The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

"Not over our dead bodies!" the leader barked, drawing a rusted sword and attacking him head-on. Maurice defended against the clumsy swing easily, the clang of metal echoing in the narrow alley, before ducking low and driving the blade straight into the man’s thigh.

The thug cried out in sharp pain, clutching his bleeding leg as he collapsed onto the damp ground.

Seeing their leader fall, the remaining three men instantly grew alert and rushed Maurice all at once. From the mouth of the alley, Louis cheered loudly for his companion, throwing his fists into the air. "Show them what you’ve got, Maurice!"

It didn’t take long for Maurice to take the remaining men down, finishing the fight in under a minute. The four thugs struggled to their feet with difficulty and ran away, crying out in pain and cursing into the night.

Louis ran over to Maurice and patted his back enthusiastically. "You really are the perfect knight for our Duke," he said with a proud smile.

The two men smiled at each other before turning their attention back to the woman, who was watching them silently from the shadows.

"Miss, are you alright?" Louis asked finally, his tone softening.

"Yes. Thank you for helping me out," the woman replied. She bowed her head politely before trying to walk past them to leave the alley.

"Hey, stop!" Louis said casually, stepping into her path. "Don’t you recognize me?"

The woman stopped and gave him a cold, defensive stare. "If you want me to pay any debts to you, then you have the wrong person."

"We aren’t debt collectors," Maurice answered, slipping the dagger away.

"Exactly. You and I met that day on the street," Louis said immediately, snapping his fingers as the memory fully clicked. "You used me as a shield to hide yourself from those thugs. Look, I want to help you. Men like that will just keep coming after you."

"Why would you help me when I have nothing to give you, sir?" The woman finally turned to face him fully, her expression guarded and skeptical.

"Miss, we aren’t the type of men you’re taking us as. Louis is the personal advisor of the Duke while I’m his personal bodyguard. Don’t doubt our intentions. Those men may harm you in future," Maurice stated with a calm tone.

Louis realized that the woman was deeply doubtful of the people around her, a cautiousness that was entirely necessary given her situation.

"Where do you live, Miss? We will escort you safely back to your home," Louis offered warmly.

The woman’s defensive expression softened for a fleeting moment before she masked it again. "I don’t think noblemen would care to step foot in the place where I live. Thank you for tonight, but I will go by myself," she pronounced firmly, turning to walk ahead.

Louis was swift, moving ahead of her to gently block her path. The woman lifted her gaze, looking directly into his sharp eyes.

"We don’t want to feel guilty later for failing to ensure you made it back safely," Louis corrected her with a reassuring smile. "And besides, we aren’t nobles. We are just common men like anyone else."

The woman’s expression faltered for a moment. She lowered her gaze and nodded reluctantly. "Don’t complain later."

She walked ahead out of the alley while both Louis and Maurice followed her. They hired a rented carriage to ease the journey, but it was forced to stop after some distance as the grand palace stone roads gave way to thick, unpaved mud.

"We need to walk from here," the woman said, stepping out of the carriage.

"We can do that," Louis said, glancing at Maurice, who nodded in agreement.

As they walked through the dark, dirty grounds, a strange, pungent smell began to hang heavy in the air. The two men instinctively covered their noses with their sleeves and kept following the woman until the foul odor finally began to fade. At last, they stopped before her place. It was a small, weathered hut with a single, dim lantern hanging outside the wooden door.

"Thank you for escorting me back safely," the woman said, turning back around and bowing politely to them once more.

"Come to the administration center tomorrow. I’ll help you get rid of those men," Louis stated confidently.

"Why?" She blinked in surprise, staring at him. "Sir?"

"What do you mean why? I can’t just ignore this," he answered, crossing his arms.

"Then, this entire village is drowning in debts. Will you help all of them too?" the woman asked.

Louis caught his breath, momentarily stuck for words. He looked around the bleak surroundings before turning back to her with a resolute expression. "Why not? If the debts are being collected wrongfully, I absolutely will. My position is meant to help the needy and the vulnerable. So, I will do my best."

The woman smiled faintly, keeping her gaze low.

"Your good name, Miss?" Louis asked.

"Elodie, sir," she replied softly.

"I’ll wait for you tomorrow, Miss Elodie," Louis said, giving her a slight, respectful bow. Maurice did the same, and the two men turned back toward the main road.

Once they were settled back inside the carriage, Louis looked down at his mud-covered boots, the silence of the carriage replacing the bleakness of the slums.

"You have never frequented such places. How did you manage to even step foot in there without a complaint?" Maurice asked, tilting his head with genuine curiosity.

"Because I recalled my own childhood," Louis replied, his voice dropping. "I wasn’t raised in a well-off family, as you know. My mother did not possess noble blood," he murmured, and he felt upset for the people living in such wretched conditions.

But a troubling question began to form in his mind. How had such a desperate slum managed to develop right here in Varos? He was certain the palace administration had measures in place to ensure the common people could live at least a decent, stable life.

"Miss Elodie seems to be a strong lady. She had been fighting such thugs for so long. I wonder if she never complained about them!?" Maurice muttered, which made Louis think deeper.