia’s lady in waiting, though to be fair I wasn’t entirely sure what that all entailed in the first place. He leaned back in his chair, observing my puzzled stare. Noticing his gaze, I propped myself up in the chair and feigned confidence, “of course.”
“In the future, it would be ideal if no one else intervened, but this time it might just work out for the best.”
“How so, si- your grace?” I was genuinely curious about that. I couldn’t understand why he’d let her go, to begin with, and even more so why he agreed with a smile. I leaned forward, listening with genuine intent.
“The Alterios are too busy preparing for the Solstice ball, and even that aid you want to meet won’t have the time to spare. When Lawrence rejects the offer, it will look bad on their family and will help quash any attachment she has to him. No real heir would put off work for a girl.”
“Ahh.” I nodded, raising my eyebrows. My shoulders shook as I stifled a laugh. Maybe you’d ignore your wife for work, but the same couldn’t be said for Lawrence. I doubt a bit of paperwork would get in his way I mean, the guy literally died for her.
“That’s all I wanted to tell you, you’re free to leave.”
“Thank you, your grace.” I bowed my head.
“And, your family is doing very well,” he added as he waved me out.
In the hallway, I leaned against the door. It’d been a little over 24 hours at this point, and already everything I thought I knew about the story was different. I wasn’t sure what glaring omission in my knowledge of the novel had me more surprised: the magic system that apparently included demon-wielding royalty, the fact that the duke was a ‘controlling father who’s trying to do the right thing the wrong way’™, or the fact that my character was apparently a spy, now turned double agent, for Ryia’s father. Also, I’m pretty sure the duke was using my family’s care as blackmail to get me to continue working. Yeah... Aren’t all the main characters in isekai novels supposed to know and remember every single detail about the world they are sent to? I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. I shook my head and tried to catch up to Ryia, knowing I’d be completely lost in the mansion if I couldn’t.
After taking longer than I’d care to admit to find Ryia, I helped her get ready for the night before retiring to my own room. As I undressed, the piece of paper from earlier that day fell from the top of my clothes. I picked it up, carefully unfolded it, and sat down at the desk in my room.
How was I supposed to convince someone that committing treason with a stranger who was part of an opposing political party would be a good idea, and how would I explain that I knew that Lawrence was in danger without sounding like a crazy conspiracist? I rested my head on my desk and just stared at the paper, hoping it would spark something in my mind. No matter the angle I looked at it from, there was almost no way someone would willing to join me in committing a capital crime. Only someone who had no stake in their life here, like me, would be willing to throw it all away on a crazy whim. He’d have to be pretty stupid in order to say yes. I slid the paper into the desk and hopped onto my bed. I had a few days to figure it out, so what was the use of losing sleep over it just yet?
❧
By noon the next day, Ryia had sent a letter, and by the end of dinner, she had a response. Lawrence gladly accepted and practically sent his whole schedule, letting us know every free moment he had so that we could pick whatever worked best for us. I couldn’t help but laugh at his response, it was so in character. At least one thing hadn’t changed since I got here.
The morning we were set to leave, I hurried toward Ryia’s room, filled with anxiety. It wasn’t until I turned down the hallway that I heard him.
“Wipe that goddamn smile off your face!”
My steps halted. Even through thick doors, his voice was thunderous.
“You, you better not do a singular thing out of line, do you hear me?”
“Ah, ye…yes father.”
“You have one job, ONE job in life. Do you know what that is?”
“Yes, father. It’s, it’s to get married to the cro-“
“Yes, to get married to the crown prince. Don’t ruin everything I’ve worked hard to get for you.”
I guess her father found out that Lawrence hadn’t rejected the offer. I regretted taking so long to get there that morning. After a few moments of silence, I could hear the door creak open and then promptly slam shut.
“Should’ve been a son,” the duke murmured as he stomped down the hallway. Even with her father long gone, I wasn’t sure if I should wait a bit more before greeting her. With a sigh, I knocked on the door several times and waited for her response.
“June!” Ryia exclaimed as she opened the door. She grabbed my hand and led me into the room, a smile on her face the entire time.
“Would you be able to help tie this up?” Ryia turned around to show the loosened back of her dress, holding her hair out of the way.
“Of course,” I sighed, and after a pause I asked, “ … are you doing okay?” I tried to hide the pity in my voice, but it still came out.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She turned her head and smiled at me.
