A/N: The author wants to gently remind her readers that this story is still rated T for now and may just stay there, depending on what rating necromancy (and all it entails) falls under.

Chapter 34

Looking up at the view before me, I couldn't help but remember the tiny little apartment back in New York.

The Yuy residence in the Capital was smaller in size than the one back in our province - but that did not mean it wasn't still ridiculously large by any other standard. It towered at three stories, crafted from limestone with steeply pitched slate roofs. The recessed entrance was two stories tall, flanked by large bay windows where white curtains hung inside to partially block the view of the interior. The building was even greater in width, stretching outwards to the east with a one-story tall L-shaped extension of the same design - likely this wing served as the servant quarters, given the hidden entrance.

Tall shrubs obscured part of the pathway to the back of the home, and though we had to trudge through about four miles of city to get to the part of the Capital where most nobles lived while in residence, there was still a sense of privacy here as wrought-iron gates enclosed most of the property, centering the building itself in the middle of lush, cultured gardens that stretched for a good half-mile from any fencing.

I could also understand why Heero had left with such a small retinue. Given the Yuy estate in our province and the function of the Yuy duchy, we housed a majority of our militia in or nearby our home. Here in the Capital, however, this estate served only as a home and not as the headquarters of an army - so all we had was a modest amount of knights needed for any noble's protection.

I was grateful once again that Heero had allowed me to bring my entire Duchess Guard. While I still didn't think I needed that many people to protect me, it was nice to have plenty of familiar faces around instead of having to deal with even more new people.

The estate servants were already lined up outside to receive us, and as someone finally on the other side of this kind of welcome, I could whole-heartedly understand the subtle disgruntled looks of the staff. The summer air was sticky in the Capital as well, and being forced to stand outside just to see some people get off a carriage or horse has got to be one of the low points of the day.

"WELCOME, HIS GRACE THE DUKE AND HIS GRACE THE DUCHESS!"

Jesus fucking Christ, I always forget how loud the greeting is.

Mikhail opened the door to the carriage but I knew I had to wait for Heero to dismount from his own horse and then offer me a hand out first, as was custom. I was supposed to be the first out as well, so Meilan, Hilde, and Coralina would have to wait too.

At least Coralina seemed excited. I knew this was her first time outside of the Yuy province, so I had already made plans to ensure that she got plenty of vacay time while we were here to go explore. Hilde and Meilan, on the other hand, looked vaguely constipated; as veteran travelers, they probably couldn't care less and just wanted out of the carriage.

Maybe if I just stand up and then 'accidentally' fall out-

"Do not move until the Duke comes over," Hilde stated icily.

Urgh. Why does she always know?!

I shot Hilde a mulish look but obediently kept my butt in my seat. I didn't want to do things out of order and ruin the welcoming party for Heero, and there were certain procedures to follow when it came to the nobles returning to their residence.

Hilde had been instrumental in ensuring I knew the ins-and-outs of life in the Capital. Usually there was someone sitting in on her little lessons though, such as Quatre or Wufei - likely the result of her previous trespasses against me. However, as the personal attendant to other-me, she was the only person to actually know what I had been up to given how other-me had blocked off everyone else.

Hilde had given me a rundown of all of the nobles I knew in the Sanc court. Heero and them had decided to hide my amnesia while I stayed in the Capital, even from the servants; the reasoning behind this was because of possible security leaks.

It made sense, I guess. I didn't know much about the Yuy estate in the Capital; it was hardly featured in the book, since Relena either stayed in the palace or in the estate of Duke Darlian. She had no reason to visit Heero's estate in the Capital while she had access to her own lodgings, unlike when she was traveling and had to stay in the Yuy provincial estate.

The novel could not help me understand the Yuy estate here in the Capital, but it wasn't like I was walking in completely blind. I knew other-me's personality and seen how he'd affected the servants back in the Yuy province, so I'd likely be walking into something similar.

Hilde's own reports on other-me's behavior while staying in this estate matched my expectations. At best, other-me ignored the servants; at worst, he verbally cut them down or fired them. There was even one notable moment when a meal had not been up to other-me's standards, so he'd had all of the food thrown out of the estate and forbid the servants from eating the whole day.

Really, he never made things easy for me…

Things were already underway outside of the carriage. From what I could see out of the window, Heero and the others had dismounted and were on their way over to us. Some of the servants who had been waiting for us were already on the move, heading either back indoors or towards the loaded wagons to help move luggage.

A hand was held out to me from just beyond the carriage door.

I stared at it in confusion. I was sure that Heero was the one who was supposed to help me disembark - I'd had carriage-riding etiquette beat into me by the esteemed Lady Aurora - and even if he couldn't, then that role would fall to either Quatre, Wufei, or one of my guards. Hell, even Hilde could qualify for the part as long as she got out of the carriage first.

"Welcome back, Your Grace the Duchess," the man holding out his hand to me fairly purred. The hairs on the back of my neck seemingly stood on end at the ingratiating smile, underneath which was the tailored butler uniform with the addition of the special patch worn only by those who held a distinct role in the household.

So why was the Head Butler trying to escort me out of the carriage?

I didn't get a chance to ask, because then Hilde was beside me and soundly slapped the proffered hand away.

"You misunderstand your role, Tubarov," Hilde said, voice cool and crisp.

Tubarov retracted his hand, smile disappearing as he glared at her. "I was simply helping His Grace out of the carriage, as usual," he replied, tone polite and eyes ice cold. "There was no need for such violence."

Meilan quietly scoffed behind me; doubtlessly, a simple slap of the hand didn't constitute violence to her. The mini staredown now taking place between Hilde, half out of the carriage, and Tubarov, still waiting beside it, was enough to finally garner the attention of Heero and the others who were quickly making their way over.

