A/N: I am now casually shoving this fluff down your throats. Appreciate it while you have it! 😂❤❤❤

Chapter 29

Lithe muscle flexed under the sinfully thin material covering it, sliding along the soft skin I was now so familiar with, glistening with sweat. With quick, agile movements, that braided tail of chestnut-colored hair whipped through the air, each strand reflecting the bright summer sun. I imagined running my hand through each soft strand, remembering what it had felt like curled around my fingers.

"You're drooling."

I turned away from the tantalizing view outside my window to glare at the man beside me. Wufei wasn't even looking in my direction, instead poring over the latest report from the troops manning the borders of Sanc and Romefeller. He was sitting on one of the couches in my study, his usual spot when I called him to my office instead of leaving him alone in his own - a decision I was starting to regret.

"Go back to your office," I told him.

Wufei snorted. "If I didn't keep an eye on you, you would just waste the entire day lusting after the Duchess," he replied snippily. Quatre, also present to deliver the accounting statements from the western towns in the province, smiled at the man's words - clearly amused by it.

"...I'm not lusting."

This only earned me a disbelieving snort and a widened smile.

I took one last look out the window, where Duo was currently embroiled in another sparring session with Geralt. When I'd first learned about his physical training lessons, I'd been taken aback; at no point before the expedition had Duo ever seemed interested in physical exertion.

I'd initially been concerned, thinking this was some remnant trust issue. Duo had never really been fully trusting before, shielding himself with anger and vitriol; I'd chosen guards for him specifically for their professionalism, who showed little to no reaction to his provocations so that he would trust them with his safety. In the end, though, Duo trusted no one - taking only Hilde with him when he could.

"He's improved," Quatre observed, stepping up beside me. He paused and watched as Duo grabbed Geralt's arm and flipped the much larger man over into a shoulder throw. "...Both in speed and strength. Lady Meilan is considering being his sparring partner soon, as Geralt may not be enough anymore."

Duo hadn't been training that long, and grew up as a doted-upon dandy. The rate of improvement was frankly astounding.

I turned away from the window, retaking my seat at the desk. Most of the paperwork regarding our return had been taken care of now, thanks to the combined efforts of myself, Wufei, and Quatre; there was even less this time around, since Duo had stepped up in my absence and handled things both in and outside of the estate.

We'd already started to put in place Duo's orphanage reformation proposal. I'd only made a few small changes here and there, but given the scope of the plan, it would take a while to really get it put in place. The more immediate changes were the smaller programs being utilized, such as the current pathway program.

The pathway program - putting to work some of the older orphans within the provincial capital - was already well underway by the time we returned, and the only interaction I really had with the new hires was during our initial greetings and when I passed them in the halls.

Duo somehow knew all of them by name; I'd never forget the sight of him perched on one of the railings near the stables, talking to the two new stable boys. Neither child seemed afraid of him, despite his status and religious beliefs, one boy even eagerly regaling Duo with what sounded like a romance story.

When I returned from journeys abroad and slipped back into the daily life of the Yuy duchy previously, it had been both a wonderful and painful experience. It was good to return home to those we'd left behind - people like Cathy, Meilan, Howard, Sally, the other servants - and I was proud to be able to return so many of my soldiers back to the arms of their loved ones.

Duo, in the past, had not exactly been waiting for me with open arms. I always considered it good to see him, no matter how much it hurt - because at least I could verify he was uninjured, that he was safe and well cared for. Despite his cold regard, his attitude never really seemed to negatively affect others' opinions of me within the sphere of servants and knights, so that when I came home, everyone fell right back into place without any issue.

This time around, however…

"You need to make a decision about the Captain of the Duchess Guard."

I leveled a glare at Quatre, but he only kept staring right back at me without care. "It's creating dissonance, Your Grace. They can't agree on protocols, which is causing some to take it upon themselves to guard the Duchess on their off days," he pointed out. "It's also fostering distrust, such as when Asahi conveniently 'forgot' to tell anyone of the Duchess's whereabouts."

