Instead of getting angry and scolding me for my manners, Ignis beams. His eyes shine when meeting mine, and he drags a chair next to me and sits down.

After him, our two guests sit as well.

Marius sips the rest of his tea and makes up some excuse to leave. The Princess, on the contrary, stays a few minutes more. She just came, after all.

«How is Aestas?» Ignis asks.

«Oh, she\'s doing fine, your Majesty. Thank you for your concern!»

Ignis\'s face is radiant today. He\'s sincerely inquiring about his niece, even if he didn\'t have the best relationship with his brother.

In the end, I can\'t imagine him doing anything evil to that poor baby.

«Is there anything you need?»

«Nothing, your Majesty. Your thoughts are more than enough to keep us safe.»

She smiles, happy with his friendliness.

Then, seeing nothing else has to be said, the Princess leaves as well.

«Aah,» I moan, leaning back on the chair.

«A crowded tea party today, ah?» he chuckles. «Are you tired?»

«A little.»

«You should rest early. Tomorrow will last forever, and you\'ll meet so many people.»

«I know, don\'t remind me...»

Rather, talk about something else.

«You promised to visit me yesterday,» I pout. «Which fair lady were you entertaining while I slept alone and in the cold?»

«Do you feel cold at night?» he says, straightening his back and getting ready to react.

«You would know if you kept your promise.»

«I\'ll tell the head maid to change personnel to your chambers. If they can\'t keep my wife warm, they\'re not doing their job!»

«No, wait! I like the maids!»

Oh, goodness.

«I don\'t feel cold. It\'s just the initial chilliness of the sheets. It would be solved if you came to warm my bed. But you don\'t.»

«Oh, so you\'re unhappy. I see... I\'m sorry, I couldn\'t. When I finished working it was too late to come to you. So, I decided to go directly to my own bed.»

«I was still awake.» Most likely. I fell asleep really late that day.

«But it was so late, Veronica. I couldn\'t come and disturb your peace at that hour.»

«You could,» I moan. «Next time, don\'t lie to me like this! Even if I\'m asleep, just come and share the bed with me. I\'ll wake up in the morning and be happy that you didn\'t betray my trust.»

«You...»

«How can I be sure you weren\'t with some other woman?»

«You can\'t, in fact. But I am faithful to you.»

«Come tonight.»

«Tonight, you should sleep.»

«Then we can sleep,» I sigh.

He snorts, finally getting annoyed.

«Be good and rest tonight. Tomorrow, not just that we\'ll spend the whole day together. You\'ll spend the night in my room as well. We can recuperate all the time we\'ve lost.»

«It was your fault,» I point out. «I want something in exchange to forgive you.»

«Tell me.»

Oh, it\'s nice being married to a King. He can get anything I ask if he has enough motivation.

«I want scented candles in the room. Petals on the bed. Also, some snacks for when we get some appetite.»

«Noted.»

«I want chains.»

«Chains?» he chuckles. Something in his eyes tells me he\'s not taking it as a joke, though. «What for?»

«We were talking about a punishment last time we saw each other,» I point out, batting my eyelashes. «Have you changed your mind?»

«All right.»

I don\'t really think we\'ll get to use the chain.

«How long do you need it?»

«I\'m not that precise, your Majesty. Enough to tie a pair of wrists together...» I whisper.

I leave out the details of who is going to be tied, but we both know how it\'s going to end. It\'s not just my naughty request that makes our argument spicy.

Ignis\'s neck and ears have reddened. His eyes move from my face to my chest to my hair, staying longer on my lips. I\'m convinced I\'d feel the bulge on his crotch if I reached out under the table.

My body is crossed by thrills of excitement, and the familiar tingling between my legs is enough of a sign.

Too bad, today I need to sleep. How am I going to do it now that my imagination has been triggered?

«Don\'t be nervous tomorrow,» he says, changing the topic. Oh, how cute. «Nothing will happen if you make any mistake. And I will have you covered if you don\'t want to do something in particular.»

«I will be fine, Ignis. It\'s just a ceremony. Being the Queen or not isn\'t as relevant to me. I just want to be of help to you. More than I can be right now.»