"Tubarov, step aside," Heero ordered briskly, eyes looking past the butler and into the carriage.

I grinned in relief when he finally met my eyes, trying to tell him exclusively through prolonged eye contact and fleeting facial expressions that I had no idea what was going on. Tubarov stepped aside, although I caught the quick flash of surprise on his face at the order. The nearby estate servants had similar reactions, glancing over at us and pausing briefly in their tasks to watch.

It wasn't hard to put the clues together - most likely, other-me had never accepted Heero's help out of the carriage and instead preferred the help of the butler Tubarov. The fact that both Heero and Hilde were insistent on following custom and that I was allowing it was enough to shock them.

I did not look forward to the coming days. Getting Coralina and the others to relax around me had taken months. Now I'd have to go through the whole process again, only this time I didn't get to excuse everything with 'amnesia'. Now I only had to go with an unexplained change of heart, but as Hilde reminded me, I was not obligated to explain myself to anyone. In fact, it would be better if I explained as little as possible.

"Duo," Heero murmured, holding out his hand for me. His facial expression belied little, but the look in his eyes said more than enough. Heero always looked at me as if he could see nothing and no one else, and had no desire to do so; the way his eyes fell on me, either the whole of me or just one specific part, there was a hunger there I only recognized now after we'd kissed.

We'd only kissed a few more times since that evening in Oakwall by the river. It felt strange to count them; I'd had my fair share of partners back in New York, and we'd definitely gone further than kissing, but there was something different about such intimacy with Heero. In New York, it was about simply feeling good; with Heero, it felt even better, but to me there was something much deeper than just pleasure.

During one of our last nights on the road, I'd visited him in his tent after dinner. I could still taste some of the spice on his tongue as we kissed, as pleasurable heat rolled over me with every minute spent just feeling Heero: his hands in my hair and on my back, his mouth moving against mine. Every time Heero touched me, it was with a certain reverence that left me breathless.

We hadn't done more than kiss. Heero seemed reluctant to go any further, but the reasons why were too numerous and I was too scared to ask. Much like me, there were parts of himself that Heero held back and did not share.

Placing my hand in his, I stepped carefully down from the carriage.

After a spirited discussion in my tent, Coralina and the others had chosen an outfit whose core message seemed to be 'beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but if you aren't beholding me, you're wrong.'

A dark violet ankle-length tunic cinched at the waist with a thin, silken golden sash that matched the scattering of golden blooms along the hemlines from the waist down. White pants tucked into soft-leather heels with gold buckles. The sleeves were cuffed in place at the wrists with black silk, atop which were matching golden bracelets twined around several times, a net of gold and miniature pearls. Even more pearls were draped over my shoulders, fastened just below the collarbones and the middle of my back with gold clips inlaid with diamonds. The reams of pearls arched out across my torso, curved towards the narrow dip of my hips.

My hair no longer enjoyed the freedom of the single braid I'd sported for nearly the whole trip; instead, the front part of my hair had been pulled into a braided crown, interspersed with a golden rope chain. The rest had been left to fall in soft waves down my back, a thin golden net inlaid with even more pearls covering the cascade.

I was essentially wearing an outfit that made me an oyster mass murderer…

On the bright side, Heero could not keep his eyes off of me. Unfortunately, neither could the estate servants; this was either because of the amount of pretty Coralina and Hilde had spent hours shaping me into, or because I was wearing what amounted to the annual salary of a hundred peasant families combined. Nevertheless, Coralina - being helped out of the carriage by Takeo - looked vindicated. Whatever makes you happy…

"Welcome back," Tubarov stated, cordial in both facial expression and body language. Howard and the other servants mirrored his movements behind him.

Heero nodded in acknowledgment, giving them a cursory glance before turning back to me. "It's been a long journey, Duo - please have a rest in your room."

Wow, separate rooms here too? I guess I shouldn't be surprised; other-me really did as much as he could to keep Heero away from him. I couldn't fathom it; with the little time I got to keep Heero for myself, I hardly wanted to be away from him. Perhaps this was some sort of karmic punishment: the Duo that got to have Heero by his side the longest didn't want him, and the Duo who wanted him didn't get to have him for long.

I knew it was weird of me to imagine that timer ticking down, but if I thought about it objectively and not just because it was the plot of the novel - then of course Heero would choose Relena over me. For one, their history was not as messy as ours, and for another, Relena was beautiful both inside and out; the novel may not have described her as generously as it did its male lead, but it said enough to know that Relena Darlian-Peacecraft was a looker.

Not that that would matter to someone of such noble character as Heero Yuy. Baseline attraction was one thing, but it was Relena's personality that Heero had fallen for: a sweet, kind girl who put her people first, with ideals that he could follow. There was nothing about Relena that could be described as vicious, a descriptor that fit both me and other-me to a T.

Whether I was alive or dead, it was inevitable that Heero would fall for this novel's heroine. He cared for me now because I was currently the first and only intimate relationship he's ever had - Heero Yuy had been a virgin widower until his relationship with Relena. Now that he had a perfectly willing partner (me), Heero was acting like any high schooler with their first sweetheart. Once he met and fell for Relena, though, their relationship would doubtlessly bloom into the mature romance the novel had intended.

So I would enjoy what I currently had. While Heero's eyes were on me, while it was still me he wanted to hold and kiss - I would savor it, I would do it back. When he met Relena, when he finally fell for her… Then I would take my step back. I would be supportive and hopefully maintain my friendships with the others, but it would no longer be in the capacity of a Duchess or Heero's spouse.