That had been the night Duo snuck into my room via the balcony. Thankfully, there had yet to be a repeat performance of wall-climbing, although lately Duo had taken to visiting my bedroom at night to discuss his latest research. Usually he went back to his own chambers in time for bed, but sometimes he would get so engrossed in it that the time would fly by, and going all the way back to the Duchess's wing seemed like such a far journey, so he slept in my bed with me.

"...Your Grace, please focus."

I blinked, broken out of my ruminations, and shot Quatre a flustered glare which went ignored by the blonde. "...What is Duo's opinion on Simon?" I asked.

As far as I'd seen, Duo seemed pretty ambivalent with the new guards - acting nowhere near as caustic as he had with them prior to the expedition. He seemed relaxed with his original guard though, often bantering with Mikhail or flinging assorted snacks at Asahi. Even Lyle was perfectly fine interacting with Duo, acting more like an eager puppy ready to heed any order.

"His Grace the Duchess seems to think Simon needs a vacation," Quatre reported tentatively

Wufei perked up from where he sat. "I did notice Simon trying to climb the wall the other day, but he was in full armor and got nowhere," he said. "But I thought that he was just trying to prove a point to Mikhail?"

"Oh, Mikhail can climb walls in full armor," Quatre reported.

We both stared at him.

"All of the original Duchess Guard can," the blonde continued. "I thought the Duchess sent you a letter about that?"

I thought he was exaggerating?!

"It became a necessary part of their training. Commander Broden was...concerned," Quatre explained delicately. I definitely felt like he wasn't saying something, but didn't have time to ask before he continued. "I was disappointed to hear they took away the porcupine relay, though. I thought that would still have been helpful."

That was Wufei's limit. "What were you people doing while we were gone?!"

"Wufei, the Duchess threw himself into a fireplace even though he is deathly afraid of fire," Quatre began, tone suddenly heavy and eyes unusually solemn. "If the guards could not adapt to keep up with him, then what is the point of the guard?"

This only brought to mind how many times we'd failed to protect Duo. The one thing Duke Maxwell had made me swear to, that I thought as the one thing I could give Duo - it was in that capacity I had failed. It still left a bitter taste on my tongue.

So with my choice between Simon, who failed to notice Duo's disappearance from his room for several hours, and Mikhail, who failed to protect Duo in my absence - who would make the better choice for Captain of the Duchess Guard?

"Right- Right- Left."

Step, step, step.

"Right- Right- Lef-"

Step, step, step-

I didn't even flinch as one foot accidentally came down on my own, Duo falling slightly to the side before I caught him under the arm. He grinned up at me in thanks, not at all disheartened by our third consecutive failure to execute the ballroom dance move Lady Aurora had been attempting to teach us for the past two hours.

"Nice reflexes, 'Ro!" Duo said, then added with a wink, "You could even say I've fallen for you."

The words sent a hot rush of excitement through me, but that was quickly doused by Lady Aurora's twitching expression that I could see just past Duo's shoulder.

"This is a fairly simple dance routine, Your Grace," she sighed, though contradictorily, she didn't seem that exasperated by our inability to grasp her lessons. "If you can do at least this dance, then you can participate in most parties."

Duo righted himself in my arms but did not bother fully extricating himself, seemingly content in my hold. The scent of honey-apple was pleasantly wafting off of him even today - was that his favorite perfume now? - and he was dressed in one of his more casual outfits, a soft blue tunic with golden accents, cream-colored pants cuffed at his ankles, and soft, white leather shoes.

"Maybe that's our diabolical plan," Duo replied with a smug smile. "We're going to suck at dancing so badly that we never have to step foot on the dance floor."

"Truly a sad day for the Yuy family's reputation, but I suppose it would suffer just as much if you did choose to dance."

"Ouch," Duo snickered, head moving closer to me.

I briefly tightened my grip on his hands in silent reassurance.

Dance lessons were something I barely learned; between my upbringing in seclusion with my mother and then learning more how to manage a duchy and lead our forces in battle, dancing and other high-nobility etiquette lessons had essentially fallen to the wayside. My father prioritized the skills he believed I would need to survive battle and ones I would need to run the province, which left me bereft of the manners and etiquette expected by other nobles.

