A Dove's Tale

Chapter 181

"Something on your mind, little dove?"

Gilbert's pleasant voice pulled me from my gloomy thoughts to the sunny gardens. I'd just left the round table room and my uneaten lunch behind, with Leon's casual answers to his brothers' many questions still ringing in my ears, and my mask of composure clearly hadn't fooled Gilbert.

The telltale clanking of armor behind me announced my guards, taking a step closer to me. Too overprotective, as usual. I stopped and half-turned to address them and their stony expressions. "Could you give us some privacy, please?"

"Queen Ivetta—"

"Within sight, but out of hearing range," I interrupted Julius firmly. I preferred giving orders as polite requests, but if they wanted to be stubborn about this, I could be stubborn, too. My request wasn't unreasonable. The winding paths ensured they would never be more than a few yards away from me at any given time, and Gilbert didn't pose a threat to me. Not physically, anyway.

Julius and I stared each other down for a tense moment. The sounds of a garden in springtime filled in the silence, with birds chirping, insects buzzing, and a slight rustling of leaves in the wind, all oblivious to our battle of wills. A battle I always won, even if Chevalier was my opponent. Julius, of all people, should have known that.

He finally relented with a stiff nod.

"Thank you." I turned back to Gilbert, who was watching with amusement. "Sorry about that."

"Your guard dogs are very faithful," he commented, falling into step beside me. "How quickly loyalties change."

I frowned at him. "Please don't call them dogs, and are you going to explain that last statement, or should I add it to the list of secrets you're keeping?"

He laughed. "This is one I don't mind explaining. I sent Julius here a few years ago to kill Leon."

My blood ran cold. I glanced over my shoulder to ensure my guards couldn't hear us before I asked, "You...what?"

He chuckled at my shock. "Are you still that naïve, little dove? Chevalier and Leon were the best candidates for the throne, and you already know I had Clavis after Chevalier's head. Did you think I was just ignoring Leon?"

"I...never thought about it," I admitted.

"Of course not. Because you would never think I might have plans in place for each of the princes, not just Chevalier. But that's all over now. Leon had discovered Julius immediately, anyway. How ironic that the perfect opportunity to discredit him has appeared now that we're allies. It's enough to make me cry."

His face fell into an obviously fake display of anguish, and the unsettling feeling in my gut turned to irritation.

"It's nothing to joke about. You know how important bloodlines are to the nobility. They only accept me because Chevalier has the perfect lineage, and he's made it clear he won't tolerate any opposition to me. When they find out Leon has no royal blood, it won't matter what the royal family says. There will be a backlash."

The mirth left his face in an instant. "You're still having problems?"

Of course, he would focus on that. My worry for Leon had my stomach twisted into knots, but Gilbert didn't care about him. He didn't care that every member of the royal family other than Chevalier and Leon had faced criticism their entire lives. Jin and Luke, illegitimate children of commoners; Licht and Nokto, legitimized by marriage, but still born of a commoner and saddled with the supposed twin curse; Yves, a pariah because of his Obsidianite mother, princess though she was; Clavis, mysteriously born of the queen's lady-in-waiting and best friend, a noblewoman from a family indentured in service to the Michels for generations. Chevalier and Leon had been the only two above suspicion. Until now.