“What happened out there?”

  Coroban frowned. “I couldn’t do much to help, unfortunately. But Rosa seems to be okay. I think your wife might be here, too.”

  “Frost shouldn’t be back this early… they must have sent for her once I fell asleep. What a mess. I’m glad they’re both alright, at least.”

  She nodded. “Hopefully things will be fine until you wake up, now that both of them are around. They’ll probably take you back to the estate, given what went on at the temple…”

  “What did happen, Coroban?”

  “From what I could tell, it seems like the tree took control of the priestesses somehow? They were practically little trees themselves. One of them barely flinched when I took an arm off with my scythe. There were quite a few priestesses gathered in the hall.”

  “We killed the tree, though… how could it still control anyone?”

  “Perhaps it’s a residual effect, something that lasted even past its death? Or we’ve misunderstood the nature of the tree somehow.”

  Or the tree wasn’t dead, and we had just wounded it. It might be necessary to return to the city and make sure it was finished for good.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “In any case, thank you for placing your trust in me, Helian. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. There shouldn’t be any lasting effect on your body, I think.”

  “… what kind of lasting effect could there have been?”

  “Well… I’m not entirely certain. We’re in uncharted territory since there are no records of anyone being in our situation, so I was a bit worried that something might happen. But when you wake up, do apologize to Rosa for me – I gave her quite a scare, I think.”

  Yes, I could certainly imagine how Rosa felt to learn that the duchess had taken control of my body, even if it was temporary. I was still uncomfortable with the idea, even if it seemed that she was on my side now. In the first place I had never fully understood her intentions, and it was possible that she still had plans that would be a problem for me.

  “On the topic of apologies… I suppose I owe your wife one as well. I hadn’t known that you were already spoken for when I asked His Majesty to arrange our marriage. I wish you had told me!”

  “Well, we weren’t together at the time…”

  “Still, she was always in your heart, wasn’t she? I could tell you were distracted, and I wasn’t sure why. I should have realized it was lovesickness. Getting between someone and their true love is the last thing I could ever want!”

  “You’re saying you would have just let me go?”

  “Of course! Well, probably… I think I would have…”

  Adhering to the plot had closed my mind off to many possibilities over time, and it had never even occurred to me that I could have simply had a conversation with Coroban and worked everything out. It’s possible I could have worked something out with the countess too, for that matter… if I had been honest with her about everything.

  Was my mind still closed to possibilities even now?