Chapter 104-Preparation (4)

(SAGE'S P.O.V)

It was around 6:00 pm, when Rosie, Yeshiva, Lady Victoria and I returned to my room. I flopped down onto the bed out of pure exhaustion. Seriously, why does Hannah have to be so strict, I mumbled to myself as my face was buried in one of the pillows.

“I can't believe Hannah punished us by making us carry books on our heads for three hours,” Rosemary said and sighed.

I could hear Lady Victoria giggling. I turned my head and glared at her for a bit. Lady Victoria started to giggle even more.

“Well you seemed very amused”, Rosie said, while looking at Lady Victoria.

“I apologize for laughing, it's just the fact that you two bring out a side of Hannah I've never seen before”, Lady Victoria said and continued to laugh.

“I can't believe Hannah and Queen Malaysia banned me from sparring until after the ceremony.”, I said and buried my face into the pillow again.

“The debutante is a very important event. What would've happened if you two injured yourselves”, Lady Victoria said.

Fine, I can manage without sparring, I mumbled.

“Give it a rest, Sage”, I heard Yeshiva say. “After the ceremony, I'll spar with you as long as you want.” He added.

I raised my head up once again and looked over at Yeshiva, who was walking towards the bed. I glared at him and he was smirking and began to snicker.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. I watched as Yeshiva walked over and opened the door. Peyton walked into the room.

“I came to tell you all, I'll be leaving now. Once we finish the escorting mission, I shall be back in time for the debutante.”, Peyton said, as she approached the bed.

“What's going to happen with the young women?”, I asked, curiously.

Peyton suddenly sat down on the bed and started to caress my hair.

“Let Lord Dean, Sir Dell and I focus on those matters. You just focus on your debutante and ceremony.” She said and turned her head in Yeshiva's direction.

“Yeshiva, may I have a moment,” Peyton said and Yeshiva nodded.

I watched as they both walked toward the door.

Unexpectedly, Haley came walking into the room as Peyton and Yeshiva were about to exit.

“My lady, his grace is calling for you”, Haley said.

After leaving my room, I walked down the hall towards the stairs and made my way up to the third floor again. I noticed as the butlers and maids seemed very busy on this floor as I was walking towards Duke Winter’s office. A few minutes later, I entered the office and noticed Butler Jackson and Lucy standing in front of Duke Winter’s desk.

“Sage, my dear”,Duke Winter said with a smile.

He suddenly got up from the desk and walked around. Butler Jackson and Lucy followed behind him.

“Follow me, my dear, Mary and I selected a new room for you”, Duke Winter said.

“But I already have a room”, I replied.

“The third floor of the castle belongs to the Duke and the Duchess. As the Duchess, you will be moved to the third floor” he said.

“Oh okay”, I replied.

Duke Winter chuckled a bit and gestured for me to follow him. After leaving the office, I followed behind Duke Winter until we made it to the right wing of the castle. When Duke Winter stood in front of a room, he gestured towards the room and I entered it. I was in awe as I entered the room, it was ten times bigger than the current room I was staying in.

“If you look over to the left side of the room. The door connects to your office”, Duke Winter said.

I turned around in his direction with a huge smile on my face, “My own office”, I said in an excited tone.

I followed behind Duke Winter as he walked over to the door on the left side of the room. When he opened it, we walked into a huge office. I rushed over towards the desk in awe. I could hear Duke Winter, Butler Jackson and Lucy chuckling as I walked around the desk.

“Have a seat,” Duke Winter said.

I took a seat in the chair and placed my hands onto the desk.

“Wow, my own office”, I thought to myself.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of fingers snapping and when I looked up, Butler Jackson and Lucy suddenly placed a huge amount of papers onto the desk.

“Now then, Princess”, Butler Jackson said, “Shall we have a lesson on how to do paperwork” he said with a smile on his face.

This was totally a set up, I mumbled.

(DUKE WINTER’S P.O.V)

I chuckled at the expression on Sage's face when she saw the amount of documents that were placed onto the desk. I figured now was the time to teach her about how to properly do paperwork. My only concern is that she would have to go to the palace on her own now once she becomes the Duchess. I'll have to select more knights to protect her in my stead.

I left out of Sage's office and made my way towards my office. While walking, I noticed Lord Dean was standing in front of my office door.

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Lord Dean looked over in my direction.

“Your Grace, we are preparing to leave now. I've gathered 15 knights for the escorting mission.” Lord Dean said as he bowed his head.

I walked past him, “Come now, I'll see you off.”, I said.

