RAYLEIGH’S POV
Loredan had placed an order for a thousand Blinkies - since Count Eszes had passionately petitioned for at least a hundred for Imperial Hospitals, while Marquess Moravia and other council members had urged uncle to secure as many as possible for the capital, national borders, imperial palace, and key installations at sea.
Within a day of the latest uproar in the empire - thanks to the newspaper editors who had been part of the crowd during Asha’s demonstration - House Lamberg receives orders for Asha’s latest creation from Frankland, Quan, and Anouar.
Interestingly, Vautour also sends a purchase order through Nathaira, despite each Blinky costing twelve thousand gold coins after deducting the bulk purchase and Imperial discounts.
How can they afford it, when Asha is giving Loredan forty-five percent off while only offering foreign nations a maximum of twenty percent off if they pay for at least three hundred units upfront?
When his fiancée grins and tells him to “follow the money”, Rayleigh has never fought the urge to kiss someone as much as he does right then.
Asha, you’re brilliant.
She’d set up a trap for Nathaira with her latest invention, to allow them to track the flow of funds.
House Lamberg’s wealth - already among the largest in the empire, and set to burgeon further now - is the talk of the town, since Asha handed over all rights to her creations to her tearful father. Rayleigh can’t help but smile at how loving his fiancée is towards his teacher, and many nobles chatter about the ‘filial angel of Lamberg’ after that.
It’s a good thing Asha is keeping herself on people’s minds for positive reasons. According to Conroy, Medea and Cassandra have been attending as many parties as possible and trying to frame the blonde as an unfortunate victim of the Winter Lady’s cruelty.
Asha’s family’s riches and power, and her personal standing as the Winter Count’s only child, current Minister of Education, and future Grand Duchess are double-edged swords. While most admire her and many know better than to antagonize her, there are still plenty who are envious and dissatisfied, which allows the Nathaira girls to spout their lies relatively freely.
Fortunately, Blinky - with its medical and defensive functions - wins Asha considerable favor from aristocrats and commoners, so the schemes of the Nathaira House don’t gain much traction, but Rayleigh knows it’s putting his fiancée in the unenviable position of having to constantly watch her back while working harder than anyone else.
We need to at least put a stop to Medea’s and Cassandra’s slander.
It won’t be easy, since they’re adept at speaking in a roundabout way, and always quick to pin the blame on others.
How could I have been so foolish?
When his shadows tell him what they’ve heard Medea say, Rayleigh realizes she’s always been this way. Which means, from the very beginning, the blonde had been trying to manipulate him and drive a wedge between the Grand Duke and House Lamberg.
I can’t believe I played into her hands, driven by my prejudice against Asha.
Ariana is hard at work countering the Nathairas’ attempts at bringing Asha down in social settings that men can’t participate in, alongside Lady Willow and the wives of council members.
What can I do to help?
Asha is insanely busy with mass production of Blinkies as well as her council duties, and he knows she’s also gearing up to launch several businesses. Rayleigh supposes he’s fortunate he can use council activities and the Blinkies’ rollout as a reason to meet her daily still, though he can tell she’s rapidly becoming overwhelmed with work and her training.
Griffin suggests taking Asha out on a date, and Rayleigh wonders if that’s a good idea when she barely has enough time to sleep.
> ”It won’t hurt to ask her, Ray Ray.”
The chaos in the Lamberg manor is nothing unusual by now, and Rayleigh casually makes his way through the crowded foyer as he heads towards Asha’s office-workshop. Along the way, he hears snippets of conversations from Winterblades and Snowfalls dashing past, and smiles when he realizes part of the hubbub is due to Asha being invited to be an Honorary Professor at the Alchemy Academy.
Though she’s Minister of Education, private institutions owned and operated by associations as powerful as the Alchemist Guild lie somewhat outside her purview, since they focus on on-the-job training and don’t rely on imperial funds. While Asha can intervene if she believes their teachings are illegal or unethical, for the most part the Academy operates unchecked.
The Alchemist Guild’s and Academy’s dedication to the pursuit of knowledge is well known, as is their loathing of political agendas and interference. Which means the invitation is a recognition of Asha’s abilities, and proof they consider her far too brilliant to ignore despite her council post.
I’m so proud of you, Asha.
Something tells him she’s only just getting started on her path to domination, and Rayleigh wonders again how he can be of help.
“Why don’t you try casting a fire spell on that frigid heart of yours?”
“When you remove that rusty sword from your behind.”
The Lamberg Tornadoes are at it again, and Rayleigh chuckles as he enters the messy workspace, then laughs when he sees his barefoot fiancée sitting lotus-style on her desk, hunched over and scribbling furiously.
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Cute.
Asha’s aversion to sitting properly in chairs and on the saddle is something she’s had since young. She’d tried to act like a lady for a few years, but had clearly decided not to bother recently, almost seeming to deliberately try and push to see how far she can go before others react negatively.
Just like a kitten.
“My lady.” Her ink smudged face is adorable, and Rayleigh’s glad it gives him the opportunity to reach out and touch a smooth, stained cheek. “Congratulations on the invitation from the Academy.” She blinks at that, as though wondering how he could’ve found out so quickly. “I overheard it as I was walking here.”
“Oh...” When she cocks her head and looks at him like that - wary but not as guarded as before - his heart squeezes.
“Would you be able to spare some time this week? I was hoping we could go on a date.”
Gods.
When Asha blushes like that, Rayleigh gets some very indecent thoughts about his nineteen year old fiancée.
By the empire’s standards, she became an adult last year. But not only is she a northerner, she’s also small in size due to her Elementalism.
