P.S. 3 – Chapter 43.5

At the Verglas forge, I was hard at work, surrounded by heat and the sound of hammers on metal, following Taran's instructions. "Two tenths slower, your Lordship. You're providing the mana faster than we can contain." He was exaggerating, but he preferred to handle things slowly, building experience and processes up slowly. I humoured him by holding back, absorbing the rest of the mana with my heart. If he wanted to build this fire slowly, who was I to object.

Still, I couldn't just let it slide without teasing him a bit. "I thought we had agreed to call me Red, rather than by my title?" He actually rolled his eyes at that, bringing a grin to my face as I continued. "Or do I need to start calling you Your Honour, given how you're the honourable Taran?"

"Ugh. Fine, I'll call you Red, Margrave. But if you use our swords to draw Her Grace's blood again during a spar, you're getting addressed formally for a week. That poor smith still almost throws up just thinking back to that scene."

I pretended to be apologetic as I nodded my agreement, but my eyes easily betrayed me. He just grumbled as they turned back to forging the enchanted blades, having me manipulate the mana flows for three at the same time. I also made the heat stick longer, so the blades could be forged more easily.

As the ambient mana kept flowing into me, I caught a familiar scent in there. "We'll have to pick a time to stop soon, Taran. I think my personal guard has arrived."

By the time the smiths finally let me go, my senses told me my knights all had already received food and water after their long journey. The horses first, of course. All thirteen. I made my way over and greeted them with a big grin. "Darragh, everyone. I'm happy to see you."

Darragh actually kept his tone neutral as he replied. "Not as happy as you are to see your horse, Lord Caisteal." I had to admit, he had a point. Having my horse back at my side definitely brought me joy. Of course I'd have to convince my horse first. The stallion eyed me with a grumpy look, clearly not pleased at the way I had abandoned him when I had surrendered to Eirwen.

But now that Eirwen had chosen to elevate my rank, ordering me to take up a personal guard once more, it was only fitting that I took back my horse. Though I would need to use different colours, as to not upset Verglas too much. My horse was as much a symbol of the way I had fought them, as my original colours had been. Best to coat him in my new colours instead, with a Verglas coat of arms on each side.

Darragh eyed me with suspicion and so did several others. The rest caught on quickly, so I reached out mentally, allowing for a quiet group conversation. Darragh was the one to speak.

"Milord. What is that in your chest?"

An experiment. A mana stone, which I constantly feed. Once the experiment turns out a success, I will be making more for others. But first the experiment must go right, and I'm taking my time for it.

He shook his head but accepted my explanation as I brought them with me to Eirwen's old warroom. He and the others bantered a bit, though it was clear they were still not sure how to address me. As my main direct subordinates, they had been closest to me, yet also distant.

"I must say, milord, it's strange to be addressing you by title again." The others nodded their agreement.

"Don't get too used to it. The wedding is in a week and a day, with the first guests arriving tomorrow. Once Eirwen weds me, I'll be a Duke once more, so you'll have to change how to address me. Until then, I'm just a Margrave, though that still puts me high enough to not have to bow to anyone." The main perk of being put equal to the rank of Marquis. If Eirwen saw someone try to force me to bow, she might be far from polite in her response. And this time, I couldn't just avoid any representatives of the crown. No doubt she had considered that when she gave me this rank.

While I had Darragh walk beside me, the others walked in pairs behind, a single woman holding the rear. When Eirwen walked these halls, her escort always walked three wide. As such, I felt I stuck to two wide. I was never going to be her full equal, just close enough, but I wasn't there yet.

At the Verglas warroom, I saw most of Aoife's guard standing outside. My own immediately paired up with them, while Darragh wordlessly followed me inside. There waited Aoife with Fáinche, while Eirwen had Llywelyn, Lleucu, and all six of her current doorguards accompanying her. I had to admit, I missed the previous two, but they deserved their retirement into normal knight duty. They had served her by themselves for over four months, after all, on top of their wartime service.

Eirwen nodded at me having understood to only bring Darragh in with me. She gestured and we all felt the oppressive mana she was now spreading, blocking others from sensing into the room. "There we go. Just you twelve may hear what I have to say next. Asides from you, only Bethan and Seren know, but even then you must never discuss things with anyone. Just remember, and make sure everyone falls in line."

I could feel Darragh resist the urge to send me a grumpy glare, because I had not given him advanced warning. You'd think he'd be used to it by now. Clearly he was a bit rusty.

But I held in my urge to smirk as Eirwen spoke, her voice clear and calm, but not cold. The Duchess of ice had thawed. "In a week and a day, my wedding will be held. As a winter wedding, even this early in the season, many will only send a token gift. Which is good, because there will be less guests to be offended when we completely break protocol. I will be wedding not just Red but also Aoife during the ceremony. While I cannot yet formally declare Aoife Duchess, I still will take her as my wife."

She looked at me and Aoife, warmth in her eyes, as well as a bit of suppressed impatience. "Once our wedding vows are completed, we will begin purging our bodies of contraceptives. Within two months from now, Aoife and I hope to be with child. Which means that each of us will be walking around with full escort all the time, and we will guarantee food safety for both us and you. You will be rotating guard duties, a dozen on duty per person at a time."

She looked at Darragh next, who I could tell already had done the math. "Red already promised to loan Aoife his personal guard for this exact purpose. He will stay near her to help conceal it, so that we buy ourselves as much time as we can. Once the secret leaks, I am expecting multiple murderous plots against us. You will be provided with all the means necessary to help keep us safe. Any questions?"

I wasn't surprised that Darragh spoke first. He knew when to take decisive action. "Your Grace. Normally it takes over half a year for the herbs you all take to be gone from your body. I take it the healers have a safe manner to help with purging them, but wouldn't that give things away to observers?"

All three of us shook our heads, but I let Eirwen explain. "Like I said, Bethan is in the know. She has checked out our health every day for months already, so her assistance will not give anyone a second thought. She's confident we can manage with minimal guidance from her side, and we will fake taking the herbs still."

He nodded and did half a step back, indicating he had no more questions. The others followed his lead. Eirwen nodded at them all, letting a big smile slip onto her face. "I am glad to have you all with us. If it wasn't for your excellent service, we would not have dared keep this secret. Thanks to you, I can continue ruling my territories myself, rather than be forced to use a proxy for the next year."

Not that I would have minded having her and Aoife to myself for all that time. But I could make such remarks with ease. I had let go of my burdens. Eirwen carried them in my stead. No wonder then, that she insisted on making sure her territories were in the best state.

Our knights bowed in gratitude while Eirwen let go of our privacy shield. She gave me a vicious grin next. "Since I will be entertaining guests starting tomorrow, today is the last chance for me to go all-out. Margrave, care for a spar?"

Aoife joined her grin and I gulped, then turned to Darragh. "Looks like I'll need a second, Darragh. Go suit up, I'll see you at the sparring grounds in ten moments."

If looks could kill... As Aoife and I barked out laughs at his grumpy look, he made his way outside and gave out mental orders to the rest. It was good to have him back.