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“I hope you love our child as much as you loved me.”
“This is our baby, I want to protect her even if something happens to me.”
His gaze was fixed on those golden wavy locks, those jeweled eyes captivated by the fairy-like beauty smiling at him. Her fluid motions, her tinkering laughter, her enchanting smile, her captivating face, her sweet voice.
Her.
Even though he didn’t know why, he stretched out a hand towards her. He wanted to touch her, to have her by his side. But no matter how far her tried to reach out, she was still somehow far away.
Every single aching part of his body screamed for her. So much familiarity yet at the same time, she felt like a stranger.
“Claude,” she said his name like it was the most precious thing in the world.
Who are you?
But her image slowly started to fade. With this, panic erupted in his chest because he didn’t want to lose her. He had this foreign feeling in his chest.
Grief.
Even after he heard his parents died, even after her killed his own brother, he didn’t feel grief. And yet as this beautiful fairy started to disappear, he could only identify that one single emotion.
“Diana.”
His eyes opened, his whole body was covered in sweat. As he slowly tried to regain his composure, he realized that his hand was stretched out towards the ceiling, as if he was reaching for something.
Or perhaps, someone.
That dream.
The name of that woman slipped out of his lips before he could stop himself. It was as if a dark blur was lifted away from within him and this numbing headache was finally gone. In its place was a tirade of memories that came rushing in.
Of a dancer from Siodonna. Of Lippe tea and rose-scented embraces. Of soft kisses that tasted like chocolates and strawberry colored lips. Of magenta eyes and soothing whispers.
Diana.
And attached to those memories was a small baby, lying in the middle of piles of corpses on the bloody carpet of the Ruby Palace. He remembered his hands covered in crimson as he opted to let that infant live.
“Let’s see if you can live up to your name.”
Athanasia.
Something compelled him to stand up, to slip onto a pair of shoes and to run out of his bedroom. His body was screaming at him to pass through the gardens and enter the same palace where he created a slaughter of concubines.
Unknown to him, right outside of his window was a certain raven-haired man clutching a glowing branch of the world tree. He hummed a tune as he walked away, as if he didn’t just slap the Emperor with that said branch just minutes prior.
“My gift to you, Princess,” the magician sang softly before disappearing with a snap.
And the said princess was fast asleep in her bed deep within the Ruby Palace. Her platinum blonde hair, a replica of her mother’s, was splayed out on the pillow. Her breaths were even, her chest rising and falling with each inhale and exhale she took.
She looked so peaceful, even if the palace she lived in was worn down from neglect and the number maids that served her could only be counted on one hand and the rest were sent to her supposed sister. Even if she was emotionally exhausted for begging for a love she might never get, she appeared so tranquil.
The singular knight tasked to guard her was fast asleep when the Emperor arrived at its doors. He clicked his tongue at the sight, making a mental note to put him in the dungeons for neglect of duties.
The doors creaked when he opened them, obviously old without a hint maintenance. Cobwebs were found everywhere and a layer of dust was seen on some of the remaining ornaments that hadn’t been stowed away by some greedy staffs.
The only saving grace was the floors were clean and the furniture seemed to upkept. Perhaps because they were often used by the forgotten princess as she stayed confined within these walls, waiting and hoping that she would be called to the Emperor’s Palace.
It was so eerily quiet, like it was vacated.
Now there was a new emotion to accompany the grief in his chest – guilt.
How could he let the remaining piece of his one and only beloved live in this condition?
He marched on, finding more and more flaws with the palace as walked through, from the peeling wallpaper to the chipped windowsills. When he finally reached the main bedroom doors, it was only then did he stop.
His resolute was rapidly dropping.
What will he see there? He wasn’t so sure because he barely graced the forgotten princess a glance. He wasn’t completely certain what she looked like.
“I hope you love our child as much as you loved me.”
That melodic voice invaded his thoughts again. For eighteen years, he used forbidden magic just to make him forget and yet here he was, standing in front of the bedroom who became a victim of his grief.
