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A subdued chaos had infiltrated Gloucester castle, and Leonie found herself amidst the most peculiar army of her life. Kitchenware clanged like swords upon shields, the hearth crackled like a fire spell ablaze, and gossip echoed down the halls like a war song. Everywhere she went on the estate grounds, servants scrambled about with tasks and errands to complete, all eager and excited for the evening’s occasion despite weary complaints or exasperated remarks.
Leonie found it hard to believe that all this fuss was partially on her behalf. But then again, she hardly believed she was Leonie Pinelli when she looked in the mirror that very morning. With roses adorning her hair, rouge painting her cheeks and lips, and a dress of the finest silks draping her body she felt like a stranger in her own skin.
Though she supposed it was to be expected. Tonight she’d become Lady Leonie Gloucester.
But who exactly was that?
A wild horse was still wild even if it donned a fancy saddle, and Leonie would not break. But bucking and kicking wouldn’t help her belong in the stables with the purebreds.
With the wedding ceremony creeping closer by the second, Leonie sought small comfort in the hustle and bustle about the castle. She couldn’t swing a lance to quell the nervous palpitations of her heart without risking a tear or stain, so people watching would have to suffice.
Which was how she witnessed two men waddling into the Grand Hall, both struggling with an enormous wine bowl filled to the brim. The liquid swished over the edge with each step, leaving a crimson trail. The duo winced each time a drop hit the ground.
It was obviously too heavy for the two. Boy, did the nobility love to display their excessive wealth and power with impracticalities.
Leonie approached the two with an outreached hand, and said, “Here, let me help you with that. I’ll take this side and—”
“Lady Pinelli!” gasped the man nearest her right. He jerked the bowl out of her reach, and his grayed companion grunted as droplets splashed on the floor. “No need to concern yourself with this.”
“Aye,” the older man said, puffing out his chest and holding the bowl higher. “That dress is quite lovely— not that I’m looking improperly, of course, Your Grace! We’re able-bodied lads, we assure ye. Just the thought of this here wine splashing on that there dress...”
He shuddered.
Leonie repressed a snort. She’d never get used to these surreal, misplaced formailites, as if the soil and blood of Sauin had been washed off with scented soaps and potpourri-filled baths.
Like so many times before, she found herself seeking comfort in the familiar grooves of Jeralt’s pendant.
“Leonie,” she corrected with a tight smile and tight grip on the charm. “I’m not ‘Your Grace’ or ‘Milady’ or whatever other names nobles love to call themselves. And I never will be. Actually, being called that kind of makes my skin crawl.”
The two men exchanged apprehensive glances.
"I’m certain that all together we can get this to its destination in a jiffy. No accidents.” Leonie picked up the hem of her dress and started to knot it to ensure more mobility. “I’ve done tougher jobs than this a thousand times. That little bowl doesn’t hold a candle to lugging armor around.”
The eldest man swallowed. “That may very well be, Mila— Miss Leonie—but I cann’t allow it. What would Lord Gloucester say if he were to see such a thing?”
“He would say, no need to fret, good sir,” called an acutely cultured voice that Leonie recognized instantly as belonging to Lorenz.
She turned to find him sauntering over to the group.
His smile radiated brightly as he continued, “I assure you that my lovely bride can handle the task without any missteps.”
Lorenz skillfully avoided the wine puddling on the floor, his white boots still as pristine as ever when he stopped in front of the trio. He wore a lavender and ivory suit, which was perfectly tailored and perfectly pressed to enhance his statuesque frame. As always, he was well poised and well groomed, but Leonie couldn’t help but think he looked exceptionally handsome today.
He paid the servants little heed— distracted with Leonie’s appearance in equal measure as she was with his. Lorenz’s eyes traced her from head to toe, taking in each ruffle and smudge of rouge. The look in his gaze— so utterly enchanted— made heat rise upon her neck.
For once in his life, Lorenz seemed to be at a complete loss of words.
“You know, Lorenz,” Leonie flustered, feeling self-conscious at his unadulterated stare, “if you keep gaping like that you’re going to catch flies.”
He reeled back with a blush that rivaled her own. “F-forgive my impertinence!” he stammered.
Despite his apology, he fell back into his enrapture with comical ease. Only this time, he caught himself quickly.
Lorenz cleared his throat, and when he spoke, sincerity saturated his tone, void of his normal pomp. “You are truly a sight to behold. The finest of Gloucester roses, cultivated over centuries by our master gardeners, could scarcely compare to your beauty!”
Leonie laughed nervously as he bowed. “Thanks.”
When he rose, he opened his mouth to speak, immediately closed it, and then opened it again. In the end, he only managed a raspy inhale. He looked so much like a lost puppy that Leonie almost laughed. She rarely saw him so bashful, so unruffled. It was both refreshing and endearing.