If banishment would not work, then surely Relena (once she gained full power as the Princess) could rescind the 'no divorce' law. It's not like that sort of law has ever been helpful to anyone anyway, so even if it wasn't in her personal interest, she still should. Hell, I could even draft up an entire speech against it if she needs me to.

"Have refreshments served to His Grace the Duchess in his quarters," Hilde ordered some of the nearby staff sharply. I had no idea what crawled up her ass today and why she was taking it out on the estate servants… Maybe she needed a long break too.

Heero let me go and I followed Hilde through the estate doors - trailed by a small contingent of maids, including Coralina. Hilde subtly led me in the correct direction, seemingly walking beside me but just a half-step ahead so I knew which direction to go. I had memorized the map to the estate but Hilde was paranoid enough that she wanted to scope out the path there first. It was dead silent despite the cluster of maids behind us, but this was just par for the course when it came to dealing with people who only knew other-me.

Only when I was settled in my room - smaller than the one I had in the provincial estate but almost outlandishly lavish - did I look towards the estate maids as Coralina and Hilde started unpacking my luggage. This would be my first time trying to act similarly to other-me, although it would be an other-me with a change of heart.

"What are your names again?" I asked them, trying to strike a tone between bored and dismissive. Baby steps, baby steps! I could work on slowly warming them up for the time I stayed here. It would be too suspicious if not only was I getting along with the others, but also immediately trying to remedy my relationships here as well.

"I am Jillian, Your Grace," said one. Given her position at the head of the line, I supposed she was the maid in charge. "And this is Kanako, Sophia, Bethany, Manami, and Suzette."

I can't believe the number of people that would be hovering around me only increased. What the heck did other-me do with so many maids? I could barely handle Melissa, Kaori, and Coralina! If I had seven people harping on about romance and Heero's handsome physique, I may just have to take refuge in Heero's bedroom.

...On second thought, that wasn't such a bad idea…

"Jillian, can you bring me the estate finance records and inventory lists?" I asked. After being cramped in a carriage for a majority of the day and carefully ensuring I didn't ruin Coralina's hard work on my appearance, I had a lot of pent-up energy. Hilde and Coralina were already seeing to the unpacking, and Heero had already promised me the use of not one, not two - but three rooms I could use for research and study. Before I could get into any of that, though, I needed to make sure the house was in order as was my responsibility as the Duchess.

"...The finances and inventory lists, Your Grace?" Jillian asked unsurely.

It reminded me so much of Hilde and Howard for a moment that I got nostalgic and beamed at her. This got me a wide-eyed look in response, which was also on point so I wasn't perturbed. It was almost nice getting just a quiet, flabbergasted response instead of outright teasing or a sarcastic reply. I should make Mikhail take notes.

"That's what His Grace the Duchess said," Hilde retorted aggressively, reminding me exactly what my current attendants were actually like. What did it say about me that everyone around me turned super passive-aggressive and snippy though…?

"Ah, well," Jillian stuttered out. "Mr. Tubarov has those…"

Both Hilde and I stared at her expectantly.

"...And he's the one who deals with them, so…"

That wasn't anything too odd. When it came to running the estate in the absence of the Duke or Duchess, such responsibility would fall to the Head Butler. While we were at the Capital, the butler Jiroh was handling the provincial state; naturally, the same thing occurred if we were away from the Capital estate.

I was more confused by Jillian just...not doing what I asked. Hilde, even at her most murderous, still followed orders with only a little hem-hawing at the beginning, but Jillian full-on wasn't moving and didn't seem inclined to do so in the near future.

Alright, so a little nudge then. "Well, now that I'm back, I can deal with them," I reminded her, trying to sound cheerful instead of confused. "So can you please go get them?"

Jillian didn't move, and neither did her following of frozen maids. Coralina was still as well, just watching the proceedings and looking just as confused as I felt. This was in sharp contrast to Hilde, who I had looked at for some kind of guidance - why were they acting like this? - but she just looked murderous. A common look for Hilde by this point, but it was definitely edging more to the kind of homicidal gleam I saw when she was taking down those bandits instead of the usual impulse when she looked at me.

"Jillian," I said again, the cheer in my tone quickly lost to the growing confusion and the words coming out a little more curt than intended. "Please bring me the papers. Now."

Jillian quickly bowed, shared a glance with her cohort, then hurried from the room. The other ladies stood like statues a long moment after her departure until Hilde got tired of it, quickly putting them to work with sharp orders given with an otherwise bland look. While the room was technically prepared, my obsessive attendant had apparently identified spots that could use further cleaning and was taking it upon herself to teach them the proper way to prepare a room for the Duchess.

Deciding to leave them to it, I wandered out of the room and down the hall. The corridors were bustling with people at the moment, looking to get organized with the new additions or get settled into the appropriate rooms. I'd been taught the map by Hilde during the journey so I knew roughly where everyone was and where the rooms were located, although I wouldn't be bothering anyone quite yet. Heero and the others would be busy getting everything put in the proper place, and I had my own job to do once Jillian got me the paperwork so I didn't anticipate much in the way of action or research for these first few days.

Unlike the provincial estate, however, the study for the Duchess was not located in the wing given to me. As the Capital estate was much smaller than our residence back in the Yuy province - although still ridiculously big, by both modern and medieval standards - I wasn't given my own wing and was instead located in the section of the estate reserved for bedchambers. Not only was Heero's room in this section, but so were the other two couples' as they held the highest rank in the estate aside from the ducal couple's. There were extra rooms for guests as well, although knights and servants bunked elsewhere.

