Shade met my gaze and held his hand out expectantly.
I stared at it. “What?” I asked. “Is something wrong with your hand?”
“Come, now, wife. Let’s not delay.”
“Pardon? We’ve been over this.”
“This castle shall be ours,” he said. “It could use some work, of course, but I suppose it will do.”
“Huh?”
“Miss and Mister Moonvale. That means we shall marrynow, yes? And become the leaders of this land? Is that not how it goes?”
My jaw dropped open. “It’s just an honorary title…”
“Honorary?” His forehead scrunched as though the word did not make sense. “We are not to marry now?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“What did we compete for, then?”
“Bragging rights, mostly. That’s about it.”
“... Truly?” he asked quietly.
“Truly.”
“… What a preposterous occasion.”
I snorted. “You thought this was a marriage competition?”
“To find the new rulers of this land, yes.”
“That’s the most unreasonable thing I’ve ever heard.”
“More unreasonable than a three-day competition with no worthwhile prize?”
I considered that. “You have a point, I guess. We do it for fun.”
“Fun,” he deadpanned.
I shrugged. “Like I said—it’s tradition.”
His brow furrowed. “I see. I was mistaken.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” I mumbled under my breath.
“So, what happens now?”
I balked. “Why are you asking me?”
“Our duties as Miss and Mister of this province?”
“Town,” I corrected. “There aren’t any… you simply return to your normal life.”
“My normal life,” he repeated. His gaze grew distant. Vacant.
“Yep. So, you can leave me alone now.”