“Though...don’t you think roses seem a bit too dainty?” She poked him playfully in the arm, hoping to break the tension. “Unless you mean I’m as dangerous as their thorns.”
His laugh chimed like music.
“You certainly possess the merit of both attributes,” he simpered, relaxing finally.
“That’s what I like to hear!” Leonie grinned.
She turned back to the men who were trembling under the weight of the wine bowl, anxiously awaiting dismissal. “Now pick a side, Lorenz. We can flirt after we finish this job!”
Lorenz visibly deflated. His eyes darted between the two men and Leonie. Warily, he said, “My dearest, I am confident in the stalwart qualities possessed by those employed by House Gloucester. They shall execute this task expertly.”
He leaned down to say more privately, “In truth, I sought you out in hopes that you would grant me your companionship for a brief respite.”
“Granted.” Leonie smirked and heaved some of the weight of the bowl onto her arms. “I’m all ears to whatever pretty words you want to say the whole way.”
“This location— and company — is simply not suitable for the topic!” he protested but accepted his fate, taking on part of the burden of the weight. “The stage must be perfect!”
Leonie smiled wryly as all four of them began shuffling towards the center of the Grand Hall. “I think these boys have heard bedroom talk before, Lorenz.”
If Lorenz could turn any redder, he’d catch on fire.
“T-that— you are gravely mistaken.” All his attempts to stay composed were quickly crumbling to dust. “Very well, I’ll speak plainly. I have a gift for you.”
“Another?” she teased, recalling the mountains of gifts he’d given her since they began courting. “Most girls in my village are lucky to get a hen on their wedding day.”
“Naturally,” he replied matter-of-factly. “It would not be very becoming of a husband-to-be if he did not senselessly dote on his intended. Anything less simply would not do.”
She rolled her eyes but her devious smile revealed her good humor. “Fine, fine. I’ll let you get away with it this time.”
Within a few minutes the wine bowl arrived at its home for the evening in the middle of the banquet table. The two servants offered nervous thanks and then scampered off to attend to their next task, leaving Leonie and Lorenz alone.
A palpable silence fell between them as Leonie helped herself to a cup of wine, absolutely parched from the exertion. If it was improper or whatever, she could hardly care. Lorenz took no offense to it, much too busy fretting over his appearance. He straightened his collar and cuffs in an obvious attempt to buy time as he gathered his nerves.
Leonie figured she might as well rescue him from himself.
“You know, after the wedding,” she said, pointing to a nearby vase stuffed full of white roses, “I’d like to dry out all these roses. They’d make for a good stock of tea or potpourri. I figure it’d be enough for the whole staff to get their fair share.”
He glanced at the roses, relief visible on his face. “Ah, an excellent idea. That would most certainly aid in maintaining high morale around the castle.”
“Glad someone thinks so. The women in the garden looked at me like I had bugs in my hair.”
Lorenz chuckled along with her. Emboldened, she placed the cup down and stepped closer to him. So close their shoes knocked. Some law of decorum was surely broken.
“So, where’s this present?” she asked coyly. “Come on, Lorenz, don’t keep a girl in suspense!”
“Ah, yes,” Lorenz flustered and patted his coat pockets as if he’d forgotten where he had secured the mysterious gift.
A moment later he procured a small velvet box from his breast pocket.
Straightening up, he said shyly, “Leonie, my love, it would honor me greatly if you wore this tonight.”
Lorenz opened the lid of the box carefully and held it for Leonie’s inspection. “This gift can never encapsulate all my devotion and reverence for you, but I do hope that it will at least express a small portion of my sincere sentiments.”
Inside was a wooden pendant engraved with white roses and orange marigolds. Rays of sunlight in gold radiated from each flower.
Leonie picked it out of the box, and instead of the gold chain she expected, it hung on a woven leather cord with two gold petals at the ends. A bracelet?
“I do hope it is to your liking,” Lorenz said, watching her face expectantly. “I consulted with the most renowned artisans, as well as procured Hilda’s approval for the design.”
“Marigolds, huh?” Leonie traced the floral design with her thumb.
It felt so smooth, so perfect— so unfitting for someone like herself, who was all rough edges. Looking closer she could see gemstones embedded in the design. It was intricate but not flamboyant. Pretty, but not resplendent. If Lorenz had consulted Hilda he truly must have been considering Leonie’s subtle taste. The bracelet certainly didn’t look like it’d come from a countess’s jewelry box. Yet, she couldn’t quite imagine it in hers either— not that she had one to begin with.
“Sure is pretty,” she conceded.
Lorenz’s smile wavered. "I selected marigolds for two reasons,” he explained. “Firstly, they symbolize the matrimonial sentiments of happiness and good luck.”