I frowned. “I was just…wondering.” I didn’t need to press her. If it was anything she wanted to discuss, she’d have said something. Her bright smile told me that this was something that she’d heard many times before, to the point where she could hold her emotions back seemingly without effort. Part of my heart ached for her.
“Done,” I said, stepping back.
“Thank you. The carriage is ready to go, so whenever you’re ready we can leave.”
“I’m ready.”
“Perfect!” I followed her into the hallway and towards the front entry.
❧
As we pulled close to the Alterio mansion, I could see someone pacing back and forth around the entrance. When the sound of our carriage reached his ears, Lawrence stopped and looked up at us. He greeted us as he opened the door and lead us inside, asking how we were and how our day had been as we walked. He led us to a bright sunroom with a garden view and pulled out our chairs. Wow, he was really showing Sawyer up, but to be fair, that wasn’t exactly a difficult task.
“Lawrence, are these what I think they are?” Ryia smiled as she pulled one of the trays of food that had been set out towards her.
“Yes, they are,” Lawrence nodded with a grin, “I couldn’t have you over without serving them.”
“I can’t believe you remembered that these were my favorite!”
“How could I not? The image of you hiding in a corner with a tray of them at your debutante was unforgettable.” He laughed as he watched Ryia eagerly pile them onto her plate. The way his steel eyes shined made me happy. That was the smile that I wanted to make sure never left his face.
I sat patiently in silence, watching as the two of them continued to make small talk, laughing, and smiling at each other. Though they made a point to include me in their conversations, I couldn’t help but feel like I was intruding. So, when was Oliver going to get here?
“I was surprised Oliver wasn’t with you, do you know when he is going to join us?”
“I sent for him once I saw your carriage arrive, so he should be here any minute. The idiot still refuses to acknowledge that cursing out the crown prince isn’t exactly the best idea because he ‘isn’t wrong about him being a prick’,” Lawrence bit his tongue for a second and looked at Ryia. Seeing that she wasn’t fazed, he continued, “so I’ve had him locked up in his office doing extra work as a punishment.”
“Ah, okay.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he has gotten himself lost. Recently, he’s been unusually poor with directions,” he added. I rested my head on my hand and tapped my fingers against the table.
“Would it be possible for me to look outside for a few minutes while waiting?” I asked, desperately wanting to escape being the third wheel. “I wasn’t feeling well in the carriage and would like some fresh air.”
“Of course,” Lawrence hopped out of his chair and went to open the door to the sunroom, “Would you like for us to accompany you?”
“No thank you,” I smiled, “I’m plenty fine with walking on my own, so please don’t worry about me and continue to talk together.” Lawrence looked at me with concern for a moment before returning to normal when I nodded my head and left through the door that he had held open. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
I was only a few steps out the door when I heard the two of them laughing together again. As I walked alone, the tension in my body released. In the story, her interactions with Lawrence were limited and only shown after she’d already begun to develop feelings for Sawyer, but now, seeing them together early on let me know that at least part of my plan wasn’t completely out of reach. The smile she showed Lawrence was so much brighter than the one she showed Sawyer. Maybe it wasn’t romantic, but she felt something towards Lawrence, enough for me to work with.
When I turned the corner, my peaceful silence was broken by the ear-damaging sound of grating concrete. With no one directly in front or behind me, I had to look up to see the culprit. Dirty blond hair and a tall frame. Seeing Oliver reaching from an opened window to a tree branch, I understood why it was taking him so long to arrive.
“Dammit!”
Yep, it was him, the cursing confirmed it.
“Pfftt.” I couldn’t help but laugh, finding it both funny that a grown man was escaping through a window, and slightly depressing that my plan entirely hinged on said idiot who was escaping through a window. His eyes which were so focused on the branch in front of him shot down at me.
“Are you laughing at me?”
I quickly bit my tongue and smiled. “Not at all, I’m just curious as to why you’re climbing through a window.”
“Just trying to escape some paperwork. Lawrence, being the bastard that he is, decided to lock me in my room for voicing my opinion,” he paused and scanned me up and down, “do I know you?” He then continued to climb down the tree, hopping from branch to branch.
“You saved my life a few days ago, pulled me out of the street. I’m actually here to thank you.”
He swung down from the lowest branch, scattering petals around me as the branches shook.
“I thought you looked familiar. You’re June, right?”
“That’s me, safe and sound, again, thank you."
“No problem,” he walked over to me, and with his hands behind his head, he leaned in close, eyeing me with a curious smile, “but something like this is usually done in a thank you letter. I’m guessing you have another reason for coming to see me?”
