Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Satisfied, my husband's ferocity melted away in an instant. "And if you allow a word about my true identity to leak out of this room, I'll tell Sigmund all about your plans and we'll get beheaded together. Got that?"

I rolled my eyes and elbowed him. "You're such a drama queen."

"What's a drama queen?"

"A saying from the countryside, I imagine," Mariela said with a slight laugh, saving me once again.

I pounced on her explanation gratefully. "Yeah, it means an overly dramatic person."

Al shook his head fondly at me. "You say the strangest things sometimes. I really ought to visit the countryside sometime and see where you picked them all up."

That would be impossible, since people near the earldom of du Pont spoke nothing like me but I wisely chose not to say anything. The likelihood of the two of us ever traveling there was minimal. The Kanta region was quite far from there.

Now that our business was complete, I changed the subject, asking what Franz needed us to do as spring grew nearer. He seemed surprised, since we had not been actively involved in his attempts to win people over until now.

The circumstances had changed. He absolutely had to become king or Al would never get his people's lands back. We were more invested now than before.

I wished I could at least bank on the earl's vote but that was impossible because he was one of the higher nobles who didn't care one whit about anyone without a title. Even if Percy was the one with voting power, I highly doubted I could convince him either.

Our hands were tied. Al had no connections in the palace or with other nobles whatsoever since he had been so secluded. Franz said he would prefer being able to pick my brain behind the scenes as needed and suggested we focus on trying to round up the remaining members of the Kanta clan.

That would be quite an undertaking. Ayana might know where some of them had gone but if she didn't, the only clansmen they would be able to take back were her and her children.

We had already promised to go back and visit her so we would have to find a way to sneak out again soon. If Al was truly going to take over leading what was left of the clan, he would need to know everything about their culture and the duties of the clan leader.

Having the sister of the former clan leader nearby was an incredibly stroke of luck. She would likely be able to tell Al everything he needed to know and then some.

I was more worried about how it was going to get progressively more difficult to sneak out once court was in session. We only had a few months left before nobles would come pouring in from their country estates.

That creepy duke who was obsessed with me would be back in the palace too. Joy.

Duke Orla worried me the most as Sigmund's right hand man. I did not like his interest in me—now a married woman—one bit. It was obvious he still had feelings for me the last time I ran into him. I had a sinking suspicion that he would be on the lookout for any hint of wrongdoing on Al's part so he could boot him out and bind me to his side.

The last thing I wanted was to spend my life shackled to that boring old villain. It was the entire reason I had gotten married to Al in the first place!

We plotted with Franz and Mariela until it was time for lunch. Afterwards, back in our quarters, Al cornered me about my embarrassing statement earlier. I knew he wouldn't let this go!

"So…about what you said earlier."

I sniffed, trying to avoid his obvious question. "I don't know what you mean."

"Come on Katie, don't be like that," Al said earnestly. "Why did you say I was yours? I want to know."

Why did I say that? Was it only because I was trying to prove a point that Al couldn't be pushed around by his fake family anymore? Or was it because I really did think of him as mine?

It didn't seem like it had been that long since I even agreed to give him a chance and we started 'dating.' I couldn't deny that I held a deep amount of affection for my husband even though he sometimes drove me crazy with his inconsistent personality and teasing.

Back then I decided to give staying with him a shot. Now I was thinking about how to plan out the rest of our lives together. I had said on multiple occasions that I had his back no matter what so I guess I had already decided in my heart of hearts that I wasn't going anywhere.

But was it because it was easier to do that or because I loved him? Staying with the one person I knew I got along with in this fantasy world was heartless but practical. Staying because I was in love with him was a different story.

Having never been in love, I wasn't entirely sure what it felt like. The only example I really had to go off of was my parents. They had fun together, supported each other, and were pretty cuddly.

I did all of those things with Al. I was protective of him, defending him against others, and held him through it (literally) when it seemed like his world was falling apart. Plus I rather enjoyed kissing him and sometimes even wanted more.

It hit me like a brick. Oh. I guess I was in love with him.

He wasn't anything like what I thought my type would be but here we were. Goofy, moody, and apathetic as he was. Warts and all, he was my husband and I loved him.

I let out a slight laugh at myself for not realizing it sooner before answering his question. "Well, it's probably because I love you."

Al stared at me as if his brain had stopped working. He was supposed to say something back to that kind of declaration, wasn't he?! But he didn't. Or, perhaps more accurately, couldn't. I had broken him.

"Al?"

He finally snapped out of it when I called his name. "You love me? Really? When did you figure that out?"

"…just now, actually."