Lord Dean followed behind me until we made it to the first floor of the castle. A few minutes later, we made our way to the valet section of the castle grounds. I noticed multiple knights standing around the large carriage that the women rode in.

“The location isn't that far away, but I wanted them to be comfortable until Morgan prepares for the trial," I said. “Have a couple of knights stay with them and guard them”, I added.

“Yes, your grace.”, Lord Dean replied.

“How long until the rest of Moises' knights return?”, I asked.

“They will be arriving soon, your grace” Lord Dean replied.

Seeing Moises knights after a long time will be worthwhile, I thought.

A few minutes later, Lord Dean, Sir Dell and Peyton and the rest of the escorting team began to leave and I watched as they traveled outside of the castle gates before returning inside of the castle.

While walking back up the stairs, I noticed Yeshiva coming down the stairs.

“Your Grace”, he said as he greeted me.

“Yeshiva, there is something I would like to discuss with you.”, I said.

I gestured to him and Yeshiva followed me to the third floor. A few minutes later, I returned to my office and Yeshiva followed behind me. I gestured towards the couches and Yeshiva sat down. I sat across from him and began to speak.

“Yeshiva, as Rosemary's destined partner”, I said, “I would love for you to receive the noble title of Marquess” I added.

Yeshiva made an appalling expression and pointed towards himself, “Me..becoming a noble” he said, “I'm just a mercenary” he added.

“If you're planning to marry Rosemary, you would need a noble title. The young noblemen will definitely send marriage requests to Rosemary. The noble society might try to pressure her into a political marriage” I said.

I noticed that Yeshiva flinched a bit when I mentioned the marriage requests.

“I'll accept the title”, he said without hesitation. “I'll inform the Chief on my decision,” he added.

“Great, with the title of Marquess you'll be able to serve under the Winter Dukedom. Rosemary will receive the title of Marchioness once you two marry” I said.

Yeshiva suddenly stood up and bowed his head, “Do I have your blessing?” He asked.

“Yes, I'm sure you will make an excellent nobleman”, I said, “No worries, the palace won't be able to interfere with my authority.” I added.

(NATALIE'S P.O.V)

It's been five hours since Ella and I have been traveling through the forest. We had another three hours until we reached the capital city in the central region.

“Let's take another thirty minute break”, Ella said as we approached a small river bank.

We got off of the horses and tied them around one of the trees. Ella and I walked over to the river Bank and I kneeled down and splashed the water onto my face.

“The sun is setting, we'll have to travel the rest of the way in the dark.”, Ella said.

“I prefer traveling at night anyways”, I said.

Ella kneeled beside me and splashed the water onto her face as well.

“I was honestly surprised when I saw you again. I wasn't expecting you to be the daughter of the legendary mercenary clan. You resemble your father so much, how the hell did you end up in the palace dungeon without being recognized as an Henrico?” Ella asked, curiously.

I looked over at her, “I stayed in the cabin for over a month until I fully recovered from childbirth and regained my strength.”I said, “Unknowingly, Prince Marshall's royal knights were searching the area. I fought multiple knights but was suddenly hit in the back of my head and woke up in the palace dungeon. I don't think he knows much about my clan to recognize who I was”, I mentioned. “I had no idea what happened to the midwife who helped me give birth until I met her daughter. Her daughter was the one who helped my daughter and I escape from the palace. Only then I found out the midwife passed away while grieving for me.”

“The midwife was she from the palace?”Ella asked.

I shook my head, “No, it was someone Moises knew and employed her at the villa he had brought for me. It was only recently that I found out the midwife was Nathan's mother” I said.

It became silent as I continued to mesmerize about the woman who helped me give birth. I only knew her for a short time, I thought.

“What about her daughter, the one who helped you escape?”Ella asked.

“She's one of the Synovial's Dukedom’s knights. We stayed there for a short period.” I said.

“Duke Vernon” Ella said and looked over at me, “You shouldn't trust that man too much” Ella said.

“What do you mean?” I asked, while making an uncertain expression.

“That man is an opportunist, you should be careful when dealing with the Synovial Dukedom. That family has always been that way. I wouldn't be surprised if the Duke's successor is exactly like his father” Ella said.

What she said caught my attention. Is that one of the reasons why Nashi acted the way that he did when Sage disappeared from the palace? I suddenly wondered. I should investigate this matter some more now that Sage has a destined partner. I shouldn't take Nashi's behavior lightly.

Ella suddenly got up, “Breaks over, let's hurry to the palace. You can disguise yourself as one of my husband apprentices if you want to get closer to the King”, Ella said and I nodded my head.

