An unanswered question that occasionally lingered on Cale's mind made its way into her thoughts yet again with the persistence of a truly dissatisfying lack of information.
Despite the clear disdain in their marriage, the ongoing issues, the lack of viability of Penelope as an heir, and every single reason that a king ought to... why hadn't Alberu taken on a second wife? Or at least a concubine?
His mother had been a concubine so that clearly didn't disqualify any offspring from inheriting the throne. And that aside, the king could take on as many wives as he liked. The previous king had two different wives and a concubine to sire three sons who were viable options for the throne. And yet Alberu, who was otherwise obnoxiously dedicated to his responsibilities as a king, had never even shown the slightest inclination to do so.
Cale certainly had no plans to encourage such a thing. While more heirs would certainly release any pressure for Penelope to take the throne, they also posed significant risks to Penelope's safety. Cale was all too aware that the previous king had killed all his siblings in order to solidify his right to the throne. Alberu's suppression of his younger brothers was rather tepid in comparison to what Zed had done.
There was no reason to anticipate that Alberu's other children might not take after their paternal grandfather rather than their father. Robbit's child had thus far shown no homicidal tendencies and Cale was rather satisfied with merely having to keep an eye on one potential opponent rather than countless heirs sired just so they could be pitted against one another for the throne.
All of the above made perfect sense for Cale's needs to be satisfied but it did very little to explain Alberu's motivations.
Wouldn't he benefit from another wife? Or even from pressuring Cale to have a second child?
It was incongruent with the cold man that she knew Alberu to be.
Alberu was an individual who didn't hold onto emotional or romantic notions. He was a coldhearted political bastard who only really cared about leading the kingdom and the actions that would support his ambitions.
He wasn't a bad king but he wasn't a person who gave a flying shit about interpersonal relationships.
So why wouldn't such a cold hearted and political man with absolutely no romantic notions remain loyal only to Cale as husband and wife?
Why hadn't he sired a dozen children that he could use as political pawns to take the throne when he was ready to retire?
It always made her feel a bit strange when that question reared up its ugly head yet again.
What the hell was going on in Alberu's head and why was this the one area within which his behavior didn't align with his ambitions?
She wanted to know and yet, she didn't want to ask. She didn't want to know what the answer was either.
It was a silly little quagmire that she didn't much like thinking about.
It drifted across her mind yet again as she woke up. Her head was pounding with a faint headache but she was otherwise in perfect health.
Considering that she was sure she'd been stabbed at least once, that was a pretty good sign.
Cale sat up in bed. The room was dark, only the faint light of a candle from the desk and the moonlight from the sky outside offering up any light at all. Through that dim light she could see Penelope sound asleep at her side, frowning indignantly even in her dreams, and she could hear the sound of ink on parchment.
Silently, so as not to disturb Penelope, Cale moved out of bed.
Alberu was crouched over the desk, the flickering candle guiding his quill as he wrote diligently. Probably some highly important 'king' thing that absolutely required his immediate attention.
Cale leaned against the bedframe thoughtfully.
There were a lot of things she didn't understand about Alberu. Big things and little things and mostly she'd decided that she didn't give a fuck. He was a disgusting bastard that was unworthy of her time and effort.
And yet, in moments like these she couldn't help but enter a pensive state.
Whatever his reason for not selecting a second bride, it was surely just as slimy as he was. And whatever his reason for working into the dead of night at her bedside surely had absolutely nothing to do with innocent or kind emotions. He was probably planning something wicked behind his smile.
The thoughts that she'd normally be able to think with venomous hatred came out a bit tepid though. She thought it was interesting how the faint light danced across his focused face and wondered, not for the first time, why exactly was it that she hated him so much.
Yes, he was a duplicitous bastard who made her skin crawl but...
Well, she'd certainly met worse scumbags. And for all her criticism of his political minded manipulative nature, he never actually abused his power. Merely utilized it effectively in order to run the kingdom.
So why was it that she couldn't help but despise him...?
Cale wasn't the sort of person who needed a logical reason to hate a person. She hated who she hated, she liked who she liked, and she smashed bottles on who she felt like smashing bottles on. In that way she was a very simple person.
All the same, Alberu was something of an unscratchable itch inside of her.
Perhaps it was just the tangled nature of their relationship that just made him hard to ignore.
Alberu didn't notice her approach at all.
One thing could be said about Cale.
She didn't change her mind about a plan once she'd decided on one very easily. A mere near death experience was nearly enough to make her change her mind about a plot she'd already concocted.
She wrapped her arms gently around him from behind, resting her chin on his head as she felt his body tense up.
It was a bit funny how nervous he got around her new 'attitude'. She certainly wasn't used to pulling off an affectionate act but at least she got some satisfaction out of it in knowing that she was convincing enough to unnerve him.
