Saving the Second Male Lead

Chapter Eight

Once we got to the mansion, Ryia and I had little time to get fixed up before being whisked away to the dining hall. As soon as we sat down, Ryia's father, Duke Sommers, began bombarding us about our overnight stay. He listened proudly as Ryia recounted everything and responded with rapid-fire questions on every detail she gave. Even though she'd already expressed that she had little excitement over the event, I found it hard to believe that the girl sitting next to me was the same Ryia that I had read about. I thought she'd be squealing with every answer, just as excited as her father was.

Once she had seemed to answer all his questions and the conversation died down, Ryia sat up in her chair and took a deep breath in.

"Actually, father, would it be okay for us to visit the eastern district in the capital? I believe it would be beneficial for June and me to officially thank the Alterio's aid in person for his help," Ryia asked calmly. She turned to me, and I gave her a smile of confirmation, trying to hide how nervous I was. If we couldn't go, it would throw a massive wrench into my already poorly constructed plan. She looked so confident, but as soon as the duke's attention swung to her, her hands began to shake along with her voice, "I mean, I just thought it would be better to go in person. Since tensions are high, a letter would be too impersonal. I'd ask them over but with the ball coming up, I'm sure they are too busy for the trave-"

With her last sentence, the duke's face turned from a scowl to an ominous grin, gears shifting behind his eyes. He had seemed nice enough when I was reading, and even up until now, but something had changed in the past few minutes.

He cut off her babbling. "That sounds like a great idea. I'll arrange for a mail carrier to leave tomorrow morning, so have a letter ready by then." His voice was deep and sharp. Normally, it would be pleasant, but the vile intent threaded through it made the hair on the back of my neck stand tall.

Everyone at the table was taken aback by the ease with which he agreed. Even the duchess's hands hovered frozen above her plate while she eyed her husband quizzically.

"She makes a good point," the duke said to his wife, seeming to have read her mind, "with the political climate, it would only cause more bad blood and lower the public's opinion of us."

"Thank you, father." Ryia smiled. I could feel her shaking her fists under the table with a level of enthusiasm that I'd expected earlier on.

As dinner came to a close, I found myself being held back at the duke's command.

"Come, sit a bit closer," he said, motioning to the now-empty diagonal to his. I did as he said and sat next to him, the only sound in the hall being the scrape of the chair against the floor.

He stared me down with a scowl for what felt like several minutes, not saying anything.

"You've done a fine job," he cracked a thin smile, "you're really going above and beyond. To even put yourself in danger like that for your job... I'm sure you are upset that you two could not stay long despite your efforts, but I was afraid that you'd overstay your welcome. Next time, if you have a plan tell me in advance, that way I can do my part properly and we can avoid such issues."

I chewed on my lip, not knowing how to respond to him, or if I should even respond at all. My job? As far as I knew, my job was being Ryia's lady in waiting, though to be fair I wasn't entirely sure what that all entailed in the first place. He leaned back in his chair, observing my puzzled stare.

Noticing his gaze, I propped myself up in the chair and feigned confidence, "of course."

"In the future, it would be ideal if no one else intervened, but this time it might just work out for the best."