Chapter Text
…
“Father!”
A smile appeared on Gerald Stuart’s lips as his office door opened, revealing a beautiful little girl followed by her harried maids. He placed his pen down and accepted the hug from his darling three-year old, pressing butterfly kisses on her forehead.
“Good morning, little princess.” Gerald said, making her giggle. He swept a stray curl of golden hair from her face and tucked it back into her ribbon. “What have you been up to today?”
“Her lessons are finished, Your Highness.” The maid answered for her charge, as the little girl was more preoccupied with making her father carry her. “Her tutor dismissed her for the day.”
“Already? Taking after me again, are you? We can’t have that, I know your mother’s a little upset you look so much like me…” Gerald said, securing his daughter on his hip. She immediately began to play with the gold buttons in his chest, enchanted by how shiny it was. “Wouldn’t you like to take after your mother more? Maybe she can teach you how to climb trees…”
“Mother!” she said, blue eyes sparkling.
“Yes, sweetheart. But you don’t like mud all over you, do you?” Gerald asked in amusement. “Especially in such pretty clothes…”
“No, thank you.” she said, the idea not appealing to her right now. Maybe some other time…
“I thought so.” Gerald smiled at her adorable frown. “We can only hope your sibling take after her then, I already have you to dote on. Isn’t that right, Genevieve?”
“Little sister.” Genevieve nodded solemnly, blonde curls bouncing.
“It could be a brother, sweetheart.” Gerald chuckled, standing up, careful of the precious bundle in his arms. “Let’s visit your mother, shall we?”
“Oh! Yes, please!”
…
If the gods could grant Gerald one power, it would be the ability to read minds. It would serve him well, politics was its own kind of war ground, only with words and hidden motives. And now that Geoffrey and Ian seemed to be consenting with the idea of him being King (rather than let the other have it), being able to read minds would go a long way to make sure his probable reign was stable. Also, see traitors and court vipers.
But if he had to admit, he would probably use it more on his wife. Even now, after having her by his side for four years, after having her all to himself and learning to love her further, deeper, Gerald still couldn’t fathom what was going on in Katarina Stuart’s mind.
“—we got engaged because he felt responsible for the injury on my head—”
True.
“—and he married me m-maybe because he still felt responsible? I mean—”
No.
See.
This was his problem right now.
Even married, with a child, and another one on the way, she still doesn’t get it.
Gerald had been confident, too confident that his actions would prove themselves to Katarina. He thought he had all the time in the world, that marrying her was equal to him winning her over, that it would be enough to show just how much he loved her and that she would soon profess her love as well once she realized…
It’s been four years and counting.
Well, it had been obvious to everyone else. Just not to her.
Even telling her directly that he loved her would just result in red cheeks and a bemused look, as if Katarina couldn’t even fathom the idea.
The proof of their union was looking at him with furrowed brows, wondering why they haven’t entered her mother’s parlor yet. Genevieve was a cautious little girl however, another trait she got from him, and kept quiet instead of calling for her mother.
Gerald took a minute to compose himself, frustration threatening to appear on the surface, and he took a deep breath before knocking.
“Come in!”
He opened the door to the sight of his wife and her friends, of Mary, Maria and Sophia seated on a round table with tea and snacks served. The girls seemed to be a little troubled, although their expressions eased when he entered.
And there was the source of his frustration. Long chestnut hair, icy blue eyes that lit up at the sight of Gerald and their daughter.
“Baby!” Katarina said as she stood up, revealing the gentle roundness of her stomach, snug on a pale blue gown Gerald’s mother had gifted.
“Mama!” Genevieve called back, delighted. His daughter adored her mother, and all of Genevieve’s lessons on proper speech were promptly thrown out the window whenever she was with Katarina.
Gerald quietly enjoyed the sight of his wife and daughter cooing at each other, his gaze soft.
Her remembered how Duke Luigi had almost strangled him when it was revealed Katarina was pregnant with Genevieve. All of Katarina’s admirers had given him flak, Alan had actually given him a few blows and Nicol seemed to be an inch away from doing the same. Gerald had waved their anger away with his usual mask of indifference but underneath it all, he had been worried and terrified.
They had not planned for a child. And now he was going to be a father.