The offices and studies were located in another section of the estate and where I was headed now. They would be just as busy as everyone put things away, but it would be better for me to oversee where things would be placed in my office to ensure maximum efficiency. Also, it wouldn't be good for someone to drop the box of Aoba-ku minerals and risk blowing themselves up if they got too close to fire.

It was on the way there that I ran into Wufei. He was snapping out orders with a disgruntled expression, so I guess that's just the common theme for everyone when it came to Moving In day.

"Hey 'Fei," Wufei turned a scorching look on me which I completely disregarded. "Do you know if they unloaded the explodey stuff?"

Wufei's glare edged up a notch. "If you're referring to that volatile substance you insisted on bringing-"

"It was for SCIENCE!" I cried out.

"Then yes, it should be somewhere around here. Winner told them to place it in your study," he continued. "But shouldn't you be resting, Your Grace?"

I waved off his concern disguised as an acidic rebuke. "Yeah yeah, I am, I am! Don't you see me taking a relaxing stroll right now?"

"And how does the 'explodey stuff' factor into this relaxing stroll?" was his sarcastic counter.

I frowned. "Explode one tree stump and they never let you live it down…" I muttered. If I knew it was going to cause this much distrust and paranoia, I would have saved that experiment for when no one else was around. It's not like I started a forest fire or anything!

We got some weird looks from the estate servants but given the nature of our conversation, it wasn't hard to guess why. I moved along after promising to invite Wufei to the next tea break and how much I was looking forward to whatever sweet confection the Capital estate cook made for us.

I don't know if it was because everyone assumed Hilde would be ghosting my every step or because of the smaller size of the Capital estate, but there were no guards following my slow journey across the residence. My Duchess Guards were doubtlessly getting themselves settled into their lodgings as well, and the Capital guards just remained posted here and there for security reasons.

It was as I entered the corridor where the Duchess's Study was located that I finally placed why everything seemed so weird to me. The servants were quiet when I passed, but only if I was within close earshot; the guards' eyes followed me as I moved, but only with cursory interest and no real concern.

No one here overtly feared me.

It was an odd thing to register. When I'd first woken up, I'd lived with the tense anxiety my subordinates showed me with every move I made or word I spoke. Hilde and Howard had been the only real exceptions, and even though it wasn't really fear in their eyes when they looked at me, the guards like Mikhail and Asahi had certainly never been disinterested in me.

It didn't so much bother me as weird me out. It was that, combined with the weird annoyance I'd read in the faces of Hilde and Wufei, that just put me a tiny bit on edge. I really hoped this was just lethargy borne of long travel and that after a good day's rest, everyone would be reset and at least look less likely to murder the next person they see.

With these optimistic thoughts, I entered the Duchess's Study. The two rooms to the right of it would be the ones I could use for my research and experimentation, but I wanted to check out the study first to see what I was working with.

It was a surprisingly cluttered place. Although smaller in comparison to my study in the provincial estate, it was clear it held much more things: a large desk held boxes of various sizes, likely holding letter papers and envelopes, along with the ink and quills; there was a large chest pushed into the corner, topped with a dusty curtain; various boxes were stacked along the eastern wall, full of what seemed to be cleaning supplies and household items; and a bookshelf lined the entirety of the opposite wall, filled with various tomes and knick-knacks. Set behind the desk were floor-to-ceiling windows, one burgundy curtain missing from one side, and glass was slightly smudged here and there.

...Did other-me use this as a storage room? There was so much junk!

Feeling vaguely annoyed, I realized I would have to spend a couple of days getting this cleaned out and sorted. You'd think the household staff would have cleaned this up before our arrival, but I guess they had their hands full getting everything else ready. Maybe I should give them more vacation days to make up for it.

Ignoring the boxes of junk, I went over to my desk and ran a finger over its dusty top. There really wasn't anything of interest on it - this guy couldn't even leave me a journal or something! - but I was pretty amused by the little gargoyle-like clay figure that I identified as a paperweight. It'd certainly pair nicely with the monster figurine Heero bought in his shopping frenzy in the provincial town market.

I tried looking for the key to the chest in the corner but couldn't find it. I could just pick the lock later, possibly when it was a bit cleaner and no one was in here to judge me. The more pressing concern was the placement of the Aoba-ku mineral, so after making a mental note to remind some servants to get this place cleaned soon, I left the study to check out the other rooms.

The case was much the same for the room right next to it, although the third room was perfectly empty. Given the lack of furniture - and even furnishings, such as curtains - I suppose I could use the third room to keep the Aoba-kun mineral and experimentation. There was enough room and the fireplace was currently not lit, so this was as good a place as any to keep it. I wasn't worried about theft or the like because for now, the value and potential use of the mineral was unknown. Eventually I would need an outdoor space to run experiments but this would do nicely in the meantime.

It had to have been well over 45 minutes since I left my bedchambers to explore, but there was no sign of Jillian, who I sent to fetch documents. I really hoped she would bring the documents to my study as was custom, but given its current status as a storage room, perhaps she had brought them to my bedchambers instead.

I grabbed one of the nearby maids and gave her instructions to find the dark wooden trunk marked with 'FRAGILE' (where we stored the Aoba-ku mineral) and have it brought to my third research room. She looked a little harried but readily agreed, and I really couldn't do anything with it until it actually was placed in the room so I left it at that. Once everyone stopped running around with their heads cut off, I would have them clean out my study and the neighboring room so I could start using them.

Moving in the direction of the kitchen to see the welcoming feast selection, I was surprised to find Jillian just loitering around outside the dining room. She was speaking to a couple of maids who were carrying some laundered fabrics, looking to just be chit-chatting instead of doing the one task I'd given her.

