Chapter 58: The Almost-Peaceful Afternoon

"I’m sorry, what did you say you want to do? Walk me through this again, slowly. You want to continue? Right now?"

Lioren and Xavion walked side by side out of the sunlit parlor, leaving Evelia behind after her theatrical announcement that her delicate constitution required an immediate recovery before dinner. She had even directed the declaration at the ceiling, as though the entire residence needed to be informed of her suffering.

"We still have to start over from the beginning," Xavion replied, keeping his gaze fixed on the hallway ahead as his long strides matched Lioren’s. "The papers I ruined earlier need to be sorted out again, and we haven’t even finished reviewing the remaining candidates. The delay has already cost us a good portion of the afternoon."

Lioren shook his head with a laugh, running a hand through his hair. "Are you sure you can keep going? It’s perfectly fine to take a break, you know. Nobody’s going to strip you of your title or kick you out if we don’t finish everything by sunset."

"I feel perfectly fine at the moment," Xavion replied, his eye turning toward the Grand Duke with steady resolve.

Lioren let out a dry huff as they stopped outside his study. "Yeah, well, you also seemed perfectly fine earlier, right before that pain behind your eye decided to blow up and sent an entire tower of papers flying."

"That was an isolated incident."

"That was terrifying, is what it was," Lioren shot back, pushing the study doors open.

The papers were still scattered across the table, waiting for them in the same chaotic mess they’d left behind.

Xavion walked past him and returned to his seat as though nothing had happened. He straightened the top stack of candidate profiles with maddening precision before settling down to work again.

Lioren dropped into the seat opposite him, studying Xavion’s face for any lingering sign of pain. He searched for a hint of strain around his jaw or a crease between his brows, but Xavion wore his usual impassive expression, giving nothing away. He probably looked exactly the same while reading casualty reports on a battlefield.

They held each other’s gaze across the desk, neither willing to speak first. Lioren wasn’t convinced Xavion was really really fine, and Xavion clearly had no intention of admitting otherwise.

"Fine," Lioren finally sighed, throwing his hands up in a gesture of absolute defeat. "We’ll continue. But if that little throbbing demon behind your eyepatch decides to throw another tantrum, we stop immediately. No arguing, no pretending you’re fine while your teeth are chattering. We drop the papers and call it a day. Deal?"

Xavion gave a nod. "Deal."

With the terms established, Lioren didn’t push the matter any further. He knew better than to smother the man. If there was one thing an experienced military general detested more than poison, it was being treated like fragile porcelain by an over-cautious fiancé. Instead, Lioren forced himself to focus on the papers spread out across his side of the desk, consciously reigning in the frantic, hyper-vigilant urge to check whether Xavion was about to collapse every thirty seconds.

Of course, twenty minutes of sheer panic wasn’t something Lioren could simply switch off.

He glanced sideways at Xavion. Once. Twice. On the second attempt, he found Xavion already watching him, his expression practically screaming, I told you I was fine. Stop hovering.

Lioren cleared his throat and abruptly turned his attention to the next candidate profile, jabbing at it with his quill as though the paper had personally offended him.

Before long, they were back to reviewing the candidates, and Xavion approached the task with his usual thoroughness. He considered each person’s past experience and whether they would be suited to life in the capital. A glowing recommendation or an impressive family crest wasn’t enough to win him over. He checked the dates of previous employment, looked into why each candidate had left their former position, and paid close attention to details that might reveal what kind of person they really were.

By the time the late-afternoon sun turned the study windows a deep shade of orange, they had finally finished reviewing all the candidates they could reasonably get through that day.

The papers had been sorted into three piles: a shortlist of promising candidates, another for those they still weren’t sure about, and a towering stack of rejected applications that looked ready to topple over at any moment.

Xavion let out a tired breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose, his shoulders finally relaxing a little.

Lioren leaned back in his seat and stretched both arms over his head until his joints popped. He glanced down at the three piles of papers on the desk, looking thoroughly pleased with what they’d accomplished.

Then, with all the drama of someone announcing a grand achievement, Lioren raised his hands and clapped once, the sharp sound ringing through the quiet study.

"Well, look at that," Lioren announced, his voice ringing with bright triumph. He reached out and tapped the top of the shorter, highly select paper tower with his knuckles. "We survived an entire afternoon of paperwork without either of us throwing ourselves out a window. Someone ought to give us medals. Or cake. Preferably cake."

He then turned his head slowly, fixing his gaze on the towering, precarious mountain of rejected papers sitting off to the right. Lioren pressed a hand dramatically to his chest, adopting a tone of profound, mock-solemn grief.

"And as for the rest of you," Lioren whispered, bowing his head toward the rejected pile, "we are deeply, terribly sorry it didn’t work out. Truly. But we honestly wish you the absolute best of luck finding a nice, stable job somewhere else. May your future employers be kinder, your working hours shorter, and your paperwork considerably less terrifying."

A faint chuckle slipped from Xavion, so brief that Lioren might have missed it if he hadn’t been watching him so closely. He turned at once, wearing an expression of exaggerated astonishment.

"I’m glad we managed to finish everything today," Xavion said, glancing at the neatly sorted papers.

"I know. We make a great team!" He gestured between them with his hand. "If I’d been doing all this by myself, I might have needed an entire week. A whole week, Your Highness! Can you imagine how tragic that would have been?"

Xavion smiled faintly. "What about Therin? Wouldn’t he have helped you?"

"Oh, Therin would absolutely help if I asked." Lioren waved a hand. "He’s my aide. If I told him to count every grain of rice in the kingdom, he’d probably ask me whether I’d prefer him to start with the north or the south."

He paused, then glanced at the mountain of papers.

"But that’s exactly why I shouldn’t ask him to do everything. The poor man already has enough work without me inventing new ways to keep him busy. I have to show some restraint, you know. Besides, as I said before, this concerns you. It only makes sense for you to decide how things should be handled."

KNOCK KNOCK

A knock came from the door, and moments later, Therin and Caldrin entered the study.

Lioren straightened up instantly, his posture shifting from relaxed lounge mode back into the sharp, perceptive stance of a Grand Duke managing a capital-wide intelligence network. He folded his hands together, watching them cross the threshold.

The sight of Therin and Caldrin immediately caught Lioren’s attention. Whatever remained of his relaxed afternoon vanished as he turned toward them, his eyes brightening with the unmistakable interest of a man who had been waiting for fresh material to occupy his mind.

Therin and Caldrin each offered a brief, respectful bow toward Lioren and Xavion before stepping farther into the study.

"My lord," Therin greeted. "Your Highness."

While Xavion offered the two men a polite smile in return, Lioren waved away their formalities as if each additional courtesy were shaving precious years off his life. "Yes, yes, enough with the formality. Save your backs for the actual work, please. I don’t pay you to develop spinal problems in my presence." He paused, then leaned back in his chair with a suspiciously pleasant smile. "Now, tell me you’ve finished the task I assigned to you. Please. I am begging you to give me some good news today. The sun is practically packing its bags and heading home, and I’d hate to discover that the two of you have spent the entire day strolling out there, eating sugar-glazed pastries and pretending that looking busy counts as work."

Therin and Caldrin exchanged a quick glance, seemingly reaching some silent agreement before either of them spoke. Unfortunately for them, both Lioren and Xavion noticed.

"Yes, we’re back, my lord," Caldrin confirmed. "And we’ve finished the task you assigned us."

He leaned back in his seat, looking between his two most trusted men as a small smile spread across his face. They had been out working since morning, and he was curious to see what they had accomplished.

"All right, gentlemen," Lioren said, looking between them. "Let’s hear it."