"...Cale?"
His voice was a bit lower than normal and it struck her as strange for some reason. She peeked at the paperwork he'd been so intently working on and frowned. It didn't look like the normal nonsense. It was a strongly worded royal order directed towards the Stan family.
What had that garbage marquis done to earn Alberu's wrath she wondered.
"Were you waiting for me to wake up?" She asked sweetly. "Thank you."
There was a long pause before Alberu responded and she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind.
"Are you feeling better now?" He asked and there was something distant to his voice that made Cale feel strangely uncomfortable.
She never liked the way he drew a line between them. Of course he did it with everyone as the man was fake as hell but she always felt personally offended when he did so with her.
"Yes, thank you so much for helping me." She was quite proud of her performance. It was pretty funny to think about how confused the bastard probably was.
Alberu's fist clenched on the desk and his tension didn't improve one bit.
"I didn't do anything." He said bitterly and it caught Cale off guard. It was nothing like the affable tone that Alberu normally used. He sounded upset. Actually upset. It wasn't that she'd never heard him upset before but normally it was amidst an argument or when she'd done something to make him upset.
All she was doing right now was act like the loving wife that she wasn't. What could possibly upset him about that? She knew he couldn't be upset over what happened to her. If he was compassionate enough to give a fuck about her life and death she wouldn't find it so strange that he hadn't picked up a second wife.
"You came to my rescue." She persisted, not one to give up on an act once she'd decided upon it. "And I can tell you must have had me healed. That's more than enough." She sought out his clenched fist with her petite hand, surprised when he jerked his hand away from hers.
"...it shouldn't have happened." Alberu said stiffly. "It was my failing. I'm sorry."
She didn't like this Alberu.
It wasn't fun to taunt him and he wasn't even being his normal agitating self.
He was just grouchy and distant.
She disentangled herself from him, instead taking a seat on the desk he'd been using in order to get a good look at his face.
The perfectly handsome king had dark circles beneath his eyes and an uncharacteristic frown that didn't look good on him at all. He looked like a mess.
Cale should laugh at him. Mock him for looking so pathetic. That's what she would have done if she was still pulling the trash act. Done anything possible to make him upset, angry, or hurt. It was a game where the end goal was to leave him in a state like this.
So she ought to feel a sense of satisfaction that he looked so wretched.
This was exactly the result one could expect to create after hurting a person over and over and over again with the sole purpose of earning their hate.
To make a person hate you, it was always best to hurt them first. People are volatile by nature. They lash out at those who hurt them.
Cale justified why she felt no satisfaction at the sight by reasoning that her current goals were different. She wasn't currently trying to make him miserable. She was aiming to satisfy him so that he would no longer suspect her of manipulating Penelope and to manipulate Penelope into viewing her father in a fonder light.
It was funny how she'd never aimed to manipulate her daughter but now she aimed to do just that in order to clear her name of the accusation.
Cale was used to living in that sort of hypocrisy. It was merely the way some things were.
She wasn't a kind enough person to find a way around such hypocrisy. She'd always used the expectations of others to her advantage. Creating an image that caused society to dance in the palm of her hand while they looked down upon her.
Still, even though it was only an act, she felt strangely awkward as she reached out and lifted his chin so that he had to look her in the eye.
She'd always disliked his eyes. They swam with warmth and she thought it was so fake.
Why should anyone look at her warmly?
Right now his eyes didn't look warm. There was unmistakable guilt and misery swimming in those blue depths, only visible because of the flicker of the candlelight.
"Did you send those people after me?" She asked and it was all for the act, she knew it was for the act, but a sincere desire to know weighed down her words.
She knew she couldn't believe him no matter what he said. She couldn't trust him.
But she wanted to hear him deny it.
His eyes widened in repulsed shock. "No!" He said, a bit too loudly for the time of night. Cale placed a finger over his lips to hush him.
She pointedly ignored the way her heart rabbited away in her chest at his denial.
"Good." She said smoothly and she smiled at him–for the act–her genuinely elegant smile that she normally only reserved for her daughter. "Then there's nothing for you to be upset over."
She knew that the truth was different but the way he was acting really did make it seem as though he was actually worried for her. For now it was best to pretend she believed that, it would help her make her act convincing.
And the warmth she felt was merely because she was so good in her role that she was able to inspire fake emotions inside of her.
Alberu's eyes were an ocean of emotion that seemed to suck her in. He was frowning up at her and she could see his troubled confusion.
He didn't know what to make of her behavior.
'How do you like it?' She thought bitterly. 'It's not fun when someone only pretends to like you.'