They had been mostly worried about Katarina. She was barely nineteen after all. Too young to be a mother. But to everyone’s surprise, Katarina had been more than excited to have her. They had worried she only liked the idea of having a child, that she didn’t know the hard realities of having such a dependent, needy little one but everyone was once again shocked when she took to motherhood with the same expertise she had with climbing trees.
Gerald’s hands had trembled when he first held his daughter, his eyes wide and clothes dishevelled, and Katarina had laughed at him and took their daughter away, holding her with such ease. Katarina rocked her to sleep, fed her on her own, dressed her and cleaned her with barely any help from servants. Her effortless mothering stunned everyone, Gerald most of all, and he couldn’t help but ache whenever he saw his wife and child together, and during those moments he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
And then there were moments like these.
Moments when, despite everything that happened between them, despite all his efforts to prove otherwise, Katarina was still oblivious to just how much he adored her.
Heaven help him.
“Wife,” Gerald greeted, tamping down his irritation. Katarina flushed a fetching shade of red, and the way she fumbled as she kissed his lips in greeting eased his worry. He knew she loved him, or at least would never entertain the idea of being with anyone else, but she still doesn’t get it.
“Mama, kiss please.” Genevieve requested politely, making Katarina laugh and press kisses all over their daughter’s face.
“Greet your aunts, Genevieve.” Gerald placed her down and patted her head, and the little girl promptly went to her smiling aunts and godmother.
“How are you feeling?” Gerald hummed, pressing his lips on her forehead, stroking a hand on her barely obvious bump.
“Fine, fine! We’re both fine.” Katarina beamed at him. She had curled an arm over his and all but melted on his side. She yawned widely, blinking back tears.
“A little sleepy, are you?” he said, escorting her to sit with her ladies. Paperwork littered her desk, no doubt filled with proposals. Another thing that was a pleasant surprise to him. Katarina disliked schoolwork, they had to force her to do homework back at the academy, but it was the opposite when it came to projects to help the people. She mostly wanted projects for agriculture, but that was a given considering her obsession for farming.
Still, her enthusiasm only endeared her to the citizens. She’d be a popular Queen...
“A little. But we’re done with planning the charity Sophia wanted to host!” Katarina said with another yawn. “The organizer just left, he was very kind.”
“Charity organizer…Wouldn’t he be the Oliver with red hair? The one we went to school with?”
“Yes! You know him?”
“Oh, I know him alright…”
Katarina had gone a long way, had matured ever since she started living in the palace. Being a prince’s wife taught her to be a little less prone to outbursts and a little more composed, but she never did lose her cheerful spark, nor that pesky ability of hers to charm people of all walks of life.
Even now, Alan and Mary still weren’t married, Keith and Maria were still single, and Nicol, while he did manage to engage himself to a girl he could tolerate, the lady in question was also enamored with Katarina.
The people his wife attracted, really…
Feeling a surge of possessiveness, Gerald sat his wife on his lap despite her sputtering. They were alone with friends, he could cuddle her all he wanted, and he could care less about Mary’s withering glare.
“Isn’t this your favorite, Evie?” Sophia was saying, pushing a plate of lemon cake in front of Genevieve. Gerald had long since given up on discouraging the others from giving his daughter nicknames. His mother especially loved the nicknames because Genevieve was named after her and Gerald. “Would you like to have it, princess? It’s the last slice.”
“No, thank you.” Genevieve answered politely, though her bright blue eyes followed the plate of cake. She took a sip of tea to hide her stare.
Oh?
Gerald blinked. Why was his daughter refusing her favorite treat?
She must be going through a ‘no’ phase again…
“Really?” Mary said teasingly. “Then you won’t mind if I have it, then?”
That made the little girl pause, mouth going slack, before her lips pursed in an expression that was reminiscent of Katarina being denied sweets. Gerald felt laughter at his side and he looked at his wife, and Katarina was gazing back at him with such warmth that Gerald felt a sliver of exasperation because it was clear she loved him and yet she still refused to see…
“I won’t mind.” Genevieve was muttering, playing with the laces of her dress. Maria and Sophia cooed at her pouting.
“Oh, really? You love this cake but you wouldn’t mind me having it? It’s not my favorite but we can’t waste sweets.” Mary continued to tease, and Gerald frowned thoughtfully at her words.
Mary gracefully took a forkful of cake and slowly raised it to her lips. Genevieve was now sitting up straight, blue eyes wide.
