“Thank you for returning my daughter to me safely, Duke Severin,” Myrtle said with a head bow, holding Wisteria tightly as they all settled in a reception area in the mansion, “I will admit. I was more than a little worried about the attack when I heard of it. Duchess Severin let me know things were fine, but… I suppose it is in a mother’s nature to worry. I’m very thankful all of you are well. There’s much that will be different in the coming months, but safety and wellness must come first.”

“Of course, Ms. O’neah,” he smiled at her, “I do feel a touch sheepish about what all has gone on. It seems our family has not lost its curse of being interesting.” Blas chuckled, only half joking, and looked at the two of them with much warmth. He continued, “Wisteria has her own brand of troublemaker blood in her, no doubt, but she has been very kind and polite throughout the trip. She even got the attention of the King of Kitharn.”

“So I heard from her… I… am not sure how to feel about such a dramatic turn of events. Frankly, I don't trust it. Someone does not simply get made a duchess… so he must have found out about our abilities as saintesses…,” she squeezed Wisteria as she spoke, “He likely wants to use our abilities. But… perhaps we can use it to our advantage. There will be much to think of as we move forward. What the next move is will change a lot for us.”

“I suppose so…,” Blas cleared his throat, looking to Alister, “On a more pleasant note; Wisteria and Alister have been pondering what sort of man caught your eye for the last few weeks. They have worried about it and made theories with Olana even. It’s quite funny and endearing.”

Alister looked away as Wisteria began to blush. She mumbled about it, “Well… I just want to be sure whoever she found is good enough for her… that’s all…”

“His name is Sir Alexys Roan Baytr. He’s a knight and has been very kind thus far,” Myrtle sighed, petting her hair as she explained her new suitor, “He’s quite intelligent and well read. He’s a bit awkward and stiff with many people around, but even with my strong willed self he hardly seems to mind my stubbornness. He’s not tried to convince me to take on a more womanly role or the sort, for instance. I appreciate that. And he took interest in my alchemic store, and the plants I grow. I am… on edge still, of course… but so far, he makes me feel seen. I am tentatively hopeful he’s a good person at heart.”

“The tough part will be explaining to him your whole saintess situation, I imagine,” Blas added, smiling apologetically at her, “I don’t envy your situation… but you have our support. I hope you can take some comfort and strength in that security.”

“I do, Duke, I take much comfort in that, and even with the strange situation Wisteria and I find ourselves in with Kitharn, I still find your support very reassuring,” she said, bowing her head slightly, before sighing, “I don’t know how I’m going to explain my situation to him if we continue to court… but I am not seeking to rush it. It will happen in time… Likely sooner than I’d be comfortable with but that’s no shock to me. I… will also need to accept my real name again if we are dealing with Kitharn’s royalty… but that will also wait a bit. I will likely cling to that until I can’t afford to anymore… The man that took control of Typer Qoar… he will be displeased that another king got ahold of me and my daughter before he did…” Myrtle huffed out a much louder breath, “But! That is a worry for later. For now, Wisteria, sweetheart, would you like to meet Sir Alexys?”

“O-oh! Now, mom?” Wisteria asked, pulling away from hugging her mother’s side to look at her, “Is that ok?”

“Yes, he’s actually been rather eager to meet you and to meet the duke and family,” she said, standing, “Miss Harriet said she didn’t mind if he waited with me for you all to arrive. He headed to the back garden to help tend to it.”

Wisteria hurried to stand with her, “Yeah! Yes. Of course I want to meet him! I’ve been so worried about it, it’s been so frustrating. He better actually be good enough for you though, mom. I won’t sit by if he’s not.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

She chuckled, “Calm down, na’ah. I’m sure you’ll like him just fine. Don’t be too harsh on the poor man, though.” Myrtle walked towards the door, bowing her head again politely to Blas, “I’m sorry for taking your time, Duke.”

Blas stood along with everyone else, “Nonsense. This is a pleasant reprieve from wrangling the children, and we’ll have a lot of work to do with moving things, not to mention I am going to check the border while I’m here. Something so mundane is nice.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve discussed the fact I will be heading to the duchy’s capital with Sir Alexys,” Myrtle continued, heading towards the back of the house, “He is unbothered by the idea. He does not even mind the notion of him moving as well. I suppose some knights are just used to traveling…”

She opened a set of double doors leading to the back garden and motioned to the knight.

Sir Alexys was standing there, observing a servant pulling fruit down from a tree with a hook as he held a crate for them to put it in. He stood stiffly straight, with pale skin and long straight black hair down to his mid-back, tied up into a ponytail. The knight seemed to notice their approach before anyone said anything, and turned his head to look, his black eyes assessing the group before an awkward smile reached his mouth. His eyes darted back to the servant, and he nodded, saying something before he set the crate down and turned back to the group.

Although he was a very pretty sort of man, he definitely had the awkward air about him that Myrtle had mentioned. Sir Alexys walked up to them and seemed uncertain about how close he should get before stopping a half a foot farther than normal. He gave Myrtle a smile first, then looked to the others, “Hello. Duke Severin, it is my honor to meet you. As it is for the rest of you new faces as well. Such a young set of kids, but very… youthful and fun. Myrtle I’m happy your child returned home to you safely. You were so very worried about her. I can only assume this is your Wisteria? Hello. I am Sir Alexys Roan Baytr.”

Wisteria gave him a polite yet nervous nod, “Wisteria O’neah… nice to meet you. I um… didn’t expect you to be like this, honestly. You’re not as imposing as I imagine a knight to be.” Plus he spoke nicely, but awkwardly, which made him a lot harder to be scared of… not that she told him that.

“Ah, yes. The knights of this household do tend towards a larger frame, I’ve noticed. I prefer to be lean, however. I do like to hear I’m not as imposing. That sounds like a positive,” he said, holding his hands behind his back, “Duke, I would like to give my aid to you for your packing. Another set of hands to help, especially as Myrtle will be moving as well. Is that alright?”

Blas waved him off, “Of course of course. I imagine you’re a bit of a traveling knight? It’s sweet of you to want to follow with Myrtle, but with rising tensions you never know when you may be called to action.”

“Called? Ah, yes,” Alexys nodded, “Called. I don’t think I will find doing my duties difficult, even so.”

“He was traveling when he met me,” Myrtle explained, looking at him with a warm smile that made Wisteria further uncomfortable, “He planned to stay a couple of weeks and I guess I convinced him there was something to stick around for.”

“Alliana will love to hear your sweet story when we see her again,” Blas said, chuckling under his breath, running his fingers through his own black hair, “Fair warning, Sir Alexys. You better be good with kids, because this lot will run you ragged if you aren’t. Olana alone tests my patience sometimes-“

“Hey…” she pouted upon being called out, looking up from a notepad.

“Sometimes on the other hand I forget she’s there. Whereas I’m fairly certain Harriet is climbing a tree somewhere. Alister, my son, is… trouble when bored… and Wisteria is easily convinced to go along with the group of troublemakers,” he sighed, looking at Olana as she scribbled more notes, “Dating Myrtle no doubt means you’ll get dragged into the Severin chaos.”

Alexys seemed to consider this, then roughly nodded, “I believe the children won’t be an issue. I knew she had a daughter, and that did not deter me. But I’ll keep your words in mind, and keep an eye out for the group causing mischief, if only to avoid it.”

“Smart words,” he clasped the knight on the shoulder, to which Alexys looked confused, and then motioned to head back inside, “We just got here. Everyone should get a good night’s rest so we can start working fresh in the morning.”