Chapter 140: THE FIVE CROWNS ARE SUMMONED, PART II

DIANA’S POV

Concord Hall would begin receiving the summit delegations in seven days, with formal proceedings scheduled for the following morning.

Blackharrow intended to leave in two.

Government Terrace filled almost immediately with travel packets, evidence-custody arrangements, escort rotations, accommodation requests, Dragon Host courier schedules, and household notices.

By the time Diana returned to Household Relief, Master Marlon had already received a copy of the travel dates.

"You will need a temporary office arrangement."

Diana looked at him while he continued reviewing a benefits appeal.

"The summit," he clarified.

She wrote:

RAIGORO IS GOING.

"Yes."

Daric obviously would go. Tavia likely would as well, along with Julius or another senior specialist, treaty staff, and security.

Diana looked toward the active relief cases, and Master Marlon followed her attention.

"If you leave, I can manage the ordinary caseload."

She stared at him.

"I managed it before you arrived."

Fair.

Diana wrote:

I DID NOT SAY I WAS LEAVING.

"No," Master Marlon said before returning to the ledger.

His complete lack of reassurance irritated her.

The pattern continued through the afternoon.

Tavia received a travel packet. Daric ordered evidence trunks. Julius began personally insulting the protective packing around his wardstone samples, and the household steward requested road accommodation for Blackharrow’s diplomatic party.

Alma began sorting Diana’s correspondence without explanation.

Diana finally raised her slate.

WHY ARE YOU SORTING THAT?

"In case you go."

Diana stared at her.

"Or in case you stay and need me to know which correspondence can wait while everyone else panics."

Diana lowered the slate.

Staying made sense.

The fact that she had to keep reminding herself was less convincing.

Household Relief did not require Diana to leave Blackharrow. The work would continue without her for a week, and Master Marlon had just made that irritatingly clear.

Still, every travel packet arriving around her made staying feel less like the obvious choice she kept insisting it was.

Raigoro arrived near sunset before she succeeded.

Master Marlon looked from him to Diana.

"I assume this is not about my forms."

"No."

"Good."

Master Marlon collected three ledgers and left with the deliberate speed of a man who intended to avoid becoming involved in ducal marriage matters.

Alma followed after Diana glanced toward her, though she did not go far. The door remained open until Diana indicated otherwise.

Raigoro entered the office but remained standing.

"There is something else we need to decide before we leave."

Diana caught on one word.

We.

She dealt with the rest of the sentence first.

Raigoro looked toward the slate in her hand.

"Your name."

He sat opposite her, neither close nor deliberately distant.

"The summit notice currently identifies you as Princess Selena Valence, Grand Duchess of Blackharrow."

Selena remained the name in the public record.

"I am not changing it without you," Raigoro continued. "But I am not going to pretend it can remain that way forever."

Diana had known this conversation was coming. Knowing did nothing to make hearing it easier.

"Blackharrow’s internal records can be corrected. The public records are different."

Diana looked at him.

"You told me your name. I am not asking you for it again."

Diana appreciated that.

"But the summit notice still identifies you as Selena Valence. So do the current treaty credentials and the public marriage record."

Raigoro knew the truth, as did Alma and Daric, and Blackharrow’s investigation had already established it.

The rest of the world did not.

"If you want Blackharrow to begin correcting the public record now, I will," Raigoro said. "If you want time, I will not announce Diana Valence for you."

Diana stared at the blank slate and imagined the Citadel herald saying Diana.

Master Marlon would see the corrected office record, and Mistress Hale would change the household books.

Then Valence would hear that Blackharrow had publicly restored a daughter Odran had erased. Maerissa, and the Five Crowns would hear too, and questions would multiply faster than Diana could answer them.

She wrote:

NOT YET.

Raigoro read it.

"All right."

Diana added:

AFTER THE SUMMIT.

He studied the words, and she forced herself to leave them on the slate.

After the summit, she could decide how the rest of the world learned what Raigoro already knew. Diana Valence could become public because Diana chose the moment, rather than allowing fear, Valence, or another investigation to choose it for her.

"If that is what you want."

Diana nodded.

He looked toward the travel schedule on her desk.

"At the summit, then, the public record remains Selena."

She nodded again.

Raigoro glanced toward the treaty files on her desk.

"Counsel Mael will make sure Blackharrow’s position is preserved before we leave. That does not require changing your public name."

Diana studied him.

"Nothing public changes without you."

She nodded.

The agreement felt temporary enough to manage.

One summit, and then Diana would choose what happened to her name.

Raigoro stood. At the door, he stopped.

"I will ask you tomorrow whether you are coming. You do not have to decide tonight."

He turned toward the door.

Diana stared at his back.

Absolutely not.

She raised the slate.

RAIGORO.

He stopped and looked back.

Diana wrote:

YOU ARE LEAVING.

"That was the intention."

Apparently love had not improved his intelligence in every area.

Diana stood, crossed the room, caught his coat again, and kissed him.

The kiss was brief, and Raigoro’s hand came naturally to her back before she stepped away.

"Was that an objection to my departure?"

Diana wrote:

YES.

Then she added:

YOU MAY GO NOW.

"Generous."

Diana pointed toward the door.

Raigoro leaned down, kissed her forehead, and obeyed.

After he left, Diana remained at the desk.

Household Relief cases bearing a title she had earned lay beside the Five-Crown summons carrying a name she had borrowed through fear.

She had asked Raigoro for a little more time before those two lives collided publicly.

For the first time, Diana allowed herself to believe he would give it to her.