“May I have it, please?” she finally said in a flustered voice. Katarina buried her face in Gerald’s chest to muffle her laughter, but Gerald was too deep in thought to be amused.
Hm… there was an idea…
Sophia and Maria were hiding their giggles, not wanting to embarrass the little girl. Mary nodded seriously and patted the empty seat on her side. “Only if I get to feed the princess her favorite cake.”
This was more than agreeable to Genevieve, who left her seat next to her Aunt Sophia and cheerfully sat down next to Mary, opening her mouth like a baby bird.
“Father, cake?” Genevieve asked after a mouthful. “Mother, too?”
“I already ate, Evie. It’s all for you and papa.” Katarina said, but when she looked at Gerald he was frowning, and he blinked at her words before shaking his head.
“No, no. I’m fine.”
“…Gerald?”
He smiled at her very briefly before giving her a gentle push to dislodge her from his lap. “I just remembered, I have work to do. May I leave you ladies to your tea? Genevieve, don’t spoil your appetite, we’re having lunch with grandmother.”
“Grandmother!” Genevieve cheered, and Katarina's breath caught at the tender smile Gerald gave their daughter.
A soft kiss on her forehead. “See you at lunch.”
“Okay…”
The door closed with a faint click.
“Well,” Maria said in the issuing silence. “That was strange.”
…
It was strange. And it continued to be stranger.
Katarina wrung her hands before smoothing them over her stomach, the baby making fluttering motions inside her. Then she remembered what she did… what they did to make the baby, and her face flamed.
Katarina wrapped the gold cloak around her, Gerald’s cloak, the one he left over his desk. It smelled like him, warm and comfortable, like ash and cedar. She breathed out softly.
She was… comfortable with Gerald.
Which was... good?
More than good, really...
After graduating and realizing that the game was finally done and over, Katarina had panicked. She knew nothing now, had no clue what was going to happen next. But then again, wasn’t that her goal? To survive the death flags? And now that she finally did, she felt listless and unsure. Drifting. Her friends were there, yes, and she felt confident that none of them would turn her away, but they all had responsibilities.
Maria was going to work for the administration with Raphael, and Sophia planned to apprentice under the Royal Library guild. Nicol was training under his father to be the next Prime Minister, the same with Keith, who was being given more duties under the Claes household. Mary never told Katarina of her plans, and she remembered her friend staring at her with an odd look sometimes, but she was Alan’s fiancée and Katarina was sure she’d make a lovely princess…
When her mother asked her what she planned on doing, Katarina didn’t know what to answer.
She had been too busy with the death flags and what came after… with her abduction and Keith running away. But after he returned, everything was finally alright but…
She didn’t know what to do with herself.
She had built her life around surviving the death flags, that when she finally did, she realized she never planned on what came after.
So when Gerald pulled her away one night and asked for her hand once more, she took a deep breath and said yes.
If he really wanted a convenient marriage, she’d let him have it. Convenient fiancée, convenient wife.
Even if her heart felt like it was being squeezed tight when she agreed.
She didn’t expect the breathtaking smile Gerald bestowed her with, and she really really wasn’t prepared for the long, drawn out kiss that still made her turn red whenever she remembered.
She went through the wedding preparations in a daze, most of her friends cried, her mother had cried, and it was a large, lovely wedding that Katarina only dreamed before with A-chan in her past life. She said her vows and she said them seriously, but made a mental note to agree as fast as she could if Gerald ever asked for a divorce. She didn’t want a surprise death flag to pop up on her, and Gerald surprisingly allowed her keep a plot of land for her vegetables inside the palace grounds… so she wouldn’t let her farming skills get rusty in case she still got banished.
Marrying Gerald was… unexpected.
She wondered, sometimes, if the DLC or sequel of the game would feature something this pleasant, like a slice of life expansion.
And she also wondered if it was R-rated.
Because it was. In her experience anyway.
Gerald didn’t force her, and she knew he would never. Katarina accepted that the Gerald she won over in the game was an alien compared to the Gerald that was now her… husband. He wasn’t afraid of snakes anymore anyway, so she might as well forget about ‘game Gerald’.