"Jillian," I called out, drawing to a stop beside them. The two maids greeted me politely as Jillian turned around, eyes wide in surprise. "Did you bring the documents to my bedchambers or somewhere else? My study didn't look ready yet…"

"O-Oh, the documents," Jillian said, hands now twisting into her apron. "Yes, I'm… I'm still getting them."

I stared at her. "...It's been almost an hour."

"Mr. Tubarov is very busy," Jillian replied, not meeting my eyes.

Well, I guess… Howard was obviously elite at his job but that didn't mean every Head Butler was, and it was a busy day.

"Where is he?" I asked. If Jillian wasn't going to do it, then I could hike up my nice little Duchess heels and do it myself.

Jillian glanced at the other two maids, then me, then the floor. "Um… He's in the… Duke's room?"

What?

"Why is he there?" Luggage was being sorted and everyone was settling in, but based on the homecoming in the provincial estate, Heero didn't retire to his bedchambers until much later. Because of that, the sorting of his belongings was left to his personal attendant, Tsubasa, who had arrived with us. Given Tsubasa's neurotic personality, he'd be sorting Heero's belongings first before even thinking about going to his own room, and he would hardly let anyone else help.

In short, there was no reason for the Head Butler to be in there.

"Um, maybe he's there?" Jillian, are you fucking high.

A little irritated now, I turned away. "Have someone clean my study and the neighboring rooms," I ordered her quickly. I thought about giving her a deadline but decided that was a bit much, so I left it at that and headed in the direction of Heero's room.

It was only as I turned the corner that they started talking again and I was able to catch the tail-end of their words: "...he's acting weird, isn't he?"

I didn't stumble but I couldn't help the snort. I guess asking for paperwork was out of character for the lazy other-me, but I could practically feel myself growing more irritated the longer my orders went unheeded. I never thought being ignored would irk me so much, especially since it had been so common back in New York.

Tubarov wasn't in Heero's room, according to Tsubasa who was indeed organizing the belongings and looking like he didn't even know where his own bedchambers were. Tubarov had also never been present ever since Tsubasa got there, which was practically as soon as we arrived - so now I wasn't sure if Jillian was just sending me on a wild goosechase or just really didn't know what was going on.

I asked a passing butler if he'd seen Tubarov, which sent me on a nice little journey to the servants' wing - but he was also not there, as helpfully reported to me by Daigo who was putting his and Chef Morris's things away. I trekked back to the main hall, stumbled across one of my own maids - Suzette? - carrying some dirty dustrags.

She sent me to the Duke's study; Quatre gave me a puzzled look and asked if I needed help looking for the documents since they weren't in Heero's office either, but he looked too busy juggling god knows how many files that I didn't want to bother him. "I'll just find Tubarov, don't worry about it," I waved off, escaping before his Spidey Sense could call me out.

My trip to the kitchen had been brief but concerning; Morris looked ready to skewer the Capital estate head chef, and that was when I learned that pickled meat would be a large part of tonight's dinner menu and felt the rest of my heart crumble away. ( "I'll fix it," Morris told me icily, glaring murder at the other chef. I left him to it.) Tubarov had not been in the kitchen either so I made a quick exit.

I ended up crawling all over the estate for well over two hours, asking assorted staff who were sure they'd seen Tubarov in places he turned out to never have been in. Lyle ended up joining me at some point in hour two, which alleviated a little bit of the irritation since being mean to Lyle was akin to kicking a puppy. Simon ended up finding us trudging through the estate's greenhouse and proceeded to have a mini heart attack, so I just went back to my room before his mother-hen tendencies earned the attention of Trowa somehow.

"There's dirt on your pants leg," Hilde observed, with the same kind of tone one would use when describing fungus grown on food. "Why is there dirt on your leg."

"Why do you start it as a question when it's more of a demand?" I returned blandly.

Coralina flittered around me anxiously. "His Grace needs to change for the homecoming feast anyway," she pointed out. "We may as well start now."

The two remaining maids in the room, Manami and Suzette, nodded in agreement. "Miss Jillian has already chosen the proper homecoming outfit," Manami stated. "We can bring it now."

"Did His Grace say to bring it now?" Hilde sneered.

Holy shit, why is she always trying to start a fight! "It's fine, but let Coralina look it over first," I interjected. "Cora, bring me the top two choices, okay? And nothing too crazy!"

"Yes, Your Grace," Coralina said with fiery eyes. "I'll make sure you are the only light in the night sky tonight!"

I just couldn't win. "...Yeah, okay."

"But Miss Jillian has already chosen the outfit?" Manami repeated again, looking a little unsure.

Hilde glowered at her. "Is she the one wearing it?"

"Hilde," I spoke again before she could reduce my new maid to tears. "Can you find Tubarov for me? I looked all over but no one knew where he was."

Manami spoke again. "Mr. Tubarov is very busy-"

I've been hearing that same fucking refrain from every single servant I spoke to today. "I only need a little of his time," I cut her off. "Hilde. Find him and bring him here."

"...Hilde."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Your Grace-"

Hilde roughly shook the man she was dragging along by the collar. "How dare you interrupt the Duchess?" she growled at him. Tubarov, hair mussed and uniform messy from being dragged from who-knows-where by Hilde, looked seconds away from either exploding in indignation or fainting from lack of oxygen.

"Hey, I still need him conscious," I chided her.

"I apologize, Your Grace." She did not, in fact, look the least bit apologetic.

I was the master of choosing battles, though, so I didn't bother reprimanding her again. Tubarov wasn't bleeding anyway so he'll be fine.

"Tubarov, I'm glad you're here," I said brightly. Smile, smile! "I was looking everywhere for you."

