Chapter 77: King's Duties

The residence is full of chaos and people running from one side to the other. Ignis is busy too.

I have nothing to do, right at this moment, so I wander around and check that my siblings don't try anything funny. They're rather calm, so I fear what they're planning.

However, they refuse to tell me anything about their intentions.

I keep my eyes open, just in case. Our parents are so busy they won't notice if the three little devils come up with something diplomatically dangerous.

As for me, oh, I'm such a useless lady. I don't know what to do.

Nothing urgent needs to be done today, so I'm free to walk around and wait. It wouldn't be so bad if everyone else wasn't running and hurrying.

Ignis will depart tomorrow. That must be the source of this haste.

He talks with his Ministers for most of the afternoon, and they exchange information with father as well. They come up with an agreement: when the meeting is over, father hasn't killed anyone.

Dinner is as chatty as lunch. It seems they still have so much to tell each other.

After eating, I retire early and get ready for sleep. I wait for the maids to be out of the way before sitting in front of the dressing table and braiding my hair. I choose one of my best ribbons and use it to tie the hair.

Then, I return to waiting.

Only when the house is silent, I get out of my room on tiptoe. I bring a lantern with me, and I reach the wing of our residence where the guests usually stay.

I confirmed it this afternoon while aimlessly roaming around. Ignis is in the largest room, as suitable for the King.

I knock on the door and wait. I hope Ignis isn't asleep yet. I don't want to be discovered by anyone roaming in the dark in search of my husband. That would be a little embarrassing.

«Veronica?» Ignis whispers after opening the door.

I look left and right, making sure no one will witness me walking inside and locking the door behind my back.

Locking isn't of any use: no one will dare to barge in here regardless.

«What are you doing here?» he asks. His brows are knitted, and he's a little nervous about my intentions.

Oh, he won't be disappointed this time.

«We won't see each other for a while. I wanted to make sure you won't forget me.»

«How could I forget you?» he chuckles.

I stroll into the room, looking for a way to approach him. I thought about coming here, jumping in his arms, and then returning to my room.

But now that I'm here and I need to do something, I've lost my courage. It was so much easier in my mind.

«Months are long,» I repeat.

Ignis seems to realise I'm not here just to greet him and go back. His lips curl up while he replies to me.

«You're here to make some good memories for the months to come, aren't you?» he says.

I turn the other way.

The room is dark except for a candle on the table. He's wearing only a shirt and trousers, my favourite outfit among those I saw till now.

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The table is covered by documents. The seal and the stamps are all in a corner; the bottle with ink is next to them.

«Are you working?» I inquire. What a stupid question: what else could it be?

«I'm behind schedule, and it'll take two more weeks to go back. I wanted to solve some urgent issues before departing...»

«No! You can work in the carriage, right? It's the journey here that was distracting. You wasted time bringing me here and playing the part of an enamoured guard.»

He closes his mouth and shrugs.

«Oh, maybe,» he says, then.

«Can I help you?»

I take a seat and rummage through the documents. I don't even know how to read some of them. For example, the laws. There's a page or two full with: given that, remembering that, recalling law number... It's no surprise Ignis didn't read the decree about the marriage before signing.

«It's boring,» he says.

«I see. But there must be something a simple, dumb girl like me can do.»

«Oh, yes,» he chuckles, sitting next to me. «You can avoid distracting your King.»

«Sure.»

What a pity. I didn't come here to look at him working.

But it's not that bad either. His forehead is crossed by a tiny wrinkle when he's focused. And his eyes lose their usual light.

It's the first time they look gloomy. Maybe, it's because the room is dark.

I bring the lantern to the table and consider turning the candle off. But it might be here for the seal other than for light.

I sit back at my place and stare at Ignis for half an hour. It's so difficult not to do anything, so I read random things from time to time.

Much to my surprise, I'm never once told to stop. It's no bother if I read state secrets, apparently.

Or, simply, these aren't as important matters.

I can understand pretty much everything. Indeed, all boring stuff.

Laws, budgets, even court sentences... Does a King need to do this much, for real?

Oh, Ignis, I hope you have someone helping you in the capital.

In the end, even if I do understand what I have in my hands, I can't do anything. All these documents need to be reviewed by Ignis in person, and he has to make a decision for each one of them.

It's so much work for a single person.

There are also a lot of requests from private citizens and other nobles. They write appeals to the King. I guess these are just a sample of all the letters that come to the Palace. Or maybe, only those written by nobles...

I wonder what they write.

When Ignis's frown becomes worse, I realise they don't write good things.

Now I'm curious.

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