Duke Rosenberg was back. She gritted her teeth when the maid had announced him, wishing he hadn’t come back so soon. The last thing she wanted to deal with after her failure of escape was a duke who would likely be enraged by her attempt to leave.

Surely he has more work to do than just monitoring me, she thought. Even father was always too busy to drop everything to go and see for his favorite child, Callum.

Duke Rosenberg’s face was red with frustration. Why does he care so much when I’m just the enemy’s sword saint to be executed?

“Waiting until the guards changed to try to escape?” he scoffed. “Totally expected for someone of your caliber. I’ve tried to make your stay as comfortable as I can. You may be being held captive here, but we’ve done our best to accommodate you the same way a Duke’s daughter would be living at home. If you wanted to go for a walk in the garden, you could just say so.”

Maude looked away from the duke, counting the number of divots in the bricks on the floor. They both knew that she could not have asked for a walk in the garden. She was a prisoner to be executed after all.

We both know that’s not what I was after, she thought.

Duke Rosenberg sighed angrily at her non-response. “I don’t understand why you’re so eager to leave,” he said, then paused, waiting for Maude to respond. “All escaping will do for you is hasten your death.”

By escaping, I’m also giving myself a chance to survive, Maude thought.

“Where do you expect to go?” the duke asked. “Most of the people in the kingdom will recognize you. You won’t be welcome basically anywhere else. And it’s not like you can go home.”

Something snapped in Maude. “And just why couldn’t I go home?” she asked.

He laughed. “After the stunt you pulled? You don’t think I informed your father that you, the sole survivor of your unit, are currently dwelling in my home?”

Maude felt her blood run cold. “You contacted him?” she asked, icily.

“Of course I did,” Duke Rosenberg answered, crossing his arms. “Not only did I want the empire to know that I have their most valuable soldier, I wanted your father to know that his precious daughter is safe.”

Maude scoffed at him. “My father doesn’t give two shits about me,” she said. “He’d much rather I didn’t exist. He probably won’t even think twice about me behind here.”

Duke Rosenberg looked at her skeptically. “Who wouldn’t want to be the father of someone as prestigious as you?”

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Maude jutted her chin out at the Duke. “Have you met my father?”

“Of course not,” he answered.

“Then what makes you so sure you know him better than I do?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“You’re the pride and joy of the empire. Everyone knows who you are. People even know who you are here.”

Maude raised her eyebrows. “And my biggest flaw in Duke Holloway’s eyes is that I’m a woman,” she replied scornfully. Duke Rosenberg’s eyes met her own. She thought she detected pity in them, so she looked away. “It’s none of your business where I go anyway,” she said, changing the subject. “And for what it’s worth, I’d rather not return back to my father’s home anyway.”

His eyes narrowed and he shook his head slightly. “Then why bother trying to leave?” he asked.

She just shrugged at him. “Better than waiting in a room,” she answered.

“If you ask the guards at the door, I’m sure they’d be willing to escort you around,” he replied.

“And how am I supposed to know that unless you tell me?” she sniped back.

He paused, and their eyes met again. This time, he looked away first. “You’re not wrong,” he grumbled, looking at the floor.

Maude gritted her teeth. How frustrating! She’d nearly made it out of the manor, and now he was telling her that she could walk around the estate with the guards? If she had known, she would have scoped the place out before trying. Now, no matter what she did, she was going to be suspected of plotting to escape.

At least the Duke seemed relatively incompetent. If he couldn’t figure out that she was trying to escape because he planned on having her executed, then he must be incredibly dull-witted.

A bitter taste filled her mouth. If only she hadn’t vomited in the bush, there was no way this man and his army would have caught her. How infuriating!

“Is there anything else I ought to know during my stay here?” Maude asked him.

“You should know most of it now, I think,” he answered sheepishly.

“How is the war going, then?” she asked. She knew it was only a matter of time before the empire crushed the Aulbertians. Whenever that day came was the day she would need to have escaped by.

“From my perspective, or your perspective?” Duke Rosenberg asked.

“From your perspective,” she answered.

A smirky little smile wigged its way onto his face. “It’s actually going quite well from my perspective,” he answered. “The empire’s troops are surprisingly under trained as far as I’ve heard.”

Maude fluttered her eyes at him, unable to believe what she’d just heard. “Aulbert is holding its own against the empire?” she asked.

“Quite well, in fact,” he answered, a grin bursting onto his face. “It seems like the empire may have lost its touch.”

Maude squinted her eyes at him. “You’re lying,” she said.

“For what reason would I lie to you? You’re a mere prisoner.”

Maude winced at his words. They stung a little. He was right, but she didn’t like it.

“If I were trying to escape and try to join the fight, I’d be thinking my side is at a disadvantage,” she replied.

“As if that’ll ever happen,” Duke Rosenberg jabbed back. “You didn’t even fight the first go-around.”

A stab of fire coursed through her. He has to bring that up as much as possible, doesn’t he? He was only solidifying her resolve to escape.

“Maybe it was a ploy,” she answered.

“I’ve seen very few ploys flirt with death as much as you have,” he answered. “His adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he talked. Was he nervous?

“You shouldn’t take me so lightly,” she said.

“Believe me, I don’t.”

“Fine, then,” she said. “Bring me a newspaper from the empire to prove what you are saying is true.”

Duke Rosenberg threw his head back and laughed. Maude squirmed in her seat, unsure what she had said that had caused him to laugh so much.

“Alright, deal,” he said. “As long as you will allow me to add additional context when I bring it to you.”

“Deal,” Maude agreed.