Tubarov shook himself out of Hilde's hold, straightening his collar with a dark look in her direction. "I was very busy, of course, Your Grace—"

"He was resting in his bedroom," Hilde interrupted briskly.

I felt my smile stiffen in response.

That may not seem too unusual, but for the Head Butler to be relaxing in his bedroom during such a busy time… It was like a store manager snoring away in their car as the customer queue went all the way out the door and around the block.

"I'm getting along in age…" Tubarov began with a simper.

Incredulous, I stared at him. "Howard is twice your age?"

Tubarov scowled, expression souring at the mention of his deputy. Given Howard's involvement in the church issue, Heero had not only sent him away to the Capital estate - he'd also demoted him, so that he served as deputy butler to the less experienced Tubarov.

Clearly this was something that was going to bite us in the ass though, because homecoming back at the provincial estate had not been this vexing. I shouldn't have had to run around this entire estate looking for the Head Butler, who had just been hiding out in his room while everyone under his management toiled to do their jobs properly.

"Look, we can discuss you acting sleazy on the job later," I grunted out.

"Sleazy?" Tubarov screeched.

"I just need the financial statements and estate inventory lists," I continued. "Cough 'em up."

Hilde's hands flexed at her sides, as if she wanted to reach down Tubarov's throat and get me the list herself. I gave her a warning glance - we can't get what I needed if he was dead, Hilde! - and looked back to Tubarov, whose eyes darted between us as if he were trying to figure out if we were pranking him or not.

Not for the first time, I really wondered what impression other-me left on these people. Given his personality, I don't think he played pranks and jokes on others - much less on his common-born servants. His fashion was a joke enough that I doubt he had time for anything outside of hobbies that made him look ridiculously extravagant.

"Where are the lists?" Hilde repeated into Tubarov's silence, tone matching that of a mafia interrogator.

Tubarov gave Hilde a disdainful sniff because clearly he just wanted to die and my murderous attendant would be more than willing to oblige him. "Naturally, the documents are in the Duke's office," he replied.

"They're not, I checked," I countered, then added just to make sure it wasn't me just being an idiot. "Quatre already looked too."

Tubarov's disdainful look never wavered. "How can you trust a Lagrangian to help?"

….Ah?

"What," I began, and already my tone had turned silken. "Did you just say?"

Whatever meager self-preservation Tubarov did have finally reared up, recognizing the sudden turn in my temperament. "I-It's just that I did put the documents in His Grace's office," he stammered out, wide eyes on me. "I don't know how it was missed!"

Because you're a fucking liar, I thought uncharitably.

With a sigh, I turned to Hilde. "Can you find them for me?" I requested. "Just...take him along with you." Translation: don't let him out of your sight until you find them.

Hilde gave a short bow. "Yes, Your Grace."

"Wait-!" Tsubarov didn't get much more out before Hilde had grabbed his collar and dragged him out of the room. As they disappeared through the door, Coralina and the other maids started entering; Manami and Suzette were looking back at the sputtering Tsubarov in wide-eyed fear, but Coralina didn't give him more than a cursory glance as she eagerly pushed in the clothing cart.

"Your Grace, we've returned," she announced excitedly. "Your closet here is just as big as your one at the provincial estate!"

I froze. "...Just as big?"

"Three rooms, and an additional closet just for accessories!"

Oh god not again.

I weakly waved Coralina on, deciding to deal with that later. She began setting up to show me the two outfits: Coralina setting up her own choice, as Manami and Suzette hurried to set up Jillian's choice.

The difference was...staggering.

It was obvious that Jillian had been operating under the assumption that I would continue wearing the more ostentatious style of other-me. The number of ruffles and bows was almost upsetting on the burgundy ballgown, reminiscent of a ludicrous version of a Disney princess dress. The accessories matched with it - golden bracelets adorned with multicolored jewels, a heavy golden necklace with a giant bird pendant, and assorted golden rings - were just as loud.

It was one thing to dress like how a young child may think is appropriate for a noble - it was another thing entirely for a grown adult to wear this to a homecoming party. This was barely even appropriate for a masquerade ball, where such a flamboyant outfit would have worked!

Coralina's choice of clothing looked much more reasonable, especially in comparison. It was actually one of the dresses we brought with us: a pearl pink dress that fell to about ankle-length, the skirt falling in two layers with golden floral accents. The waist was cinched with a golden brocade in the shape of a golden bustle of flowers, the top with golden accents along the open collar and sleeves that billowed past the elbow. The only accessory set aside was a golden hairpin with pink sapphires.

"For jewelry, I think Your Grace's necklace and wedding ring will be enough," Coralina explained.

I nodded in agreement, relieved beyond words that Coralina was here. I couldn't imagine how I would have to politely refuse Jillian's mess of a choice without coming across as openly judgmental. "I'll go with your design, Coralina," I said.

Manami clutched at the burgundy ballgown as if personally stunned by the decision. "B-But Your Grace-!"

She's lucky Hilde isn't here, otherwise she would have chewed her head off for contradicting me. "Coralina's choice is more appropriate for a homecoming dinner, don't you think?" I asked Manami gently. "I'm enjoying my first meal here, not attending a ball."

Manami's hands twisted together in a nervous gesture. "But the other dress is… much too simple?" She seemed to be questioning herself, which was a good sign because I sure as hell was questioning her tastes. "Of course, such dull fashion is to be expected when chosen by a provincial maid…"

Coralina flinched, struck speechless at the words. The hurt flashed across her expression but she bravely stifled it, glancing back at her choice before looking away.

I was speechless myself, but for completely different reasons. This was now the second time a servant of this estate had insulted someone from my party, and didn't even look to regret the words or tried to take them back. What the hell was wrong with these people?

