"Together? You don't have to."
That caught him off guard. Daniela was hurriedly searching the room for something — cosmetics, perhaps, or a change of clothes. She had taken off the dress she'd wept in. She moved with remarkable speed.
"Ah, sorry."
He finally caught on to what she needed and turned his back. The pace of her changing quickened. It wasn't a dress she was reaching for, but her hands moved swiftly as she searched for something new to wear. The soft pad of footsteps — tap, tap. He idly ran his hand along the bed, having nothing better to do.
The noise outside was growing louder. In truth, Leo's voice was so thunderous that it was the only one that ever really came through. Occasionally there were sounds of scuffling, too.
He wasn't worried. Leo could handle himself.
"Are you ready?"
That should be enough time. He turned around. Black clothing — trousers brought from the North. Where had those come from? She had tied a cord tightly at the waist. The black trousers fit surprisingly well. The top was black as well, cut in a style not unlike what a southern man might wear.
"You had clothes like that here?"
"They're my brother's. He's elsewhere now, but they come in handy at times like this."
"Striking. Very striking."
In the midst of all the commotion, it felt like a private fashion show. She turned a full circle, the black clothes speaking for themselves — a quiet declaration of self-possession. Her short golden hair fanned out as she spun. Had she found some new resolve?
"Um... Grand Duke."
"Yes?"
"You said I could use the name Wintergard. Didn't you?"
"That's right."
"Then please give me your permission."
"For what?"
There was a light in Daniela's eyes that he hadn't seen before — not until this moment. A dying flame catching on dry kindling. It looked like the will of someone who refused to let things end here.
"I'm not yet your wife."
"Not yet."
"Honestly, I still don't fully understand. Why you would do this for me."
"I know."
"Perhaps you said it because... you felt sorry for me?"
"At first, yes. That's true."
"But I have confidence now. Living in the North has only made it stronger."
Perhaps she meant she had come to believe she could belong in Wintergard more than anyone. Had it begun the moment she named Leo's child? Or the moment House Barth cast her out? He couldn't say.
"Let's have the kind of romance you find in popular novels."
"That sounds fine."
"But right now — right now, Theodor."
*Please, just this once, grant me this. Let me stop being seen as someone to be pitied. Let me show that even here, I haven't lost my dignity.*
Her words lodged themselves somewhere inside him. What had been vague became clear. But not yet — it hadn't fully arrived yet.
The North's winters are brutal. But spring is livable enough. Flowers bloom here and there. Red plum blossoms on the branches.
"Then let's do it."
He rose from the bed. The corridor outside had to be in absolute chaos. Leo's voice was growing fiercer by the moment. That was exactly what he'd wanted.
Before entering House Barth's estate for the first time — he'd had a particular image in mind of how he wanted to arrive with Daniela.
He opened a gap in the arm he'd kept tucked in his pocket. Daniela slipped her hand carefully into the space. Not too close to his side, and not too far.
Close enough that she could feel he was there beside her.
"Leo, open the door."
"G-Grand Duke."
Leo opened the door. Several people were sprawled on the floor. A handful of guards stood along the corridor, and a few nobles had their hands resting on their hips.
At least no one was dead. Something to be grateful for.
"Leo,"
"G-Grand Duke, Your Highness. Wh-what shall I d-do with these people?"
"Leave them. If they're not dead, they'll be stronger for it."
"Be grateful for this mercy!"
Leo bellowed it out without warning. It hurt his ears. The Grand Duke stepped out of the room. One of the guards sprinted off to carry the news. He turned his mind to how he might help Daniela accomplish what she'd set out to do.
"Theodor,"
What?
"It's quite the commotion."
"...Yes, it is."
He was thrown off. He wasn't the only one. Leo was thrown off too. Their eyes met. Leo's mouth had fallen slightly open — his gaze asking, wordlessly, *is this allowed?* Theodor had been trying to play his part properly.
"Leo, why is it so loud out here?"
"Uh, um, that is, well—"
Leo was the most flustered of all. This wasn't his usual stammer — this was genuine bewilderment. He managed to say that he had been escorting the party to meet the head of House Barth, that there hadn't been a problem with that itself, but that someone had insisted on meeting them first.