I'd had a tutor here and there who tried to give me those lessons, and began to study them more earnestly once I'd become engaged to Duo; however, I'd never had the chance to really practice dancing with a partner. My friends had to learn the etiquette themselves, and Duo had of course refused to even touch me, let alone dance with me.

It's what had made Quatre's suggestion of involving me in Duo's lessons the other day so surprising, the surprise only doubling at Duo's happy agreement. The tutor they'd hired for Duo was a renowned Countess with close ties both to the Yuy's and the Maxwell's, which was why she had been chosen to tutor Duo after amnesia had essentially erased all he knew about etiquette.

There were some things Duo just knew or could do, almost like muscle memory - that's how he was able to still do embroidery. Dancing, however, was something Duo said he'd repeatedly failed at succeeding in, almost as if even his body had no idea how to do the steps.

"Alright, ready to give it another go?" Duo asked me brightly.

Unthinkingly, I nodded even as words slipped out of my mouth, "I don't need toes anyway."

I froze. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. I would gladly lose as many toes as Duo needs-

Duo burst out laughing, smacking me on the arm with surprising strength. "Hey now, you stepped on my toes TWICE! And you're made of like, solid muscle - you're at least seven bags of potatoes worth!"

...Bags of potatoes?

"I'm...sorry?" I said blankly. "I'm not a very good dancer."

Duo continued giggling. "Yeah, 'Ro, I know. Lady Aurora made it pretty clear we both suck."

"Duchesses do not say things 'suck,' Your Grace," Lady Aurora interrupted blandly. "That's inappropriate language."

Duo looked nonplussed, "See? I suck at multiple things."

My mind blanked out for a moment.

Duo gave me another supportive smack on the arm. "So don't sweat it! Let's just get this over with, and then we can both head back and give our feet a good soak."

Moving back into proper position, Duo and I began attempting to move in the proper sequence. Dancing with Duo (or trying to dance with Duo) was quickly becoming one of my favorite things; it was something I could never dream of experiencing before, and with Duo held so closely and intimately to me, it was like the most pleasurable torture.

It also brought to mind some less favorable memories. As a ducal couple, there were plenty of functions we had to attend, especially while in residence in the Capital; we were obligated to attend together as a married couple, as Duo had repeatedly sneered at me, but that obligation did not extend to the dance floor.

In retrospect, however, I realized Duo danced very little; not at all, of course - I clearly remember him spinning around the dance floor in Count Otto's arms during the Crown Prince's last birthday, but that had been a dance where his partner would have been the lead. I had thought that Duo had disliked me, to the point where he would refuse my hand even if offered - but perhaps it went past that. Perhaps, just like the Duo now, he was just not that gifted in dancing...

It was an intriguing thought, though it still pained me a little. If I had been a good husband, I would have known; but instead, I'd attributed it to his discontent with his partner, painted Duo once again with the same brushstroke. If Duo's memories never came back, I wonder what would haunt me more: never knowing the answer, or the guilt of feeling relieved?

We got about halfway through a proper waltz before I ended up crossing my steps a second or two too early, sending the both of us crashing to the ground - Duo safely landing on me with a low "Oomph!"

Lady Aurora sighed, "I can't fault your synchronicity - I'm just disappointed that you harmonize in lack of dancing skills."

"Every man has a weakness," Duo snickered, still laying on top of me. He patted my chest in a consoling manner, and I suddenly lost the ability to breathe. "Heero would be too good otherwise."

"You're good," I wheezed out.

"He's not," Lady Aurora corrected primly. "The fact that he's still lying on the ground instead of getting up is proof enough of that."

"Just leave me here," Duo faux-wailed, rolling off of me to flop dramatically onto the ground.

I grabbed his hand without actually getting up. "We're in this together, Duo," I reminded him solemnly.

"No, Heero, please - save yourself!"

"I won't leave you."