Gerald liked her, he showered her with gifts and never made her uncomfortable. He let her visit the Claes estate whenever she wanted, and he didn’t mind having her friends over so as long as she told him beforehand. Outside of her new princess duties, he let her be, and the only request he made of her was that they spend more time and learn more about each other.
That led to talks and soft kisses, embraces and secret touches that Katarina slowly learned to initiate. She still remembered the look of shock on Gerald’s face when she kissed him for the first time.
He was patient with her and so Katarina decided to be good to him too, because well… she was curious.
They… they were a married couple, weren’t they?
Her mother told her it hurt the first time, and one day Mary gave her some weird metal to use on Gerald if ‘the bastard ever hurt you’ (Katarina knew she was clueless sometimes but even she knew the device was meant to neuter someone the first time she saw it, and wow she never knew Mary was that ruthless). Sophia and Maria both blushed and didn’t meet her eyes and Katarina quickly changed the topic.
It did hurt, but it was also sweet and gentle and good, just as it said on the more mature books Sophia slipped her sometimes. Gerald had fretted more than her and that made her less nervous. She had even stared at him at one point, a little frustrated, cheeks red and blurting at him to just get it over with.
Well, he did.
And proved he was still the perfect sadistic prince, because he got far far better at it, and it didn’t hurt at all the next few times it happened, to the point that Katarina realized, with a dawning horror, that it became almost a nightly routine of theirs.
Were… were they supposed to do it this much?
So she shouldn’t have been surprised when she had Evie just three months after they married, with the amount of times they—
Well.
And Katarina loved Evie the moment she was born. She felt she had a purpose now, to be as good as a mother as her first had been, as good as her mother Miri Diana (but without the loud scolding). Katarina liked children, she used to volunteer with A-chan at the daycare her older brother worked at in the past, and they were so easy to please too. And Evie was such a good girl, she looked so much like Gerald it was startling, but Katarina promised herself that no daughter of hers would be bored or lonely as child Gerald had been.
And Evie was just perfect really, and she was never bored with all the aunts and uncles she had and all the grandparents who wanted to spend time with her. But then Katarina realized one day that Evie didn’t have a playmate her age. None of her uncles had children, and Katarina’s friends weren’t married, strangely. And it was unacceptable because Evie was growing up, and as a child Katarina had a brother in Keith and friends in Gerald and the others, but her daughter had none.
So now she was having another baby, not only for Evie to have a playmate but also because Katarina realized she wanted another one. Gerald didn’t refuse, was even pleasantly surprised, and had even teased her that they had to be thoroughly sure she’d be carrying another baby soon—
Which she was right now, she thought with a hot flush. She never realized how red her face could go until she married Gerald.
But now… something was wrong.
“Is the baby kicking, Katarina dear?” came the concerned voice.
Katarina glanced at her mother-in-law who was looking at her with worry. “Oh. No, I was just… thinking.”
“Must be some thought, then. I called you three times before you answered.” The queen said lightly. “Is it little Evie? She’s with Alan at the moment, isn’t she? I know how delighted he is that she seems so interested in music.”
Katarina smiled slightly at that.
“Could it be Gerald?” The queen rose a brow when her daughter-in-law twitched. “Ah… so it is my foolish son. Tell me what he did. I’ll straighten him up.”
A part of Katarina wanted to see what her mother-in-law would do to straighten her son. The queen was childhood friends with Katarina’s mother so it’s something terrifying, no doubt, but she shook her head because… “It’s nothing. He did… nothing.”
And it was true. He didn’t do anything.
Gerald was being his usual self. Kind and gentle and accommodating… and yet—
There was something wrong.
At first, she couldn’t determine just what it was. But she knew something bothered him, that day Mary and the others visited. There was no change in their routine or the way he acted around her, but Gerald’s gaze suddenly seemed so far away. He was still careful with her, especially with the baby, but his attention was… fleeting. Distracted.
Then after a few days, Katarina felt oddly bereft, like she was missing something warm, and only then did she realize that there were no quiet embraces, no gentle kisses or touches aside from greetings or goodbyes.
Gerald was there… yet he wasn’t.
His smile, his eyes, everything about him was distant, and he seemed to resemble his game counterpart even more—
Oh.
Could it be…
“Mother?” Katarina asked tentatively. A prickle of unease crept on her neck. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this foreboding. Like… like a death flag was onto her—
Only this time it felt worse…
“Yes?” The queen asked brightly. “What is it, my dear?”