“I’m not a coward,” he scoffed to himself before finally gripping on the handles and pushing the door to let himself in.
His breath was almost taken away at the figure laying there.
Because Athanasia was a carbon copy of that beautiful fairy in his dreams, only a little smaller in size. Maybe because of her age or maybe because of the neglect.
But from the ends of her hair up to the tip of her nose, she looked so similar to Diana. It was as if she was still alive, still there to be adored.
Claude lost his sense of time as he stared at her because if he was being completely honest, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do next. He followed his urge to go here and see her, but now what?
All he knew was that he couldn't tear his gaze away from her.
As if she could hear his worries even in her sleep, she slowly stirred awake. Her eyes took their sweet time to adjust to the darkness and Claude froze when he saw those jeweled eyes.
His.
She was the mixture of Diana and him. She was the product of their love.
When she finally got a sense of her surroundings, she spotted him. His intimidating presence coupled with the dark lighting made him look like he walked straight out of a nightmare. She gripped the sheets and let out a startled yelp.
“Fa-” she was about to say before she caught herself. She was already walking on thin ice with him after being repeatedly told that he didn’t see her as his daughter. So she gulped before correcting herself, “Your Majesty?”
Is this the part where I die?
Lily, who had always been alert to her princess’ needs, heard the yelp that Athanasia let out. That was how she found herself wide-eyed at the doorway of Athanasia's room, almost dropping the candle she was holding, “Your Majesty!”
No matter how terrified she truly felt, she steeled herself and jumped towards the space between him and Athanasia’s bed. She was well aware of his maltreatment of her and even at the cost of her own life, she will always choose to protect her princess.
Athanasia de Alger Obelia, the girl that she raised herself due to her admiration towards a certain dancer.
“Lily,” she called out. The last thing she wanted was the person she treasured the most to be placed in danger because of her. Her voice, although shaky, clearly conveyed two apparent emotions.
Hostility and fear, the perfect opposition to his grief and guilt.
He caused that.
But years of etiquette lessons that she forced herself to memorize kicked in. She stepped out of her bed and even in the midst of this peculiar situation, she grabbed her nightgown and curtsied, “Blessings and glory upon the Obelian Empire.”
Claude was still silent, drinking in the sight of her. Now the black magic was expelled from him, he could clearly see that she was his child. No matter how strong Diana’s genes were, some of her features still resembled him.
His daughter.
But accompanying that realization were whispers of her pleas for his love, of all the times she begged for even an ounce of attention.
The love and attention he never gave her.
Until today.
Eighteen years. He had eighteen years’ worth of ignorance to make up for.
“Have tea with me tomorrow,” he told her. For him, it was a request but for her ears, it was a command.
Both ladies instantly paled but they bowed nonetheless as Athanasia let out a quiet, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
With that, he turned on his heel and immediately walked away, leaving them be. He had to tell Felix to make sure the tea tomorrow would be brewed to perfection and to order the chef the biggest array of sweets.
“Princess!” Lily exclaimed when Athanasia’s legs finally gave out. Good thing she was still right next to her bed so she braced herself to fall on top of the mattress.
Four years ago, she would have been elated with the thought having tea with the Emperor. But after the debutante ball when Jennette came to the palace, she came to realization after she watched how the Emperor treated the brunette.
He would never love her.
He had affection to give, but it will never be directed towards her.
She attempted to calm Lily as she went back under the covers. With a wave goodnight, the hesitant head maid closed her door again to leave her to her thoughts. Safe to say, she didn’t get a wink of sleep after that night.
The morning after, she noticed that Lily also shared her worries, if the dark circles under her eyes were anything to go by.
“It will be alright, Princess,” Lily tried to assure, pressing a kiss on her forehead. Athanasia wondered if those words were to comfort her or was it to comfort herself. She was dressed in another simple gown, knowing that the lavish dresses were exclusive for the other princess.
