“ i must admit, i was slightly shocked when i heard you had adopted. ” milena murmured over the soft music playing in the bar. “ does this mean there’s no man in your life for you to tell me all the sordid details about ? ”

“ as if they’d notice, they cannot seem to keep their dukes and duchesses in order, a new one seems to rebel against the crown every day. ” she wondered what the german king was doing in his palace if not losing his mind every five minutes at the blatant disrespect he was being shown. “ at least we’re not in europe, the whole country would be making a fuss trying to demand your attention. just say you’re busy, that’s what the rest of us do, you’re still running a country after all. ” running a country, coordinating a war, a monarch had a million excuses up their sleeve, and none would be listened to. “ invite him to tokyo, even just for a weekend. that way he can get distracted by the other royals, with the chinese emperor and the korean crown prince, and he’ll hardly have time to spare for you. ”

“ lock them in cleaner’s closet and let them work things out ? it always works in the films. ” she laughed just a little before schooling her features, letting only a small smile remain on her face. “ he asked me to think about the rest of my reign, more or less. a threat, without the words. ” as if that would have her running scared, she thought about her reign more than anything, or anyone else, more than him she’d be willing to bet. “ irina would have him half in love with her before we could blink. alas, we must make do. the dinner idea could work, but i cannot think of anyone that would encourage him to come, and if there’s even a whiff of any russian you can certainly count him out. ”

“ how the rest of my reign goes ? rather well i imagine. it wouldn’t be as if i would be giving gomel to a stranger, margaux is your heir. the other dukes can put up a fight but the precedent will be set, if they don’t want to retire early they will accept the way of things. ” she almost wanted him to push her, oh how easy it would be to quash the rebellion in one swift motion. the others, too afraid to relinquish their titles would fall in line, roman wouldn’t be a problem... too easy. “ it’s for russian and belorussian relations. other countries are getting bolder. ukraine dares to deny they poisoned the czar, the prussian will undoubtedly turn her sights back on kaliningrad, with poland now at her back. belarus will stand with russia, and who better to show that than belarus’ favourite son ? ”

“ come over for dinner soon then, i’ll have charles cook us up a feast, ksyushka has been coming and going but i’ll make sure she’s free too, there’s few things i enjoy more than spending time with you both at one time. ” milena wasn’t sure what to make of the new mimi, the post rehab mimi who hardly drank and didn’t come with a billowing cloud of cigarette smoke trailing behind her. it had to be a good thing, she decided. “ did i tell you i’m half considering going vegan ? i say half because i think about it and then remind myself it’s too much effort, but the thought lingers rather persistently. léonel tells me it’s meant to be beneficial for women of my age which is him kindly telling me i’m old. ”

she picked up a white bag to look at it’s details before placing it back down, with her luck katya would see it as a canvas. “ it’s easy to get trapped inside with work, is your duchy keeping you occupied ? ” once her decision had been made she passed her two choices, one for her and one for kseniya, off to the sales assistant and directed her attention back to zhenya. “ he’s certainly not the most desirable bachelor, not to any russian with their head screwed on straight. many of my friends thought i’d lost my mind when i married pyotr. ” her family too, nobody truly understood why she did it, she’d begun to wonder if it was worth it herself. “ you should meet him soon, i’m sure anya is already scheming for that to happen. you should endear yourself to margaux though, she is his weakness. ”

“ are you feeling better now ? i heard your head took a knock and that you were stuck with the belgian princess, what a nightmare. anyway, shall we get lunch ? i know just the place, ” milena grabbed for her bag and buttoned her blazer. “ dominique told me about it so it’s definitely gauche, but she said the food is good and i’m starving. ”

“ hello ? ” she answered the phone with haste, eager to get the conversation done to return to the one in front of her. “ yes clementine, you can spend the afternoon with muffy and peaches, you can have the afternoon off. ” she hung up the phone and turned back to anya, “ so what’s next ? he’s not going to fall in love with zhenya overnight. i don’t think they’ve even had a conversation. ” 

“ i apologise for dragging you out for something so mundane, ” she gathered shopping was hardly zhenya’s cup of tea, but lenya had so wanted to buy a new bag, and to see how the duchess was handling everything, doing both at once had seemed the clever thing to do. “ how are you feeling about everything ? the tmz article was a bit much, don’t you agree ? ”

“ so, what have you been busy doing lyosha ? ” he wasn’t involved in the roman and zhenya plan, and there had been no movement on the ukraine front, romanov’s weren’t known to be idle. “ i hear von essen has arrived, is that it ? have you been keeping him from murdering the prussian ? ” 

a pity, that she wasn’t his, what a scandal it would make ! at this point just about anything would fuel the fire of the ukrainian occupation, it could have been helpful. she lets her disappointment fall to they wayside as she watches the little girls play, “ i didn’t know ivan had arrived. that must be nice for you. and karyna’s daughter is here too ! your family just seems to be multiplying by the day. ” her false cheer spoke volumes, now that there were more people she’d find herself avoiding in the hallways of this building. “ does she have a nanny ? perhaps more playdates are in order if they get along so well. ”

“ vitaliya vorontsova’s daughter too, her only child. ” she could go on, there were a million things zhenya was that roman wasn’t — inherently good, being one of them. milena straightened her spine and let her gaze pierce into the duke, oh how she wished he’d squirm before her, but she knew he wouldn’t give her the pleasure. “ i believe it’s time you remarry, so you’ll marry her. she has agreed to the betrothal. if you refuse i’ll pass your duchy down to margaux, with giselle to manage things until she turns eighteen. if you accept, you receive a beautiful bride, and the opportunity to produce more heirs. ”

as she entered the playground following her meeting, milena made straight for katya, itching for the relief of holding her child after a particularly difficult call with her prime minister. her steps only slowed as she approached and realised that the ukrainian king stood with liudmila, watching katya and another young girl play. “ good afternoon, ” she says with a quick nod as she scoops katya up before she can barrel right into her knees, laying a kiss on her forehead before lowering her back down to play with her friend again. “ forgive me, i was unaware you had any children. ” no legitimate ones anyway. how ironic, she couldn’t help but think, that leonid was descended from a croÿ too, bastard children must be their specialty.

she picks at her own food with little interest, “ i'm tired of ordering from restaurants. i had my chef fly in now he has a kitchen to cook in. you're welcome to utilise him if you wish, he's spent the whole day planning meals for a one-year-old so i can only imagine he'll fall over himself to make a dish that doesn't involve a puree to disguise vegetables. ”

milena wished once roman had finished speaking that that was the end of their discussion, that she could thank him for sparing her some time as if she were actually grateful and send him on his way. “ yes, actually. ” she unearthed the manila folder as if it had anything of worth in it beyond a sparse profile and a dazzling picture, sliding it in front of him. “ zhenya zakharova. i presume you know who she is ? ”

she watches her sister cautiously, as if she could break at any given moment. they were incredibly lucky that all she returned with was a sore ankle and some abrasions and not anything far worse, like the austrian princess. her eyes follow katya as her eyes light up at the sight of the bunny, but also kseniya, now at ground level, and only manages to wince as katya throws her small body right at her aunt’s chest for an overly-enthusiastic cuddle. “ well, if you’re sure... ” she sighs, she supposed she’d have to trust her this time. “ i would come but charles flew in this morning, we’re going over meal plans. will you be home for dinner ? i know you missed his cooking. ”