Chapter 259: Visitor (1)
Inside the bedchamber, Ophelia laid on Dante’s chest.
"When they find the queen, will they kill her? Or, have you changed your mind?" Ophelia asked, curious about the plans for the palace.
"Yes. If they do not, she will try to put her son on the throne or cause another uprising in the palace. She would never back down, and like Sebastian, I believe she would kill the other princes and princesses. Her children will be spared and sent to live with her family," Dante shared.
"But then, with a prince in their hands, wouldn’t the queen’s family plot to one day put her son on the throne? It will never end that someone will want the throne, but if the queen’s children are innocent, they shouldn’t die," Ophelia said, finding the matter to be tricky.
"The only one who would be so bold as to want Althea’s children on the throne is her father. He will die, that is, if he hasn’t died already. Kaden will sort it all out while I’m here with you. He has to place the second prince on the throne."
"Hmm. Would the second prince take this well and not come after you two? I would if Sebastian were someone dear to me. I am just happy Edward is dead," Ophelia said, relieved she didn’t need to worry about his advances. "What are we to do about our prisoners?"
"Nigel and Alistair will be killed tomorrow. My mother has some years left in the dungeon, and you haven’t decided on what to do with your mother. It is up to you," Dante said, playing with Ophelia’s hair as he spoke.
"I think I will leave her there as long as your mother is there. When that time ends, I will decide to let her go. She won’t have the Valthorns to turn to. She won’t have her old wealth to rely on. She will have to work as I had to," Ophelia decided.
Knowing Giselle, Ophelia assumed her mother would try to kill herself instead of going back to work.
"Oh! Theo no longer wishes to die. He said he would stay at my side longer and take medicine. Should he fall ill and pass, then I can bear that. Not that he wants to kill himself. I am to arrange a tutor for him. I no longer have to worry," Ophelia said, excited.
"That is good news. It is good that he realised he should enjoy his life. I will have the finest doctors in the kingdom come to see him. I will make sure they don’t treat him as some kind of test," Dante promised.
"Theo has thought about his future. What about you?" Dante asked, curious if Ophelia had been thinking about their life.
Ophelia rolled to lie on her side. "What was I to think about? The ball? I made some preparations for a ball to celebrate you and all the men who joined you at war. I want to invite all their families and the townspeople to the castle. We would need to use the outside of the castle since it would be a large crowd."
Ophelia’s excitement died down after seeing Dante not be excited.
"Is that not it? I spent most of my time worrying about the war and only started to plan the ball after the dangers had passed. Could you tell me what it is I should think about?" Ophelia asked, playfully poking Dante’s side to convince him.
"It is not important," Dante replied.
"I do not believe you. You wouldn’t have brought it up if you weren’t looking for an answer. If you tell me what it is, I can think about it now. It is now too late. Why do you keep glancing at the door?" Ophelia asked, looking away from Dante to the door. "Do we have a visitor?"
"One that I don’t think is important,’ Dante answered.
"Does it not bother you that you can still hear well? Was it that you wanted me to think about the next full moon? Regardless of what happens then, I will love you. I believe the curse is gone, but if it isn’t, I can still break it a thousand times," Ophelia said, but she got the feeling the curse wasn’t on Dante’s mind.
"You must tell me what it is. I don’t enjoy that you are keeping it to yourself," Ophelia said, starting to be annoyed.
"If I tell you what it is, it will feel as though I am forcing you to consider it, and that is not the case. We should get dressed because this guest isn’t going away," Dante said and slipped from beneath the cover to sit on the bed.
"If you tell me, then I won’t feel forced. You have only just returned, and we were having a good time. Why ruin it with riddles?" Ophelia asked as she sat up.
"I was speaking about a child. Do you see how it ruins the mood? I thought it would have been on your mind," Dante said and regretted doing so. "Your expression now is why I didn’t want to be the one to tell you. Don’t think about it."
"I did think about it once," Ophelia admitted. "I am not saying this now to please you. I would never yearn for a child just to make you happy. I did think about it being possible for the future, but not now. I am not ready now," said Ophelia.
"I prefer to warm up to it naturally instead of rushing into it, but it has come to mind. Why? Do you think we should have one now?" Ophelia asked, hoping Dante wasn’t ready yet.
"I am ready whenever you are, but so you don’t end up pregnant now, I think we might have to limit our current activities. For your sake, I should sleep in another bed. I will get dressed," Dante said, leaning toward Ophelia to peck her lips. "I will get you a dress."
Ophelia thought they had settled this matter already.
"That is an awful idea. You worked so hard to get me into your chamber, and now that I am here and comfortable, you want to leave? Then you don’t want us to be intimate anymore after you just had me twice in this very chamber. This will not work in your favour," Ophelia warned Dante.
"It isn’t to benefit me, but rather you, so we don’t mess up. There are other ways for us to pleasure ourselves."
"Or, you can do what you did for our wedding night. It has not been a day since you returned, and already you annoy me. I should send you back out," Ophelia muttered.