They walked hand in hand towards the entrance of the palace so that Lily could see her off. However, both of them jumped up in shock when they saw a redhead knight that was often seen by the Emperor’s side.
They could only count on a certain number of surprises before these two ladies suffer a heart attack.
“Princess Athanasia,” he bowed when he spotted them, “I’m here to escort you to His Majesty.”
Athanasia felt Lily’s hold on her hand tighten as she acknowledged the knight in front of them, “Sir Robane.”
“Lady Lilian,” he then proceeded to greet the princess’ nanny, “I’m glad to see such a capable woman at Her Highness’ side.”
Lip service, both of them thought.
He held out a hand towards Athanasia, hoping his expression was welcoming, “Shall we, Princess?”
His eyebrows instantly shot up when he felt her hand in his.
Cold and clammy.
Now that he got a closer look, he could clearly see at how terrified she was. He was impressed though, because unless you really stared at her, you wouldn’t be able to notice. She had a wonderful grasp on her emotions and knew how to hide them well.
Like a certain Emperor.
Claude was seated in the middle of one of the many gardens that were dedicated to Jennette, something he cursed himself for. But it wasn’t like he had many other options for a different location since the palace was filled with daisies, her favorite flower.
He had to figure out Athanasia’s favorite flower so he could plant twice as many gardens as the one he had gifted the other princess.
It also reminded him that he had to do something with that whore of an ex-fiancé’s child. His vision was cleared, now he was well aware of the dark magic swirling within her. He knew that keeping her close was bad news.
He had to make sure to get her out of the palace and place her somewhere far away from his daughter.
“Your Majesty,” the familiar voice entered his ears. His head snapped up to see Athanasia stuck in a curtsy, waiting for his approval to stand up straight again.
“Sit,” he said, nudging his head towards the chair across from him.
And the moment she did, her hands automatically found the tea cup in front of her in attempt to prevent herself from fidgeting. For all it was worth, she had an amazing resolve because even if she was petrified inside, she appeared graceful and dignified on the outside.
But to her poor emotionally stunted father, he took her pretense as gospel truth and decided it was a good sign. She didn’t seem to be as scared as she was when he visited last night.
Maybe she was just shocked yesterday.
Felix, the observant knight and the Emperor’s best friend, could only shake his head at the train wreck he was witnessing.
Athanasia slowly brought the teacup to her lips and when the light colored tea hit her tongue, her true emotions finally came forward. Her eyes widened in amazement and the corners of her lips pulled upwards into a small smile. There it was, a twinkle of joy in her passive face.
She looked more and more like Diana when she did so, especially when the cause was the tea that Diana adored.
Felix, deciding that he should at least act like a buffer between them, piped in, “Do you like the tea, Princess?”
“Yes,” she automatically answered, her eyes still trained on the drink, “It feels like flowers are blooming inside my mouth.”
With that, even he had to pause with Claude. Those words, those precious words to describe Lippe tea, was exactly what her mother said.
Diana, she’s just like you.
But there was something missing from her that made her different from Diana – she lacked the free-spirit, she didn’t have the cheerfulness. There wasn’t the love of life that made Diana so dazzling.
Sometimes, it felt like she was an empty doll.
“Flowers,” Claude murmured, causing Athanasia to quickly place her attention back to him. She still debated in her head if she should regret saying that comment about the tea or not. Still, he didn’t seem offended so she took it as a good sign, “Do you have any flowers that you particularly like?”
Is this a test?, she asked herself.
If she said the wrong flower, will he get angry? If she did say what she liked, would he have it banned from the palace?
“No,” she replied, deciding that giving the shortest answers would be the best way to go.
Although inside, she would have loved to gush about her love of roses. How she was captivated by every hue, how she adored the way it would slowly open up and blossom, how the smell was absolutely divine to her senses.
But she was sure that he wasn’t interested in hearing that.
