"You know, that may just be the best news I've heard in quite some time."Knowing Severin as he did, Roderick had expected that he would say something foolish, but in this instance, all he could do was gape. "Are you so hungover that you can't even understand me? You got completely, slobbering drunk and married a servant! How can I put it in simpler terms?"
"I know what you said." Severin placed his hand on the mantle and drummed his fingers across its surface. "Look, I'm just glad I didn't do anything wrong by her."
"Wrong by her?" Roderick demanded; had his Uncle Lonriad so thoroughly failed to teach his children to sort their priorities? "You've done wrong by your own self! You've just offended eight very well-connected women--brushing them off to marry a maid! I don't think I could possibly be in a worse spot diplomatically, and it's all because of you and your filthy little status-seeking slut!"
Scowling, Severin crossed his arms and glowered; the poison in his eyes would have sufficed to kill a dozen horses. "How dare you talk about my wife that way! King or not, you will never insult Lady Veldora in her own castle or in my presence ever again!""She is not your wife!" Roderick tossed back his head in exasperated fury, only to feel his crown slide across his scalp; annoyed, he nudged it back into place and met Severin's glare with one of his own. "At least, she won't be for very long. Since she's a widow, she couldn't have been a virgin before any of this happened, so no one will be able to prove that your marriage was consummated. We'll just send off a few letters and before you know it, your foolish drunken escapade will be safely annulled."
Still clutching his bicep, Severin's finger twitched. "I don't want an annulment."
Roderick's eye struggled to escape its socket. "Sorry?"
"I don't want an annulment." His statement was repeated without so much as a blink. "I like her. My children like her. At this point, I don't think I could ask for much more in a marriage."
"She's a commoner!"
"So is my mother. Besides, I have no doubt that she'll make a splendid lady. I don't want an annulment, Roderick!"
"I don't care!" Was this how God felt as he watched the mortals sin time and time again? If so, Roderick supposed that Sodom and Gomorrah had gotten off easy. "Do you not comprehend the sort of position I'm in because of your shenanigans? What do you propose I tell the families of all these women?"Severin shrugged. "You figure it out--in case you've forgotten, I never asked for you to bring them here. I'll get the annulment if Nora wants it; if not, then you'll just have to live with it."
This was beyond infuriating. Roderick scowled. "I hope you know where I can find eight eligible bachelors of appropriate rank!"
His cousin sniffed. "Well, you found eight eligible bachelorettes quickly enough; I'm sure you'll think of something."
No respect! Roderick ground his teeth and turned to leave, only to watch as the door swung open in front of him.
"So... what's happening here, exactly?"NEXT CHAPTER:
9 comments:
Sorry about the short chapter :(
I'm surprised Roderick didn't have a heart attack! LOL!! I could seriously picture his eyes bugging out! Hehehe!!
Good for Severin. He's finally coming out of his slump.
And I see the two of them are going to have 'the talk' in the next update. *crosses fingers*
Roderick actually does have some reason to worry, but since we've had a lot of heavy drama in recent Naroni years (and there will surely be more to come), the problem of the noblewomen will solve itself fairly quickly. Indeed, it works quite nicely with the problem of the Great Dovian Widower Boom.
But yeah, I think Severin is mostly better now--I doubt he'll ever really be over Alina, but it seems like he's past the worst of his depression. Being married again will probably be good for his mental health.
We shall see... :)
LOL! Severin is definitely in a better mood now!
I do agree with you about Roderick. I can see his point. Marriage for someone like Severin is not really about love. It's a financial and political transaction. Severin's failure puts Roderick in a very difficult situation. A lot of people depend on decisions that should be private but really cannot be, not in that world.
Short but perfect. This just whips along!!
Yeah, he seems pretty relieved :P
Oh yeah, Roderick is in a tough spot because of all this. He was in a tough spot even before, but now he's in an even deeper hole.
Plus he's probably even more miffed because as far as he or anyone else knows, Severin isn't even in love with Nora. He could very well fall in love with her at some point in the near future, but he doesn't seem to be quite there yet--as far as Roderick is concerned, there is absolutely no reason why this marriage should have gone through.
Thanks Beth :)
I loved the touch with Roderick's crown slipping from his head. It's a great metaphor for the way he's losing control of power (or at least Severin) more and more lately.
And I love how Severin is finally ... this is sexist, but he's finally manning up. Instead of crawling into his depressed hole, he's taking responsibility for his mistakes. I think the fact that he wants to stay married to Nora, even if he's justifying it because of the kids, is a huge point in his favor. :)
Can't wait to see what these two "kids" come up with next!
(And as if we needed any more proof that this is for real, the new Severin-Alina-Nora banner was, once again, the first banner that came up!)
I'll admit that I have been somewhat obsessed with Roderick's crown ever since Verity noted that we've never seen him without it :)
But yes, Severin is manning up :D I think he's been in the limbo long enough and just wants to move forward now. Oddly enough, the Medieval Vegas wedding might just end up being the best thing for him at this point :)
Heheheh, that banner must like you. It's being elusive for me--whenever I load the pages, chances are that the first thing I see is Norwan scowling at me.
Watching these two argue is always amusing.
"Annulment NOW!"
"You're not the boss of me!"
"You annul marriage to vassal slut now!"
"Don't make fun of my wife or I'm not play'n with you no more!"
They're like a couple of kids on a playground :)
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