The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 90: Unwanted Female Interactions

Jerrick offered a tight smile. "If you’ll excuse me, Lady Celena," he said curtly, before moving away gently getting Jessamyn out of the odd woman’s hold.

"I’m surprised you don’t see it, Your Grace," Celena said.

Jerrick’s steps faltered slightly at her insistence. She seemed to possess knowledge about something that eluded him, a hidden piece of information that made him uneasy.

"Tethering oneself to the dead is akin to dining with death, Your Grace!"

Celena’s voice rang like a bell in the hallway. Jerrick’s face hardened hearing it. He quickened his pace, determined to put distance between them.

"I shall offer my help if you wish for it, Your Grace," Celena shouted for Jerrick to hear.

The Kingsguards watched the interaction in silence. When Celena broke into a chuckle, they gulped and pretended she was not there.

Celena’s eyes fixed on Jerrick’s leg as he walked away. Despite his flickering cape obscuring her view, his majestic gait was unmistakable, embodying the vigor of a healthy, masculine man.

"It’s wonderous what love does, don’t you think, Hyatt?" she asked the guard.

The guard smiled hiding his shock. He didn’t know Lady Celena knew his name. His heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him.

"Have you let a sword pass through your soul yet...?" Celena mumbled, letting out a deep sigh as she stared at Jerrick’s broad back. A deep sense of longing flickered in her eyes as she gazed at him and it disappeared as it appeared—swiftly.

The guards deliberated if they should answer her or not. Like the wind, Celena left the pondering guards and climbed up the stairs. The strong woman who held her chin high amid the scrutinizing glares was no more as she walked with a hunch, staring at the floor.

Jerrick ignored her and walked out. The men who joined him emerged from the shadows they were hiding.

"Bernard..." Jerrick said out of habit. Seeing Bernard not there, he looked at the tallest among the men. "My carriage," he commanded.

While he was waiting for the carriage, he sensed a flowery scent approaching him. He looked at Jessamyn and her eyebrows furrowed.

"My-"

"Greetings, Your Grace..."

A silky voice interjected Jerrick’s call for Jessamyn. Jerrick chose to feign deafness to it. He found himself puzzled by the sudden influx of female attention that day, though perhaps it was directed more towards Jessamyn. It struck him as odd, considering that women typically kept their distance from her.

He looked at Jessamyn and noticed the furrow line between her eyebrows.

The woman who owned the silky voice and spread the flowery fragrance didn’t get Jerrick’s message to be left alone. She walked to Jerrick.

"Is Lady Jessamyn still not feeling well? Should I call for a doctor?" Lady Cordelia asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Jerrick’s gaze bore into her, as if he was looking at a fool. Did she truly believe he hadn’t considered it? Did she take him for a fool, or did she believe only the Dahlberg family could afford physicians?

"Surely, you are escorting her home..." Lady Cordelia smiled, trying to break the wall of awkwardness between them.

Jerrick’s incredulous expression didn’t change. "Did you lose something?" Jerrick asked. Surely, she must have dropped her brain somewhere for her to annoy him.

"I’m afraid not, Your Grace..." Lady Cordelia smiled, her gloved hand covering her face. Signs of stress appeared on her face feeling the aversion Jerrick had toward her. "Alas, I have missed the opportunity to converse with Lady Jessamyn today."

"How terrible for you," Jerrick scoffed.

"Ehem..." Lady Cordelia cleared her throat covering her mouth. Her face blushed out of embarrassment.

Jerrick stepped aside, surveying the area for the arrival of his carriage. However, Lady Cordelia intercepted him, approaching with purpose, a sealed envelope clutched delicately in her hand.

Halting before him, she extended the envelope toward Jerrick. He glanced at it briefly before moving to the side. In truth, he yearned to release his hand to grasp his sword. All it would need is a single slash for that slender neck.

"Will you be so kind as to deliver this to Lady Jessamyn?" Lady Cordelia presented the envelope before him. "I have arranged for a tea party at our estate in a few days’ time. It would be an honor if Lady Jessamyn graced us with her presence."

Jerrick’s eyebrows twitched. Is this woman retarded? Can she not see Jessamyn right in front of her, unconscious?

He could empathize with Louis’s reluctance to wed someone of diminished faculties up there. Fate, it seemed, had dealt her a cruel hand. Devoid of both charm and allure, her prospects for marriage appeared bleak... Yet, there remained her wealth, a consolation of sorts.

"Ah, I see..." Lady Cordelia’s expression soured upon noticing Jessamyn in Jerrick’s arms. With an awkward gesture, she placed the envelope on Jessamyn’s chest, mindful of Jerrick’s hold.

Perhaps realizing the absurdity of her actions, she swiftly retrieved the envelope. "I’ll..." With a strained expression, she took a step back, executing a hasty curtsy before fleeing the scene.

Jerrick released a sigh of relief, his gaze softening as he beheld Jessamyn, now resting peacefully with closed eyes. Surveying his surroundings, he noted the absence of any unwarranted female advances.

As his carriage drew near, he felt a wave of reassurance wash over him, grateful that his life had regained its semblance of normalcy.

However, he didn’t notice the dark figure observing him from the distance.

"Inform no one of my departure," Jerrick ordered his men before getting in the carriage.

He gently closed the door of the carriage and carefully settled Jessamyn onto the seat. "You can open your eyes now," he whispered, kneeling before her.

Jessamyn’s eyelids fluttered, her lips pressing together to suppress her expressions.

Jerrick knocked his knuckles on the roof of the carriage, signaling to the driver to commence their journey.

Even after the carriage moved, there was no movement from Jessamyn making Jerrick reconsider whether she was truly awake or not.

"Myna!" he called. "Open your eyes..." he held her cheeks.