Chapter 99: Dinner With Wife
A song I’d always recommend when Evelina’s in the picture: Cinderella’s Dead by Emeline
...
"Your Grace’s actions in the Capital have saved the livelihood of the common folk," Henderson explained warmly, "When the sudden blizzard hit, the massive reserves of winter linen you had secretly stored in the northern caverns were immediately distributed as charitable donations to the lower districts as per the orders you left behind before you left."
The second-in-command, Marcus, stepped in to add, "Out there in the Capital, you froze out the corrupt nobles and that kept the working class alive.
By completely taking the textile monopoly away from the royal family, you stripped the crown of the ability to enforce those predatory luxury taxes on northern goods.
The merchants are thriving, food prices have dropped, and the entire duchy is wealthier than it has ever been in its history."
As it turned out, tales of the Duke’s bravery and the Duchess’s genius were doing rounds across the entire kingdom.
The Alvarez Duchy had risen to a peak of prestige they hadn’t seen in generations. The Aurelia Gazette had printed pages and pages of sheer admiration for Evelina.
In fact, romantic novels about the ’Ruthless but Devoted Duke’ and his ’Brilliant Heroine Duchess’ were also being printed all over the empire.
People have traveled from faraway lands just to catch a single glance of the Evelina Alvarez, the queen of people’s hearts.
Evelina hadn’t done anything to play the saviour. From the beginning, she had prioritized her business and her own goals.
Everything else had probably been an afterthought to her. What she was doing on a passing thought was not a big deal in her eyes.
She hadn’t expected anyone to notice it, let alone praise it.
So, all of the current situation... happened unexpectedly and she was stunned.
Right then, Henderson raised his staff.
With a coordinated click of their boots, Marcus, the soldiers, the council members, and every single servant in the courtyard dropped to one knee.
They bowed their heads in a high-level salute meant only for their Duke or a reigning monarch.
"Welcome home, Her Grace, the savior of the North!" they chanted in unison.
Evelina’s green eyes widened for a brief moment. The genuine respect in their tones hit her completely off guard.
A sudden warmth rushed up her neck, and the tips of her ears turned a bright red.
With a gentle tilt of her head, she quickly gathered her green skirts, turned on her heel, and practically fled up the grand steps, "Marta! With me, now!" she called out hastily.
"Yes, Your Grace!" Marta scurried quickly behind her, barely able to control her admiration for the Duchess.
Standing right behind Evelina, Ace caught her flustered reaction.
A slow amused smirk spread across his handsome face. He watched her retreat until she disappeared behind the manor doors.
When he turned back to the kneeling crowd, he nodded with a hint of satisfaction. "Marcus," Ace rumbled loudly, his voice echoing over the courtyard, "Every soldier, servant, and citizen present today is to receive a double bonus from my personal treasury. Distribute the gold before sunset."
The courtyard erupted.
The soldiers and servants looked at each other in utter disbelief, completely elated by the unexpected wealth.
They began to scream even louder, their voices shaking the frosted pillars: "ALL HAIL THE DUCHESS! LONG LIVE THE DUCHESS!"
Ace, completely riding the high of his people praising his wife, practically skipped up the castle stairs, a foolishly bright smile on his face, looking for all the world as if he were the one who had just been awarded a medal of honor.
However, the joyful spring in the Duke’s mood did not last long. It soon turned into a winter more freezing than the northern wilderness.
While the Alvarez Duchy continued to flourish and expand its trade routes, the Duchess completely locked herself in her private study.
Days turned into weeks, and the heavy oak doors remained firmly shut to the outside world.
Only Marta was permitted inside to deliver her timely meals.
Ace soon found himself buried under the pressure of the pending northern affairs and the never-ending meetings of the Northern Council.
But despite his exhausting days, the servants in the manor got to witness a rather heartwarming yet tragic scene every single night.
Long after the castle had gone quiet, around midnight, the Duke would appear at the end of the corridor.
Tired from his endless military and political work, he would walk silently to Evelina’s door. And he would simply stand there for hours, visibly conflicted whether to knock or not.
And in the end, as the first light of dawn began to break, he would leave just as quietly as he arrived, careful to never disturb her peace.
Two weeks later, Evelina finally stepped out of her study, a hint of exhaustion marring her face.
She turned to Marta and commanded, "Go find the Duke. Ask him to have dinner with me tonight."
When the message was passed, Ace was in the middle of a hallway, marching toward a highly critical, emergency council meeting with Marcus and several high-ranking generals.
Marcus stopped, holding out a map, "Your Grace, the border patrol reports are critical. We must address this immediately."
"Cancel the meeting," Ace said without a single second of hesitation, turning on his heel.
"But Your Grace, this is highly important—" Marcus ran after the man, a grown man visibly on the verge of tears.
"Not more important than my wife," Ace looked back over his shoulder to let them know he wasn’t kidding.
And then, he quickened his pace, leaving the stunned generals standing in the corridor.
Since Evelina wanted to see him over dinner, Ace made use of all the time he had managed to gather from his busy schedule.
He threw open his massive walk-in wardrobes, tearing down dark velvet coats, embroidered tunics, and silk shirts, tossing them across the floor in a frenzy.
"Too formal. This is... too boring... No, this one makes me look like one of those old politician geezers," he muttered to himself, frantically testing three different expensive imported perfumes, sniffing his wrists with a deeply strained frown.
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