Lazing around is fine for me, but it won\'t help anyone.

«Also, I just talked with the High Priest. He seems like a nice person!»

«The High Priest?» he repeats, surprised. «Why haven\'t I been notified he came to the Palace?»

«I don\'t know.» I shrug. I\'m not that sure how things work yet.

«You shouldn\'t trust him, Veronica. He\'s the head of the Church. Even if he seems nice and kind, he can be merciless.»

«Ah?»

What in the world did I say to make Ignis sweat like this?

«Are you worried because he\'s handsome?» I murmur. Or is there something more?

«The Church has been trying to seize power from the Royal Family for generations. They became even more aggressive when my father became King. And they won\'t stop now that I sit on the throne.»

Oh, there are reasons. Indeed.

It was not because...

«But what was that about being handsome?» he adds, tilting his head. «Do you feel like it\'s enough? Just a pretty face?»

Not just pretty, dear me. However, I\'m not that superficial.

«You don\'t have to worry, my King,» I say, straightening my shoulders as if I was going to make a declaration.

«Really?»

«You are way more handsome than him. Even if I was tempted to look for too long, my husband is the best.»

«Is that so?»

«Sure! You\'re the most handsome man in my life!»

«Ah?»

«Yes!»

«Can you repeat that?» he tries, this fox.

I lean my head on his shoulder, surrounding his arm with mine.

«Your Majesty is the most handsome,» I say.

«I have a name,» he sighs.

«Yes, I know it, my King.»

But he\'s trying to make me say something embarrassing like this. He doesn\'t get to hear his name as well. I\'m not to be manipulated this easily.

A dark green piece of the fabric peeks out of his sleeve, right under my hand. I move his shirt\'s sleeve until uncovering a ribbon. It\'s the one I used to tie my hair the day he left Narith.

«Is this mine?» I wonder. Maybe he had another one... But what use is there to keep it here?

«Yes, Veronica. You tied it around my wrist.»

«You didn\'t have it on you the other day!» I accuse him.

«I did. I took it off before meeting you. Today, I forgot to,» he reveals.

Oh, so he didn\'t want me to realise he\'s always bringing my hair tie with him.

He bows his head to hide his expression while I observe the slightly ruined end. Indeed, this wasn\'t kept in a drawer for two months.

He took it off when meeting with me for some odd reason, not to scare me or something like that? That\'s so cute, isn\'t it?

And it\'s so nice to know he treasures something I\'ve given him.

«I thought you would throw it away,» I chuckle. «And here you are, taking it seriously.»

«Weren\'t you serious?»

«I mean... You gifted me a precious bracelet from the royal treasure. I just chose a ribbon from my collection.»

«To me, it\'s precious. It\'s the first thing you gave me after finding out about my identity, Veronica.»

«Is it so important to you?» I wonder. «Not just the hair-tie. The fact that I\'m here and stopped complaining...»

«It makes me feel like I stand a chance.»

«That\'s not related to me!»

«You\'re what makes me move forward, Veronica. Even if I did something horrible, lying and tricking you into marriage, you don\'t look at me like the monster and the coward I am.»

«It all happened so fast,» I chuckle. I also am lying about my identity.

And I also am here to help my people. In some way, we\'re not that different.

«I didn\'t forgive you, Ignis. I fell in love. And now, my brain doesn\'t work anymore. You lucky bastard, you won\'t get to see what happens when a wife gets mad...»

«I can\'t believe your last sentence,» he chuckles. «You seem quite settled on making me pay for every little offence.»

Oh, sure.

«Every little offence, my King. But not the biggest one. I am not unhappy to be married to you. I don\'t want to accuse you any longer. I don\'t want to remember how it started and why it worked. I don\'t need to hate you any longer.»

«You said it... You\'ll hate me forever without showing it. You\'ll smile without feeling it.»

That\'s something I said two months ago. I was younger back then.

«Oh, my dear husband...» I whisper in his ear. «I will show you my heart very soon.»

I can\'t just say I don\'t hate him. And being nice won\'t convince him.

I have to show him my worst and make him realise my heart doesn\'t want to suffer in hatred for the rest of our lives.