Joshua had always been a good and obedient child. He had a bright future ahead full of remarkable things, all with the Goddess' blessing. Words that his mother the Dutchess said daily, and which Joshua believed wholeheartedly.
According to her, everyone in the north loved him and were eager to see him grow and become their next lord. In her words, his fiancee would love him too and any resistance would be because she would be afraid of his glowing presence.
And so, as always, Joshua believed in his mother. Even after meeting lady Lucreatia's complete and utter resistance. But he persisted in this favourable union. He gave some space after the incident with his aide. He allowed the duke to refuse his invitations for tea with lady Lucreatia. All because he understood how a father's love for a daughter could be consuming and intense.
Joshua believed himself to be rather smart and perceptive about this stuff. As his mother always told him, nothing could escape him.
So he understood all, though it hurt him like a hammer crashing into his being. Especially when his fiancee preferred the company of a half-beast to his. When she conferred with a prince of Empire who bathed in blood and evilness.
Mother always told him how dangerous those people were... In the winter chilly nights, she would tell stories of the horrid affairs that happened on that dark land and at end of it, she always conferred to him that the reason those royals came to the Sun Empire was to bring us all doom. Only the Royal prince, heir of the Goddess will and the Temple, full of messengers of the Goddess words, could face these people.
And he believed her.
So he was sad when princess Odette sent him a letter telling him that his fiancee had been for several months in the company of monsters and no one had batted an eye at such a horrible discovery. Not even the Duke.
He had to stop it, his Temple studies, had given clarity on his mission. To help lady Lucreatia see the truth and save her from those wrongdoers. But alas it was even worse than he had thought. Their influence on his poor lady had already dangerous results.
When he ended up at the Royal Library to stop these meetings, he was met with an empty desk in a dusty corner. Even though there was no one left there, he still lingered. He wanted, more, needed, to know what they were doing there. What books they were studying. Hardly anything proper he imagined.
So he looked at the dusty shelves, which told him it was nothing of those books, as they were harmless geographic studies. Yet he continued to look closely until he reached a dusty free part and a strange book. Intricate and dark. Omunioms and sinful.
Joshua opened it and realizing the evilness of it let it fell down to the floor with a gasp. They were studying the dark arts! His poor fiancee was being pulled into this horrid thing!
Oh... he alone could not do something, not when both royal princes were on it. But now he was sure the Duke didn't know of these encounters. He was the brother of the High Priestess and the great duke of the Sun Empire, he would have not let his daughters fall into such a dark place if he knew. Joshua was sure he had to confer with the duke and with urgency. That was the only way to save his fiancee honour, and maybe then the duke would realize Joshua was a good influence to his younger daughter. And even better, a great fiancee.
That was the intention until the attack happened and the capital was in uproar and the duke, who had been before unwilling to accept his requests for a visit, was even busier and hardly in the mood to entertain his questions.
Still, Joshua, knowing this was an important topic pressed on. He couldn't give up, as this was of great importance. So he headed on to the Duke's Mountnero palace. Only to be told that the duke was conferring with his knights and was too busy to have a meeting with him.
When he asked for the ladies of the house, he got the same excuse they always gave him, they were out at the capital buying some dresses. Before this would be enough to him, now he knew they were only lies to have him out of the house. It hurt him.
Dejected, he was prepared to leave and wait for a more opportune moment, when someone called him in a rush at the entrance.
"Lord Joshua." It was a lady with a stoic face and black, hard glasses. The dark choice of dress colours and the simple style of it told him she was a tutor. "I am lady Beatrice and I teach the ladies of the house." She presented herself with a bow.
Joshua still in a foul mood, hardly acknowledged the lady. If she was their tutor, then her teaching methods left much to be desired.
"I am appalled at the way they treated you, my lord. However, with the attack, the duke is on the edge and is better not to press him too much." She said with a calm and tender voice.
At her attention, Joshua started to feel better and more relaxed. And when she invited him for tea to compensate for the lack of better treatment, he accepted without a second thought.
As she talked about how worried she was with the ladies of the house, and how lady Lucreatia was turning into an even wilder version of herself, Lord Joshua felt his heart shrink in worry. The Duke, being the caring and busy father he was, was unable to see how bad lady Lucreatia was turning herself into. Listening to how lady Beatrice caught Lucreatia cooking and playing with the servants like they were friends, made him fear for the worst and left him with terrible sadness.
Joshua felt sorry for the tutor but was also now sure she had the ladies best interests in mind. And as his mother said many times, a tutor was the person the children should always obey and respect.
With her words in mind, he told her what he found in the Royal Library and gave her the book. The shock and the tears the lady shed, were proof of his right decision and he left happier from the manor.
He had done everything to save Lucreatia and soon she would be thankful to him.
And like his mother said before he left for the capital, she would soon fall irreducible in love with him.
Now has come Joshua point of a view! Maybe not what you wanted, but I found it necessary so we can understand his motivations and also his actions will have an effect in the future.
Though he means well, Joshua ends up creating a bigger mess... So what did you think of the chapter?
And not sure you noticed, but I made two new covers XD
It was an unplanned thing (I was playing with the program) but you can give me feedback on it!
The first attempt:
Or this second?
Or even this third??