From what Count Prospero and Conroy have told him, many Elementalists grew to be normal or even strapping in build. The Court Mage’s working theory - based on discussions with Marquess Vihur, who still annoys Rayleigh to no end - is that an Elementalist’s size is inversely related to the extent of their powers, with larger sized individuals having less reserves than smaller wielders of this rare magic.
While he’s proud that it means Asha holds a great deal of power, it’s a little uncomfortable to have desires for someone who’s legally an adult but looks underaged.
> ”Teacher looked like a teenager when he got married and had Asha, Ray Ray.” Griffin, intuitive and perceptive as ever, had caught on to his discomfort over drinks the other day. ”Surely you’ve seen the portrait from his wedding day, and the other portrait in the Lamberg gallery of teacher holding a baby Asha.”
He had, and he recalls thinking it an odd sight when he’d first seen the paintings.
Teacher looked so young back then - like a boy barely past his sixteenth year - yet he was already a war hero, Grandmaster, Count, husband, widower, and father.
The Winter Count looks like he’s in his late-twenties now that his fortieth birthday is in less than two months, and Rayleigh wonders if Asha will start looking more like an adult by the time she turns thirty.
> ”Most people would kill to retain their youthful looks,Rayleigh.” Ariana had told him that with a gentle smile. ”You, Griffin, and father-in-law also look younger than your years, though I agree the Lambergs physically age much slower than Imperials.” Those navy blue eyes had twinkled with mischief. ”It’s fortunate you also have Saharan blood, so you won’t look too old for Asha when you two have children of your own.”
“What...did you have in mind?” Her shy voice brings him back to the present, and he pushes away thoughts of their wedding night and future children with an effort.
“Would you be interested in the art gallery and opera?” When she stares at him, he smiles. “The smartest person I know once told me that ‘art, music, and poetry are things that make life worth living for’.”
Asha blushes again at the indirect compliment, averting bright blue eyes as she tries to collect herself, though he hadn’t missed the shadow that had flitted across them when she recalls telling him that in order to help him please Medea.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, even though I know now that she actually enjoys arts and culture.
“Or if you like, we can have our overdue race followed by a picnic.” The meeting in the palace followed by the impromptu celebration over teacher’s engagement had meant they hadn’t been able to compete after seeing the Anouar ambassador that time.
She agrees to that immediately, eyes sparkling, and Rayleigh smiles broadly.
How could I have forgotten how much she loves running wild amidst fall foliage?
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Asha wins the race easily, despite Shems’ infamous speed, because Luna is also an extremely fast battle steed and Rayleigh is too distracted by the sheer joy on his fiancée’s face as she rides bareback at breakneck speed through the park he’d had cleared and closed for them.
When she’d guided Luna to leap nimbly over fallen trees - soaring in the air with long white waves streaming behind her, exuberant laughter bubbling over - Rayleigh had forgotten to shift his position in preparation for his own jump. Fortunately, Shems is extremely intelligent and experienced, and had twisted his own body to compensate for his rider’s lack of attention.
Though Asha hadn’t noticed, since she was in front at the time, Rayleigh knows all their attendants and escort knights did, but he can’t find it in himself to be embarrassed when Asha is clapping and cheering at her own undisputed victory.
Gods.
Has she always looked this lovely? Like a goddess herself had descended from the heavens to bless him with this one eternal moment of divine beauty that will linger forever in his heart and mind?
He’s not sure how he even manages to speak when he congratulates her, not sure what he even says, but those already flushed cheeks redden further and then Rayleigh will swear on his name that he truly couldn’t help himself right at that moment.
Leaning down, he cups the back of her head with one gloved hand, pulling her towards him gently as his other hand tenderly caresses the smooth skin right next to those pink lips that have haunted him for weeks.
“Yo...” Before she can complete the word, he presses his lips to hers, tongue slipping in to lick and taste as much of her as he can, unaware that his hands move to bodily pull her up onto Shems until he feels that distinct coolness - a Lamberg characteristic - pressed against him, and then her lower body temperature somehow only inflames his desire even more.
Gods.
When she moans into the kiss, he grips her tighter, the feeling of those small breasts against his chest as she straddles Shems with her legs on top of his driving him mad with need.
Asha.
It’s not enough - not even close to enough - and he knows he’ll gladly spend the rest of his life exploring every inch of her over and over, searching for every way possible to make her moan, make her cry, make her scream his name...
He doesn’t remember pulling back slightly for air, and his already hazy mind completely loses all rationality when he sees the way she looks - flushed all the way down her neck, brilliant blue eyes hooded and darker thanks to the expanded irises partially covered by long lashes, kiss-swollen lips reddened and parted as she pants.
One of his palms is cupping her nape - their size difference meaning his fingers almost touch his thumb where his hand almost completely encircles her slender neck - and distantly he’s aware that the thundering heartbeat he’s feeling through the glove is not his own.
You liked it.
That realization, the knowledge that she wants him as much as he wants her, destroys all notions of self-control, modesty, or propriety, and he’s pulling her in for another kiss - his other hand already moving to undo the buttons on her shirt - when four very loud coughs sound.
What...?
Turning, he doesn’t miss Asha’s little shriek when she realizes their attendants are barely ten feet away, the rest of the knights staying a discreet distance back and looking like they’re trying to turn themselves into trees.
Oh.
Rayleigh doesn’t think he’s ever turned so red in his life.
Griffin is going to have a field day with this.
Looking at the blushing fairy in his arms right now though, Rayleigh would gladly endure years of his cousin’s teasing, years of his uncle’s scolding for behaving like a madman in public, if it means he can do it all over again with Asha.
Soon.
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MOONRISE BY LUNASEA: CHAPTER 27 END