“As a child… did Gerald… how did you know he was bored?” Katarina asked stiltedly, heart pounding.
“Bored, you say?” The queen looked surprised, then her expression changed into a myriad of emotions. “It’s been so long ago that I forgot about that odd habit of his… Well, Gerald has always been the perfect child. He’d perform well with his tutors and he always seemed content. But then there were royal activities that were expected of him, duties that would be dull to a child, and I realized that he was only doing the bare minimum effort. Still perfect of course, but you could just feel how… distant? How uninterested he seemed—”
Oh.
There it was.
Bare minimum effort. Distant. Dull.
Gerald….
Could he be bored with her?
No… that was…
“—of course that all changed when he met you, my dear, and… Katarina you seem oddly pale—”
“Mother, where is Gerald?” Katarina asked in a daze, feeling cold all over.
“In his office, I assume—”
“Oh. May I be excused?” She was sort of numb…
“Wait. Katarina—”
Her feet led her to a familiar door, and she was only vaguely aware there were maids following her frantically, calling her name over and over. They couldn’t catch up with her, not really, because pregnant or not Katarina had trained her legs to escape death flags if she ever got convicted—
“Katarina?!”
Gerald’s voice rang in her ear, and she looked up to see his face stricken with alarm, and—oh. She opened the door to his office then. But when did he start holding her—?
She did feel a little dizzy, though…
“What’s wrong, what happened? Did you run to my office?!” Strong, warm arms hefted her in a gentle carry, then she was half-lying on the couch with hands soothing her all over, and people talking over her husband in worried voices. “Get the healer. Now. Someone will answer for this, how dare you allow my wife to be reduced to this state— Katarina, beloved, look at me. Is it the baby? What happened?”
Gerald’s frantic yet gentle tone was too much for her.
Because she knew Gerald loved Evie and loved the baby, but now Katarina realized she loved Gerald, and she didn’t know since when because she was so oblivious, but now Gerald was bored of her and it was a fear she never knew she was afraid of—
Because this wasn’t a game anymore.
Her feelings for Gerald had never been a game.
And then, she began to cry.
…
Katarina woke up slowly, her head heavy and her throat dry. Her first thought was of her baby, and relief spread through her when she felt the familiar fluttery sensation inside her stomach. Her baby was alright…
Her head didn’t feel as heavy now. She remembered running to Gerald’s office, feeling dizzy all of a sudden, and crying all over her husband before blacking out.
She must have fainted then.
A gentle touch on her hand made her blink, and the cool touch of glass on her lips made her drink automatically.
“Slowly,” came her husband’s low voice, and Katarina’s sight adjusted to the dark just in time to see Gerald’s tired face. Gerald’s tired and bruised face.
“Who hit you?” Katarina asked weakly, gaping as she sat on their bed.
Gerald rose a brow, looking incredibly put together for someone who looked like he came out of a brawl. “Which bruise are you asking about? Your father’s or my brother’s?”
“Father hit you? And… which brother are you talking about? Geoffrey? Alan?”
Instead of answering her, Gerald tucked a strand of her hair before sighing. “I owe you an apology.”
Katarina tensed, knuckles turning white. Her heart began to beat unsteadily. Here it was… If Gerald was bored of her, it was her own fault—at least he loved Evie and she would be still be their daughter and this baby too…
A sad chuckle. “How low of an opinion do you have of me?”
What?
“Katarina. Beloved.” Cool lips were pressed on her neck. “You know you’re talking out loud, right?”
Her breath paused. “…what?”
“Mn… in my office as well.” A deep sigh. “When I planned… all of this, I never expected it to get so out of control or reveal things I didn’t know was a problem. I did get what I want, like I always do, but at what cost, really…”
Katarina swallowed, lost and unsure. “Planned?”
“Yes. Planned.” Gerald tipped her chin gently. “But before anything else, let me clear the most obvious things in the world.”
Gerald kissed her then, like he had done so a thousand times before, only now it was different because Katarina gasped at the demanding pace he was setting, at the unyielding arm around her waist and the way he was rigid against her. It felt different and heated and she whimpered when he bit her lip almost harshly.
He was conveying something important, saying something, wanting to be heard with one kiss, and Katarina…
Katarina finally understood.
