The Duke's Masked Wife

"What is wrong with Mario being the one to tell me about it? Who else was supposed to tell me? My father, whose only plan was to send me off to his friend in the middle of the night? I am grateful to have Mario help me understand things I did not. Please stop with your negative opinion of him because you think he likes me. I don't see what that has to do with you anyway," Alessandra didn't understand the feud Edgar was creating with Mario.

"You are right. Cheers to the cook telling you everything you needed to know," Edgar held up his cup of coffee. "I should send a gift to thank him."

"Mario will not accept a gift from you and it would only cause him trouble if someone sees that you are visiting him. He has a debt to repay to my family and until he has left them, I don't want to bring him trouble. Please refrain from doing so. Now, can we please eat in silence? There was a lot for me to handle in one morning," Alessandra sighed.

It was nearing noon but she had already had her hair pulled, gotten slapped, and now there was the conversation about sex. Before something else could happen Alessandra just wanted to enjoy breakfast.

"Suit yourself. Alfred, go rest your feet until we are finished eating. Keep an eye on the gates and stop certain guests from entering," said Edgar.

"Yes, young master."

As Alesssamdra requested, Edgar ate in silence. He had a lifetime to make Alessandra flustered and annoyed by his words.

****

Later in the afternoon when breakfast was long served and everyone went their separate ways, Alessandra and Edgar met again for Alesssamdra's tour to continue. This time Edgar was the one leading her around instead of Alfred.

"Did you build this house or was it handed to you?"

"This house was in my family for many years. When it was given to me, there was a lot I had done over to my liking but the structure is the same and I have not done anything to the outside except for making the walls higher.  Have you decided on what type of paintings you will place up? Don't be shy about it," Edgar encouraged her.

He was hellbent on having her art in his home rather than people he did not know.

"Not yet. I am looking for inspiration and taking my time since I don't want to create anything bad. I'll ask Alfred to not put down the ones you have up as yet. Why are there so many men training outside?" Alessandra asked as they were passing by a window on the second floor which allowed her to see topless men training with weapons down below.

Edgar looked out the same window at his men training. "You do not think I would depend on the town guards to protect me, did you? Their reactions are slow whenever anyone calls for them. When I was younger, I fought in the king's army and gained a lot of followers who followed me back home. The ones you see here are a small part of that group."

"Won't anyone think you might be a threat for having such a small army at your command? Has anyone ever made the claim that you might be building an army to go against the king?" Alessandra questioned. It was a common plot in many of the books she read.

"Anything I do the other Dukes, Lords, Barons, or whoever will think that is a threat to them and their land. This is amusing because they never like to talk about the things they are hiding from the king. I have been open about the men under my command and the fact that they are only here to protect me. You will see in the coming days that I could sneeze and others will find a problem with it."

"Why you? Why does everyone want to make you out to be the bad guy?" Alessandra knew it could not be due to the king now giving him the task to get rid of his corrupted followers.

"They fear I am a new version of my father. Many laws came into place because my father pushed for them. Since I have not become their ally to help hide their crimes, many have banded together against me. It does nothing but fuels my ego that they have to work together to try going against me. In the future, you might be used as a pawn to get to me. Be aware of everyone who approaches you and if you have a gut feeling, do not ignore it," said Edgar.

Intuition mattered a lot in this world. Pushing bad thoughts about someone to the side because they show you a nice smile here and there will cost you in the future.

"This world seems so life and death. I see why you are the type to not mingle with others. It is a good thing I am rumored to be cursed then. It will ward off some of your enemies who believe in that kind of thing. Wonderful," Alessandra smiled as she planned to use what was a lie to protect herself.

"Why is it that people believe you are cursed? Is it only because you wear a mask?" Edgar didn't pay attention to the rumors about her to know why others thought she was cursed. He barely knew the Baron had an older daughter who hid her face and there was something about a visitor dying.

"It's so stupid," Alessnada frowned as she recalled when the rumors about her started. "My father had guests over for dinner and from the moment one of the men arrived you could tell he was not well. This was a little while after the incident which scarred my face and I was wearing a mask to hide that my face had been damaged because my father didn't want anyone to know what happened.."

"I was young and I guess my father thought no one would pay attention to a kid wanting to wear a masquerade mask. It would be the last time I ever greeted guests in our home," Alessandra nervously played with her fingers as the painful memory was clear. "When I went to greet the man, he was so determined to see my face and said a pretty girl should not hide her face. So I took it off and maybe the marks scared him or something."

"I just remember him clutching his chest and then falling to the ground. Some fool said a curse attached itself unto me and I know I was cursed. My father hid me rather than clearing up what happened with my face so, here I am. Rumored to make you die by looking at my face. It didn't help that as the years went by Kate and her friends kept fueling the rumors with new stories."

"Serves the man that died right. Why didn't he just mind his business? Your father should have been honest about Kate attacking you out of jealousy," Edgar revealed that he knew who caused her to wear a mask. It was obvious from watching the pair interact.

"Why am I not surprised you knew who had a hand in it? Honestly, Kate started it but I finished it. I truly hated the sight of my face when I was younger. Before the incident happened, I wished many times I wouldn't have to be around anyone ever again. Big mistake," Alessandra released a nervous laugh. "That's why it's said to be careful what you wish for."