However, her answered seemed to cause him displeasure because his forehead creased at this. She swallowed thickly, taking another sip of the tea to calm herself down. She had put up a show for so many years so removing any traces of emotions from her face was like second nature. No matter what happens, she should always look unfazed.
She wanted to leave this garden alive after all.
The tea time ended with no other particular events. Claude decided to remain silent after his flower question was quickly shut down and Athanasia was too scared to say anything else. She scarfed down whatever snacks were in front of her instead.
Although there was one thing he gained from this – he learned that she liked chocolates from the way her fork was always drawn to the chocolate desserts as opposed to the other flavors.
Before he left though, he gave her another surprise, “Felix Robane will be your personal knight from now on until we find you an appropriate one.”
The disgraceful knight that dared to sleep instead of guarding his only daughter was already locked up behind bars.
Felix diligently followed Athanasia on her way back. He had opened his mouth multiple times in an attempt to start a conversation, but one glance at her solemn look was enough for him to know that she wasn’t in the mood to speak.
“Princess, how was the…” Lily tried to talk to her once they got back, but Athanasia quickly bolted to her room the moment she stepped into the Ruby Palace. She heard the lock click, causing the head maid to frown.
It didn’t go well.
“It seems like the princess isn’t fond of flowers,” Felix spoke as he found his spot next to Lily, both of them standing outside of Athanasia’s bedroom door.
This caused Lily to look at him in wonder, “What do you mean? We always fill the vase in her room with roses because she loves them so much.”
He couldn’t help but release an exasperated sigh. It seemed like the Emperor had a lot of walls to break down before he could get anywhere near to a father-daughter relationship with the princess.
Eighteen years’ worth of walls.
When he reported his new findings to Claude, he was also upset that Athanasia didn’t outright tell him her favorite flower. Still, he quickly ordered the gardeners to tear down the daisies and build as many rose gardens as possible, making sure that the one in the Emerald Palace would be the grandest of them all.
After he purges that palace from every trace of black magic, it would be wholly Athanasia’s.
“Father!” he heard a loud yell from outside the doors of his office.
It was then followed by a knight’s voice, attempting to steer her away after the Emperor’s strict orders to keep the brunette away from him, “Princess Jennette, please calm down.”
“I need to see my father,” she pleaded, her eyes welling with tears, “I can’t believe he removed my gardens and now he’s telling me to move out of the palace.”
The palace that was meant to be for Athanasia.
A vein popped in his head from annoyance and so he stood up, practically ripping the door of his office open. Jennette was there, her face covered in tears as the knight appeared to be seconds away from giving in to her whims.
He glared down at her and chills ran through her spine. In the four years since she was introduced to him, he had never looked at her like that. It was cold, so devoid of any emotion aside from disdain.
However, it wasn’t unfamiliar. She had seen it before because it always appeared whenever he saw the blonde princess.
“F-father?” she questioned, a hand reaching out to touch his face.
He quickly slapped it away, those jeweled eyes shooting daggers towards the chimera, “I’m not your father.”
He could finally see how prominent the black magic was within her. It pooled under feet and it bled from her every pore. To an untrained eye, she seemed normal, but to a powerful magician like Claude, her stench was so obvious.
Because of her, his daughter suffered so much more.
“Let it be known that from this day onwards, Jenette Margarita no longer has the title of princess. She is a product of black magic brought upon by Penelope Judith and the former tyrant.”
The maids and knights, as well as the few nobility passing by, all gasped when they heard the Emperor’s booming words. Before Jenette could say anything more, he quickly commanded the knights, “Take her away to a carriage and have her immediately sent away to the Alpheus mansion.”
“Father!” she screeched, her voice going an octave higher as she struggled under the grasps of the knights trying to drag her away, “Father, please listen to me!”
“I will not imprison you because I doubt you had any idea of your own identity. However, you are banished from this palace and you are no longer allowed to take a step inside.”
Stay away from my daughter.
