Escape from the evil lady

«Should I thank her?»

That thought hadn't left Jeremy's head since Camilla and the Crown Princess of the Empire had left the ice castle. No matter how one looked at it, he was still alive only because his beloved had stepped in time to protect him. Otherwise, the young man's fate would have been quite unenviable.

Although Selina de Lune had probably only done so because the Baron's son was her nominal spouse, Jeremy couldn't help but think that he should at least thank her. After all, it was basic courtesy.

For days on end, the guy just hung around the hallway, trying to compose a speech to say to her. But in the end, nothing ever came to mind. Jeremy's floundering came to an end when he came face to face with the butler in the same hallway.

The old man frowned at the sight of him.

— My lord, what are you doing here?

— А… I… I came to see Her Ladyship, ” the prince awkwardly excused himself.

«…»

The butler, meanwhile, looked at him incredulously. Jeremy had no choice but to finally put his plan into action.

Finally, he gathered his courage and knocked on the door.

— Your lordship, may I come in…?

The answer came a few moments later.

— Come in.

Jeremy opened the door cautiously and stepped inside. Selina was attending to her duties as the head of the duchy, and a pile of work papers lay on her desk. It seemed the woman was too busy to find time to talk to him.

Jeremy mentally groaned.

«Been waiting for the right time for days, and ended up coming at the wrong time anyway…»

However, just as Jeremy was about to apologize for disturbing her and leave so as not to disturb her, Selina looked up at him.

Jeremy involuntarily flinched.

— Did you want something? — She asked.

— А… I… — mumbled awkwardly, - I just wanted to tell you something.

— …

— Thank you for saving me that day…! — The words he had been preparing for days came out of his lips with unexpected ease.

— It's nothing special, ” the Duchess replied indifferently, going through the documents on her desk, «As my husband, you also represent the North and the Duchy of de Lune. I would never let our clan lose face in front of the Southerners.

— Ah, so that's how…

Jeremy nodded understandingly.

— Is that all you had to say?

When there was an awkward silence for a while, Selina turned to him again.

— I…

— If that's all, then you can go. I still have work to do.

Jeremy stammered and noticed that her desk was indeed piled with papers, all of which had to be reviewed for today. In that moment, he perhaps realized for the first time how heavy the burden of the title of 'duchess' was.

— You seem to have a lot of work to do.

Noticing where his gaze was directed, Selina frowned.

— You don't need to worry about that. I'll handle everything myself.

Jeremy sighed quietly.

Well, that answer was to be expected. Their marriage had been based on those terms from the beginning. In a way, Jeremy was not a true member of the de Lune family. You can't respect a prince who has no right to decide the family's affairs and doesn't fulfill his duties.

A halfling who only serves his purpose when he is attached to the northern princess like an ornament.

In reality, no one considered Jeremy to be the true Duke de Lune, for he had no responsibilities or rights. Even he himself could not consider himself as such.

Whenever Jeremy was reminded of this, or reminded of his position, the boy's self-esteem steadily plummeted downward. Who would enjoy being something like a pet or furniture? Although before Jeremy had thought that the most important thing to him was to survive, but now for the first time he was thinking about such things.

No matter how he looked at it, it was his destiny to spend the rest of his life here. So would he really be in this humiliating position until his death?

«I want to be useful too…» — The thought that first flashed through the northern prince's mind made him clench his fists.

— Your lordship, I beg your pardon… — As Jeremy was about to leave, he suddenly turned to the duchess: «But could you give me some work to do?

Selina de Lune took her eyes off the papers and looked at him. There was a look of surprise in her gaze. It seemed that it was the first time the boy had seen such a range of emotions on her usually unperturbed face.

— What?

— I'm ready to do anything! — I'm willing to do anything, ” Jeremy said defiantly, «even sort your papers for you or clean your office. So. please let me help you.

«.......»

Jeremy, holding his breath, waited for her response.

Then he didn't even immediately notice that for the first time he wasn't afraid to look her in the eye.

***

The second princess' carriage was returning to the capital of the empire, and Selman Hirsch, the deputy princess, couldn't stop wondering about the necessity of this trip.

«Was it really worth it?»

The knight sighed heavily: this was the second twenty-four hours he hadn't slept a wink because of the work piled up, and the stack of to-do's didn't seem to be shrinking.

His gaze slid to Jerika sitting across from him.

The second princess was sitting over one of the documents and hadn't looked up for quite some time. After the mess made in the Imperial Palace by the Crown Princess, she was constantly busy to the point of insanity with an endless stream of business, as there was simply not enough manpower to handle the affairs of state. Selman tried to help her as much as he could, but it still wasn't enough.

The deputy princess in the Imperial Army suddenly wondered, was it really so important for her to go on this trip, forcing herself to do her work right in the carriage?

— Your Highness, you amaze me. Even in such a busy period, you found time to personally go to the north.

Jerica de Ronan, who seemed to be completely focused on her work, heard him and quietly chuckled.

— Don't exaggerate. It's not that bad.

— Really? Do you even remember the last time you slept?

At the knight's question, Jerika shook her head with a smile.

— I can definitely say it was last week.

Selman sighed once again.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't stop cursing the person who had gotten them all into this situation. What was more, it was not someone else who had to suffer the consequences of all this, but the second princess. As if the girl could boast of a carefree life before this.

«So what is this called? Why for the consequences of the older sister's actions, should the younger one be responsible…?» — The knight could not stop inwardly resenting.

If it were up to him, he would definitely say all of this out loud. But unfortunately or fortunately, he would lose not only his position but also his head too quickly for such a thing.

As a mere knight, he had no right to criticize any member of the imperial family.

And yet… How can one just turn a blind eye to such an injustice?

— Your Highness… — after a while, Selman approached her again.

— Yes?

— Hm… — The man hesitated, ''Are you sure that the girl you chose is trustworthy?

No matter how you look at it, this operation was too risky, and Jerika didn't hesitate to tell that girl about their plan. What if something went wrong?

The knight couldn't stop worrying about it.

But to his continued surprise, ever since the Duke's daughter had left their camp after making the deal, the second princess had never once seemed to doubt her decision.

It only took a few seconds for Jerika de Ronan to give her answer.

— Yes. I'm sure she won't let us down.

«…»

After saying those words, the girl turned away and looked out the window for the first time in a long time. The snow-capped mountains had been replaced by green ones, and they were already approaching the capital. The sky today was unusually blue without a single cloud.

A mysterious smile flashed on the lips of the second princess.