Lady Aurora was too proper to roll her eyes but I got the feeling it was a near-thing. "I suppose this is where we should call it a day," she stated.

Duo sat up immediately. "Well, if you're sure…" he grinned at her unrepentantly. "It's been lovely to have you over as always, madame."

"Say that once you're off the ground."

Duo only snickered, flopping back down. I quickly stuck my arm out so that his head landed on my outstretched bicep, which I judged to be softer than the wooden floor.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Lady Aurora bowed, all professionalism.

"Thank you for the lesson."

"See you next week~!"

As Lady Aurora made her exit, Duo rolled off my arm and back up to his feet. I saw the agility Quatre had mentioned before in his movements, and despite the amount of dancing we'd done, he didn't even look winded. This was a far cry from before, where even a strenuous walk had made him huff and puff.

He really had gotten stronger. I wouldn't have considered Duo necessarily weak before, but he had not been as physically gifted as the knights - which was normal, as far as Sanc nobility went. Unless they were classically trained in sword arts, as many male aristocrats and dames were, or were expected to lead in battle, as those of us in the Yuy duchy were, then most Sanc nobles did not bother with physical training.

Duo was raised as the second-born son and had started training as a dandy very early in his life, so building muscle was hardly ever a concern for him. He'd been healthy as long as I've known him, even before our engagement, never having really suffered from any illness as a young adult. Sally had theorized that maybe he'd overcome most illnesses when he was young, given how protective Duke Maxwell had been of his youngest son's health: keeping Duo safely ensconced in the Maxwell territory and hardly letting him out of sight. Even after our marriage and with the subtle change in diet, Duo's health was hardly affected.

Physical training was new, however - and something I had not expected Duo to pick up, memories or no memories. Vice-Commander Broden seemed to think Duo didn't trust in the ability of his knights (I managed to make that out through the man's tear-choked apologies), and while I was tempted to agree, none of Duo's interactions with the knights really convinced me of it. If anything, Duo seemed to think the knights were too protective.

Which did seem like a fair point given that Berion was perched outside the window; he was partnered with Souta today, who was posted outside the door like a normal guard.

Thankfully, they were also the only guards present; after giving back control of the Duchess Guard to now-Captain Mikhail, they'd finally stopped doing out-of-rotation assignments and were back to their above-table scheduling. Trowa apparently had to set the hard limit on the number, since Mikhail seemed to have been a bit...zealous. To my surprise, Simon had also requested to remain in the Duchess Guard, and though some of his men had been moved into a different battalion, both Takeo and Frederick had elected to follow their leader and stay in the Guard - leaving the official Duchess Guard number at thirteen.

"We should eat something," Duo began, reaching a hand towards me to help me up. "Let's go bug Morris for snacks."

Morris always had something to snack on at hand since Duo had started making a habit of visiting the kitchen - either to speak with the servants who worked there or to make adjustments to the menu.

I didn't tell Duo this, though, instead grabbing his hand and allowing him to hoist me up to my feet. I felt my eyes widen in surprise when, instead of helping him pull my weight up, he ended up toppling over at the pull and falling right back on top of me.

He ended up sprawled over me, head bumping against my chin as I tried to catch him. I got a sharp elbow to the gut for my effort, although Duo landed safely atop me if slightly angled, our legs slotted together and bodies far too close that if we hadn't been married, it would have been scandalous.

"Sorry," I apologized immediately, words muttered into the mouthful of Duo's hair that ended up smacking me in the face. Was I too heavy? He did say I was about seven bags worth of potatoes, and despite the physical training, Duo was still a delicate dandy. Even now, he was trembling in my arms-

...Wait, trembling?

I looked down at the bowed head, noted the way he had one hand clutched to my sleeve. Did he really-? "Duo… Did you fall on purpose? "

He burst out laughing in reply.

This man-! I felt my eyes narrow at the response, but oddly, I didn't feel anything like annoyance or embarrassment. Having failed to accurately learn the proper dance and after making unfortunate contact with the floor for the umpteenth time in the past hour, frustration would have been an expected reaction - but with Duo's body half-sprawled over mine as he laughed at the small prank he played on me, the only feeling that surged up was affection.