(PRINCE MOISES P.O.V)

It was around 11 pm when Masiro, Jemas and I arrived at the castle gate. The guards bowed their heads as they opened the gate and greeted me. A few minutes later, Masiro handed the keys to one of the guards and we walked towards the castle doors.

Upon entry, we were greeted by my grandfather and my mother. When I saw her I felt relieved seeing that her complexion looked better than the last time I saw her.

“Moises”, my mother said, with a warm expression.

“Mother, Grandfather, I have something to report to you, shall we head to the office?” I said.

My grandfather nodded.

I followed behind my grandfather and mother until we made it to the office on the first floor. When we entered the office, my mother and grandfather sat on the couches. I sat across from them and sighed.

“Moises, father told me you found Macy Livens” my mother said.

I nodded and placed my hand on my forehead for a second.

“Moises”, I heard my grandfather say, “What is troubling you?” He asked.

I looked up at them, “Mother, I found out father has been taking the poison that was meant for you and it's fatal for someone who doesn't have special abilities” I said as I looked directly at her.

My mother's eyes widened, “Lincoln has been consuming the poison as well?” she said as tears formed in her eyes.

As expected, he hid it well from her.

“Mother”, I said.

Suddenly, my mother stood up. “I need to return to the palace,” she said frantically.

“Malaysia!” Grandfather shouted, causing my mother to flinch a bit. She turned around and faced our direction.

“Father, Lincoln”, mother suddenly started to cry.

“Lincoln will be arriving at the castle for the ceremony. I'll have Doctor William and Na'mah treat him. That brat is so stubborn, I'll have to get the guards to force him down” grandfather said.

“I'll do it. I'll hold my father down, if necessary”, I said.

After grandfather and I managed to calm my mother down. I bit the inside of my lip as I wondered if I should tell everything Macy had shared with me. Here goes nothing, I thought to myself.

“Grandfather, mother” I said, getting their attention.

I sighed and began to tell them everything Macy Livens had shared with me. My mother and grandfather had shocked expressions on their faces as they tried to process what I was saying.

“Marshall isn't Lincoln's son” my mother said, “I knew Lincoln was indifferent towards Queen Lily but I never expected they didn't fulfilled their marital duties.” mother said.

“That explains why Lincoln has no intention to intervene in the rebellion. He wants it to happen but why?” Grandfather questioned.

“Are you sure my father doesn't know that the treaty between the Winter Dukedom and Vanuatu kingdom expires the day Marshall becomes king?”I asked my grandfather. “Once the treaty ends the original Winter Kingdom's land becomes rightfully Sage's possession. That includes the western, northern and eastern regions. Marshall will no longer have authority over those regions. Since the original Vanuatu Kingdom's land only consisted of the central and southern region before the merging of the kingdom's”. I said as I looked at my grandfather.

Grandfather looked puzzled for a moment.

“That brat” grandfather muttered. “Of course, he must have known and waited until now to push the coronation to the upcoming month.” grandfather said. “That brat was seriously waiting for you to return to fight against Marshall” he added.

I put my head down for a moment, “father” I mumbled.

“Do we know who Marshall's father is?”, mother asked.

I shook my head and started to tell them about Macy and how she said she was kidnapped and kept hostage in a basement for years.

“About Dowager Duchess Haverhill, I think she knows who Marshall's father is. I think it's the reason she's searching for Macy. She doesn't want the truth about Marshall's birth to be revealed” I said.

Mother flopped down onto the couch, “This whole time Lincoln knew Marshall wasn't his son” she said, as she wiped her tears and leaned over and placed her face into both of her hands.

(UNKNOWN P.O.V)

I was standing in front of the audience room, waiting until his majesty called for me. I heard the door open and one of the royal knights came walking out of the audience room.

“Madame, his majesty is ready to see you now”, the royal knights said.

I followed behind him as we walked down the long red carpet towards the throne.

I bowed my head before King Lincoln.

“You may raise your head, Madame Madeleine,” King Lincoln said.

I raised my head up towards King Lincoln and I could feel those light gold eyes staring down on me and his cold gaze almost made me shiver.

“Have you done as I ordered?” he asked.

“Yes, your Majesty”, I replied, “Her highness has chosen her debutante dress. She fell in love with it immediately. I also prepared a suit for the Crown Prince of Kalpana. The same colors as her highness dress” I added.

“Excellent, I expect nothing less from the palace head seamstress” King Lincoln said as a smirk formed across his face. “I look forward to my granddaughter's ceremony,” he added.

Whoa, I thought, This is the first time I saw his majesty with a warm expression on his face in a long time.