"I'm the one who bought the dress." I absolutely did not but it's not like Coralina was gonna call me out on supporting her choice of dress. Manami paled at the words, her gaze darting down to the ground and staying there. "Are you calling my taste dull? Manami?"

"N-No, Your Grace."

"Are you paid to dress me in your style," I spit out the words with the same tone one would use to refer to roadkill. "Or are you paid to dress me in my style?"

"Y-Y-Your style, Your Grace!" Manami looked close to tears.

Well, clearly I was getting off on the wrong foot here, but I was hardly going to take it back. "Coralina has been attending and dressing me for the past year, and I have never looked better," I continued. "Perhaps you and the others could learn a few things from this provincial maid. "

Manami stayed quiet, terrified; Suzette did not look much better. Coralina blushed, giving me a doe-eyed look of adoration. The latter was more important to me than either of the former. Coralina could be overly-eager and sometimes manic when it came to romance, but she was good at heart and willing to make friends wherever she went. I wasn't going to let her be insulted just because of where she came from, even if that did end up burning bridges in the future.

"Coralina, you will be my primary maid while here," I decided. Jillian was already a wreck and it was only Day One, so it would be better for all - and especially me - if she served a more support-like role than holding the leadership position. Coralina was a quick study and dedicated to fashion, so she was really all I needed when it came to getting dressed up. "Any objections?"

Predictably, the other two maids remained silent.

"This is karma," I chanted under my breath, fork lightly scraping over my plate as I bravely kept the disgusted look off my face. "I dug this grave, so I must lie in it…"

Quatre, sitting beside me, patted me gently on the arm. "Please stop muttering such disturbing things, you're distressing the Duke," he murmured. Sure enough, when I glanced to my other side - Heero was glaring down at my plate of rice and pickled meat like it had personally insulted us both.

Morris had done the best he could on such short notice, but he wasn't a miracle worker. As it was, the menu for our homecoming feast was reminiscent of the menu I had been subjected to when I first arrived: pickled meats, bread rolls with assorted jams and butter, stewed or pickled vegetables, and a variety of sugary sweet desserts. Morris had added rice and fresh fruit to combat some of the pickling, along with a few small dishes of fried fish; I had added most of my portion of fried fish to Heero's plate out of guilt, since I knew pickled meat was a dish pretty much no one at this table enjoyed.

"It's supposed to be good for your health," Trowa said mildly, scooping another forkful of pickled beef and rice into his mouth. If he had said that with a look in his eyes that wasn't reminiscent of a man going to see his executioner, I might have felt a little better about it.

Why was pickled meat such a recurring theme? Pickled vegetables were perfectly fine, but I just couldn't understand other-me's love of pickled meat. And wasn't I in his body using his taste buds? Shouldn't I be enjoying it more?!

"Duo, please have some fish," Heero quietly begged me when I scraped my fork just a little too hard on the ceramic, already moving half a fish from his plate towards my own.

I shook my head and pushed it back onto his plate. "I'm fine, Heero, clearly I love pickled meat," I replied. "Since I put it on every fucking menu."

Wufei and Meilan were the only ones who looked perfectly fine with their pickled meal, but the daggers they occasionally glared into the dessert plates was an obvious enough clue to see what part of the menu they really despised. I made a mental note to give Morris full control of the kitchen before I retired for the night, because I did not want to wake up to a breakfast of pickled meat too.

"Duo," Heero cajoled me, holding up a forkful of rice and fish to my lips. "We can share."

Well, I suppose I could enjoy a few non-pickled bites. I obediently opened my mouth and Heero carefully deposited the forkful of thankfully non-pickled food inside. His hand hovered momentarily in front of me as he slid the fork from my mouth, his gaze darkening somewhat as his eyes lingered on my lips.

I pinched him playfully in the side. "Pervert~" I grinned at him after swallowing, knowing damn well what he was imagining at the moment.

Heero's skin lightly pinkened. "No, I- I'm sorry…?"

"Give me another bite of fish and I'll forgive you," I teased, leaning forward and into his personal space.

Heero robotically forked up another morsel of fish and rice.

Trowa sighed, "I guess this is better than out in public…"

I was surrounded by haters.

It had been a long day of assorted tasks. Hilde did eventually find the documents I had been looking for - lo and behold, they'd been left in the library and Tubarov swore up and down he had no idea how they got there - and I was able to at least give them a cursory look. Surprisingly, there was nothing too amiss that jumped out at me, but I would definitely be giving it a more thorough look in the days to come.

Evening had not really been any more relaxing. Jillian had to be informed of the sudden power shift, looking bewildered by the change for reasons I could not fathom because she had not done a single thing I'd asked her to do today. Hilde had whittled down my maids to Coralina, Suzette (since she barely talked), and Kanako (maker of the bitterest tea I'd ever tasted) for the bath routine, and I had been thoroughly scrubbed clean then left in my silk nightclothes as the night wore on.

Which was then a perfect time for a little midnight tryst!

"...and I'll look through all the documents tomorrow, after my study is cleaned up," I recounted brightly. "There's a whole bunch of junk in there that needs to be moved first."

Heero made an agreeing noise, tidying up the desk in his bedroom as he listened. I watched in amusement as he reorganized the papers before setting that ridiculous little monster figure he'd bought from Georgiana in the provincial town market on top; its partner, the brown seaweed monster, adorned my own bedside table so that I could wake up to it and fondly recall spend-happy Heero and his simply atrocious taste in art.

"There's no rush, if you want to take a few days to settle in," Heero reminded me.

Time, it turned out, was the last thing I had.