It could have been hours or minutes later but suffice to say, Katarina was sure her pale cheeks were finally red again. Gerald kissed her one last time before finally giving her room to breathe, yet it took her a while to find her voice.
“There. Are we clear?” Gerald said, and it was unfair how even his voice was—
“It’s not unfair. I have a good poker face, otherwise kissing won’t be the only thing we’re doing tonight. I don’t want to upset you or the baby.” Gerald said, and oh, he was breathing rather hard. “But are we clear, Katarina?”
This time, she knew what he meant. “You… love me.”
He barked out a laugh. “Yes.”
“…oh.”
“Oh, indeed.” He said, and the affection in his voice made her throat close up. “Move a little, will you? There we go.”
He ended up propping himself on their bed, Katarina using him as her pillow as usual. They were silent for a while, tired in different ways.
“You love me.” Katarina repeated in a hushed tone.
“Yes.”
“Like, really love me.”
Gerald laughed softly, placing a kiss on her nose. “Is there any other name for it?”
“I— since when? Even before… No, don’t answer that.”
“You wouldn’t like it.” Gerald said, and Katarina knew she didn’t imagine the trace of bitterness in his tone.
“I’m sorry—”
“Stop apologizing. I’m just glad the blinds are finally gone.” Gerald sighed, sending a quiet prayer of thanks. “But I can’t believe it took you this long, Katarina. I’ve courted you properly. We’ve been married for four years. We have a daughter. Did you really think I offered to marry you because I felt responsible for your scar?” Gerald paused, before sighing. “Well alright, it does seem sensible; there are plenty of noble marriages made out of that kind of duty—”
“Right.” Katarina said faintly.
“But when I heard you talking to the others about how it’s still the reason why I married you—”
“When—you were eavesdropping?”
“I was outside, with our daughter, when I came into topic—”
“Oh... Funny enough, Sophia was trying to convince me that you married me out of love.” Katarina said idly, blue eyes almost glowing in the dark.
“Wait, what?”
“Sophia’s always been a romantic so I didn’t believe her… although it wasn’t really the scar anymore. I thought you married me… to keep other women away.” And now there was a waver in her voice, and oh they were not deteriorating back to the start.
“I married you because I love you, and that’s all there is to it.” Gerald said plainly, enjoying the way embarrassed squeak she made. “And let me be clear. I will never be bored of you. How could you even… If there ever was a problem with us, we’ll be talking about it like we should from now on.”
“Okay.” Katarina whispered, and Gerald knew it would take a while for her to get used to the revelation, but he didn’t care. She now knew what she was to him, she had all the time in the world to adjust. Not that there was anything to adjust to, really, since all was said and done.
They really did this backwards, didn’t they? Marriage and children, then love confessions.
“What do you mean you planned this, though?” Katarina asked, looking up curiously.
Gerald sat up, looking stiff and faintly apologetic. “Let me be clear that I didn’t intend for you to be harmed in any way. That was never my intention. Do you understand, Katarina?”
“Yes.” She answered, making him sigh in relief.
“Still, you did faint and I’m sorry for that.” Gerald murmured. “But… do you remember a few weeks ago, when you were having tea with Mary and the others? It was the same day I visited with Evie…”
“Yes?”
“Well. Fascinating, really.” Gerald said, a little hesitant now. “Evie wasn’t taking the cake even though she clearly wanted it, and it was only after Mary teased her about eating it that she took it for herself… So I thought… maybe I could make you realize you wanted the cake the same way?”
A ringing silence.
“It’s manipulative, I know—”
“Go on.”
Gerald winced. “So I kept my distance. Tried to keep myself from touching or visiting you too much. I thought… that if you missed me, you’d realize you love me. I didn’t pause to think that you might be scared I didn’t love you anymore. You must have been terrified with that kind of reaction… I’m sorry…” He sighed. Then he paused at the sound of light sniffles. “Katarina?”
A hiccup. And then, “I love you.”
Gerald froze.
“I love you and I’m sorry you had to go that far to—Gerald?” Katarina blinked when he bounded out of bed.
“Sorry. I had to get up.” Gerald said, looking a bit wild-eyed. “Er… I’m having a bit of a reaction, I suppose.”
Katarina blinked. Then she started to laugh at the offended look on her husband’s face.
