I ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED A DUNGEON

Barbara gave him a suspicious glance before continuing. "That’s the story most people believe. In truth, Lady Charlotte only knew of the Morrow family by name. It was the previous king, Romas Rosberg, who assigned Hakimi personally, handed him a sword himself."

"So technically that makes Romas her grandfather. Loses his daughter, then picks some five-year-old off the street and hands him a sword to guard her instead." Felix turned it over. "Romas died about ten years back, right? Did he and Diana ever actually have a relationship? And did Charlotte get her own knight assigned too, from him?"

"In the two years before he passed, as far as I observed, he never once visited her. Lady Diana doesn’t speak of him at all, even now. Lady Charlotte did have a personal knight of her own, though I couldn’t tell you whether the king appointed him or not."

"That’s a whole mess on its own." Felix shook his head slowly. "We’re getting off track. The actual issue’s Hakimi and Diana."

"You’re the one who kept asking questions. Even after insisting you weren’t the least bit interested."

"Fine, fine, guilty as charged, got a little curious." Felix waved a hand. "Keep going. What’s their relationship actually like?"

Barbara nodded slowly, choosing her words. "Plenty of people resented Hakimi at first, simply for being chosen by the king himself, a nobody handed that kind of trust. That faded fast enough once people actually watched him work. By the time I came to serve Lady Diana, she mostly kept to herself. Lord Osbel had his own manor, and everyone lived together there, but she was often treated like an outsider, even by her own cousins, bullied more than once. That led to fights, and Hakimi was always the one stepping in for her. She’s emotionally sensitive, always has been, prone to running off alone into the forest when things got difficult, and he always found her, every single time, no matter how far she’d gotten."

She continued, quieter now. "Whatever she needed, he found a way to provide it, even when it wasn’t strictly his place to. If she wanted something, he’d get it for her. If she asked something of him, he did it, rarely questioned. His actual duties were simple enough on paper, but he caused his share of trouble along the way, fights with the palace guards, even with his own siblings once or twice. Lady Diana covered for him more than once when it would’ve cost him standing otherwise. I wouldn’t call him reckless exactly. He just seems to draw conflict toward himself without meaning to."

"Do they ever actually argue?" Felix asked.

"They used to, now and then." Barbara’s mouth tightened slightly. "Usually because he’d gotten too comfortable making decisions on her behalf without asking first, thinking he knew what she needed better than she did herself. She’d get upset, rightfully so I’d say, and he’d go quiet instead of actually explaining himself, which only made it worse. He’s not always good at admitting when he’s wrong, even when it’s fairly obvious to everyone else in the room."

"And what do you actually think about these rumors going around him?"

Barbara was quiet for a moment. "A few months ago I’d have told you flatly, no. Hakimi sneaking around brothels, other men’s wives, that’s not him. He’s the type who’d stand guard outside a door for six hours rather than admit he needed to piss. I’ve seen it happen."

She shook her head. "But I’d also have told you nothing could rattle that man, and now he walks around like he’s carrying something he won’t put down. So I don’t know anymore. I don’t think it’s him. I won’t pretend I’d be shocked either."

Her hands tightened in her lap. "What I do know is none of this should have touched Lady Diana. She’s done nothing. And she’s the one locked inside these gates, the one people whisper about the second her back’s turned. That’s what actually angers me."

"If this is his doing, he’s failed her, after everything he’s supposed to protect her from. If it isn’t, he still lets it get this far without stopping it. Either way, she pays for it. He’s watched what people talk about before. He should have moved faster."

"What about Hakimi’s life outside Diana? Does he have anything going on there?"

"He trained in the school of Master Arnoulet for many years." Barbara considered this information for a moment before continuing. "I think it must have been an extremely difficult place. Many long hours, harsh instructors, the type of training which will break you or make you a person who does not know when to stop pushing himself. That is probably the reason why he learned to absorb everything. Never complain, never seek help, hide whatever is really troubling him deep inside so that nobody can see it." She nodded, obviously satisfied with herself. "This would explain a lot about him, honestly. Why he keeps himself so quiet when there is something wrong instead of speaking out—"

She paused in her speech mid-sentence, her forehead knitting in concentration.

"Actually." Barbara frowned even deeper. "I do not actually know any of that. I never even thought to ask him about the school of his master. I am not sure where I got the idea that it was a harsh school."

"You just made it up."

"But I did not mean to!" She looked honestly surprised and a bit disturbed. "It just felt right."

Felix remained silent, observing her.

"Perhaps this is really the problem, though." Barbara straightened her back, thinking aloud. "Nobody really knows anything about him except those who live in the palace. Nobody knows where he goes during his private time and who he talks to. He was raised in that house ever since he turned five and he remains a complete stranger the moment he steps beyond its gates. Thus, when there are rumors like these, nobody has any way to check their authenticity. They simply fill in the blanks with whatever sounds believable."

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