Chapter 74 I Seem To Be A Little Overwhelmed… Maybe
Maeve stared at the hundreds of papers in front of her, her thoughts zeroing on each one with laser focus. How did she manage to put herself in so many projects? How was she foolish enough to think she could handle all of this?
\[DID YOU CALL FOR ME ONLY TO IGNORE MY PRESENCE?\]
NACE made sure that the words it was typing burned achingly bright even while she wasn’t looking. It was making her headache worsen. “Reduce your brightness.”
Maeve’s voice didn’t have the usual kind tone it would have— which was probably why the floating system stopped and then ever so slowly, reduced the light intensity on its screen then popped up right on the table underneath her, \[SOMEONE IS GRUMPY\]
“Want me to regret calling for you?”
\[WOW. YOU ARE A RAY OF SUNSHINE. AN EPITOME OF LOVE. A BRIGHT COLOURFUL POSTERGIRL\]
“Someone’s unhappy about being in the box.” Maeve stopped, her hands reaching into her hair. “How many projects do I even have going on?”
NACE flashed again and the words began to spiral out, \[ELVEN INTEGRATION- STATUS: UNDERWAY. ORC INTEGRATION- STATUS: UNDERWAY. MONTAGUE SILKS AND SINGULARITY- STATUS: LINGERIE LINE PENDING. MERCANTILE GUILD CONTRACT AND DEBT- STATUS- UNDERWAY. MEETING REQUESTED. DIRECTIVE OF BUSINESS CONFUSED. MANA STONE PREPARATION- STATUS: INACTIVE. FARMLAND MANAGEMENT- STATUS: INACTIVE. AMIR’S TRANSFORMATION- STATUS: INACTIVE. THE SO CALLED WEDDING OF THE CENTURY- STATUS: INACTIVE (WHICH IS A SHAME). CHILDREN’S EDUCATION- STATUS: INACTIVE. ORIGINAL ISABELLA’S DEATH- STATUS: ABANDONED? COSMIC BET- ????\]
Maeve stared at the last sentence, her heart slowing as the words played in her head again. Of course, the only reason she was here was because some powerful so called beings had placed a bet on her.
She could remember one. A drawl. An angel of death? The memory was barely sticking anywhere but she knew that he existed. She had searched the books here for any knowledge of bets in the cosmic universe by supernatural beings but seemed there was no information of that.
AND WHY WERE THEY SO MANY PROJECTS?!
\[YOU ARE OVERWORKING YOURSELF\]
“Does that read like a complaint? Never thought I’d see the day.”
\[I CAN ARRANGE A SCHEDULE. I CAN HELP ACCORDING TO OUR CONTRACT. IF YOU ASK—\]
“I don’t need anything from you.” Maeve said, her voice cold. “You know I don’t trust you so we’re not gonna have a whole fight about it. Okay, you nagged me for about 50 chapters to be involved and I am. What more do you people want from me?”
\[I MISSED YOU\]
“You are not real. You can’t ‘miss’ anything.” The words slipped out before she could take them back— and Maeve? She stared at the now blank screen on her desk before asking ever so quietly, “I need more bio information on the other three Pillars. Not now. Maybe when I know how to work around all of this—”
She stopped as the sound of her door being knocked echoed through the study, her voice coming out quieter. “You may leave, NACE.”
\[AFFIRMATIVE\]
Affirmative?
The screen flickered once then disappeared.
The air in the study felt emptier all of a sudden but Maeve didn’t have time to dwell on it as she said, “Come in.”
The oak doors swung open, revealing Lucien who was now walking in with a tray that held a plate and what should be a… cake? And a glass of something else. “You’ve been here since your meeting with the Orcs two days ago. The Countess is worried. The count… he has been sent out of the state for a while, so he can stop having fainting spells. We believed that this might cheer you up,”
Maeve stared at him as he got closer, her face scrunching slightly as she said, “A cake though? I don’t remember teaching anyone about that,”
“The maids say you sleepwalked out of the study and wrote a list for them to follow by three am.” He set the tray down, his eyes glowing slightly as he smiled at her. “You also mentioned something about the Cook having to go to jail and learning how to cook with little resources involving the rats and stones. In that order.”
Maeve pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t sleepwalk,”
“You clearly do now, Isabella,” He didn’t sound upset. Instead, he let out a laugh. “Try it.”
Try it? The cake looked like it was barely holding on and the only safe thing there was the smoothie glass… but something told her that he had a hand in it, and she knew it would be best not to say no.
So she took her fork, and tasted it.
Now, Lucien was fully aware that she couldn’t hide her expressions. If anything, he was banking on it— and he was right.
Her expressions went like this.
First: confusion, as the fork touched her tongue. Second: mild alarm, as her brain registered the texture. Third: pure, unfiltered horror, as the taste fully settled in.
Then she had the audacity to let her lips curl into a smile that made it seem like she was suffering a stroke as she said, “Wow. I have… seen your… ledger rearrangements. Was just reading it right now—”
“You have building plans in front of you.”
“Don’t interrupt me, good sir,” Maeve wasn’t sure if she should keep talking, especially since the food was actively fighting with her to jump out of her mouth and attack her face more than it already was. “What remarkable—”
He held his hand out. “You can spit it—”
She didn’t let him finish the statement.
The glob of a thing fell into his open palm as she hurriedly reached for the smoothie and downed it in a second as he picked the napkin to wipe his hand as she set the glass down and sighed, “I tried to swallow. I did. What was that?”
“Your recipe.” He said, still smiling. “Glad to know you are not good at everything.”
Marge fluttered, already rising from her seat. “Well, excuse me, I can bake a cake. I don’t know what—”
He was already behind her, softly pushing her back down into her chair. “Sit.” Then he squeezed her shoulders gently. “I am glad to have distracted you a little. Everyone else was unsure you would take this distraction with how focused you are.”
“Well, I did wish to see you,” She said, her eyes going back to the table. “You’re very good with managing the money we have and the debt is almost gone… but with the wedding coming up, we need another revenue for money and I will not be using any of my hard earned money.”
“All your money is hard earned. That is a dilemma.”
“I know, right?” She asked, then looked back at her table. “It’s why I’m thinking of this. Starting a sort of… chain of businesses. Chain as in… different brands. But that takes money. And there’s so much my Mother can do. But the wedding also has to look as real as possible—”
“Why?”
Because Cassian has asked for so little and it’s not so much to give anyway.
But she couldn’t say that. Not after that night. Not after the way he looked at her. She knew he still had feelings for her though he was expertly hiding it now. She had so many questions too. What had happened while she was gone. Why he had changed. But there was so little time.
“I—”
The door swung open, ringing in the air like a gunshot as Duke Adrian Valecourt stormed in, his eyes landing on her with a murderous glint in his eyes. “Montague.”
Oh. Oh.
This isn’t good.