The pleas of the brunette chimera echoed throughout the halls of the Emperor’s palace. However, all of it fell deaf to Claude’s ears, because he felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. The wretched black magic was slowly being extracted away.
Now there was another task at hand that he needed to move onto.
“Clear the Emerald Palace and have magicians cleanse it from any black magic,” he ordered, “Princess Athanasia will be moved there as soon as possible.”
As if the exile of the beloved princess wasn’t enough, now he was displaying favor for the forgotten princess.
When he returned back to his office and the doors were shut close, the whole palace was in disarray. The witnesses quickly spread the news of what occurred, passing it from ear to ear until it finally reached the Ruby Palace.
But unfortunately, Athanasia was still adamant of her self-imposed imprisonment in her room.
Even her other beloved maids, Hannah and Ces, weren’t allowed inside. Lily only stepped inside to deliver her meals, but those visits were also marred with silence. Even though the Emperor was doing her favor, she was still saddened that Jennette was taken away.
Because even though she learned that they weren’t really sisters, Jennette was still kind to her so she mourned her departure.
And now, the distance between the royal father and daughter seemed to grow bigger. Athanasia kept rejecting all invitation coming from the Emperor, much to his disappointment because this whole time, he was stuck in this mentality that he was doing her a favor. He couldn't fathom how he could be attached to a product of black magic.
So Felix, the only person who appeared to have a sane grasp of the whole situation, decided to slowly point out the problems that Claude was desperately missing. And to start, he knew that he had to get the person closest to Athanasia.
“Lady Lilian,” Felix called out Lily’s name just as she came from the kitchen after delivering Athanasia’s empty dishes, “His Majesty requests your presence.”
Lily’s face instantly paled in surprise and anxiousness, even going as far as dropping the empty tray she was holding. Good thing Felix quickly caught it before it hit the floor, “W-what?”
Felix sighed – he had enough of these misunderstandings. Claude was not only terrible at expressing his own feelings, but also picking up the moods of others. It was so painfully obvious that everyone at the Ruby Palace thought that he would have Athanasia killed at any moment.
Even the princess herself had those thoughts.
“His Majesty genuinely wants to become closer to the Princess,” Felix said, although it was plain as day that Lily didn’t believe him. One day, he would request a long vacation from Claude because of the headache he was subjected to while playing as the bridge between him and his daughter.
He was The Knight of Crimson Blood, he slaughtered enemies left and right at the battlefields, and yet finding himself stuck between Athanasia and Claude was the one thing he found maddening.
“Please take care of the Princess if I don’t return,” she pleaded and Felix could only muster a ‘are you kidding me?’ face.
Curse these emotionally inept royals and nobles!
Felix decided not to say anything more unless he wanted to snap at the wrong person. He tasked another knight to escort Lily while he diligently went back to his post outside of Athanasia's room.
“Blessings and glory upon the Obelian Empire,” Lily bowed to the Emperor once she found herself in the audience room.
“The princess grew up exceptionally well,” he commented and Lily had to stop herself from trembling under his heavy stare, “All credit belongs to you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
God, please allow me return to the Princess’ side after this.
Oh her poor heart was suffering from so many shocking events happening one after the other.
“My daughter will be moved to the Emerald Palace,” he said and after having her head lowered the whole time, Lily finally raised her gaze to gape at him in shock.
No, it wasn’t the Emerald Palace that surprised her. She had already heard about that from the other maids.
But what made her gawk was that he referred to Athanasia as his daughter. After years of neglecting her, of denying that he was her father, he was finally calling her his daughter.
The words of Felix Robane rang in her ears once again, “His Majesty genuinely wants to become closer to the Princess.”
Maybe it was true.
So she gulped and swallowed all of her shame. This was for Athanasia, her princess that she treated as if she was her own child. She had always been prepared to die for her so this should be a walk in the park.
