The next morning, I woke up refreshed, but remembered the beds from the Duke's house. That reminded me, I wonder if Katie has read his letter yet? What did he say? Reading the character's inner thoughts had made me used to knowing what they were thinking. I had to remind myself that I was now in their world. It wasn't normal to know what someone else was thinking. I would need to ask her if I wanted to know.
I helped Katie get Aza ready for the day and asked casually, "So, what did the Duke say in his letter? If it's too personal, you don't have to tell me. I was just curious. I remember from the novel how obsessed he was with you, but ended up saving you."
She shuddered at the memory of being rescued by Duke Orla when Prince Sigmond held her hostage and tried to kill her. She still had a faint scar on her neck from the slash. She touched her scar as she remembered that incident. It was different to read about it and to see the memories flash in her eyes.
"For the longest time, I tried to avoid him because I could tell that he was obsessed with me. I knew what kind of person he was from the original novel, but I think he changed after he met me somehow. His letter basically said that he wished me well, but if I was unhappy, that he would welcome me as his new duchess. Ugh! He is the last person that I would want to be with. He also mentioned that you were interesting and he was interested in trading with us." She summarized the letter as she sighed and shook her head.
"Huh, well, I did kind of mention trading with him for the beds in his mansion after we spent the night there. Your beds are great, but his beds are luxurious! I had mentioned that I would make a comedy book for him to help him with his future pursuit to find his duchess." I joked, and Katie laughed.
"Yeah, I do miss the beds in the castle, but his Dukedom is much closer to the Kanta mountains. It's not a bad idea. Maybe we can try to set up a trade with him in the spring or summer. He could definitely use a book on humor or comedy. As long as he doesn't try to use it on either of us!" She remarked and laughed as she finished dressing Aza. The weather had started to turn colder, and winter would be here any day now.
We wore thicker layers, sweaters, scarves, and a coat. I was not a fan of cold weather, but this body was surprisingly used to it. I guess it was from growing up in the chilly mountains of Stanarussi. The hallways of the tower were not heated, and Elisabeth did not have any servants to light the fireplace for her, so she got used to the cold. She could always take a hot bath to warm up if she got too cold.
That reminded her of the current project to bring indoor heating to Kanta. Al met them in the living room with Adam, ready to go to the bakery for their morning pastries. He greeted and kissed Katie and Aza and then asked me, "Are you ready to visit Zed at the training grounds? Then, we can go see the blacksmiths, and maybe the craftsman if we have enough time."
I nodded and responded, "It should be a fun day. I'm excited to see more of Ilmir and meet new people."
Al teased, "I think you are excited to meet one person in particular." Katie gave him a look to stop teasing me, and my cheeks blushed.
I changed the subject, "Let's go, I'm hungry and want to see Sia to tell her a few other recipes that I think we can recreate here."
Katie was distracted by the thought of food. "Mmm, those cheesecakes were delicious. I can't wait to try the new foods." Aza smacked her lips at the mention of cheesecake, and Adam's stomach growled. We all laughed and headed to the bakery.
Sia was busy with the morning rush, but her daughter Canaria, was helping her. She was able to spare a few minutes to hear my ideas about herb mayo. She wrote the recipe down eagerly and told us that she would start to experiment after the morning rush slowed down. I also mentioned that she could use the cheesecake batter in the center of the pastries to recreate cherry cheese danishes.
Katie was excited to try the new recipes. We left with our pastries happily. Katie took Aza with her to the library, and I went with Al to drop off Adam at school with Abby. We stopped to greet people on the way to the training grounds.
It was a twenty-minute walk away from the bakery, but the weather was not too frosty yet. They had been working on improving the roads between the towns and from the base of the mountains to Ilmir. It helped to improve their export business and made transportation easier.
Slashing swords and clinking could be heard as we approached the training grounds. I noticed Zed's silver hair and purple eyes as he dualed a native from Raisha. I could tell that Zed was not using his full fighting power based on the different fighting style that I had seen in Lancri.
That time, he was fighting six bandits against one. This time, he was not trying to kill this young warrior. Even though he was holding back, it was obvious that he was still winning.
He was sparring against a new trainee, so he gave the young man feedback on how to improve next time. The young man looked defeated with his shoulders slumped after the lesson, but his mood improved when he noticed the clan leader with a beautiful young lady.