Lev had spent the rest of the day blowing off steam at practice.

If he had always been a sharp-tongued man, he was still aware that he had crossed the line with Flavia's father. And he hated it. As a Shield, he had a rigor that he never applied to his word, it was true.

But he very rarely came to blows with humans.

Under normal circumstances, he didn't need it.

His title, his function and his reputation stopped most people.

There... Seeing his father raise his hand against Flavia filled him with rage. His soldiers had understood this because they had quickly abandoned the idea of training with him. They were content to put a new dummy in front of him, without even waiting for him to ask them.

How was he going to make dinner tonight?

Flavia must have been in shock. They hadn't spoken since they got home.

-Lev, we need you on the northern front.

The Shield looked down at his collar, from which Eleazar 's voice came. He gritted his teeth. This was not the time. He had to talk to his wife. But... he couldn't deviate from a call.

Especially not to a call on the northern front.

-Soldiers! he roared. Departure in two minutes!

*

He had barely given her a glance.

Standing in the outer teleportation courtyard, Flavia had met her husband's violet eyes just before he disappeared into the blue disk. Mmh... He had seemed surprised to see her.

As he seemed to have an excess of rage to evacuate, she had let him lash out at the dummies. But this call to arms was rather ill-timed. Reflectively, she stared at the portal through which the soldiers were entering, following their Duke. If she had understood correctly, he always entered first. Like the leader of men that he was.

-Flavia.

The whisper in her ear made her close her eyes briefly. Obviously. The respite was short-lived for her too.

Turning on her heels, she went straight to the room she shared with the Duke. Discretion was best, for now. She would talk to the Duke later. Just as she should tell him about this business with her father.

Touching the ear chip she always wore, she whispered:

-Eleazar, it's okay.

Immediately, a portal opened in front of her, casting blue shadows on the walls and the floor. The Mage came out of it, with an annoyed look.

-You're going to have to talk to Lev about this soon. We're wasting time with this.

-I know that, she said with a shrug. But we haven't had the chance yet.

-I see. Come on, let's go.

Touching his shoulder, he made a light armor appear on his body. It had nothing to do with the massive appearance of the Shield's, and for good reason. One of this weight would have bothered Flavia considerably.

-May the Gods watch over you, Protector of the Shadow.

Flavia nodded, as she moved through the portal.

-May the Gods watch over you, Eleazar.

Crossing the bridge of magic, Flavia found herself on the western front.

There, she could see the wasteland that stretched for a few miles before being swallowed up by the purplish mist. As she arrived, the soldiers at the front suddenly straightened up, pounding their chests with gloved fists.

Each duchy had a group of elite warriors from all walks of life. Here, commoners and nobles rubbed shoulders, judged solely on their fighting skills. But also on their loyalty. The regiments of each Duke were not necessarily huge, because of this loyalty issue. The soldiers they took into the wastelands had to secure the rear, eliminating wounded creatures. But you couldn't leave people behind who could betray you.

In fact, the warriors present on this day were loyal to Vera. But also to her.

- Mrs. Flavia. Welcome back.

-Verdict? she asked as she considered the shadows waving in the mist.

A smell of sulfur, death and decay teased her nostrils. She hated it.

-We don't know yet. But it seems to be a dragon-like reptile. Alone, at first sight.

Good. She was going to be able to solve the problem quickly. Fortunately, in Vera's absence, the western front was often clear. When she went on a mission in the wastelands, she cleaned up everything in her path, limiting the risk of attacks from behind. However, men were always needed to defend this front. That's why a handful of soldiers were at Flavia's side.

The only ones she could trust. The only ones who knew of her existence, along with her sister and El.

-Mmh... Madam, are you all right?

She looked at Serge, the leader of the knights. Shaking her head, she looked away at the moving shape in the mist. The fight was going to be tough.

-The Duke... He's not hurting you, is he?

Ah. The rumors had already spread so far. Still, she found it surprising that anyone would ask her such a question. Why would Lev hurt her?

-The Duke was right to do this to my father.

Serge looked at her, before running a hand through his hair, visibly upset.

-It was... Unexpected, to say the least... To find out that you were married... To The Shield.

-We both have been too. But we are not here to discuss rags.

-Uh, just one question... Should we call you Duchess, too?

All the warriors seemed concerned. Flavia raised an eyebrow.

-Stop thinking and do what you always do.

*

It was a small attack. About sixty opponents, at most. Good, big, but fragile enough that a good Shield hit would take care of the problem. Exhausted, Lev returned home in pain two hours later.