Duo was snickering as he pushed himself up so that he was more leaned over me than lying on top of me. "Sorry, 'Ro, but your face was too good!" he said, resting his weight on his heels as he sat essentially on my lap, not at all bothered by either the position or the proximity.

"Aren't you tired of falling on top of me today?" I asked him dryly. I hesitated only briefly before giving in to my urge - lightly tugging on the end of his long braid in playful chastisement.

Duo's grin morphed into a sharp smile. The sight of it shocked me for a moment - it was close to the look I sometimes saw on his face prior to his memory loss, in those few fleeting moments of understanding that we had shared when faced with the same opponent in Sanc's court.

"Yanking hair now?" Duo leered. Contrary to my expectations, however, he did not get up; instead, his hands reached for my head and then I felt his fingers run through my hair, the sensation both soothing and pleasurable.

That is, before he roughly started ruffling my hair.

This somehow made it even more striking; I felt electrified, blood pounding hard in my veins and body noting every minute shift in Duo's form leaned over mine. His close proximity made the scent of sweat and honey-apple sharper, and I became overly conscious of my hands and where'd they fallen - namely, resting on Duo's lower back and still wrapped around his soft tail of hair.

Without much conscious thought, I flipped us over.

"Ack-!" fell out of Duo's mouth. My eyes felt drawn to it but I held myself steady above him, keeping him gently pinned to the floor, arms held in my grip so that he didn't run those teasing fingers over my skin or in my hair again.

Duo didn't seem at all perturbed by our changed positions, grinning up at me in satisfaction. I got the feeling he was just about to make a go at wrestling me, could feel the way his pulse jumped under my hands, the way his irises grew slightly wider at the sight of me above him.

There was a hard, rapid knock on the door before Wufei strode in with a curt "Pardon us," followed by Quatre. The dark-haired man's steps stopped abruptly, eyes going wide at the scene as I remained frozen atop Duo.

"Oh, hi guys!" Duo greeted them brightly, one hand fisting the front of my shirt after having wriggled it out of my slackened hold; given our positions, it was difficult to tell if he was going to use it to flip me over or pull me down closer.

Wufei didn't say anything, his mouth opening and closing as his face turned bright red, whereas Quatre had calmly grabbed Wufei's arm and was beginning to tug the man backwards. Behind them and in the open doorway, I noticed Souta poking his head in to watch.

"We apologize for interrupting," the blonde stated, smiling in such a way that I just knew he had correctly gauged what we had been up to and was acting like he didn't. "We'll come back at another time."

With those foreboding words, Quatre dragged Wufei out.

I looked back down, feeling my face stiffen in embarrassment, but my eyes only met Duo's contemplative expression as his violet eyes tracked my friends' exit. "...Quatre has a surprisingly dirty mind, huh?" he muttered.

I couldn't tear my eyes off his soft, plush lips. "Yes, he's a bit of a pervert," I told him steadily, feeling absolutely no remorse.

Duo burst out laughing under me.

"In the drawing room?" Wufei hissed at me, for what had to be the third time today. "We have meetings there!"

Wufei had apparently needed a whole day to recover from walking in on mine and Duo's tussling match, in order to work up the correct amount of embarrassed rage. He'd even sat quietly through dinner the previous night and breakfast this morning without a single word or contemptuous glance at Duo, although once we had settled into our daily duties in my study, and Duo had been whisked away for physical training, Wufei finally let loose.

"For the last time, we were not fornicating in the drawing room," I stated again, inflectionless. The very idea was enough to distract me, both by the mental image - and also for how inappropriate it would be. If Duo and I were ever to have that kind of intimate encounter, our first time would not be on the floor of the drawing room…

"Please focus, Your Grace," Quatre piped up, not looking up from his ledger.

Gah.

I cleared my throat. "We were practicing dancing and Duo just...fell," I tried to explain.

"So what, his amnesia took away his ability to dance too?" Wufei snipped.

