"One week..." Artemesia muttered to herself, "one week..."
After the conversation with her in-laws, she had been pacing around her room for hours.
If Leander didn't agree to her plan, she would need time to think of another strategy. If he did, he would surely have his own terms, but she would still need a few days to properly plot their next moves.
She just needed time.
After considering the endless possibilities, she finally came to a conclusion.
"Tomorrow night, I will pay the Crown Prince a visit. If no other events take place this week, that is."
But that week turned out to be one of the most important in Montclair History.
Artemesia walked down the stairs the next morning, confused by the unnecessary commotion.
On the way, she came across the Duchess, who seemed to be in a rush.
"Mother? What's-"
"Artemesia! You're up!" she hurriedly pointed towards Jonathan's office, "John needs you, he'll explain everything!" and she ran off, followed by servants.
Tia stood there for a moment, confusion growing by the minute, as she walked to her brother's office. The door was wide open and people scurried in and out like ants.
"Brother? What's going on-?"
"Tia! Perfect timing!" he looked up from the huge pile of scrolls and books that were stacked messily on his desk, "Sit here, I have some work for you to-"
"Will someone please explain what is even going on?" she shouted angrily.
The room quieted for a moment, Jonathan's eyes widening for a split second, before he regained his composure, "Calm down, Tia. Mother didn't say anything?"
"No. She just told me to go to your office and that you'll explain. And here you are, handing me work."
The room regained its usual business as John suddenly chuckled. "Did you just wake up? Why are you so grumpy?"
She raised a brow, "I am grumpy? You all are just too busy."
Jonathan took off his reading glasses as his sister sat down, "It's... a bit long, so I'll keep it short."
"Go on,"
"Well, two things," he held up his index and middle finger.
"One, I'll officially become the Duke of Montclair the day after tomorrow,"
"What?!"
"Two, we may or may not be going to war next week."
Artemesia's jaw dropped. One revelation was even more shocking than the previous.
"What.. how.." she sputtered. She didn't even know what question to ask first.
How was he so calm about this?
"I know, it's very unexpected," he sighed.
"Unexpected is an understatement." Thedosia added, walking in.
"Okay, can I know who waged war against whom? And why is John inheriting the Duke's title in a day?"
"Ashthorne," Thedosia sighed, "Whether it was an empty threat or the real deal, that is a mystery."
Tia froze. Ashthorne?
"Is something wrong with Florence's parents? Why are they suddenly going to war?"
"Do not address the young lady like that," Jonathan warned, "she is now a stranger to us."
"How... How could this happen?"
"They keep blabbering about some private information being leaked. Mine profits or something," He pressed his temple, "God knows what they're talking about."
"Mine...profits?"
"It's either a false accusation," Thedosia stated, "trying to throw Montclair off its feet, or someone really did leak confidential information and now we are being framed."
Artemesia calmed down as the gears in her mind started clicking.
"I say the first option," Her brother said lazily, leaning forward in his seat. "Tia?"
Her eyes were distant as she replied, "No."
He raised a brow, "So... what do you think is going on?"
"Mother is right. Someone leaked information, and we are being framed."
Thedosia frowned, "Oh?"
"Any ideas who?"
"Blackridge, of course."
The room stilled. The air went cold.
Jonathan forced calm as he asked, "How...so?"
Tia finally looked up, meeting his eyes, "How so, you ask? Look around you. Look at the commotion this 'war' announcement has caused. They know we'll speed up succession if something threatens the current Duchess," she glanced at Thedosia, who was listening closely, "And they know we need funds for that."
She let that land, pausing. Then continued, "They'll either come again this week to pressure us, or push hard enough, expecting us to come to them."
She went on, "Besides, think about it. 'Mining profits'? Who do you think is so far ahead in that industry, getting promoted because they had an increase in assets?"
A moment passed when Thedosia murmured, "Blackridge,"
Jonathan mulled over her words, "You're... not wrong."
The room fell quiet as everyone looked at things from their own perspective.
Suddenly, The Duchess laughed.
"No matter what way I look at it, she's right," she wiped a tear off her eye, "Goodness, Artemesia, you're good at this."
Her lips curled, "After all, I'm the great Thedosia Montclair's daughter."
"Michael's, even more so. I wasn't this sharp even at Jonathan's age."