He touched her cheek tenderly and cast her a look full of utter adoration. “Secondly, when I gaze upon them, I cannot help but think of you."
For reasons lost even on herself, Leonie turned her cheek. Her voice sounded foreign when she blurted, “Because they're common, like me, huh?”
She couldn’t look him in the eye, but the way his fingers flinched on her cheek proved his shock.
Of course he’d compare her to a resilient, hardy flower. Normally, she’d like that. Yet, why did it hurt today?
At her despondence, his brow furrowed. “I fear I may have offended you. If the bracelet is not to your liking, don’t hesitate to speak freely on the matter.”
He sounded so wounded it broke Leonie’s heart.
“No! It’s lovely, really!” she sputtered. “I’d be happy to wear it!”
She held her wrist out and offered the bracelet in the other hand. “Won’t you help me with it? I’m not so good at stuff like this.”
Lorenz hesitated a moment, but then took the bracelet. “But of course,” he said as his fingers tickled along her wrist, securing the cords.
He’d grown and changed so much since she first met him. Yet, he still possessed that same admirable attentiveness she remembered when he tended to her ankle all those years ago. Just like then, his touch still sent a nervous glee up her spine.
“Your palm is covered with perspiration,” Lorenz said as he finished. “You will not convince me it was due to that trifle amount of exertion. Please, Leonie, tell me. Is something troubling you?”
He leveled a scowl at the wine bowl. “Was it the wine? I knew I never should have trusted Claude’s uncouth palate.”
Leonie shook her head, chuckling, “Nothing like that! You know I’m not picky about that kind of thing. Though maybe another glass would do me some good.”
Lorenz raised a concerned brow.
With a shuddering breath, she admitted, “I’m just nervous, I guess. For tonight.”
Lorenz’s eyes widened for a moment, but then his features softened. “I understand completely. There is no need for shame, my dear.”
A wave of relief washed over Leonie.
He gripped both her hands and squeezed gently, and Leonie found herself longing for his true soothing touch through his gloves. “I, too, am nervous,” he admitted. “However, please trust that I intend to be as respectful and gentle as possible when we consummate our union.”
A blush blazed on her cheeks and she jerked back. ”What! No, I— that’s not— Ugh, I wasn’t even thinking about that!”
Lorenz appeared simultaneously shocked and affronted. He cleared his throat. “I see. Please pardon my incivility.”
Leonie burst into laughter. “Look, you got it wrong, okay? I’m nervous, but it’s not about that.”
She patted his shoulder and winked. “Anyway, no need to be so gentle, Lorenz. I’m made of hardy stock. You ought to show your lovely wife a good time, don’t you think?”
Lorenz’s face transformed to a bright shade of red, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably. “I suspect that you intend to avoid my scrutiny by speaking so directly about a delicate subject, but I will not be so easily deceived. Come, enough games. Tell me your grievances. I will see that the matter is resolved at once.”
Leonie shrugged. “It’s not something so easily fixed. It’s got to do with me, okay? Come morning, I don’t even really know who I’ll be.”
“I’m afraid I do not understand. You will be Lady Leonie Gloucester, my wife.”
“That’s the whole problem.”
Lorenz’s pulse visibly jumped in his throat, and Leonie hurried to amend. “The lady part. I don’t know anything about being a noble. We’re hours away from the altar and as soon as I say ‘I do’ I’m not who— what I’ve always been anymore.”
Leonie sighed. Her fingers found Jeralt’s necklace once again. “I’m no better than any of the staff here, but they’re all treating me like I’m something special. I always hated sucking up to nobles and now everyone’s doing that to me.”
“Well, there lies the problem.” Lorenz smirked. “Any presumption that you are not special is utterly inaccurate.”
She smacked him lightly on the arm. “Stop kidding around. Of course you think I’m special. And I like that. But I don’t want everyone to think I’m going to give them twenty lashings for dropping a teacup.”
“Firstly, I can assure you House Gloucester would never condone such repulsive mistreatment.” Lorenz sought her hand again and tenderly caressed her engagement ring. “Secondly, I do understand your estrangement. The moment you agreed to be my wife, you no longer were a mere commoner.”
Leonie looked down at their hands. “It feels like someone’s playing a prank on me. You’re not gonna jump out and shout, ‘Got you!’, are you?”
He chuckled lightly, “Certainly not. If this is merely a game, I quite enjoy it.”
Leonie sighed again. “I just feel like no one’s ever goin’ to talk to me like I’m a normal person ever again. With honesty, you know? Well, besides you and our friends. Everyone else...they don’t see the real me. Just some silly title.”
Lorenz touched the bracelet and said, pensively, “Did you not seek to be revered as the Blade Breaker II?”
She raised a brow. “That’s different, and you know it.”