She wasn't expecting the way he pulled her into a hug.
She could count the number of times she'd had physical contact with her husband throughout their entire marriage and she wasn't sure there had ever been a moment when he'd hugged her like this. Tightly as though he was scared she'd vanish and delicately as though she were precious.
It made her throat catch with emotion.
She must have been imagining it but it felt like he was trembling just the tiniest bit.
"I won't let it happen again." He promised and Cale suddenly felt like everything had gone too far.
Her heart was pounding in her chest in a way that it hadn't since that time and she could feel Alberu's shuddering breath against her neck and why was he so persistent in pretending to care?
She had to admit that his act was probably even more impressive than her own. Even she was tempted to believe it and she knew better than to trust him. She knew better than anyone else that he didn't give a fuck about her.
Even if he ever had, she'd spent years doing nothing but acting out to inspire his hatred. Doing everything she could to ensure that he was disgusted with her.
There was no possible way he could care about her after she'd done all that.
He was just a rather impressive actor. She had to admit that it was quite the act. Even she was tempted to become drawn in by it.
Cale closed her eyes and bit her lip bitterly.
It would be easier for her now if she could pull away. Lash out at him like all the other times he'd nearly deceived her. It would be easier for her if she could attack him before he had the opportunity to hurt her, the way she always did.
But if she wanted to maintain the loving wife who'd seen the error of her ways act then she had to remain in his arms.
And with each passing moment, it grew harder and harder not to fall under his spell.
'It'll be fine.' She assured herself. 'It'll be easier to act if I believe it. And then, when matters are settled, I can just return back to normal.'
She was confident she'd be able to recover, even if she wound up believing a disgusting lie or two.
Alberu gently released her and there were his eyes again, alight with emotions that made her breath catch in her throat.
"Please don't get hurt again." He pleaded, his hand caressing her cheek gently in such an intimate gesture that it completely caught her off guard.
Cale looked away, trying to remember how her act was supposed to go. At a loss for anything, her response came out naturally. "They got far more hurt than I did." She said with a scoff.
She had to have been imagining the pride in his gaze as he smiled at her. It didn't look like his normal fake smile either. The sight of it made her stomach flutter uncomfortably. "Yes. They were hardly a match for you."
Cale felt color flood her cheeks.
She didn't need anyone to recognize her strength. She was a Henituse and that meant that she'd undergone a certain amount of martial arts training. She knew she was capable and she kept in shape to protect her daughter.
She never once cared if anyone praised her for being strong or praised her for anything at all–after all, she'd spent the majority of her life ensuring that no one would have anything to praise about her at all.
And yet, hearing him acknowledge her with such a soft expression was intoxicating.
This was dangerous.
She knew at the very core of her being that she was in danger if she let this proceed.
She was getting so close to how she'd thought about him at that time and she never wanted to let herself fall so foolishly for his fake kindness ever again.
The delicate moment was interrupted by a sound coming from the bed and the pair of them turned in tandem to see Penelope had moved in her sleep.
An involuntary smile tugged at Cale's lips before she could hide it, her heart softened and healed by the sight of her daughter.
She didn't notice that Alberu had seen it.
Cale stood up from where she'd been pretty much sitting in Alberu's lap, stretching her arms over her head in a poor act of nonchalance. "It's late." She said.
"It is." He agreed and her ears must be playin tricks on her because he sounded lonely.
"I'm going back to bed." She said with a blaise disregard. "We'll discuss matters in the morning."
"That sounds amenable." He said stiffly and Cale laid back onto the bed, subtly making sure that Penelope was properly tucked in.
"...are you staying here till morning?" She asked and there was a strange lilt to her voice.
"There's lots of work to do." He said by way of explanation and even at this distance she could still see the heavy bags.
She only offered because of her act.
"You should lie down with us." She said.
It was just for the act.
She didn't care for him. She was using him and when he'd served his purpose, she'd treat him just as coldly as ever.
She definitely didn't invite him to lie with her because his clear exhaustion worried her.
"...that's alright." He said and she felt strangely insulted at the rejection.
"Fine then." She huffed, turning over on the bed.
It's not like she'd wanted him to join them. She didn't. She was just annoyed that he'd rebuffed her overly kind offer.
She knew that he hated her but even she could lie with a person she hated, if only for one night to get some rest. How disgusting he must find her to be unable to even lie at her side when he was so clearly sleep deprived.
She'd certainly never offer again.
Alberu could be heard returning to his work and Cale felt the anger melt into disappointment.
She'd hoped he'd change his mind.
It just goes to show that she ought never expect anything from him at all.
He hated her and she hated him. If not for Penelope, it was unlikely that they would ever see each other at all.
There was simply no love in their marriage and there never had been.