Midnight stars dotted a velvety sky, as the moon's pale glow coated the world in faint silver light. With his room illuminated only by a single incandescent oil lamp - which flickered generously across the elaborate walls, Rudien sighed softly as his eyes continued to focus on the paperwork in front of him.

His temples were beginning to throb from all the requests that had piled up from the people in his territory. Since the Cherlianns ruled the Northern area of Laydel, majority of its affairs were taken care of by Rudien himself. Although the other dukes tended to split the work between their vassals, Rudien thought of this as inefficient. He trusted few nobles, knowing how greedy they could be.

Of course, his own refusal to let others take care of the work, resulted in him becoming swamped with matters to deal with. Although accustomed to this busy lifestyle, he often would forget to take care of himself. And that was exactly why Irene happened to knock on his door that night, peeping her little head around the entrance of his bedroom, as she smiled at her father who was still working.

I knew it. He's not been sleeping at all... She wanted to sigh, remembering her workaholic father was like this even while she was a baby. And the only times he would seem to relax, was when Irene or Sarah were around.

But Sarah was busy with handling her own matters as Duchess - so Irene felt it would be best for her to stay with her father again.

"Papa, is it okay if I sleep here for tonight?" She asked him, and Rudien smiled softly.

"Of course, I'd enjoy the company." He stood up from his chair, watching as Irene closed the door behind her and leapt onto his plush bed. It was twice the size of her's, and the mattress was a little bit rougher, but it was still as luxurious to sleep on as her own.

"We should sleep together!" She beamed, tucking herself under the covers and patting the space next to her. Although she wasn't too bothered about whether he slept beside her or not, Irene was worried for Rudien's health, if he was running on no sleep. When she surveyed his face, she could see the bags under those crimson eyes. It looked as if he had gone three whole days with very little sleep.

She wasn't one to enjoy acting like a child, but if it was for the betterment of her dear father, she was willing to do anything.

Rudien smiled softly, setting down his pen and making his way over to her. He was dressed loosely in his night robes, and Irene could see the structure of her father's abs exposed - littered with faint scars and marks of war, yet still strong and endearing.

As expected of the strongest man in Laydel.

"I'm afraid I still have a lot of work to do," he told his daughter, laying beside her on the bed and tenderly swiping the stray hairs from her face. "But I'll stay beside you until you fall asleep, how does that sound?"

Oh Father, you're so cute.

I'm not here to sleep, I'm here to put you to sleep.

Irene huddled up to Rudien's body, wrapping her little arms around his large torso as if he were a teddy bear. He was rather surprised by the gesture, but reluctantly held her back. It would've been difficult to get out of this position without waking her up later, but since her action caused his heart to melt, he decided to stay this way for a while.

The sweet smell of her hair somehow calmed his nerves down, allowing Rudien to relax and let down his guard for once.

"Papa, tell me about the war," Irene smiled, gazing up at him expectantly. "I'd like to hear your stories."

He smiled lightly, rather pleased she was so interested in him. As Rudien closed his eyes, he began to pet her hair gently with his large, slender hands - as if she were a little animal. "Hmm... There isn't much to say, it was a total victory on our part," he began. "We conquered Izadel, but they had hired soldiers from the neighbouring kingdom of Grissa to increase their numbers. Of course, following their defeat, the Grissain people immediately surrendered as well."

Irene remembered hearing about the Kingdom of Grissa. It was a weak nation that supported Izadel - because of its oddly vast population. Childbirth was wildly celebrated in Grissa, which was likely why they had so many people living there.

"We also defeated the royal family of Izadel. I murdered them with my own two hands," Rudien sighed softly, his smile fading. "With the exception of one child. A little girl, who reminded me of you somehow."

Irene tilted her head. "She reminded you of me? How so?"

Rudien remained silent for a moment. It was if he was deeply contemplating that question, but was unable to find an answer to it. "I guess it's because she was around the same age as you," he told her. "Not once have I shown mercy on the battlefield. But at the same time, I've never needed to kill a child."

