"What about archery?"


    Orius walked towards his wife as he shook his head in amusement. "You''re lying, Valerie," he pointed out.


    Valerie Alewine blinked, confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.


    "It seems like you''re too tired to train with other weapons," the Duke said. "Isn''t that why you choose archery? The least taxing among all?"


    Lady Valerie frowned at her husband. "Come on, Orius. Don''t be too strict. I only came to spend some time with you."


    Much to her surprise, Orius nodded.


    "I know," he calmly said. "Come with me," he said and grabbed her hand. Then he pulled her out of the tent.


    Soon, Valerie Alewine finds herself on top of the pavilion that provided the best view of the vast camp. The tents, the training grounds where the soldiers were currently trained and the breathtaking beauty of the nature that surrounded the camp; everything was fascinating to her.


    "Is this allowed?" she asked Orius after ncing around for a while. "You already allowed me inside the camp and that''s not amon urrence. Now, you take me here."


    "You''re in the camp of the Alewine Army," Orius simply said.


    "I know that," the Lady said with a nod.


    She was talking about how only soldiers and officials were often allowed in the camp. Did he get her wrong? However, Orius''s next question made everything clear to her.


    "Then what''s your name?"


    She wasn''t Valerie Avia anymore but an Alewine by marriage. She finally get his point and that made her smiled.


    "You''re an Alewine now," Orius calmly continued. "Be it the mansion or this camp, there is no restriction for an Alewine."


    A month had passed since their rushed marriage but... Valerie never once regret marrying this mysterious Duke who was also a Commander. She didn''t know how he think of her right now but... he was a good husband.


    He took care of her and never neglected her despite his busy schedules as an official and a Commander of the Alewine Army. He was always frank and he didn''t draw any line between them though they didn''t marry out of love.


    This made Valerie realized that he was trying. He gave his best to make their marriage work and she appreciated that.


    She sat down on a chair opposite him and stared at him for a while. Maybe the Duke was surprised by her action, he ended up breaking the silence soon.


    "What''s that for?" he asked.


    Valerie propped up her elbows on the table. Her hands that curled into fists were pressed together and she ced her chin on the back of her hands. "I think I do a great job by marrying you," she pointed out.


    Orius sighed. When he saw her staring at him that way, many strange thoughts crossed his mind as he wondered what she might be thinking but... what she just said wasn''t what he expected. "Don''t you think it''s too early to say that? Are you that sure?"


    Valerie simply nodded. "Ever since our marriage, I ended up falling deeper for you each day."


    There she goes again.<novelnext></novelnext>


    At times, the honesty of this seemingly fragile-looking woman used to amaze the Commander. She always rendered him speechless by her frank words. He never knew what to say and even now, it''s the same.


    "You don''t have a way out anymore, Your Grace," she said, making him raised a brow.


    "What do you mean?" he asked.


    "Before we get married, I was solely responsible for my feelings," Valerie Alewine started. "I was the one who fell for you without you knowing a thing about it. So, everything was just me.


    "But after our marriage, it''s different. You know how I feel and each day, you give me more reason to fall deeper. So, you''re responsible now. You can''t back down anymore. If not, I will never forgive you."


    Just the thought of this woman hating him dread Orius Alewine. He didn''t know about other things except one.


    That he will never want that to happen.


    "You should be confident in yourself, Valerie," he finally said. "With that warning, I bet men will be eager to run away from you."


    "I don''t care about that," Valerie Alewine simply said. "I only care about your opinion."


    "Then you don''t have to worry," he promptly replied. "I will never want you to hate me. I will do anything to prevent that."


    * * *


    Arin and Iria were having lunch together in the dining hall.


    The dining hall of the main pce was much bigger than the one in the Crown Prince Pce. Too big for the couple.


    "I think I should go and visit your father," Iria said to Arin while they were in the middle of lunch. "I only visited him once and it was when we got married. That''s five months ago, Arin."


    "He is doing better these days," Arin said. "You can go if you wish and if I have time, I will try to join you."


    "You''re busy," Iria muttered. "I only need one and a half days to reach the Southern Pce. I will deal with some matters first and after that, I will prepare myself to go there."


    Arin nodded and one thing crossed his mind. "What about Prime Minister Das? Did he still refuse to talk to you?"


    The Queen recalled the letter she received yesterday. Though it was an important matter, she felt a bit hesitant to bring it up. She already know how Arin would react to that.


    "Iria, something''s wrong, right?" Arin asked. He was now pretty great at reading her.


    "It''s not important," Iria promptly said. "You have many matters to take care of. Don''t be bothered."


    "Why won''t I be bothered?" Arin argued yet his voice remained calm. "You work on this for a long time now. This is important to you and the same goes for me."


    Iria thought about it and finally turned to Arin. "He wants me to go to Jerivia if I want to meet him," she said. "I''m not sure about it, Arin.. It''s too risky."