"Farlan?" I called out, entering the study.

I NEED YOU TO TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT LEVI'S PARENTS

"Welcome back," he muttered, still pouring over the stack of paperwork.

SPILL THE BEANS . WAS THE FORMER DUCHESS HOT ???

"What do you know about the previous Duke and Duchess?"

WAS THE PREVIOUS DUKE AS EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED AS LEVI OR DID HE PICK UP THAT ASPECT OF HIS PERSONALITY BY HIMSELF ???

"Not anymore than you, why?" Farlan set down his quill looking up at me.

NO IM VERY SURE YOU DO

IDK IF YOU'VE NOTICED BUT IM CLUELESS

MAYBE IT'S A WAY OF INTRODUCING THE READER TO THINGS.... OR MAYBE I'M JUST THAT BRAINDEAD

"Recently I feel like they've been coming up and well-" I paused, "Levi doesn't really talk about them so I never thought about it but I'm getting curious."

REALLY THE REAL QUESTION IS WHY THIS HASN'T COME UP BEFORE .

IDK .

I MEAN IK I HAVE A BAD RELATIONSHIP W/ MY FAMILY BUT I REALLY SHOULD BE MORE CURIOUS ABOUT MY IN-LAWS

"Isabel and I entered the duchy after they had passed, I only know a bit about them." Farlan shot me an apologetic look, "Kuchel would know more than me."

yeah i know that but-

i'm a bit nervous asking her

i get the feeling that she would've talked about them some by now if she wanted to

whether it's out of her trying to make things easier for me by not putting pressure on me to be the previous duchess or for some other reason that i don't know

levi too-

although i guess i haven't asked him anything about them

I MEAN THERE REALLY WASN'T A HUGE REASON TO

BUT NOW HE'S GONE AND I'M CURIOUS

it also feels like something that can't be properly talked about through a letter-

"It's not that big of a deal," I sighed, returning to my desk.

I can just ask Levi when he gets back-

"I can find some portraits for you if you'd like," he frowned slightly as if trying to remember where those would be found.

OH YES PLEASE

I NEED SOME OF LEVI TOO

<333

"That would be amazing-"

"It's a lot less interesting but I have ledgers recording their expenses-"

oh what the hell why not-

"I'll take those too then," I nodded. "I heard that they liked to throw parties- maybe there will be something interesting in there."

hmmm

"Were you planning on hosting one of your own?"

FARLAN YOU SEEM AWFULLY EAGER-

I APPRECIATE IT BUT .

FIRST THE DRESSES . NOW THIS

"I don't think I'm ready for anything crazy but I was thinking that it might be a good idea to invite the second and third princess to stay for a bit while Levi is gone."

attending a ball does sound exciting but i'm not ready at all to host something of that scale by myself

especially not while levi's gone-

even though it's technically my house i feel wrong organizing an entire event without him

"Levi told me to help you with anything you need so there's no need to worry about whether or not he would be ok with it."

why is he acting so considerate when he's away

"I guess that's my invitation to trash the place then," I chuckled, getting ready to get back to work.

"I'll look the other way."

That night, though exhausted from the fitting as well as the hours of sorting through official documents that had followed, I found myself unable to sleep.

knowing my luck something big is going to happen tomorrow and i'm going to be sleep deprived

DON'T TEMPT FATE

IM SORRY .

at any rate there's no use sitting here staring at the ceiling

true

I pulled myself out of bed, lighting a lantern before stepping out into the moonlit hallway.

well this is nostalgic

I moved on autopilot, heading down the hallway to Levi's office- a slight chill had settled in the mansion despite the best efforts of the staff in keeping the encroaching cold of winter at bay.

there's no one in there

right there's really no point in going in there so late

right-

I entered the dark room anyway, heading straight for the desk in the back of the room, before curling into Levi's chair wrapping my shawl tighter around me.

it's weird

this place feels so empty without him

i know i'm being ridiculous and that he's going to be back soon but-

im a selfish person

clearly

I stood up, walking the perimeter of the room before heading back to the hall, beginning the walk back to my room.

part of me was hoping that he would be there so i could drag him on another late night adventure

technically i could do it without him

it's stupid how fast you get used to having company- even after being perfectly fine without it for years

I stopped just short of my room, in front of the large ornate doors that opened up into Levi's chambers, moonlight streaming in from windows illuminated the symbol of the Ackerman crest engraved into the wood and lined with silver.

i don't think i've ever actually been inside-

farlan said i could do whatever i wanted to

and i am the duchess- regardless of whether or not levi is here

more importantly

i'm his wife

I pushed the doors open stepping into the dark room, a large four poster bed with a dark blue canopy sat in the middle of the room.

there's barely anything in here

The low lighting made it hard to make out much more about the room other than the vague outlines of a few other pieces of furniture, a large painting hung across from the foot of the bed but the thick curtains hanging over the windows prevented me from seeing it clearly.

i never took levi as an art guy-

I made my way over to the bed, sinking into the sheets a wave of fatigue suddenly washing over me.

it's cold

I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

________________

the realization that y/n has never been in levi's room struck at the same time that i realized that he would have rlly bad taste in interior design <3

for angst purposes he has not changed the decoration from how his parents had it when they were alive

ilusm

- ami