Quatre perked up, putting down his ledger in order to give me a curious look. "Come to think of it, His Grace the Duchess never really spent much time on the dance floor, even before his amnesia," he said. "Even when I practiced dancing with him after the fact, he hadn't really taken to it."

I frowned. "He practiced with you?"

The look Quatre gave me would have been described as patronizing had it come from anyone else. "I'm one of the few present here at the estate who actually knows how to dance," he told me. "Aside from Lady Meilan, although after the last practice they had together where they tried careening each other around the room, Lady Aurora forbid Lady Meilan from being the Duchess's dance partner."

...That made too much sense.

"That doesn't explain how you ended up on top of the Duchess on the floor of the drawing room," Wufei interjected waspishly.

"...It's a long story," I said, mouth closing and refusing to say more.

Wufei's look was not inspiring.

"What have you been reading, Wufei?" Quatre asked, the intention to change the subject obvious.

Wufei snorted. "Something more appropriate than full-body contact dancing," he replied, then paused as his dark eyes fell back on the sheaf of papers he was holding as if in doubt of his own words. "..the Duchess and I are discussing important matters via written correspondence."

I moved my glare from Quatre to Wufei. "You're writing to Duo?"

"About what?" Quatre asked, much more pleasant but sounding just as confused as me.

Wufei scowled, not meeting either of our gazes. "Originally, we were discussing etiquette befitting those of the nobility," he stated stiffly. "And now we've moved on to court law. Among other things."

"Among other things?"

Wufei shuffled the papers uneasily, face contorting like he was struggling to pull it into a solemn expression, his eyes locked onto what I now realized were Duo's words. "...We may have also discussed the lack of good drinking alternatives, and the importance of the literary arts."

...Are they a book club now?

First dancing with Quatre, now exchanging letters with Wufei… When I wished Duo would get along with my friends, this is not exactly what I had in mind.

"The importance of literary arts?" Quatre echoed again in question.

Wufei nodded. "Since His Grace the Duchess wanted to open schooling to all children within the duchy, he wanted my opinion on what classes to include. Literature as taught in Sanc differs from our literature in Lagrange, and he wanted to know if it was possible to include Lagrangian literature and art in the curriculum," Wufei explained.

I was happy to see that Duo was still actively interested in the plan he'd set in motion, but also a little disappointed he hadn't come to me first. "I didn't know he was interested in incorporating works from Lagrange," I admitted, tone flat.

Quatre gave me a knowing glance. "It's natural to ask someone actually from Lagrange first, in order to get a good grasp of the content," he pointed out. "I'm sure he meant to present his findings to you once he had it all compiled. The Duchess likes to have everything worked out first before making his case to someone else."

Wufei scowled, "Except for whatever the hell it is he does in his study. Meilan came back from there with singed sleeves and would not explain why."

I suppose Duo was a bit chaotic when it came to the experiments he ran. Still… "If you're that wary, you don't have to be involved," I told him.

Wufei eyed me askance. "Are you jealous of the pastries that the Duchess eats since they also get to touch his tongue?" he asked me sarcastically.

"...I haven't touched Duo's tongue yet."

Wufei looked away from me, "Stop talking to me immediately."

As nobles in Sanc, we were obligated to adhere to certain customs and traditions. As the duchy in control of Sanc's military, we were allowed certain exceptions - such as when I was allowed to take in foreign citizens and given them positions of power in my duchy, or even being able to miss events and celebrations while serving abroad.

Fall was soon approaching, and with it, the Autumn Equinox - a special event held in the Capital by the royal family. Officially, it was a three-day-long event that culminated into the Hunt; however, nobles were expected to come to the Capital much earlier in order to prepare themselves for the celebration. For us in the Yuy duchy, the journey to the Capital was an event in itself; we were one of the furthest provinces from the Capital and the journey itself took a little less than a month.

With Howard reassigned and already well on his way to our residence in the Capital, the new Head Butler - Jiroh - was now responsible for helping prepare for the journey and also maintaining our residence here in the duchy since all of my close confidants, as well as the Duchess, would be going to the Capital.

