Chapter 32: Adventure? Absolutely Not.

[LUCEILLE’S POV — COURTYARD — CONTINUATION]

I stared at Aurelius, and he stared back at me. Then, with the confidence of a man who had clearly never experienced consequences in his life, he smiled.

"Shall we go on a small adventure, Your Grace?"

I blinked once and twice. Very slowly, I placed my teacup back onto the table.

"No."

Aurelius froze, and the wind whispered through the courtyard. A snowflake landed delicately on the corner of his map; somewhere in the distance, a bird chirped, and for one beautiful, glorious moment, the world was at peace.

There...decision made.

No complicated prophecy, no mysterious elves, no dragons, no ancient magical weapons, no cursed forests, and certainly no legendary master hiding somewhere in the wilderness waiting for a sufficiently foolish person to stumble across him.

Just—

No.

Aurelius’s smile twitched.

"...No?"

I nodded. "No."

"But, Your Grace—"

"No."

"The Northern Forest—"

"No."

"The elves—"

"No."

"The Divine Dragon—"

"Especially no."

His mouth fell open as I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. Aurelius looked genuinely offended, not at me, at my refusal to participate in what was apparently the greatest magical opportunity of the century.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Archmage, but I am not going."

His smile finally vanished. "Why?"

I looked at him, then at the map and then back at him. "Because I have a brain."

Silence.

Aurelius frowned as I pointed toward the map.

"You just told me that there is a hidden forest full of elves who don’t want humans finding them, an ancient weapon containing the soul of a dead dragon, and possibly a legendary master somewhere in the middle of it and your brilliant conclusion was..."

Aurelius nodded.

"Yes."

I stared at him. "See? This is exactly why you’re an archmage and I’m the grand duchess."

"I don’t understand."

"Of course you don’t," I sighed dramatically. "You hear ’ancient magical mystery’ and think, What an exciting opportunity for research I hear ’ancient magical mystery’ and think, How much is my life worth?"

Aurelius opened his mouth as I raised a hand. "Don’t answer that. I already know."

He closed his mouth as I leaned forward. "Think about it logically."

Aurelius looked suspiciously interested. "There is a reason the elves are hiding. A reason humans aren’t supposed to enter the forest, a reason the weapon was left there, and a reason nobody has apparently managed to retrieve it for hundreds of years."

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly!"

I pointed at him.

"Those are all reasons not to go!"

His enthusiasm died instantly.

"We finally have money. I have a safe territory. I have a comfortable manor. I have servants. I have warm food, fox beasts, and...my husband."

Aurelius’s expression became strange.

"My husband is terrifying enough to make assassins reconsider their career choices. I have successfully achieved everything I ever wanted."

I spread my arms. "Do you know what my lifelong dream is now?"

Aurelius stared at me as I smiled. "Doing absolutely nothing."

. . .

. . .

The wind blew and a leaf drifted across the courtyard as he finally whispered, "That is your dream?"

"Yes."

"That’s it?"

"Yes."

"No ambition?"

"I have ambition."

"What ambition?"

"To continue doing absolutely nothing."

Aurelius looked as though his entire understanding of humanity had just collapsed. I reached for my tea as he suddenly pointed at the map. "But the weapon—"

"It is a knife."

"It is not merely a knife."

"It has a blade."

"It is a sacred weapon."

"Still a knife."

"It contains the soul of a divine dragon!"

I nodded solemnly. "Which makes it an even worse knife."

Aurelius stared at me as I took a sip. "Why would I touch a knife containing the soul of a dragon?"

"For power."

"No."

"Knowledge? Glory? And maybe immortality?"

He smiled triumphantly as I narrowed my eyes. "Is that actually possible?"

Aurelius’s smile widened.

"Perhaps."

. . .

. . .

"Still a no..."

"You didn’t even think about it!"

"I did."

"For half a second!"

"That’s all the thought it deserved."

I took another sip. Aurelius leaned closer. "Your Grace... aren’t you even curious?"

I froze; for the first time, I didn’t answer immediately because unfortunately—

Yes.

Very.

The elves alone were fascinating, a hidden civilization living beyond the reach of humans. That was the sort of thing I’d have spent hours listening about back in my old life from my colleague.

And a real dragon?

A real dragon?

My inner child immediately started screaming.

DRAGON. ACTUAL DRAGON. WE HAVE TO GO. WE HAVE TO SEE IT. WE HAVE TO TOUCH THE MAGIC KNIFE.

But my survival instinct promptly tackled her to the ground.

Absolutely not.

Curiosity had killed cats, and I was not a cat. I was a grand duchess, a wealthy grand duchess. There was a very important distinction.

"I am curious," I admitted reluctantly. "But curiosity isn’t stronger than my desire to remain alive."

His shoulders dropped. I smiled sympathetically. "Maybe another time."

"Another time?"

"When I’m eighty."