“Your Majesty, if I may be so bold,” she started off, willing herself to muster up the courage. Even though Athanasia had started to act indifferent ever since Jennette arrived, Lily could still see that she wanted her father’s affections. She knew that even if the Princess said otherwise, she still loved the Emperor, “Please sit down with the Princess and have a proper conversation with her.”
“A proper conversation?” he repeated with a raised brow.
Alright, her head was still attached to her body so it meant that he wasn’t enraged yet, “Yes, sire. And if I may say further, apologize to Her Highness.”
“Apologize?”
At this point, she might as well be conversing with a parrot.
“Your daughter has not received love from Your Majesty her whole life, she bears scars that will take time to heal,” she continued, constantly reminding herself that she was talking to the Emperor and she shouldn’t scold him so casually for being such a terrible father, “While it will not solve everything, an apology is a good first step.”
Claude de Alger Obelia had never apologized to anybody before.
He thought that moving her to the Emerald Palace was enough, but when Felix shook his head, he knew that he had to do more.
So he sent dresses, jewelries, accessories, and perfumes towards her way. She accepted them all with a curt, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
He wanted her to call him father.
He showed her all the gardens he ordered to be made for her leisure. Instead of being pleased though, he heard from Felix that she started crying because all reminders of Jennette, the only person who treated her like she was family, were removed.
His next attempt was building a private library that was exclusive for her to use after he learned that she was fond of reading and studying. She thanked him, of course, but it was as formal as ever.
All the while Lily and Felix were scratching their heads in wonder at how utterly clueless the Emperor could be.
“You know, I’m starting to feel bad for your dad,” a mischievous chuckle rang through the library walls, causing Claude to pause. When Felix suggested that he should invite the Princess for a walk, he actually accepted his idea.
He heard from the guards that she was in her private library and if he was being honest, he was nervous of being alone with her. This was going to be the first time it would just be the two of them without Lily or Felix.
Imagine his surprise when he found out that she had company. Not only that, it was someone he was completely unfamiliar with.
“And why?” he heard her reply, her voice filled with sass and devoid of any stiffness she often displayed.
He ducked behind one of the shelves – not because he was scared, but because he wanted to quench his curiosity of who brought out the casual side of his daughter.
On the couch right next to the Princess was a man with long raven hair, those dark locks were between her fingers as she expertly braided them. He wore a magician’s cloak, giving a hint to his identity.
But his most striking feature was his ruby red eyes, the only thing that seemed to rival Athanasia’s sapphire orbs.
“He’s trying so hard to please you and nothing seems to get through,” he answered, his gaze softening as he watched her tie a ribbon to secure the braid, “I told you I already cured him, Athy.”
Somehow, there was so much to unpack from his one sentence.
One, that magician seemed to know the explanation of how he managed to get rid of the dark magic he used on himself to forget the memories of his dead beloved.
Two, he called her Athy.
Athy!
What was their relationship?
“I’m scared, Lucas,” she admitted with a sigh, laying down on the couch and positioning her head on his lap. They were definitely close enough it seemed, “What if I get attached to him and then he suddenly decides that I’m not his daughter again?”
“Then I’ll whisk you away and we can run away together,” he joked and Claude felt a pang on his chest.
But what hurt more was her response, “Just make sure we bring Lily, Hannah, and Ces along.”
She truly believed that he will abandon her again. She trusted that mysterious magician more than her own father. He valued those maids and would rather leave with them.
He had enough of this so he made his presence known, “Athanasia.”
She quickly scrambled up to her feet, her hair messed up from laying down and her eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. Lucas appeared unfazed and if anything, it looked like he knew that Claude was eavesdropping the whole time.
“Leave,” the Emperor commanded him, his voice low. As ignorant as he was, he still managed to find the panic in Athanasia's eyes when he talked to him.
However, Lucas was unfazed and bowed almost mockingly, “Blessings and glory upon the Obelian Empire.”
He snapped his fingers and he disappeared with a flash of light. Athanasia desperately wanted to call him back, to take her away with him.
Claude was obviously in a bad mood and she was stuck with him there.
