Chapter 9.2: The Duke''s Departure - Part 2


    Ezran''s POV:


    Presently, a month has passed and here I am, a married man who has not touched his wife in weeks.


    I took off my fur cloak and coat as I sat on the chair and grabbed a bottle of wine and lifted it to my


    mouth after a hard day of training and sparring with my men, the burn of the liquor and fruity tones of


    the cool wine alleviating my fatigue for the moment.


    The bottle made a banging sound against the table as I set it down. A small lump against my pocket


    made me take it out to look at it.


    My gloved finger caressed the wooden frame as I remembered that although I got it from Baron


    Beaucamp a long time ago; I never once nced at it.


    So I flipped the lock and somehow I straightened up abruptly as I stared at the cherub face of an angel.


    The child in the painting could be half-fey with her pale skin, jewel-toned eyes, and an abundance of


    golden hair. She was smiling in this picture and dressed in a bright blue frock thatplemented her


    eyes as she hugged a giant stuffed bear.


    All of a sudden, I licked my lips as curiosity made me wonder what would thedy look like now.


    If she was this captivating as a young girl then...


    Somehow I suddenly find my loins burning as I imagined those pale legs wrapped around me, her rosy


    lips calling out my name as I take her again and again.


    I felt a reaction I have not felt in weeks after swearing off whores and other women and it was


    particrly strong.


    "Hughes!" I yelled and a blonde-haired man dressed in standard aide uniform came in and bowed.


    "Where is my meal?"


    "It is on its way, Your Grace," he answered. "Today''s meal is Grilled Beefsteak with Gravy and boiled


    potatoes."


    The same tough side of meat with sauce and spuds. Great.


    Ah well. Better than the "everything edible goes into the pot" stew I had to eat during thest war


    campaign. I shuddered at how the vors were just disgusting but it kept us from dying from hunger.


    Better enjoy it for what it is worth.


    Other than the thrill of battle and waging wars on behalf of the kingdom; I like a good meal. But I am


    inept at picking a chef who can satisfy my pte. That was my weakness.


    Years of eating war rations and nd meals have made me yearn for the finer things in life and that


    includes mana infused cuisine.


    The vor and impact on me when I eat food rich with mana gives me a rush and it is a rare meal to


    savor since the only old few Royal chefs were known to make the mana enriched full course meals.


    So I usually stick to normal meals so that I do not experience such a bad craving for good food.


    Sadly, food with no mana infused in them always seems to becking in taste for me. Not many chefs


    outside of the aristocratic households were decent cooks. Hell, some cooks the noble houses employ


    were not even that good.


    Damn. Now I am craving some pasta right about now.


    I cut through the tough meat and started chewing. The meat tasted like rubbery cardboard and the


    saving grace was the gravy which vors both the meat and the potato but it was overall still nd.


    After I finished everything, I send my reports via carrier eagle and asked my senior knights to my tent.


    5 of them are currently stationed in this war. They were all with me as a young man and I trust them


    with my life so I suppose leaving for a few days to fulfill my duty to mydy will not earn their


    disapproval.


    Once they gathered and saluted me; I stood up as Hughes started tying my cloak and fixing my coat as


    I told them that I intend to leave for Aisenburg Manor to visit mydy wife while reporting to the King.


    Oswald, the oldest of my senior knights teased me about my neglect while the twins Joel and Jael


    grinned as they took bets on how angry mydy wife will be when Ie back. The silent Emile and


    Raoul just observed the rest of us interacting with an awry expression.


    "What does she look like, Commander? Is she pretty?" Jael asked me and my thoughts went back to


    her portrait as a child.


    "She might be."


    "Prettier than yourst conquest? Who was it again...Ah yes, the Lady Margaret?" Joel pressed a sore


    spot which made me frown.


    "Keep your mouth shut, Joel." my snarl made the younger man shut his mouth.


    "Please rest assured that we will have all your ns all ready to go by the time your Grace returns in a


    few days." the grizzly Oswald bowed to me.


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    Emile and Raoul merely nodded.


    As I dismissed them from my sight, Emile stood by and I waited for him to say his piece. Born as the


    son of a lowly bar; he rose amongst my men as a senior knight at the young age of 21 so he


    usually picks his words carefully unlike the more boisterous Joel and Jael.


    "Your Grace. Please treat your wife well. We await the day when we can serve her." came his opinion


    before he nodded and left the tent, the p making a snapping sound as he departed.


    My wife.....


    I smiled ndly at my knight''s hopeful words. This whole thing was a marriage of convenience. A deal


    made for the life of another...


    But somehow when I saw her picture as a child, I began to have a little hope....that maybe I won''t


    repulse her.


    That she won''t end up like my mother. May the Goddess bless her soul.


    I passed by a few tents, greeted a few men who wished me a safe journey as my aide and I rode on


    our fastest horse.


    At thetest, we should make it to Dranvelle in 3 hours.