"I'll sort out this commotion before any meetings. Where do I need to go?"
"Y-Your Highness, if you'd just wait a moment, it'll, ah, sort itself out—"
Guards came running from the far end of the corridor. The message was that the Crown Prince wished for an audience. At first they had tried to drag him out by force, but that had failed. After several attempts, the Crown Prince had ultimately been the one to yield.
"I don't see why I should meet him. That should have settled it. No need to drag it out further."
"Theodor, don't say that — go and meet him."
"Mm. I suppose."
"Perhaps he's going to apologize. For behaving so rudely."
Daniela let out a quiet laugh. She knew better than anyone that was unlikely. The venue was the banquet hall. It was nearly empty — only a handful of people remained, busily clearing away the remnants of the evening. They didn't appear to be nobles.
But Riroy — the man who had nearly lost his arm to Leo — was there, along with the Crown Prince and Kartina de Bosch.
They had arranged a sort of meeting space. A round table. The Crown Prince and Riroy were seated; Kartina had risen to her feet as she waited for them.
They appeared to have received some rough treatment. Riroy had bandages wrapped around his arm.
"What is this about?"
The first to speak upon entering the banquet hall was Daniela. Leo followed behind Theodor.
"His Highness the Crown Prince wished very much to see the Grand Duke."
Kartina's gaze was directed not at him but at Daniela. She had drawn steadily closer to his side until she was now nearly pressed against him. Daniela's hand trembled faintly.
Leo swept the room with a sharp, watchful eye from behind. Confirming there was no immediate danger, he leaned in quietly and murmured that the area was secure.
Very well, then. This would have to be settled with audacity. But he wasn't the only one with audacity to spare.
"Theodor, that was too much. He is the son of the South's admiral, after all. To leave his arm in that state."
"I was teaching him manners. How dare he."
Before taking a seat, he pulled out a chair. Across from them, there was only a single chair. But that seat was not his. He offered it to Daniela instead. She took his hand and settled gently into the chair.
"So. You wished to see me."
"Still so insolent. Now that you know who I am, show proper respect!"
The Crown Prince shot to his feet. Kartina stood behind him. Leo's eyes began to widen again. A faint metallic click rang out.
"Respect. Understood. Your Highness the Crown Prince. As a subject of the Emperor and guardian of the North...."
Theodor moved toward the Crown Prince. Closer — until there was barely the space of a single person between them. To any onlooker, it would have appeared as though the Crown Prince's face was level with Theodor's throat.
"I am Theodor Wintergard. The North serves only the strong, and I find myself wondering whether Your Highness the Crown Prince is truly strong."
"I — I am the son of the noble Emperor of the Empire—"
He left the tedious voice behind and returned to Daniela's side. He rested a hand on the back of her chair and regarded them in silence.
"So then. What is the matter?"
It was Daniela who spoke first. The Crown Prince sat back down. The room was cleanly divided in two — like the North and the South. The South was generally the more comfortable half, of course. Consider the map turned upside down.
"We came to hear an apology."
"An apology?"
"Drawing a weapon in the presence of His Highness the Crown Prince. Using force against another noble without cause. And—"
How could he elevate Daniela as much as possible? He moved the hand resting on the back of her chair to her shoulder.
"I—"
"One moment, Theodor."
Daniela's hand came to rest over his. He met her eyes immediately. He understood.
"I will apologize for the discourtesy shown before His Highness the Crown Prince. But by the rules of the North, such a response is entirely natural. This kind of discourtesy."
"This is not the North — this is the Empire. The Empire's rules are the North's rules."
"I know. But that isn't what matters here."
Daniela's hand trembled. She still seemed somewhat tense. Theodor, for his part, leaned against the table with an air of complete indifference, his back to the Crown Prince and the young lord, who could see nothing but his shoulders. Gently, but with force.
"What man would stand by while his intended is insulted?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"What man — would stand by — while his intended is insulted. That is what I said."
The most startled person in the room was Leo. Unlike before, he was looking around in all directions — his gaze darting between Theodor and Daniela. Why—
"Had this been the North, Riroy would have died for far less."
"You — you insolent woman!"
Riroy leaped to his feet. Up and down, up and down — like a game of whack-a-mole.