"That is—"

"Or ninety."

"Your Grace."

"Actually..."

I smiled.

"Let’s say never."

Aurelius sighed so deeply that I almost felt guilty...almost. "You truly have no interest in adventure?"

I considered the question seriously, then I looked toward the manor, my fox beasts, and somewhere inside that manor...my husband.

I smiled.

"No. I have something much better."

"What?"

I lifted my teacup.

"Peace."

He stared at me. I stared back, and for approximately three seconds, everything was quiet. Then Aurelius slowly leaned back.

"I believe I have finally understood something about Your Grace."

"What?"

"You are the most unusual Grand Duchess I have ever met."

"Thank you."

"That wasn’t a compliment."

"I’ve decided to take it as one."

Aurelius rubbed his forehead as I returned happily to my tea. Adventure could wait. Dragons could wait. Elves could wait. Ancient magical weapons could absolutely wait. I had no intention of becoming the heroine of some ridiculous legendary quest.

I already had everything I wanted: money, safety, and a comfortable home. A terrifyingly clingy husband, fox beasts, and a life where my greatest daily crisis was deciding which pastry I wanted first.

Honestly? Why would I ever choose adventure over that?

***

[LUCEILLE’S POV — LATER — THE HALLWAY]

Aurelius followed me out into the hallway, still wearing that suspiciously cheerful expression as he stopped a few steps away and gave me a slight bow.

"I hope Your Grace will reconsider."

I turned toward him. "My answer will still be no. Please focus on the mana stones, Archmage. You already have enough strange discoveries to keep you occupied for the next ten lifetimes."

Aurelius sighed.

"What a pity."

"Yes. Tragic."

He gave me another small bow. "I shall await your answer; I am an optimistic man, afterall."

"You’re a stubborn man."

"That as well."

I sighed.

This man was going to keep trying until either I agreed or he discovered another magical treasure and forgot about me entirely...hopefully the second one.

"Goodbye, Archmage."

I turned and started walking toward my chamber. I had barely taken three steps when I noticed someone standing at the opposite end of the hallway.

Cassian.

He was leaning slightly against one of the stone pillars, his arms folded across his chest; he wasn’t smiling. His blue eyes were fixed behind me.

Aurelius was still standing there.

I looked back at Cassian and that expression. I knew that expression, not from personal experience but from every romance novel ever written where the male lead saw another man talking to his woman and suddenly developed the emotional stability of a loaded cannon.

I quietly swallowed as Cassian pushed himself away from the pillar and walked toward me, slowly and far too calmly.

When he reached me, his gaze finally settled on my face. "Why were you alone with the Archmage?"

"I was just having tea."

His brow furrowed and his expression didn’t change.

"A tea?"

I nodded, "He was talking about elves and the dragon sword."

Cassian’s jaw tightened as he muttered, "I shouldn’t have agreed for him to stay here."

I suddenly understood...he was jealous.

I had seen this before... In drama and in novels. In those ridiculous scenes where the male lead would quietly interrogate the heroine about another man and pretend he wasn’t jealous while being approximately three seconds away from challenging the entire kingdom to a duel.

I couldn’t help smiling.

"Are you jealous?"

His eyes immediately met mine.

"No."

The answer came far too quickly, and I chuckled softly. His gaze softened for a moment, then he stepped closer, and his hand came around my waist. I felt myself being gently pulled toward him until there was barely any space between us.

He lowered his head slightly.

"Beloved..." ℯℯ𝘭.

"Hm?"

"I would like it if you drank tea with me as well."

I blinked, then I chuckled. "Do you need permission for that?"

A faint smile appeared on his lips as his thumb brushed lightly against my waist. "No, but I have decided that we shall have tea together in the courtyard every day."

I stared at him.

"Every day?"

"Every day."

"You’re really serious about this tea thing."

"I am."

I smiled. "Then I don’t mind."

His expression softened even further.

"Good."

We began walking down the hallway together, our hands still intertwined. For some reason, the thought of sitting with him in the courtyard every afternoon didn’t feel like an obligation anymore.

It felt...nice, quiet, and simple. Exactly the kind of life I had wanted after being thrown into this ridiculous world.

I had rejected Aurelius’s adventure, firmly, completely, and without hesitation. There was absolutely no chance I was going anywhere near that hidden elven forest.

None.

Zero.

I had made my decision, and I was very proud of myself.

Unfortunately... I didn’t know yet that the universe had already made a completely different decision for me because apparently, rejecting the adventure didn’t mean I wouldn’t eventually go.

It only meant I wouldn’t go with Aurelius.

Somehow, somewhere down the line... I would be the one personally walking into that mysterious Northern Forest to look for the elves.

And when that happened, I was going to deeply regret today’s confidence. But for now? I leaned a little closer to Cassian as we continued down the hallway.

Tea sounded much better than adventure. Unfortunately, the universe had never once respected my preferences.