"I'm going too?!"

But it seemed someone had neglected to inform Duo of this.

"Of course," Quatre explained patiently. Everyone was gathered in my study again, though it was mostly unplanned; Quatre and Wufei were there to go over reports, Trowa was present to give his own report on training, and then Duo had stopped by to show me his latest experiment with the strange Aoba-ku mineral.

"I thought I had to stay here because of the whole- you know," Duo continued, gesturing to his head with a short whistle. "It's not like we've gone around telling people I don't remember anything."

The official story was that Duo had suffered some persevering aftereffects of the greenhouse fire and he'd spent the past year recuperating at home. If this had happened at our Capital residence, it would have been much harder to keep him isolated given that every now and then, Duo would entertain visitors there; however, at our residence in the Yuy duchy, there were practically no visitations except by his former lovers.

"Miss Hilde will be with you at all times when you're outside of the estate in the Capital. She's been with you since you married and knows enough about the nobles you used to interact with," Quatre said. "At official functions where she cannot be beside you, you will just have to stay with the Duke."

I was hardly ever approached at such events, given my non-noble lineage on my mother's side. The other nobles may speak ill of me behind my back all day long, but few ever did so to my face nowadays - I've become too known for my combat skills, and though the aristocrats may not care for me, I'd already gained recognition from the Crown.

"This means I have to go to more tea parties, doesn't it?" Duo frowned.

Wufei smirked at him, looking smug. "I'm sure they'll offer you only their best selection of cakes and pastries, Your Grace," he said, too patronizing to even feign a conciliatory tone.

Duo turned a vicious grin on him. "You sound jealous, Wufei - I'd be happy to invite you to all of my tea breaks in the meanwhile. Chef Morris has really outdone himself with the latest selection of sweets."

I knew Duo didn't really like sweets, but when did he start using them to threaten people?

Wufei's smirk quickly turned into a small scowl.

And why the hell was the threat so effective?

"It's not the other nobles that we should be concerned about," Wufei continued, obviously trying to redirect the conversation back. "They're so self-obsessed that I doubt they'd notice even if we put Winner in a wig and paraded him around as the Duchess."

"That's an image," Duo snickered.

Wufei paused briefly, a long-suffering expression flashing across his face. I supposed that was an improvement on the usual disdain. "...The actual concern is your family, Your Grace. Both Duke Maxwell and Young Master Solo Maxwell will also be in residence at the Capital."

According to early reports from Howard and Quatre, there had been no contact from the Maxwell's. That in and of itself was not too unusual; while in residence at the Yuy provincial estate, there would be little contact from Duo as he preferred only to see visitors while in the Capital or travel to other provinces, such as Armonia and Clark. To my knowledge, Duo had never visited the Maxwell province since we married, and most of the contact between him and his blood family was limited to their interactions in the Capital.

The oddity was that even though most nobles had heard about the greenhouse fire and how Duo had been spending the past year in recovery - there had still been no response from Duke Maxwell.

Some people would think it's because of the heretical nature of their religion; they were followers of the Harvester, after all, and what did they care that one of their own had come so close to death?

Even those who weren't so blinded by their ignorance would just think that Duke Maxwell and his firstborn son didn't care. There had been whispers of Duo's fall from grace after our engagement was first announced: they had married Duo to Yuy's bastard son, after all. If they had actually cared about him, they would have chosen a pureblood noble.

The gossip had been squashed pretty quickly after it had started, and people were just left to their own quiet musings on how I'd tied one of the most desired dandies to me. The truth was something that only the Maxwell's really understood, and what I could only guess at.

The lack of correspondence from them, however, was concerning to us not because it meant Duke Maxwell didn't know or care about Duo's state - but instead that he already knew.

The question was, just how much of the situation had Duke Maxwell's spies gleaned?

"I guess it would be a little weird if I said no to the family reunion?" Duo suggested.

I shook my head. "Your relationship with your family was...strained, in some ways, but you did not reject their invitations or visits," I explained carefully. Even married to someone else, it would be unthinkable for Duo to reject such invitations from his blood kin; it would have made them the hottest topic in gossip circles, something Duo previously would never have allowed.

