Chapter 828 Alexander's Suspicions (Part-4)
Lady Felicia did not flinch a toe at Alexander's subtle threat and refused to budge one bit.
Instead, not willing to be solely on the defensive, she turned on her heels to face Alexander, as Lady Felicia aggressively counterattacked, cleverly pointing out,
"But if my lord really were to ask my husband this, how would you explain the way you came to know about my dress the first time?"
"Is my lord willing to expose yourself just for the sake of a few small doubts you have regarding me?"
"Will that wise given your status? Given our relationship?"
Gone was the mirthful, light smile on Lady Felicia's face, replaced by a cold, regal countenance, as she looked at Alexander like a fearless lioness circling his prey, threatening him with social death.
And indeed the lioness had bared some sharp fangs.
For although Alexander would have been able to brush the relationship with one of his subordinate's wife, as such occurrences were a dime a dozen, but relationship with one's mother in law was far more frowned upon.
Alexander had just captured Thesalie and was in the midst of conquering Tibias, so if this were to get out, he would bet all the gold he had that rivals and rebels would spring up the very next day, spreading news of his loose morale in very excruciating detail and no doubt adding hyperboles that would make even the best selling authors feel ashamed.
But Alexander, seeing this attitude, did not back down one bit.
Narrowing his eyes as a way of accepting her challenge, as he at first smirked noticing that Lady Felicia had called Lapitus not by his name, but by her relation to him- husband.
This was probably the first time he had heard him say it,
However, although externally very confident, internally, he cursed for how sharp witted the woman was at having detected this weak point.
That was indeed a detail that he had been musing over but was ultimately unable to find a solution.
As a matter of fact this was a big reason why Alexander was even having a conversation with Lady Felicia in the first place, wanting to bluff the lady into making her confess.
Or else Alexander would have already confirmed things with Lapitus prior to the meeting.
And so he had really hoped that Lady Felicia would not be able to find this weakness.
But alas!
Lady Felicia definitely won with this round, for Alexander though ever suspicious, was unable to find evidence of her misdeeds.
And he was no tyrant who would punish others without evidence even if he knew there was wrongdoing.
"No!" Thus Alexander followed the only option that was available to him. retrieving the threat for he was unable to risk his reputation right now.
And then even produced somewhat of a small apology,
"I hope Lady Felicia will not take into mind whatever I just said. I was too curious and did not know my boundaries. It will not happen again."
"Whatever you do with your husband is your business. Whatever you do with anyone outside your husband is also your business. As long as it does not affect your work in any way I will not pry."
He sounded very sincere.
And regarding this, Lady Felicia produced a victorious smirk, "It's okay, my lord, I know you are young and have much to learn."
"But remember that it is not good to have jealousy. I'm more than willing to be your mommy and teach you these things any time you like. Just call me."
The sarcasm and joyous parade of emotions as Lady Felicia said this did not go undetected with Alexander, with Lady Felicia feeling especially elated to see the smoldering fire deep in Alexander's eyes at being implicitly called a child, feeling happy that she had at least managed to get some sort of small revenge for all the teasing she was made to endure.
If this had been anyone with a bit more temper, Lady Felicia might have had her neck snapped right here, right now.
And Alexander did have to restrain himself for a brief moment so as to not do anything irreversible.
*Knock*, *Knock*, *Knock*
But just as the explosive powder keg of an atmosphere was about to go bust, suddenly, by the machinations of fate, three crisp taps resounded on the door, followed immediately by Cambyses's recognizable voice,
"It's me. I'm coming in,"
Thus the tense air was inadvertently broken,?as Cambyses, dressed in a dazzling red and white chilton immediately entered the room with large, strong steps without waiting for Alexander's permission.
And since Lady Felicia was so close to the door when it was strongly swung open, she was the first person Cambyses laid her eyes upon.
And was then greeted with an angry glare by the mistress of the house.
Cambyses had made it very clear that she did not like Lady Felicia, the reason plainly being, as in her words, 'She reminds me too much of Gelene.'
It had taken the smart woman three days to come to that conclusion, as opposed to Alexander's seven, showing that sometimes her nose was sharper than Alexander's.
And after that glare, Cambyses further icily added to Lady Felicia, "I'm surprised to see you are standing. I was sure I would find you on your knees, your mouth filled with my husband's cock!"
Cambyses really left no room for civility in their meeting with this lowly vulgar saying, making it crystal clear that she knew of the two's affair but did not at all approve of it.
"...." And against this hostile attack, Lady Felicia found it wise to only shut up and take it, though she did have some very choice words to describe Cambyses by in her mind, words such as: low, skank, gutter slum, etc.
But outwardly, she kept her head low and her mouth mute, for what was she going to say anyway?
She knew Cambyses was not only the headmistress of the house, and not only did she hold significant power in the form of being able to command a part of the city guards, but most importantly she was heavily favored by Alexander, having his ear almost any time of the day.
And since Cambyses had said this so loudly, the man of the house had surely heard it, and if he had wanted to object, he would have objected already.
Or rather, the lady would not have gotten the guts to say these things in the first place.
But since he did not, of course, the wisest thing for Lady Felicia was to shut up and not let this hostile force find any openings.
And this tactic worked, as seeing her opponent not take the bait but simply avoid her eyes, Cambyses, feeling victorious moved on to the real reason she was here, beelining straight towards Alexander.
"Haha, come on Cam. This is no way to speak to a guest. Lady Felicia is a highly valued member of our city" While Alexander, hearing Cambyses's harsh words did try to play the mediator, though his breezy chuckle lacked any real strength, and sounded more like a light slap on the wrist.
Cambyses had made it very clear that although she would not dictate who Alexander could or could not see and sleep with, for she did not dare try and push Alexander that far, but she would absolutely not play ball with this distasteful woman,
A statement that Alexander was helpless to accept.
Any woman was by her nature jealous, and Cambyses was too, but she was especially hostile to Lady Felicia, something which Alexander really did not get.
He had even asked her about it and Cambyses simply replied, "Instinct!"
Though they did say a woman's intuition was a sixth sense.
"Here! Congratulations!" Upon approaching the table, Cambyses held out a small rolled scroll, and hearing the words and knowing Menes was scheduled to fight soon, Alexander instantly connected the situation as his heart filled with glee, even completely forgetting the verbal battering he had suffered at Lady Felicia's hand.
He hurriedly graced the already opened piece and eagerly read exactly this.
'Won battle! Date:..... Men lost ~ 2,000.
Enemy ~ 40,000. Men lost 5,000 to 10,000.
Resting currently. Will soon march to the capital.
A rider will come bearing more details.
Addendum: A messenger named Manuk came from Adhania. Sent him on a boat to Thesalie.'
Alexander read and reread the tiny words on the scroll multiple times, until he almost memorized the handwriting, feeling very happy but also a bit surprised at the information.
Both his casualties and the enemy's number were much more than anticipated, especially the latter which was double than what Lord Theony had indicated to him.
And then understanding that Menes had won a brilliant victory against such an outnumbered victory, the pain of losing those 2,000 men quickly dissipated, as Alexander broke into a wide grin.
"Menes did well. Hahaha, Menes did well," Alexander felt overwhelmed as he nodded his head with a large grin, while Cambyses followed suit, grandly claiming, "Yes, Tibias will soon be ours."
Even Lady Felicia could not help but join in with a small smile, feeling much of her current acrimony wash away.
The sooner Tibias was defeated, the safer she would be.
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