“Stop it. No, do you know how long I had to wait—Katarina, are you listening?”
She beckoned him closer, and he did, scowling all the while, and she kissed him and said, “I love you, husband.”
It was slow and faint that she almost missed it, but Katarina saw it. A dull flush creeping into Gerald’s cheeks and she grinned at the sight because the perfect, sadistic prince was blushing and oh, that never happened before—
“Stop laughing, Katarina! And what do you mean by sadistic, I’m not a sadist—careful! Stop laughing, you’ll roll out of bed—”
“I love you—”
“Don’t—don’t say it that way—”
“Tsundere—”
“What? What does that even mean—”
…
“Congratulations, Mary!” Katarina bounded happily, Gerald hovering over her with a frown, their daughter holding his hand contentedly. It was Alan and Mary’s engagement party, an event that surprised everyone within their circle as they announced it just two months before Katarina was due. It was a pleasant piece of news for Gerald… hopefully they’d be too busy to bother his wife now.
“Thank you, Katarina!” Mary gushed, taking Katarina’s signature vegetable bouquet with a beaming smile. “Now we’ll both be wives of princes! Isn’t it exciting?”
“…I’m not sure that’s the right reaction,” Katarina blinked. But Mary looked happy, so she smiled back. “But, yes. We’ll be sisters-in-law soon!”
“Oh!” Mary exclaimed with wide eyes, clutching her chest. “Yes! That’s right! Sisters!”
“You made her day,” Gerald said with a snort, watching his ‘love rival’ practically float in the air.
“Mother, Uncle Nicol is here!” Genevieve suddenly whispered and sure enough, there was a hush as all attention was on the newly appointed Assistant Prime Minister by the entrance. “Can we greet him? Please?”
“Of course!” Katarina cooed. Her daughter’s crush on Nicol was super cute! “He should rub my belly too; maybe your little sister can inherit his pretty genes, just like you—”
“If you want someone to rub your belly, I’m more than willing to do it for you.” Gerald said with gritted teeth, a possessive arm around her. “Am I not pretty enough for my own unborn child?”
Instead of waving it away or stuttering as she would have done before, Katarina laughed, imparting Gerald with a teasing look that she was only recently bold enough to do. “What do you say, Evie? Is papa good enough?”
Their daughter raised a brow, considering. “Father is handsome. But Uncle Nicol is the prettiest.”
“Now I’m not good enough for my own daughter.” Gerald muttered in disgust as Katarina sniggered at his side, their daughter having decided that she could leave on her own and greet Nicol without her parents weighing her down.
“I see Maria! I’ll go greet her, alright?” Katarina said brightly, pressing a kiss on his cheek before he could say a word.
“Please be careful,” Gerald said with exasperation, silently motioning to one of his guards to follow his very pregnant wife.
“Prince Gerald,” a voice called, and Gerald turned to see the couple of the hour.
“Alan, Mary.” Gerald said, taking a flute of wine from a passing servant and making a toast towards his brother and his fiancée. “Congratulations, again.”
“I believe all congratulations should be given to you, Prince Gerald.” Mary said, her wistful eyes on Katarina and Genevieve, who was being carried by Nicol. “How did you do it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Gerald said noncommittally.
“Oh, don’t play daft.” Mary glanced at him with a sigh. “She was… very happy, you know. Said she couldn’t believe how clear it seemed to her now and going on about how everything you did showed how much you… I’d have hit you just as Prince Alan did for playing with her like that but… I suppose it was long overdue.”
“I’m surprised you’re not more outraged by this.” Gerald rose a brow, both at his brother and Mary. Alan looked away mutedly, but Mary continued to look at him with that half-helpless, half-resilient look in her face.
“Oh, I’m not happy.” she said, flicking her fan to hide the tremble in her mouth.
“None of us are, really.” Alan murmured. “But we’re happy because she is.”
“And I’ve never seen her that breathlessly happy,” Mary said, eyes soft. “We all knew, you know. That Katarina loves you. We weren’t sure when it happened, but it did. She was just…”
“In denial?” Gerald said drily. Alan snorted.
“Very in denial. As with Katarina.” Mary sighed. “It was clearly hurting her and we couldn’t let it go on, no matter how much I… well. That day, when you interrupted with Evie, we were convincing her of your feelings.”