The hardest part was to come.

What was he going to say to Flavia to apologize? He was so preoccupied with his wife that he had taken one or two too many hits because of his inattention. That wasn't like him. Eleazar had pointed that out to him, by the way.

-Mr. Duke?

Ah... Feet in the snow, dressed in one of the fur coats she had brought from home, Flavia looked frozen. How long had she been there? The tip of her nose was red from the cold, condensation was forming in front of her mouth with every breath she took. The night had fallen for a while already.

-Flavia...

Taking her in his arms, he did his best not to hurt her with his armor. Shit... The metal must have been cold for her! He wanted to separate at once, but she had put her hands on his helmet, at the level of his cheeks. Around them, there was already almost nobody. Everyone was returning to the fortress to rest.

-I'm glad to see you a little calmer, she said with a tired smile.

Ah... Taking off his helmet, he kissed her gently, tenderly. It was nice to have his wife waiting for him after a fight. Very nice.

-Sorry, he muttered, backing away. I must smell as bad as the last time.

-If that's going to be your usual smell, I'll have to get used to it.

-Flavia...

-Yes?

-Please stop calling me "sir"... Are you that mad at me?

Her smile did not falter for a second, when she said:

- Because you hit my father, and then humiliated him by forcing him to kneel before me and call me Duchess?

It was a blow to his heart. But that was exactly what had happened.

-No, I don't blame you, Lev.

A weight seemed to evaporate from her shoulders. It was so obvious that Flavia raised her eyebrows in surprise. Was he really that worried? Taking his hand, she smiled at him, before leading him towards their gigantic house.

-You know, my father was never good to me.

-That's what I thought, Lev grumbled.

Hand in hand with his wife, he enjoyed being that way. What he didn't enjoy was the curious looks of all his people as they walked in. He could see some of them through the windows, gossiping about them. Ah... What the hell.

- My scars... I was with my mother the day I got them. I was ten years old. Vera was still young, so she had just become a Protector. She was thirteen years old. We don't know how, but a winged demon managed to get past the protections. Our fortress is less than a kilometer from the wall.

They entered from the back, going straight up to their room. Listening, Lev totally ignored the looks of his servants. He had only heard this story once before, from Vera.

-My mother and I were attacked. We didn't see it coming. My mother got in the way, but... The blow was fatal. The creature then attacked me, lacerated my face. Vera arrived and managed to kill the demon. She saved me...

A tear rolled down his cheek. With a heavy heart, Lev swept it away with the back of his hand, to gently kiss Flavia's forehead. It was then that she had met the first turning point in her life.

-Since then, my father holds me responsible for my mother's death. He needed someone to blame, to get rid of his pain. So... I became his scapegoat. And what could have become my beauty became my burden. The scars still remind me of that tragic incident, as does my now uselessness for any political wedding. I became useless that day.

-A child does not have to be useful.

Flavia smiles sadly at him.

-Unfortunately, I did. I became the shame of the family, in my father's eyes. Things didn't get any better when he remarried. My little sisters are very beautiful. But I... Fortunately, Vera took me with her into the fortress. Anyone who said anything about my looks would incur her wrath. Nevertheless... For my father... We could not do anything. He and his new wife have a tendency to... to be relentless.

She sniffed, looking up at the ceiling as if to control incipient tears.

- I've always been afraid of my father, she confessed. The guilt he puts on me, as well as his verbal and physical violence, has become more and more difficult to handle. He always took advantage of Vera's absence to take his frustrations out on me. In fact, as I grew up, I got into the habit of avoiding him. Living like a recluse preserved me for a long time. I think... I think I cut myself off from society when I was twelve. To avoid my father as much as possible. My stepmother. To avoid seeing the judgment of others on the history marked on my face. For all of them, I killed my mother...

In the hallway, Lev held his wife close. He kissed her hair tenderly as she wept silently, her nose in his neck. He could feel her tears rolling down her skin, disappearing under her armor.

He would never, ever forgive Father Gladia for what he had done to his daughter.

He could sense that she wasn't telling him everything.

But he didn't want to rush her. He didn't want to force her.

One thing at a time. Already... He should consider himself lucky that she opened the door of her past to him, with so much sincerity. And above all, he understood why she was giving him all these explanations. She didn't blame him for what he had done to her father.

It had shattered the image of the all-powerful patriarch in his mind, of a man who could do whatever he wanted to his child.

Lev closed his eyes and held her close.

He would never let anyone hurt him again.