Angelus Carduus

Chapter 14: Empire and New Sweets

Aelius sat on a chair in his room, stiffly as he contemplated the words previously spoken by Valeria.

Did she hate him?

Aelius shook his head.

That can't be. She took care of him and even stayed by his side while he was sick.

A doubt flashed in his eyes. If she didn't hate him why did she reject his invitation and even forced him to stay put in his room until tomorrow?

"Maybe she does.." he mumbled to himself sadly.

Aelius got up from his seat but immediately sat back down. This continued on for several times until he finally decided to head to his bed to try and get some shut eye.

He hoped to be able to meet Valeria the next day and perhaps be able to ask what was the reason for locking him up in his room.

"Remember to always treat your wife well, Aelius." a faint female voice rang in his head.

Aelius looked at the ceiling, closing his eyes shut, letting himself fall into a slumber.

'Of course mother..'

Valeria stayed in her room without coming out once for the next few days. Keith and Myra made sure she didn't leave her room until she was back to her usual health.

Valeria hated it. She hated the fact she was stuck back in a bed unable to leave. It reminded her about the hospital bed she had lived on her entire life. Not wanting anymore of this, Valeria got up from the bed.

"Your Grace please rest, you still need to recover!" Myra spoke, rushing over to her side.

Valeria turned to her and frowned, "I had enough of this."

"Your Grace?"

"I'm going out."

"But-"

"Don't try to stop me." Valeria cut her off, shooting her a cold glance.

Myra kept her mouth shut and nodded. Valeria got dressed with Myra's help before leaving her bedroom, finding it suffocating.

As she left her room, at the corner of her eye she noticed someone looking at her. She turned to the right to find Aelius standing there. She looked at him for a mere second before looking away.

"Ah..."

Valeria heard him speak but trailed off. She paused her footsteps and turned to him, "Do you need something duke?"

Aelius blinked before nodding, "Yes, I wanted to talk to you, my wife."

Valeria turned to Myra who bowed and left, leaving the two alone. She turned back to Aelius and waved her hand,

"Why don't we walk around the garden?"

They walked in the garden in silence, none of them trying to speak up. Valeria wondered why he suddenly wanted to speak to her, usually they wouldn't bother one another. She took a sneak peak at Aelius who looked straight forward, his gaze never once shifting.

'What on earth does he want to talk about if he isn't even speaking?'

She decided not to force him to speak and instead focus her attention on the flowers around the garden, bees hovering over them.

"Wife," Aelius finally spoke up, his footsteps halted as he turned towards Valeria.

"Yes?" she answered in the same manner as him.

"May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

Aelius tightened, then relaxed his fists and said, "Why did you lock me up in my room?"

Valeria assumed he would be asking her something else like perhaps her illness since she could somewhat tell most of the people working in the duchy knew about it. She wasn't oblivious to the sad glances she received behind her back.

She tapped her heel against the pavement of the garden before responding, "So you could rest."

"Pardon..?" Aelius had a surprised look on his face making Valeria question to herself what was he thinking when she asked him to rest in his room.

"Is something wrong?" she frowned.

He shook his head, "No I thought my wife was angry and hated me.."

"I was." she truthfully admitted.

"Oh..." he looked down at the ground, dejectedly.

"But I never said I hated you."

'What is going on in this man's head'

"But wife, you said you were angry at me."

"I was because you didn't rest."

He blinked, "..That's.. That's all?"

Valeria nodded, "Yes."

She noticed how Aelius seemed to have brightened up once she answered his questions. She tilted her head to the side, staring straight at him,

"I would never hate duke." Valeria said whole heartedly.

Aelius looked at her before a smile bloomed on his face. His eyes beaming brightly as he smiled, "..Yes."

Valeria nearly blurted out loud how stunning his smile was. As expected of a popular love character.

'Ah, isn't this the first time he smiled like that at me?' she wondered to herself, not realising she had been staring at Aelius far too long.

"Is there something wrong, wife?" he asked consciously.

She came back to reality and shook her head, "No it's-"

Valeria paused mid-sentence as she felt something surging up from her throat. Aelius looked at her, concerned as he felt something was off.

The urge went away as quick as it came. Valeria made eye contact with Aelius before clearing her throat, "My apologies, that was rude of me."

"It's alright, wife. Should we head inside now?"

"Alright."

The two returned inside the manor, slowly walking through the hallways with servants bowing at them as greetings when they passed.

"There is also something I would like to ask wife," Aelius said, his tone docile and warm.

"Would you like to go to the Empire with me?"

"Empire?" she raised an eyebrow upon hearing it.

Aelius nodded in response, "Yes, I need to give reports to his majesty. We can stay there for a week."

Valeria pondered over his words quietly. She did want to see how the Empire looks as all her memories of it were either hazy or blank but when she remembered about Keith and Myra, she couldn't help but hesitate.

She knew those two would probably cry and beg her not to go as it could risk her health.

"I heard there is a new sweet, I'm not sure what is the name but it is a bittersweet dessert."

"I'll go with you." Valeria answered back with a straight face.

Aelius nodded, showing her a small smile, "Then we will leave the day after tomorrow."

"Okay." she nodded back, excitement brimming inside her as she wondered what kind of new sweet this world had created.

Aelius quietly glanced at her and though her expression was still wooden, he somewhat thought she was a bit excited seeing how she agreed to go after she heard about the new sweet. Without realising, Aelius had thought his wife was quite cute.

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Author's note: one misunderstanding solved easily but more to come (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ also I should have put it earlier but I have put a warning in the synopsis as i would be mentioning a lot of blood and all that kind of stuff just in case it might trigger people so do proceed with caution if you can't stand the thought of blood and so on!!