“That’s…” Gerald blinked. “Awfully thoughtful of you.”
“Oh, it wasn’t for your sake, believe me.” Mary snorted. “So now that Katarina realized she loves you… we’ll get married as well.”
She nodded at Alan, who gave her a slight smile.
“What do you—” Gerald’s eye twitched. “Does this mean you were waiting for Katarina to fall in love with me or not?”
Alan huffed. “We didn’t plan to time our engagement solely on it, but yeah. Pretty much.”
“Just in case.” Mary said lightly, as if she wasn’t talking about waiting for a marriage to break. “Oh, don’t look at us like that. What if you did something stupid, something horrible enough that she wanted to leave you—”
“—and then she’d needed a shoulder to cry on, wouldn’t she? Or an ear to listen?” Alan finished casually.
“We would have been there for her. Comforting her.” Mary quipped, wanting to mess with Gerald.
“Oh, we’d be there as fast as we could, really.” Alan said with a smirk, cottoning on.
“I’d be there first since she’d probably write to me about it before anyone.”
“She’s in the palace, I’d be by her side the fastest.”
“Oh, don’t be daft, Alan, if Prince Gerald did something stupid then she’d ran to the Claes estate, to Keith… or to Sophia’s since the Ascart Manor is nearer, so to Nicol…”
“We’d waylay her then—”
“That would’ve been a good idea, hm…”
Gerald stared at them, speechless. “You… vultures. Predators. Traitors, the lot of you. Is Keith and Nicol on this as well? But all your plans are useless now, Katarina clearly loves me.”
Alan rose a brow, deadpan. “You could always drop dead.”
Mary's loud laugh had people looking at them curiously.
“Why you—”
Alan raised a mocking toast to Gerald, feeling slightly better.
“You two,” Gerald hissed, feeling a headache forming. “You’re going to make me miserable, aren’t you.”
“Duh.”
“We can’t always have what we want, Prince Gerald.” Mary said with a tinkling, poisonous laugh. “Or in this case, you do have everything you want, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure to heckle you about it. Even if we are married.”
Alan gave Mary an approving nod, sealing their unholy alliance and Gerald’s future headaches yet to come.
“I hate you all.”
He should have expected this, really. All these people his wife attracted, ugh…
But in the end, he had to admit… he wouldn’t trade Katarina for the world. And now that he had her, could clearly show that he loved her… well, he had his own weapon in disposal.
Speaking of showing his love…
“Katarina,” he strode over to his wife, gathered her gently in his arms, and in clear view of Mary and Alan and all her little admirers, kissed her soundly on the lips. “I love you.”
Katarina sputtered and reddened like she usually did, but this time it came with the sweet sweet reply of, “I lo-love you too, Gerald! B-But stop kissing me in f-front of everyone, it’s embarrassing—”
‘Well now,’ Gerald raised his goblet at the sour looks aimed his way. ‘Checkmate.’
And because he was a bastard, he swooped his laughing daughter in one arm and his wife in the other, and paraded them around because yes, he was also that petty.
Katarina Claes—Princess Katarina Stuart, was Gerald’s wife, the mother of his children, and now clearly, happily in love with him.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
...
Extra:
“A boy?” Genevieve pouted from her uncle's embrace, staring at the bundle in her father’s arms.
Gerald laughed, leaning down so she could get a better look. “Yes, sweetheart. I was right, see? Meet your brother.”
“I suppose he’s cute.” Genevieve said, looking at light hair as blonde as hers, and blue eyes slanted like mother’s. He yawned, blinking at her and giving her a gurgled greeting.
Oh. Yes.
Very cute.
“Do you like him?” Katarina asked with a smile.
“Yes.” Genevieve nodded because he was here now and he was quite lovely…
Her parents looked happy at her answer.
“You know you’re going to do it all over again, right?” she told them in a serious voice.
“Do what again, Evie?” Katarina asked curiously.
“Making a baby, of course! I asked for a sister, but you got me a brother! I mean… I don’t mind him, he’s already here so you can’t take him away, but I was very polite in asking for a sister.”
A low chuckle. “Well, beloved? Our daughter was very polite in asking…”
“…maybe in a year or two, husband.”
“…”
“Wow! Are you blushing, Gerald? This is gold—”
“Shut up, Geoffrey!”