Chapter 80: A Confidential Letter
"I think we should start with something simple, Your Highness."
Tillian smiled and moved a pile of unopened letters closer, positioning it right in front of Aideen. While very determined to finally dive into the depth of Duke’s daily responsibilities in order to help him with his overwhelming workload, the princess still had to wait until the weekend for him to be rested enough to guide her through the intricate details of his routine.
The lady kept practicing her reading and writing skills and tried to keep up with her magic lessons just to make sure her excitement would not throw her off the track, but she could not help feeling exhilarated –– she would finally work together with Tillian; they would finally work as a real couple.
But now that she was sitting right next to him, enveloped in his intoxicating scent and constantly in contact with him, she was on the verge of exploding.
’He is too close for me to concentrate... Goodness, Aideen, get a hold of yourself! This is not the time to be flustered at all!’
The princess tried to compose herself which only resulted in a light frown etched between her elegant eyebrows. The Duke noticed her forced efforts and stretched his lips into a warm smile, continuing his explanations,
"My daily, or nightly, if you please, routine starts with checking my correspondence and sorting it out in two piles: the ones that need my response, and the ones that don’t."
"How do you decide what letters go to what pile? Based on what?"
Duke Valentine took the first letter from the unsorted stack and placed it in front of the princess, resuming,