Love's Unexpected Awakening Elowen's Choice novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6 You Should Call Me Your Aunt

Mira frowned, speaking up for Elowen. “The Duchess has just woken up. Why rush her over so urgently?”
The matron snorted. “Of course. The Duchess comes from a military household, noble and honored, personally chosen by His Majesty. No wonder she looks down on a widowed matron like Lady Marwen.”
Mira froze, eyes widening. “When did I ever say that?”
“If you can’t even explain what you mean, then you’d better not speak at all.”
With just a few sharp words, the matron shut Mira down, then turned to Elowen. “Your Grace, what do you say?”
Sending someone so sharp-tongued, Marwen was clearly determined to put Elowen in her place on the very first day of her marriage.
Meeting the woman’s piercing gaze, Elowen simply smiled. “I should indeed go pay my respects to Lady Marwen.”
Her tone was gentle and calm, but the words pay my respects carried a sharp edge.
The matron lowered her gaze slightly. “Your Grace misunderstands. It’s not a formal courtesy visit, just a meeting.”
Elowen seemed not to hear her. “General Aldric gave his life to save the Duke. His widow deserves everyone’s respect. I admire Lady Marwen as well. Going to pay my respects today is only proper.”
Seeing the matron look pleased, even smug, Elowen curved her lips slightly and continued, “So please trouble yourself to make a trip to the palace.”
The matron looked confused. “To the palace?”
Elowen smiled and nodded. “Yes. You can report that since Lady Marwen, as a war widow, holds precedence, I must pay my respects to her first before going to see His Majesty and Her Majesty.”
The matron froze, a flicker of panic rising in her chest.
Leaving aside whether she could even get past the palace gates, suggesting that Marwen should be seen before the King and Queen would be enough to cost her head.
Such disrespect, how could she dare?
Her earlier arrogance melted away. The matron forced a smile. “Your Grace is joking. Naturally, His Majesty and Her Majesty come first.”
Elowen kept smiling. “Since you understand, then go back and tell Lady Marwen that once I’ve finished my duties, I will go see her.”
The matron stood there for a long moment, unable to find another word. This orphaned daughter of a general looked soft and delicate, but she was not easy to bully at all.
She answered weakly and turned to leave. Elowen continued getting ready.
Mira asked in a low voice, “Your Grace, are you really going to see Lady Marwen?”
Elowen picked through the hairpins on the table, choosing carefully. “She is my aunt by marriage, and she is indeed the widow of a fallen hero. Of course I’ll see her. But when I go, it will be decided by me, not by her.”
It was a matter of who held the upper hand. If she lowered herself the moment she stepped through the door, her future days would not be easy.
These were lessons Elowen had learned from her sister-in-law.
Her sister-in-law came from a centuries-old noble family filled with wives, concubines, and children. In her own words, she had seen every kind of schemer and every sort of intrigue. The battles within the household were no less bloody than the battlefields her father and brothers had faced.
After marrying Elowen’s brother, no one in the family played those games anymore. With nothing else to occupy her, her sister-in-law often came to instruct Elowen.
Elowen was the only daughter in the family. Her sister-in-law had taught her almost everything she knew.
In her previous life, Elowen never had the chance to use those lessons. Sometimes, she thought it was a shame.
But now, things were different. After finishing her preparations, she had the carriage readied. Elowen left with Mira and another handmaid from the manor, Cora.
“I’m not drunk. I’m not drunk. I can still drink three more barrels.”
Just as Elowen was about to step into the carriage, she heard a loud commotion.
Following the noise, she saw an unfamiliar carriage stopped at the gate. Two men dressed like tavern workers were helping a young man down.
The young man wore fine, luxurious clothes. The greenstone circlet on his head was slightly crooked, and his sleeves were stained with wine.
He staggered to the ground, barely steadying himself, then slapped away one of the workers and cursed, “Do you know who I am? The Duke is my cousin. The Dowager watched me grow up with her own eyes. I’ve even seen His Majesty in person.”
The worker covered his face and dared not argue. Everyone else spoke softly, coaxing and trying to calm him.
Elowen frowned and asked Cora, “That’s the Duke’s cousin?”
Cora nodded. “Yes.”
Elowen had heard of him. Lucien Ashcroft, infamous for being a debauched playboy. He loved wine and women and was a regular at the Velvet Lantern.
Yesterday, while she married Cassian, Lucien had been drunk in a courtesan’s arms and hadn’t returned for the wedding.
What kind of relatives had Cassian brought into his household?
She sighed silently and stepped straight into the carriage.
She didn’t know that through a gap in the flowering trees, Lucien had seen her. That fair, delicate face fell into his eyes as a stone dropped into still water. The haze of his drunkenness rippled outward, clearing into sharp, unmistakable amazement.
Lucien rubbed his face, grabbed a nearby servant, and asked, “Who was that girl? Why have I never seen her before?”
The servant hadn’t seen her clearly but recognized the carriage. “That was the Duchess of Duskmoor.”
“The Duchess?”
Lucien frowned, slowly recalling that his cousin had married yesterday.
Watching the carriage roll away, Lucien muttered to himself, “But my cousin is still unconscious. She couldn’t have consummated the marriage on her own.”
Amused by the thought, Lucien’s mood lifted, and a smile crept onto his face.
Elowen entered the palace and went to see the Queen first.
By custom, a newly married woman of Elowen’s rank was expected to present herself at court soon after the wedding.
With the former King and Dowager Selene both long passed, it was her eldest brother who now stood in place of her father.
So Elowen made her way to the palace, not as a daughter of Hale family, but as the new Duchess of Duskmoor, to present herself before the King and Queen.
She had timed her arrival carefully. By now, the royal ladies would have retired from their morning gathering, and the final hours of court business were winding down.
If she was fortunate, she would have a quiet moment with the Queen before the King arrived.
There was just one thing she hadn’t anticipated. Outside the doors, Elowen ran into Alaric.
She remembered that Leonhart had mentioned yesterday that Alaric was ill. No wonder he hadn’t attended court. He did look thinner, and his face still carried the signs of sickness.
He stood with his head lowered, staring at the corner of the wall, whether searching for something or waiting for someone was unclear.
Elowen thought that whatever it was, it had nothing to do with her.
Still, out of courtesy, she paused and greeted him, “Your Highness.”
Alaric looked up, taken aback. Among the nobility of Avenlor, a married woman did not wear her hair loose. It was bound and arranged, proper and unmistakable.
Today, Elowen’s hair was braided and set into a crown-like coil, fastened with silver combs and small jeweled pins.
The image of her from his dream—draped in a jeweled circlet and royal bridal gown—flickered in his mind and slowly faded into the sight before him.
Now, she wasn’t smiling at him. Her expression could even be called cold. When had Elowen ever looked at him like this?
Irritation stirred in Alaric’s chest. His voice was low as he said, “Elowen, marrying my uncle, you must be very pleased with yourself, right?”
Elowen shook her head. “No.”
Alaric’s gaze trembled slightly. So she wasn’t happy?
He was about to speak when Elowen’s expression hardened. “You should call me your aunt.”
Alaric froze. A beat later, he realized that when she said no, she wasn’t talking about her feelings. She was correcting his form of address.
Elowen adopted the air of an elder and lectured him calmly, “Calling me by my given name just now was extremely improper. You have very poor manners.”