CH 127

“Give up. There is no point in clinging to discarded emotion, the Grand Duchess will never return.” Louise said.

Bjorn sat with his legs crossed, a mocking expression on his face that accused Louise of telling stories. His well polished shoes gleamed in the light of the fireplace.

“Why, is she still sulking?”

Despite seeming calm and taking things in his usual nonchalant manner, but the whites of is knuckles suggested he was gripping the arm of his chair a little harder than was called for.

“Well, I sincerely apologised to the Grand Duchess, she understood and accepted my apology.”

“Then why?” Bjorn’s mood quickly shifted to a dark one.

“Brother, it seems that you had absolutely no idea what kind of wife you had in your grasp. The past year you have been utterly selfish and look what’s happened.”

Bjorn looked like a child that had just lost his favourite toy and refused to accept the reality of it. Louise felt pity for her brother. It would have been easier if Erna had simply been angry and lashed out, that would have been better to handle.

Erna had laughed and expressed gratitude towards Louise. She acknowledged that Louise had been put in an awkward position due to not knowing the truth, but Erna had reassured Louise that she was okay and that she was happy where she was. There was no sign of regret.

Leonid had tried to explain how all of Lechen yearned for the return of their Grand Duchess, but to little affect. When she was told about how Bjorn had injured his arm in a fight, Erna seemed a little disinterested.

‘I hope he will get better’

She only said that with moderate concern.

Louise could see that there was no pretence or falsehood in Erna’s aloof reaction. She could tell that the delicate little flower that had adored her husband and unsure of herself, no longer existed.

The visit turned out to be fruitless. Erna’s composed demeanour proved an invulnerable barrier that would not shift for anyone.

Upon their return, Louise delivered the disappointing news to Bjorn, who took it as devoid of emotion as always. He simply stared off into the firelight whenever Erna was mentioned.

“I hate to tell you this, but that was the first time I ever saw Erna at peace. It would appear she has made up her mind to get divorce.”

Louise felt like she was placed as the villain in this story, to deliver such devastating news. She felt a pang of envy toward Leonid, who was able to drum up an excuse to leave the palace immediately.

“Divorce?” Bjorn said, his sunken eyes considered Louise coldly. “She wants to get a divorce, really, Erna?” Bjorn laughed.

“Stop it, brother, you have to accept the fact that you messed up.”

“Accept it? Really?  What do you know of Erna?”

“It seems I know her better than you do,” Louise said, losing patience and snapping at Bjorn.

She didn’t know what was going on with him any more. Didn’t he marry Erna because she was a placid woman, someone that wouldn’t disrupt his life, someone that could help him forget about Gladys. Does he truly love her?

“You kept the truth from me and our Grandmother, I can understand that, but how could you deceive your wife? She has had to put up with so much criticism because of Gladys.”

Louise assumed that Bjorn would have shared such a secret with Erna, his wife, the one person in the world he was supposed to trust with everything. When she found out he hadn’t, she was mortified and felt that she could not, in good conscience, urge Erna to return.

“Leave, Louise,” Bjorn snapped. Louise glared at him with eyes of blue flame.

“Even I couldn’t live with a husband like you.”

As the words left Louise’s mouth, Bjorn glared at Louise, his eyes were piercing.

“Bjorn Dniester might be a good Prince, but he is the worst kind of husband, you must realise that.”

“Well, yes,” Bjorn said coolly, “I am.” 

As a stunned Louise watched on, Bjorn strolled out of the drawing room with ease. The only trace of his departure was the resounding slam of the door.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Lisa’s footsteps rang out as she walked along the frozen, cobble road, under a cloud covered sky and through a bitter wind. She was returning from delivering artificial flowers to Ale’s General Store for Erna.

The plaza was full of stalls and stands selling stuff for the years end festival. There were stalls selling ornaments, some selling sweet treats, which caught Lisa’s eye the most, but she was a busy lady, running errands for Erna.

Lisa had dissuade Erna from running the errands herself, like a mother telling her child they could not go out and play. Erna was insistent that her cold wasn’t so bad, but Lisa knew her mistress better than she thought and knew Erna had not fully recovered yet. It was important she stayed warm.

Erna had caught her cold while out on one of her long walks, longer than usual since the Royal Family had come to visit. She would head out and not return until lunchtime, with her cheeks glowing red and her fingers ice cold.

Despite the Crown Prince and Duchess Heine’s attempts, Erna could not be convinced to return to her position as the Grand Duchess. Right or wrong, Erna had made her decision and she was going to stick by it, no matter what. Either way, Lisa liked the idea of becoming the house maid for the Baden Family.

“Miss, are you intending on sending that letter?” the clerk behind the counter asked.

Lisa hadn’t even realised she had joined the queue for the post office.

“Oh, yes, sorry.” Lisa said, handing over the stack of letters. Lisa found herself wondering if Erna had sent a letter to Bjorn yet.

Although Lisa felt like she could abandon the role as spy for Schuber Palace, she was still a member of the Grand Dukes household. Besides, there really wasn’t much to report on the goings on of Erna. This made it easier to write her letters to Mrs Fitz, without breaking trust with Erna, or breaking her promise to Mrs Fitz.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Upon seeing the letter from Erna, Bjorn placed it on his desk dismissively. By the weight of it, it must have been a lengthy letter, probably discussing idle none sense and goings on about that pokey little village.

“Please open it, Your Highness, it could be important.” Mrs Fitz pleaded.

“I will take care of my own affairs, so the nanny can concentrate and being a nanny.”

Mrs Fitz let out a sigh. It had been the first letter in the two months of Erna’s disappearance that she had written to Bjorn. It would seem the wolf of Lechen was fully returned. Mrs Fitz let out a frustrated sigh and opened the letter from Lisa.

There had been a noticeable change in the Princes demeanour since the Duchess Heine’s visit. The once good mood of Bjorn Dniester had vanished, replaced by a moody and sensitive bearing that caused all the servants to tip toe around the Prince once more.

Mrs Fitz knew it would be pointless to read out Lisa’s letter, which no doubt contained more pointless stories of the goings on at the village.

“The weather has turned bitterly cold over the last couple weeks, but the family at Baden Mansion are well prepared. It seems that she is actively socialising with the villagers,” and so it went on.

After Mrs Fitz left, the study fell into a dark silence. It wasn’t until Bjorn had smoked a whole cigar that he looked at the thick letter on his desk. With a sigh, he picked it up.

Bjorn, was the only thing written on the face of the letter. It was quite clearly Erna’s handwriting, it always sparked memories of her chittering laughter that was as sweet as the morning songbirds. He felt like he could smell her aroma on the envelope and muttering her name would bring her back to him, with eyes filled with love.

Bjorn dispelled his pitiful illusions and tore open the letter with no more ceremony. As he read through the letter, discovering why it was so thick, he let out a laugh.

The divorce papers landed in his hands.

It felt like a declaration of war from a crazed deer.