"Okay, back to topic," Jonathan leaned back, steering the conversation back to the matter at hand, "I think, even without the Blackridges, we mostly can pull off the succession."
Artemesia frowned, "Won't... that take a toll on the financial balance of the House?"
Thedosia sighed, "We... can proceed like this, but then Artemesia's wedding will have to wait." Jonathan nodded at his Mother's statement.
Artemesia's shoulders stiffened.
He was quick to sense that, "Tia, are you alright?"
She looked up, "Me? I-I'm fine, I'm worried about you..."
"I can tell there's something else, love." Thedosia was catching on too.
"I... was only disappointed," she finally admitted, "at how dependent we are on this marriage. What if something caused them to change their minds, or my own mind?"
Thea paused. So did John. If Artemesia was the one voicing this concern, it really must carry some weight.
The Duchess sat down on the chair next to Tia, "What do you think would cause them to change their minds?"
"If someone can frame the Montclair Duchy for leakage of confidential information, then framing me or Julian for committing adultery is not a far off possibility. Especially those Houses who had their eye on us before we got engaged."
Her family froze, considering the possible outcomes.
"Houses such as...?" Jonthan's eyes were distant.
"...Heisenberg is one." the Duchess recalled the time Luna had asked of her daughter's marital status. "But neither Luna nor the Duke would resort to such filthy tricks,"
"So is Whitbourne," Tia mentioned, "The third son came for my hand once."
They nodded, confirming her memory.
"But neither Houses are stupid enough to make Montclair a political enemy," the man stated.
"Wrong," Tia corrected, "The Princes of Whitbourne aren't a bit as competent as their father."
Thedosia hummed, but then said, "Okay, let's put a pause on this discussion. Right now, we have enough on our plates. We can think about this after the succession."
Her children nodded, agreeing, "Yes, Mother."
After issuing out a few more orders, both Thedosia and Jonathan were back to work, but their minds were somewhere else.
What if something really compels the Blackridges to step out of this marriage?
And that thought alone, was Artemesia's primary goal when she initiated this very conversation.
. . .
"Come in," a deep voice answered the knock at the door.
Gregor came in, holding something white in his hands.
"Looks like you're getting adjusted to this space well." he smiled.
Leander looked up. He was sitting in the window alcove of his large study, going through some documents, his hair catching the sunlight and illuminating the room.
He'd been given this room to temporarily use it as a study, but he took a liking to it. Too much for his own good.
His father walked inside, the white thing under his arm squirming.
Leander raised a brow, but his eyes widened when Gregor loosened his grip slightly and it leapt onto him.
"Skylar!" he laughed as she tickled his cheek with her nose, "Where have you been roaming around?" He frowned at her fur, which was now tinted gray.
"It was playing in the Palace gardens when I spotted it," Gregor chuckled, "You gave that thing a name?"
"It's not a thing, Father. Why do you and Mother insist on calling her that?"
Gregor sat down on the chair behind the desk in the middle of the room. The lustrous, polished mahogany shone as the sunlight hit it.
"Well, you could've kept a bird. Why keep a wild beast like that as a pet?"
Leander opened his mouth, "it is no-"
"Okay, enough," his father interrupted, "I came here to talk to you about something."
Leander huffed, but put Skylar down in the alcove and walked in front of his desk, arms crossed, "Yes, Your Majesty?"
His Father sighed as he laced his fingers, elbows on the table, "Ashthorne has threatened to go to war with Montclair,"
His brows flew up, "What?! Why?!"
"Due to unresolved social disputes in the past, and another incident that has happened recently," he went on, "but whether they really go through with the threat is a mystery."
"Incident? What incident?"
"Montclair has leaked confidential information," he sighed, "about the Ashthorne mining profits."
"Which member of Montclair, exactly?"
"That is yet to be investigated," he rubbed his temples, "but investigations can not begin until next week."
"Why..." The question died in his throat before he could voice it.
Once upon a time, Duchess Thedosia would've happily led an army into battle. But in her present age, that would not be very efficient. In order to promise their safety, Jonathan had to ascend as the Duke of Montclair.
And to carry out an investigation while an internal matter of the House is ongoing is a violation of The Halycra Empire's regulations.
Leander pinched the bridge of his nose, "This is... complicated."