“Not entirely. Tales of your exploits garnered you respect. Even strangers awarded you this courtesy. Conversely, villains feared you. The same holds true as a noble. The commoners will either respect you for the kindnesses and respites you provide, or they will resent you for hardship.”
Lorenz kissed her knuckles. “However, your birth as a commoner allows us a rare opportunity. You have walked in their boots, toiled in their fields. You know both the ways in which they suffer and the ways in which they will thrive. This rapport is something I and other nobles could never possess. With your enlightened outlook I am certain, together, we can provide for the people in a way that will outshine all past attempts. You are the liaison that connects the two worlds. And I must say, it’s been long overdue.”
“Huh,” Leonie drawled, still not entirely convinced. “Well, I suppose we’ve always made a good team.”
“I do agree.” He smiled fondly. “And from this day forward, we are partners. And what a remarkable pair we make. Without a doubt, House Gloucester’s legacy is guaranteed to be glorious!”
He barked a boisterous laugh, and Leonie smiled at the warm sound.
That’s right. They were partners. Equals. Even if the world didn’t see it, Lorenz acknowledged it. Did it really matter if she were common or noble or somewhere in between? Afterall, he had met her part way with the wine bowl situation. Easily even. The desire to help others was something they both always shared.
Carefully, Leonie reached behind her neck and unhooked Jeralt’s pendant. It slipped down her collar bone and fell into her free hand. Lorenz’s laughter stopped, and he watched her with a bewildered expression as she used her teeth to free the bracelet from her wrist.
“Leonie, dearest, whatever are you doing?” he asked, positively horror stricken.
“Switching them. Isn’t it obvious?” Leonie shrugged.
She pulled a ribbon from her hair. Her amber locks cascaded down, undoing an hour of her lady maid’s fussing in one simple action. Quickly, she busied herself with tying the ribbon to the bracelet. That would lengthen it nicely.
Flabbergasted, Lorenz stammered, “Forgive my misconception. I assumed you would wear Jeralt’s token for today’s occasion. If I had known otherwise, I would have commissioned a necklace crafted instead.”
The most sincere smile stretched across his face. “But I must say, I am honored you would trade them for our wedding.”
Leonie finished tying the last knot and admired her handiwork. “It’s not just for today. It’s stuffed full of all your love for me. It’s got to stay by my heart, don’t you think?”
Lorenz’s mouth gaped open and he sputtered some inconcernable sounds.
“Jeralt’s watching over us today. I’m sure of it.” She grinned broadly. “And I’m sure he’ll check-in from time to time for the rest of our lives, but...of all the people I’ve ever known, you matter to me the most. Sure, Jeralt saw my potential but you saw all of me.”
Leonie tied the new necklace behind her nape. “So I want this by my heart always. And I want you by my side always too.”
Lorenz cast his gaze to her fingers which clutched Jeralt’s old charm and then back to the rose and marigold pendant on her neck.
“I want that as well,” he said sweetly. “Where would I be without my marigold?”
“You’d probably have all sorts of bugs in your hair,” Leonie laughed and brushed aside his bangs to see his eyes more clearly. “Marigolds protect other plants, you know. Roses included.”
The smile that bloomed across his face was lovelier than any rose she ever had seen.
Her other hand touched the pendant. “How does it look? Suit me?”
Lorenz’s voice was merely a waft of air. “Perfectly.”
Leonie preened. “I think it’s perfect, too.”
Suddenly, his nose wrinkled in that all too familiar way of his. “Though ...might I suggest we procure a more suitable chain before the ceremony? Hilda is in attendance, is she not?”
Leonie guffawed. “All right, all right, just indulge me for now. I promise I’ll make sure it meets noble standards for tonight.”
Relief spread across Lorenz’s features, but it quickly transformed to a blush. He leaned his head down towards her. “May I ask a horribly selfish favor of you?”
“Sure, shoot.”
Though, Leonie had a pretty good idea of the request given that intense, intoxicated stare of his.
“Would you permit me to kiss you?”
“Oh, Lorenz,” she giggled. “You don’t have to be so formal about that.”
His neck flushed and he flustered, “While I do not think we should be overly concerned with propriety, it is still not customary to engage in such intimacy before our wedding night.”
Leonie rolled her eyes and threw her arms over his shoulders. His body tensed— so, so embarrassed. “It’s a good thing I’m loosening you up, then. Or else you’d miss out on kissing Leonie, the commoner, one final time.”
His fingers trailed over the necklace and up to cup her cheek. “As I said before, you are far from common, my love.”
A grin split Leonie’s face. “Pucker up already, Lorenz!” she ordered and yanked him down into a kiss.
When their lips met in a sweet embrace, she knew that tomorrow she’d be exactly the same person as today. Commoner or nobility didn’t matter. She was just a girl who loved a man named Lorenz.