Alina walked back to her room alone. Outside, the corridor was quiet. Her footsteps echoed softly as she walked, too loud in the silence.

When she reached her room, she closed the door and leaned against it for a moment.

I am overthinking. The maids were probably mistaken. Rosilyn had lived in Ravenmoor for an year. Of course she knew Austin’s habits.

But Austin’s behavior in the study unsettled her.

The way he avoided looking at Rosilyn and the tension in his shoulders.

And

She reminds me of a part of my life I don’t like remembering.

Austin had never spoken to her like that before. Tonight, for the first time he had hidden something from her.

Maybe he isn’t ready yet. But why?

That disturbed her even more than the maids’ words.

"I need to stop drawing conclusions," she muttered to herself.

She shook her head, took a deep breath and sat at her desk.

Emeric,

How is the investigation going? We’re losing time. We need those files desperately. Whatever you can send, send it. I don’t care if it’s incomplete or unverified anymore. We just need something we can use against Audrey.

Alina.

She sealed the letter and left it outside for the night courier.

Then she tried to sleep but failed. The room felt too cold and unfamiliar. She kept turning sides but still wasn’t comfortable. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Austin’s face.

Eventually she sat up in frustration. She missed him. She missed his arm around her waist, missed the warmth of his chest behind her, missed waking up tangled in blankets because he always pulled her closer unconsciously during the night.

Finally, unable to bear the emptiness anymore, she grabbed her pillow and walked to his room. Austin was also awake. He sat on the bed with a book in his lap. But he hardly read anything.

Surprise flickered across his face when she opened the door. Then his eyes moved to the pillow in her arms and a smile appeared on his lips immediately.

"I can’t sleep alone," she said.

He closed the book and moved over.

"Come here."

Alina get on the bed beside him as he extinguished the candle. They both lay down on their respective sides but didn’t speak.

Then Austin moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Alina sighed in relief.

"I missed this so much," she murmured.

"Why are you being so dramatic?" he laughed.

"I was emotionally suffering. But you saved me," she replied.

Then she curled closer to him, sliding her one leg between his.

"I hate sleeping without you," she confessed. "The bed feels enormous."

"Because it is enormous."

"It is empty as well."

"Then move back in here," he said, brushing her hair.

She lifted her head slightly to look at him, though she could barely see his face in the darkness.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But I thought you must be happy," she teased him. "You remember, you complained about me stealing your blankets."

"Because you do steal everything," he laughed. "Blankets, pillows, strawberries, and most importantly my peace."

"And yet?"

"And yet," he repeated, pulling her closer. "I sleep better when you’re here."

The words took all her exhaustion away. Her smile widened and she kissed her jaw.

"You’re being suspiciously sweet tonight," she said.

"Because you arrived carrying a pillow like an abandoned wife. I felt pity."

Alina gasped dramatically.

"How cruel."

"You interrupted my reading."

She snickered.

"You had the book’s first page open, which was blank," she shot back.

He laughed again. Alina lifted her face and rested her forehead against his. Then she brushed her nose with his.

When his lips finally met hers, it was slow and deep. Alina moaned and Austin titled his head and kissed her with more hunger. Their tongues battled inside their mouths while her toes curled against his leg.

When they finally pulled apart, their foreheads were still touching each other.

"There," she whispered smugly. "You definitely missed me."

"I did," he confessed.

She smiled and buried herself in his chest again.

Within minutes, his breathing slowed. Alina too closed her eyes and fell asleep resting her head on his chest instead of the pillow she had brought.

Who needed a cotton pillow when you have a human pillow?

While Alina finally drifted into peaceful sleep,

Rosilyn sat alone by the window in her room. Her knees were pulled against her chest as she stared out into the dark courtyard below.

She had heard the servants earlier. Their whispers had followed her through the corridor even when they thought she was out of hearing range.

The duke’s old bed warmer.

She came back because she has nowhere else to go.

Pathetic.

She is taking advantage of Lady Alina.

If she is her friend, then why can’t she see she is making things complicated for her?

Rosilyn had walked past them without reacting.

What could she have said? They weren’t wrong.

Should I leave Ravenmoor before I make things more difficult for Alina?

Meanwhile, in the other part of the castle, Harrington couldn’t sleep either. His desk was covered with reports. He rubbed his temple as he read the same file again and again.

He reopened the file of her ex-husband and read through it again carefully.

The file mentioned he had a small farm in the east and was living a quiet and peaceful life there. He had been staying there since ge got divorced and never left the town. Theee was no unusual financial activity as well.

There was no evidence that connected him to the armed men camped near Ravenmoor’s borders.

If her ex-husband isn’t behind this...then who is?

His eyes moved towards another report lying open nearby.

The attack on Austin whose culprit still wasn’t caught and the unidentified informant who was probably still hiding somewhere inside the castle.

The timing was too perfect. Rosilyn arrived immediately after the investigation stalled.

Someone has pointed Lady Rosilyn towards Ravenmoor deliberately. Someone wanted her here.

He immediately stood up,already on his way to tell everything to Austin. But then stopped.

"Waking up His Grace in the middle of the night with half-formed theories would only create panic," he muttered.

He sighed and sat in his chair again. Then he picked up his quill and began writing.

Double the surveillance on the men near the eastern border. I want to know everything aboit them as soon as possible.

Also begin discreet investigation into Rosilyn’s movements during the last six months. I want details of every person she contacted before arriving at Ravenmoor.

And report directly to me.

Harrington.