The timeline of events in the novel had not always been clear-cut, but there were enough references for me to make educated guesses on what happened when. For example, the reveal of Relena being the lost Princess should take place at some point next summer, when the war with Oz and Romefeller really picked up.

"Did you want a drink?"

Heero was dressed in his nightwear, a light silk robe that did practically nothing to hide his lithely-muscled chest and toned appendages. (It made my thin figure look positively waif-like in comparison, despite the amount of exercise I had been putting myself through.) He was holding up a bottle of whiskey while looking in my direction, expression open and not at all taken aback by the fact that I had, once again, crawled into his bedroom through his balcony.

The idea of going to Heero's bedroom this late at night and dealing with the looks from any of the stray servants or guards was off-putting to me, so I'd gone the Trowa route and just popped into Heero's bedroom after hours and through the balcony door. Sayaka and Berion, my guards for the night, had escorted me via the wall-climbing route and quickly dispersed - kindly without a sarcastic comment, which put them a level above Asahi.

I looked at the amber liquid in quiet consideration. It was another product of my interference, another example of how I had tampered with the details and events of the novel. And yet, no matter what, the plot of that novel would continue on - with or without me.

Another - and currently most relevant - upcoming plot point is Heero and Relena's first meeting. It was noted to happen during the late summer and early fall, weeks before the Hunt - and only one week after Duke Heero Yuy was reported to have finally returned to the Capital.

Heero was supposed to meet Relena this week.

There was nothing wrong with that. In fact, with all of the shit he'd had to go through, him meeting Relena was probably the only thing that would be considered right. She was the essential start of the uphill climb of his life, the only guarantee to a happy ending and peaceful love life. Relena had been a protagonist that couldn't really be considered perfect, but there was no denying that knowing her and loving her had been one of the most positive things in Heero's life.

I wasn't going to deny him that, especially not out of my own selfishness. But it was okay, just for tonight, to just...not think about it, right? Besides, they would only just meet; for Relena, it may be love at first sight, but there were still quite a few meetings to go before Heero surely reciprocated.

"Nah, not tonight," I replied, perched on the edge of his bed. "...Can you come here?"

Heero moved towards me, curious and trusting. As soon as he was within range, I grabbed hold of him and yanked him forward - pulling him down on top of me as I jerked back to lay flat on the bed. Heero fell forward with a small, surprised grunt, his arms coming up to brace his fall, holding his upper body hovering above me, our legs slotted together indecently.

"Duo!" he breathed out, too heated to be an admonishment. His face was flushed, either by the sudden movement or our proximity, and I couldn't help but delight in the fact that I put it there. He was so cute like this, so much so that I wished I could just live in this moment forever.

I grinned up at him, "Comfy, 'Ro?"

He stared down at me, eyes darkened, skin smelling faintly of soap. I slid one hand around his wrist, following that sun-kissed skin up under the robe sleeve towards his well-defined arm. Goosebumps rose along every patch of skin I touched with feather-light fingers, until I withdrew my hand only to place it on the hard-thumping pulse of his neck.

I met his eyes.

"Can I kiss you?"

Heero's eyes darkened as he leaned down, voice heavy: "Yes."

Kissing Heero was like being devoured in the most pleasurable sense. He seemed to delight in every touch, every breath; his mouth teased and bit and soothed, his hands adored every part of me he touched. I took advantage of our position, sliding my hands into the open fold of his robes, tracing the contours of his chest, hands moving up to slide the silk off his shoulders.

"Duo," Heero breathed out shakily, hungrily. It was a question and plea rolled into one word, my name uttered so wantonly that I could only want more. It wasn't fair that Heero had been denied this, just as it wasn't fair that this would soon be gone, that Heero's kisses and his touch and his lust-darkened eyes would be someone else's.

The idea, the knowledge of that inevitability - I was resigned to it. I was infuriated by it. I should have never taken what was never mine, but just the same, I did not regret a single moment of it. Heero was the sweetest dream I'd ever had.

I rolled us over - me on top, Heero panting below me. His eyes were blown dark in the fireplace light, hair disheveled and lips bruised. I kissed him; his hands slid through my hair, down the curve of my back. I kissed him again, and then I kissed the corner of his lips… His cheek… The hollow of his throat…

" Duo," Heero groaned my name, beautiful in his pleasure as I found a weak spot on the side of his throat. It sent a rolling shudder down his body as I worked my mouth over it, his hands fisted desperately on my back to pull our bodies closer together, two thin layers of silk the only thing keeping our skin from meeting.

It wasn't enough, yet it was also too much. I couldn't stop myself, especially not with Heero responding favorably to my every touch. His calloused hands had already worked themselves up under my nightwear, caressing at the sloping planes of my back, at the thin line of my nape. His rough fingertips left trails of fire wherever they brushed, and I had never wanted something so much that I ached.

I pulled at the thin strip of silk keeping his robe tied closed, trailed my fingers over the ridges of his chest and abdomen. Heero watched my face with intense, hooded eyes, unresisting and wanting.

"Heero," I kissed him. "Can I touch you?"

A sharp intake of breath, his hands clutching at me with the grip of a drowning man, eyes blown wide with desire and something unnamed - like wonder - flashing across his face. I knew that this was his first time being intimate with anyone, even his own spouse; this was something I would take from Relena, something that would be only mine once Heero no longer was.

I was Heero's first love, and that would have to be enough.

Heero pulled one hand from my body, but only to cup my face - tenderly, gently, lovingly: "Yes."

Heero would fall in love with Relena…

BuT hE woULd nEVeR fOrGEt Me.

A/N: Almost 10K words and for what, Duo?! FOR WHAT?!

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