For all his silent contempt for his family, Duo had denied them nothing. When he was made a dandy at a young age, when he was required to attend all functions with his older brother as his partner, when he was betrothed to marry; his dislike may be obvious, but not once had he ever said no. A lot of that had to do with reputation, and that was one thing Duo was very careful to maintain.

The question for us now was - should we continue to hide his amnesia from his family, or get it out in the open?

On one side, they would be very helpful in keeping Duo's vulnerability secret and would add an extra layer of protection. On the other hand, because of the aforementioned strained relationship, I wasn't entirely confident they wouldn't exploit Duo's vulnerability for their own benefit. Duke Maxwell had seemed concerned for Duo's well-being, but Solo Maxwell was...difficult.

Solo Maxwell had never been as disdainful as Duo, nor as frank as Duke Maxwell; he was friendly to me even at social events, wherein any kind word directed my way earned scoffs from his peers. If he cared as much about my bloodline as his brother did, he never showed it.

Also unlike most of his aristocratic peers, he was a highly-competent fighter. He was never on the frontlines as often as myself or others in the Yuy province, but the Maxwell family was not known for that - instead preferring to work behind the scenes, infiltrating enemy ranks or striking out when the enemy least expected it.

Solo Maxwell had taken the skills so honed by the training implemented in the Maxwell duchy and amplified them to the highest degree. He always seemed to have his fingers in something, whether it be assassination or political intrigue. It's what made him such a valuable ally - and also a worrisome enemy.

"I believe it would be in our best interest to keep your amnesia hidden for as long as possible," I began, looking to Duo to gauge his reaction. "It's not that I don't trust your family, but…"

But I didn't trust them. Not really.

"The more people that know about it, the more likely that knowledge is to spread," Quatre added in support so that I did not have to lie more than necessary.

Duo didn't seem to really care either way, although his brows furrowed in concern. "How're we going to convince them that I'm- me?"

"I'm not entirely sure we can," Quatre admitted.

Wufei nodded. "They will undoubtedly pick up on the fact that something is wrong. What we really need to focus on is mitigating those risks," he pointed out. "As long as we don't spell it out for them, they'll never have direct confirmation - only suspicions."

Trowa sighed quietly from his place leaned against the wall near the fireplace. "Explain nothing, admit nothing? That's our plan?" His green eyed-gaze focused on Duo. "What if His Grace the Duchess slips up and admits to not knowing something he should?"

"I can pretend it just slipped my mind," Duo suggested.

Trowa didn't reply, but the look on his face was hardly supportive.

"Hey, I'm pretty good at acting," Duo pouted. "I pretend I'm listening to your daily sermon about personal safety every morning!"

Trowa's expression didn't change but the air around him definitely shifted. He'd been giving Duo daily updates about any recent developments in the poisoning investigation, at my and Quatre's request. I suppose at some point, that eventually evolved into personal safety recommendations, likely as a result of Mikhail's paranoia and Vice-Commander Broden's blubbering.

"If you care as little for acting appropriately with your family as you do for your personal safety, then my point stands, Your Grace."

"Yeah, just like your hair."

"..." Trowa turned away, refusing to acknowledge the statement or Duo's smug smile.

Quatre completely ignored the childish back-and-forth. "Even though they are related, contact has always been minimal between the Duchess and the Maxwell family after the marriage. As long as the Duke accompanies him to any engagements, there should be less risk," he rationalized. "As for the other nobles of Sanc, it is unlikely they will bring up any discrepancies in your behavior, Your Grace. You always managed your social circle very well."

What Quatre really meant was that Duo had scared his followers so effectively that they only parroted what he wanted them to say.

"Fake it 'til you make it," Duo translated with a grin.

Quatre smiled. "Exactly," he nodded, pleased.

...Usually the sight of Duo's smile made me happy, but what was this ominous feeling…?

A/N: Time to go to the Capital! ROAD TRIP~!

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