Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 60: Bonding (2)
Dante stood up to follow Ophelia. "You are too easy to tease. Have you ever had a day where you simply had fun and weren’t so guarded?"
"I lived in the Valthorn castle. How could I have fun there? There wasn’t anything fun to do in your castle as well," Ophelia replied.
"Then, you should have fun here. There is plenty to do in the capital, and with all the celebrations for our marriage, you are bound to find something you like. I don’t know Theo, but he might love to hear of all the fun things you did here," said Dante.
Ophelia stopped walking and faced Dante. "Don’t use my brother’s name to convince me." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"I am trying to help him. If I had a sister who worked hard to take care of me, I would feel guilty knowing that while she was free, she only thought of me. For all the work you did, you should reward yourself for a day or two," Dante suggested.
"I do reward myself, and at your expense. I have eaten plenty. Eating is fun for me," Ophelia said, now excited for dinner.
"I see now why Thomas has taken a liking to you. He likes to eat, and he is even more fond of those who feed him. Eating cannot be all that you do for fun. Before we leave, I shall take you around the town," said Dante.
"Is it needed?" Ophelia asked, thinking it would be tiring with the crowd.
"It is so my wife isn’t bored. There are things you can get here that you cannot get on my land or Joel’s. You can get gifts for your brother and set them aside until you see him."
Ophelia thought it over. "I would be spending your money since I don’t have any of my own."
"That, I expected. As my wife, there is money bestowed upon you so you can do whatever you want. I won’t stop you, and no one else can interfere. Get whatever you need before we return home," Dante said, noticing a smile reach Ophelia’s lips.
"Since you are offering, I should do it. There is plenty I would like to buy," Ophelia said, thinking of what to get Theo.
Now that she had the chance, Ophelia wanted clothes that were bought for her brother, not something handed down from someone else.
Ophelia looked to her right when Dante started to laugh. "Why are you laughing? Were you joking about letting me spend money?"
"No, that is not why I laugh. I can see how you are planning to spoil your brother and buy nothing for yourself," Dante said, and judging from Ophelia’s silence, he knew he was right.
Ophelia wished Dante would stop reading her so easily. "I cannot help it. I want him to be spoiled. I don’t need to buy myself a treat. I am satisfied with all the new dresses I received to come here and all the itchy shoes."
"Are you going to wear those grand dresses when you live with your brother? If you think of your brother all the time, when do you have time to think of yourself?" Dante asked.
"I am not concerned about myself. I can always survive with what I have, but I want my brother to be spoiled. If he is happy, then I am happy. If it will make you drop this, I shall buy myself many dresses. It is awfully hot here," Ophelia said, fanning herself.
"You must take care of yourself, Ophelia. If you don’t, you might fall, and who will look after your brother then? I will join you on your outing so you don’t spend your money only on your brother," Dante decided.
Ophelia didn’t like the idea of Dante joining her. It would gather more attention. "Why must you do that? You said that you would not interfere with what I buy."
"And I will keep my word. While you are so busy caring for your brother, someone has to look after you, Ophelia. While you are in my care, I will see it as my duty to watch over you. You must overcome the guilt for the life you have now. Your brother will understand."
"That is easier said than done. If you lose tomorrow after using this time to speak to me instead of training, I won’t speak to you until we return to the castle."
"You’ll reward me with silence? Don’t you know how much I like peace?" Dante joked.
Ophelia raised her hand, wanting to give Dante a spanking, but she stopped before she made a grave mistake. She hadn’t uncovered what was so strange about Dante, and until then, it was best not to hit him, even if playfully.
"I am going to ignore you. It is best for my sanity and best for your life that I do," Ophelia said, deciding to walk away.
Dante noticed how Ophelia stepped away from him. She was afraid of him, and he knew the cause of it.
"Have dinner with me. Instead of being alone in your chamber, you should join me and the others at the table. My knights will be around so that you won’t be troubled with only my presence. Will you agree?? Dante asked, hopeful she would accept.
"As fun as that sounds, I’m sure my presence would ruin your knight’s dinner since they aren’t fond of me yet. I am also yet to get over the last time I sat with you for dinner. If it is you who becomes poisoned, I am dead," Ophelia said, making a slicing motion by her neck.
"No one will be poisoned. I hope," Dante added, since everyone seemed to be losing their minds as of late. "You will be seated beside me. For the knights to see that you are not a threat, you must be around them. They will be on their best behaviour tonight."
"How do you know?"
"I have threatened a week’s worth of training that would make them beg for death if they are not well behaved. Think about it. If anyone makes the mistake of disrespecting you, you can watch them be tortured," said Dante.
Ophelia smiled, liking the sound of Dante’s plans. "Now, that sounds fun. There is still some time before dinner is served, so I will think about it. I hope that I am not leaving my peaceful chamber to be elsewhere for others to glare at me."
"You won’t be. You will have plenty of food for you to slip from the table and sneak back to your chamber. My apologies," Dante apologised after Ophelia looked flustered. "It is good you do not have your knife with you now."
"Indeed, it is. You must be careful with how you tease me before you see my knife up close. Goodbye, Dante," Ophelia said, turning on her heels to leave this time.
