Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord-Chapter 61: Trouble (3)

"Harold might be a little sad to have to send away some of his flowers but he’ll get over it. Now, back to this Oliver fellow who disturbed your peace. Do you mind if I trouble him a bit? I won’t kill him," Xavier promised, but the promise might not stay long.

"No," Selene shook her head. "Not while Fiona is there with him. His anger will just be directed to her but thank you for the offer. If I could get her away from there then you could trouble him."

Selene continued, "I know marriage has its ups and downs you need to work out but being on the receiving end of someone’s anger because there isn’t money isn’t something anyone should put up with. It isn’t her fault there isn’t money."

"He might be one of those men who gets upset that he doesn’t have the money people around him think he should have. His wife will make an easy target for him. A man who would put his wife through that is a coward. Do not go near him," said Xavier.

"I don’t plan to ever meet him again. It might be good to mention that he has become close to Gabriel. Part of me wants to tell you to get rid of him now but the other part thinks of Fiona being upset with me. I do not want to be a terrible friend. I need a distraction," Selene stood up.

Selene was tired of thinking about Oliver. There were better things to think about like her plans for revenge and getting back her family home.

"I am going to continue my walk. While we were away, someone was quick to add changes to the garden. Was it your order?" Selene questioned, a little taken aback by how much Xavier was doing for her. "Are you honest there isn’t something you secretly want from me?"

"What if it is your heart?"

"I will write down that you can have it when I am dead," Selene responded to his joke.

Xavier stood up to follow Selene. He didn’t understand her interest in taking a stroll around the estate. He had lived here for many years and never took long strolls daily. Still, he walked with Selene.

"Your heart wouldn’t be of any use to me when you are dead, Selene. Do you think I am a witcher to enjoy such a thing or a madman who has a heart collection? He has already been caught," Xavier revealed.

Selene did not like the sound of this. "There was someone like that?"

"Yes. A well-loved man who lost his sanity. He killed innocent humans for their hearts and displayed the ones he liked most. He is locked away in the palace to be studied. There are more who have lost themselves. Would you like to hear more?" Xavier asked, ready to share the ones he found fascinating.

Selene shook her head. "No, thank you. There is already much to be concerned about in this town. I don’t need to have these stories in my mind. You smile as if you enjoy them."

"I am quite interested in how far some people will go to feed their obsession so I have a good idea of what to look out for. You don’t have to worry," Xavier said, raising his hand to hold down Selene’s hair. The wind seemed to have something against her. "I will protect you from the deranged people in this town."

"I am happy to hear that. I have heard a few times that you are the kind of person who cannot be controlled and resorts to violence quickly. Can you promise I will never need protection from you?" Selene asked, holding out her pinky finger to make a promise as children did.

Now that she stopped to face Xavier, Selene saw how gentle he was while helping with her hair. She raked her fingers through her hair and started to braid it. "I should have let Agnes put it up for me. Is it bad?"

"No. It looks good when it is down and you won’t need protection from me since I will not hurt you, Selene. You are different from the others in town. You are my wife," Xavier reminded Selene. "As your husband, I like to think you will not harm me."

Selene laughed as she continued their walk. "As if I could ever hurt you."

***

Hours later in the palace, Vivienne stared at the flowers sent to her in response to her invitation to Xavier’s wife. She never witnessed a lady be so bold as to turn down an invitation from the queen. If not for her marriage to Xavier, Vivienne wouldn’t have spared a glance at the woman now carrying the Blackthorn name.

"She thinks too highly of herself," Vivienne concluded.

It was Xavier who was important, not the wife he picked up out of nowhere.

Vivienne’s mood was already bad, but seeing the vase filled with flowers upset her even more. She didn’t want Xavier’s wife here for her husband to drool over her and then she would have to face what was Xavier’s choice.

It didn’t sit well with her that Selene turned down the invitation.

"Who does she think she is?" Vivienne wondered.

"Perhaps she thinks her marriage to Lord Blackthorn makes her someone of importance," said Theresa, Vivienne’s most loyal maid.

"She is nothing. Even when she stands beside him she is nothing. She mustn’t act this way early," Vivienne said as it would soon backfire. "She’s going to give me a headache. I can feel it. I should let it out she did not want to sit with the queen."

Theresa hoped the queen wouldn’t act solely upon anger. "If I may speak freely, Queen Vivienne."

"You may," Vivienne answered.

"As much as I would love to see her name dragged through the mud, it is soon after her wedding so it might be seen as you disturbing a couple who wants to enjoy each other’s company. It may already seem odd that you would want to speak to her so fast given her family history," said Theresa.

"I would never meet with her if not for my husband. What has she done other than marry Xavier for the queen to send her an invitation? The mere fact I wanted to invite her here might make her feel she is important. Darius doesn’t think," Vivienne said, standing up from her chair.

Vivienne picked out the flowers from the vase and walked to the fireplace in her bedroom. "My husband sees a pretty face and he does all he can to have that woman."

For the first time, Vivienne had the thought of bringing Selene to the palace solely so Darius could ruin her. Darius’s interest in Selene would die out once he had her and then it would be even more embarrassing for the Blackthorns to accept a woman sullied by the king.

"I do not understand Lord Blackthorn. Why choose a woman like that when the queen is-"

"Silence!" Vivienne ordered Theresa. "Your time to speak freely has passed. I do not want to hear of you comparing me to that woman or the other way around. It doesn’t matter to me since I am married to the king."

Theresa bowed her head. "Forgive me."

Theresa was only trying to lift Vivienne’s spirits since she appeared sad from the time she heard of Lord Blackthorn’s marriage. If she had the chance, Theresa wondered if Vivienne would have left the palace to speak to Lord Blackthorn to convince him not to marry and take her back.

Thanks to being at the queen’s side, Theresa had overheard Darius questioning Vivienne about Xavier.

"The king enters!"

Vivienne sighed, annoyed by the timing of Darius’s visit. Why did he need to bother her now?