Chapter 154 - A Familiar Handwriting

Late into the night after the royal banquet, a trifling matter stirred those residing in Marquis Hessen's estate.

"Mikhail, have you skipped dinner once again? Answer me, Mikhail," cried a middle-aged woman as she repeatedly knocked on the door. No sound came from inside, however. When the lady let out a troubled sigh, a young girl made a great fuss from beside the woman.

"Dear mother, I cannot stand this anymore! My beloved brother will die if this continues!"

"Do not use your mouth to speak such ill-fated words, Giselle," the woman scolded strictly.

"But Mikhail indeed started acting strangely after parting with that lady!" the girl raised her voice nonetheless. "Have you heard him call her name? He does so while staring blankly into space sometimes! I am confident such is not normal behavior!"

"Stop!" the woman screamed back after hearing the words she had been denying. There was now malice in her face. "We will soon come to terms with that wench who dared to insult Mikhail and this family."

***

When I woke up the next morning, the uneasy thoughts that had haunted me the previous day had cleared. It seemed the chaos in my head had been caused by the pigeon and the note from the crown prince. I recalled the mistakes I made yesterday and sighed, for the first thing I remembered was getting irritated at Max. It was true I was a bit harsh on him despite him persistently harassing me. I should have reminded myself of the good deeds he had done for me.

Sighing once again, I mulled over my wrongdoings in regret. Then, I realized this was not the time to worry about Max. My attention turned to a more important issue—the crown prince. I decided I needed to first learn more about the maniac tyrant before doing something about the message, and as soon as this conclusion was reached, a person came to mind.

'Given he's always visiting the palace, Father must know a lot about the prince.'

Of course, he was loyal to the throne as the duke, so he would not easily disclose information about the heir. I pondered about a topic that would cause my father to reveal confidential intelligence and soon had an insightful moment.

'If I ask him about that, he will definitely tell me!'

***

With a cold shadow over his face, Regis read the letter containing the marquis' seal. He soon crumpled the paper into a ball. He couldn't allow such nonsense to reach his daughter. A mana current appeared on his palm and burned the letter into ashes, leaving no traces.

'I would do the same to the despicable man's estate if I could. If only I had a justified reason…'

His murderous thoughts were interrupted by Jubelian's voice from outside the door to his office, "Father, are you there? I have something to ask about. Are you not busy?" Although the blackened pieces of the message were long gone, Regis tensed up. It had been a while since Jubelian had sought him.

'It should be fine. I've gotten rid of the evidence.' Soothing his pounding heart, Regis answered, "Come in."

"I hope I'm not bothering you," Jubelian worried as she walked in the door. Regis' foul mood instantly improved at his dear daughter's careful inquiry.

"Not at all."

Jubelian wore a faint smile in response, and Regis could feel a lump in his throat. He could not remember the last time the girl had approached him first for a friendly conversation. If only he could, he wanted to spend some quality time with her. However, Regis knew well that such a thing was impossible. Reminded of the fact that there was not much time left for him to spend with Jubelian, the duke wore a bitter smile.

"Father, I didn't want to trouble you, but I thought it was time that I became serious," Jubelian finally parted her coral lips.

"What must you mean?" Regis stared at his daughter as ominous feelings pervaded him.

Sighing, Jubelian recalled, "Remember the time you told me to be well-informed about the crown prince?"

Regis was aware. In fact, he had said such things so that she could avoid the scum of the earth, Max. Nevertheless, these words did not matter so much since it seemed that Jubelian was very much in love with him, and Regis had already allowed their relationship to continue. In any case, he affirmed.

"Since there could be talks of a royal marriage between me and the crown prince, I thought I should get to know more about him," Jubelian continued with a serious expression.

Marriage talks? As if struck by lightning, Regis froze in place. He didn't think the two were already thinking about marriage. They only seemed to enjoy each other's presence—Jubelian mentioning such a thing as marriage was unimaginable!

"There is no need to rush, so why don't you take your time learning about him? Besides, there are still three months until you are of age." Regis wanted to steer away from the topic of marriage as he wanted to spend as much time as he could with his daughter.

Oblivious of his intentions, Jubelian shook her head vehemently and insisted, "The curiosity is troubling me in my sleep, Father. Could you just tell me three things about him?" Her eyes glistened, enhancing her already lovely features. Regis couldn't dare to reject his precious daughter's wish.

Deciding it would be harmless to disclose superficial information, Regis admitted his defeat. "What would you like to know?" The questions that followed only left him dumbstruck, for he had never thought she would inquire about such menial things. The answers to her curiosities were not important or confidential but could hurt Max's pride.

***

Regis was thinking he should finish off the futile conversation when Jubelian apologized, "I'm sorry, Father. I've asked so many things, haven't I?"

"No, it's fine," he denied. Nevertheless, his daughter continued to shrink.

"I was just afraid of a situation where the crown prince might come to hate me because I said something stupid."

Was it because of her past with Mikhail? Regis' heart broke as he listened to his daughter's weak voice. Prioritizing her happiness more than anything, Regis ended up blurting the things his disciple had requested not to tell anyone.

****

Hope you enjoyed it,

Love,

Biji ^^,

Nov.2.2023