“Athanasia,” he called her name again, making her flinch and stand up in attention.
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
Fear. So much fear in those eyes and it was all for him.
He had seen how she acted with that black haired pest. Her face was serene, a smile was on her face, and her eyes were filled with adoration.
And yet the only emotion she could give him, her father, was fear.
Ah so this was what Lilian York was talking about.
He took a step forward and even though every single muscle in her body was screaming at her to take a step back away from him, she remained rooted on the ground. She shouldn't display how nervous she was, even though it was already so obvious. As much as he wanted to simply reach out and pull her into his arms, he knew that he had to climb a mountain before he was allowed to do that.
So he did what he thought was the last resort, when in fact, it should have been the first thing he had done.
He fell onto his knees in front of her and with every sincerity he can extract from his bones, he apologized, “I’m sorry.”
Athanasia’s eyes were so wide that she was afraid they would pop out of their sockets. Never in a million years she could have imagined that the Emperor would be kneeling in front of her, begging for forgiveness.
“I caused you so much pain when the only thing I should have done was give you everything you need and want. I should have never tried to forget your mother, to forget her only request from me,” he continued on, pain and regret lacing with every word that came from his mouth, “I should have loved you for all those eighteen years and I deserve to be hated. But please, allow me to love you from now on until the end of my days.”
Silence.
It was so quiet inside the library that it was deafening. At this point, Claude was sure that he could hear his heartbeat because both of them refused to speak.
He willed himself to look up to her and his panic quickly rose when he saw the tears freely dripping from her eyes. It wetted her cheeks, rolling down her face and falling away once it went past her jaw. She made no move to wipe them away, only staying still as she looked down at him.
Then finally, that word that he craved so much to hear and she wished so much to say was uttered, “Father.”
Athanasia also fell down to her knees, her legs felt so weak as she drowned in her emotions. She no longer knew how to describe them with words – relief, joy, astonishment, and every other little thing all wrapped up in one.
But one thing was for certain – there was forgiveness.
She forgave him for everything he had done to her, because she loved him.
She loved him so much that when he gifted her new dresses, she tried them on one by one in front of the mirror. She loved him so much that she wore the perfume he gave her every day because she thought that he liked that scent. She loved him so much that she spent an entire day standing in her balcony, watching as the accessories he had given him gleam under the sunlight. She loved him so much that she traveled to each of the garden he graced her, even if it took hours and feet were sore. She loved him so much that the moment he gave her the private library, she immediately filled it with books that she liked.
She loved him so much that she made sure everything that he gave her was used and appreciated.
She loved him so much that she became scared that one day, this blissful bubble would pop.
“Papa,” she cried, her hand reaching out to clutch his sleeve as she released all her wails.
Claude inched forward until she was within arm’s length and gingerly wrapped his arms around her, his hold was loose so she could pull away anytime she wanted. But when he did so, she gripped on him tightly, finally finding the comfort of a father after so many years.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated over and over again, not even caring that she could barely hear him through her sobs.
She nodded and buried her face on his shoulder, hoping that she could convey her forgiveness without any words. And for once in his dense life, Claude finally guessed the right emotion so his shoulders shook at the wave of relief that overcame him.
That mountain that he had to climb to win her favor now looked like an ant hill. For Athanasia, there was never a mountain because her love for her father never disappeared in the first place.
Felix rushed into the library hours later when he realized that neither of the royals were to be seen since Claude left to take Athanasia on a walk. There, he saw the father and daughter duo fast asleep on the floor, possibly tired from crying so much. Both of their closed eyes were puffy and there were still remnants of dried tears on their faces.
And yet, they looked so peaceful as they were curled up next to each other.
A smile erupted on the knight’s face as he placed a hand on his chest, bowing to his Emperor and Princess, “Blessings and glory upon the Obelian Empire.”
He draped a blanket over their bodies to keep them warm before heading out, humming to himself, Now about that vacation.