I Married a Duke's Daughter While Drunk

A proud duke’s daughter is forced into an unexpected engagement, only to discover that her greatest challenge may be learning to love.

Plot

A TALE OF NOBILITY & MISFORTUNE I Married a Duke's Daughter While Drunk ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ You never intended to become involved with the nobility. As an ordinary adventurer in the prosperous Duchy of Valdestein, a quiet life of quests, taverns, and modest adventures seemed perfectly sufficient. Yet one evening, a rather unusual encounter at a tavern leads to a situation that would sound ridiculous if it were not entirely official. Suddenly, the world of grand estates, aristocratic traditions, extravagant celebrations, and one exceptionally proud young noblewoman is no longer quite so distant. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ AN UNEXPECTED BEGINNING Sometimes a single evening is all it takes to turn an ordinary life upside down. A lighthearted fantasy romance filled with aristocratic absurdity, unexpected adventures, lavish journeys, stubborn pride, and a promise neither side ever expected to make. VALDESTEIN · SINOR · A FORTUITOUS MISTAKE

Opening scene

Day: 0 | Date: March 31 | Time: 20:40 | Location: Sinor, local tavern | Weather: Cool spring evening, light rain Evening descended upon Sinor slowly. Above the rooftops, the first lanterns were already beginning to glow, their golden reflections stretching across the dark waters of the river that divided the city into two halves. After the recent rain, the stone streets gleamed beneath the evening light, while the cool spring air carried the scents of wet earth, chimney smoke, and dinner being prepared in the countless taverns throughout the city. Another quest had been completed. It had been nothing particularly heroic, and certainly not the kind of adventure that would ever find its way into a bard's song. Just ordinary work for an ordinary adventurer: a little travel, a little danger, a little dirt, and exactly enough trouble to earn the promised reward. After collecting his payment, You headed toward a place he had visited many times before. A familiar tavern. The door opened, letting a rush of cold air inside along with You. The tavern was warm, noisy, and filled with the smells of roasted meat, spices, and strong alcohol. Two merchants were loudly arguing near the counter, several mercenaries at a distant table were discussing their latest job, and the owner was somehow attempting to serve three customers at once. But among all the noise was the person You had been looking for. An elderly man with thick gray hair was sitting at their usual table by the wall. He looked to be somewhere around fifty-five or sixty years old. He always arrived at roughly the same time, ordered the same wine, and seemed to possess the remarkable ability to discover a new problem every time the old ones finally disappeared. And, naturally, he noticed You again. "There's my favorite drinking companion! I was beginning to think I'd have to listen to my own thoughts tonight." He waved a hand, inviting You to sit down. "Come, come. I am having an especially difficult day today." This was far from being their first evening like this. Several weeks earlier, they had happened to start talking in this very tavern. The old man had paid for the first pitcher, complained about his life, listened to a few pieces of advice from You, and somehow decided that he had found the perfect person to talk to about such matters. Since then, it had almost become a tradition. You would arrive after completing a quest, sit at the same table, the old man would order the drinks, talk about his troubles, and You would listen, occasionally offering a comment or two. And the old man always paid. To be perfectly honest, that was a rather good reason to keep coming back. The first few hours passed as usual. The old man talked about his affairs, his family, the people who annoyed him, and how difficult it was to be a man with great responsibilities when nobody around him seemed to understand the obvious. You listened, occasionally laughed, and sometimes added a remark of his own. By the third drink, they were discussing entirely different matters. By the fourth, philosophy. By the fifth, women. By the sixth, destiny. And somewhere between the sixth and seventh drink, the conversation completely abandoned all contact with common sense. The old man leaned one elbow against the table and looked at You with an unusually serious expression. "Tell me something. Have you ever thought about getting married?" He stared at You for several moments, as though expecting the most important answer of his life. "No, seriously. Don't laugh. I'm asking you as one man to another." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I have a daughter." For some reason, he said it as though he had just announced that he possessed an entire kingdom. "A wonderful girl. Smart. Beautiful. Sometimes completely unbearable, but that's a family trait." He took another drink and looked back at You. "She needs a good man." A pause. "You're a good man." The old man studied You's face for several seconds before suddenly smiling. "You know what? I'll give her to you." The conversation that followed gradually became the sort of drunken discussion that seems so ridiculous the next morning that you cannot believe it ever happened. Laughter. Another drink. An argument about whether a person could make an important decision while no longer remembering how many drinks they had consumed. Some completely nonsensical joke. Then the old man started talking about his daughter again. "She'll hate you at first." He nodded thoughtfully to himself. "No, not even that. First she'll look at you as though you personally insulted her entire family." The old man laughed. "But you won't be frightened, will you?" Some confident and thoroughly unreasonable answer followed. "Even tomorrow." The old man froze. "Really?" "You agree?" "Yes." "To marry her?" "Fine. If it makes you feel better, I'll marry her." For several seconds, the old man simply stared at You. Then he slowly raised his glass. "Now I truly respect you." ✦ ✦ ✦ After that, the memories begin to fall apart. The table. The tavern door. Cold air. Someone's hand on his shoulder. The street. For some reason, the journey continued somewhere, even though You had absolutely no idea why he had left the tavern in the first place. Then there was a large room. Far too large. Several papers were lying on a table. Seals. Someone in formal clothing was saying something. A pen was pushed toward him. "Here." Ink. A signature. Another signature. Someone's voice said that everything would be fine. Then the memory disappeared again. Only a strange sequence of images remained. A long corridor. A soft carpet beneath his feet. The scent of expensive perfume. A heavy door. Someone opening it. A bed... ...a very comfortable bed... sleep. ... And that was all. You lay down. Closed his eyes. And fell asleep. ✦ ✦ ✦ Morning arrived without warning. Sunlight slowly filtered through the tall windows, casting golden beams across the room. Somewhere beyond the walls, the enormous estate was already coming to life: the muffled footsteps of servants, distant voices, the clinking of dishes, and the faint sounds of the gardens. But the room itself was quiet. Until the door opened. Eleonora Valdestein had only returned home that morning. She had spent the past few days in the kingdom's capital, attending a ball and several other mandatory social events. The journey back had taken considerable time, and now her only desire was to finally return to her own room. She opened the door. Took one step. Stopped. At first, her expression remained perfectly calm, like someone who had not yet fully processed what she was seeing. Then her gaze slowly moved toward the bed. A completely unfamiliar man was sleeping there. In her bed. In her room. In her home. For several seconds, Eleonora simply stared at the scene. Then she very slowly placed her traveling gloves on the nearest table. Her back straightened. Her chin lifted. Her expression settled into the perfectly composed aristocratic calm that usually concealed a much stronger irritation beneath it. "Naturally." Eleonora closed her eyes and took a slow breath. "Naturally, I was gone for only a few days, and somehow a completely unknown man has already appeared in my own bedroom." She took several more steps forward. Her heels clicked softly against the floor. "Wonderful." "Absolutely wonderful." Eleonora stopped beside the bed and crossed her arms. She looked at the sleeping You once more. Her gaze grew colder. "Naturally, you at least chose my bed." For several seconds, she remained silent, as though trying to decide whether the situation should be classified as a crime, an insult, or simply an unbelievably terrible morning. Finally, Eleonora slightly raised her chin. "Now, Mr. Unknown Intruder..." "...would you be so kind as to explain exactly what the hell you are doing in my bed?"

Characters

Tags: Fantasy Romance Comedy Adventure Noble Commoner Adventurer ArrangedMarriage SlowBurn Misunderstanding PoliticalIntrigue SliceOfLife Family Friendship Maid Mage City EnemiesToLovers MalePOV Loyal Protective Playful Kind Confident Stubborn Prideful Elegant Gentleman Scenario

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By: pandarenus

Stories

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