Irene remained silent for a moment. She expected Rudien to be the type to kill even women and children, because he was like that in her original novel. After all, he was the father of a villainess. But in reality, perhaps his closeness with his daughter and wife now made it difficult for him to target such people - especially if they were innocent victims.

"Enough about that, tell me about the time you had," he said, changing the subject as he buried his face into her head. "I'm more curious about how life has been for you."

Irene could feel him breathing through her hair, and it felt slightly ticklish. But she soon began to tell him about all of the things she had experienced and achieved throughout the last three years of their separation. How she visited the festival every year with Rayvis and River, how she became friends with Isabella, how she opened up to Mikael and even the moments she enjoyed in her studies.

But of course, she was aware that the slow breathing on her head and him suddenly falling silent was an indication that Rudien was finally asleep. Irene gently wriggled out of her father's embrace, ensuring he was properly tucked in to bed, and gingerly going to extinguish the lamp on his desk.

"You should take breaks, you idiot dad." She whispered to herself, sighing softly before making her way back into the bed, and planting a soft kiss on Rudien's forehead. She swept aside his strands of silver hair which resembled burnished steel, squeezing herself back into his arms.

Goodnight, Papa. She greeted in her head to not wake him up, before closing her eyes and breathing in his vague scent of trees and winter. I hope you rest well and regain your energy tomorrow.

The next morning, Irene woke up to Rudien still sleeping, much to her relief. She ensured anyone who tried to wake him up would be chased away, asking Eirwen to stand guard on her way out because Rudien needed all the sleep he could get. In the end, her father slept in until just before lunch - his body refreshed and revitalised, but his mind in dread because of how much time he wasted on slumber.

Even so, Rudien was grateful to Irene after realising she made it so he rested for once. It was as if her childish little visit was a farce and instead - her main objective was for her father to recover from the fatigue building up in his body. He always knew she was clever and considerate for her age, and much more caring than she let on.

That evening, the Cherlianns gathered for dinner together in the main dining room, accompanied by Mikael - who would be having a meal for the first time alongside the Duke. Irene had felt some doubt towards the prince before - but she decided to trust in his goodness, especially when he wore the blue waistcoat Snow mentioned to the dinner that night.

If my necklace is in his pockets and he gets discovered, Mikael is definitely not at fault. Irene thought, beginning to feel anxious as he sat at the table beside her. Her eyes roved over his left pocket, but she couldn't see the outline of anything inside it. Then again, her necklace was small and quaint - so it wouldn't have been easy to tell in the first place.

The tables were lined with savoury foods upon silver platters. The aroma of cinnamon roast glazed in honey, with sweet potatoes, golden truffades, rich salads and delicacies wafted into her nostrils. She was so distracted by the food for a moment, she forgot about the necklace.

"It's been a long time since we've all had a meal together," Rudien said, before they all dug in. He then glanced at Mikael, who was sitting next to Irene again. Although it bothered him a little bit how often these two would be so close to each other, Rudien decided not to let it ruin the atmosphere. "Prince Mikael, I hope the food is to your liking."

The boy nodded his head furtively, noticing a tiny glimmer of envy flaring in Rudien's eyes. It left him slightly on edge. He keeps looking at me like that...

The family soon dug in to their meals and enjoyed a pleasant time together, feasting on the tenderly cooked food. Irene ate so much she thought her stomach would explode, amazed as always by the chef couple's amazing skills. Jane and Gerald went all out on this one! She smiled blissfully as she stuffed her face with food.

After the meal was finished and desserts were served, Irene offered Mikael the remaining half of her pudding - because she ended up eating so much she felt sick. She didn't know how the prince could eat so much yet still be so small, but Mikael didn't look even the slightest bit bloated by all the food he consumed.

Even Rayvis had enough, also pushing his dessert toward Mikael. Sarah looked pleased at the sight of all the children getting along so well, finding it cute how Mikael would finish their leftovers. Meanwhile - Rudien was on the verge of exploding when he noticed Mikael using the same spoon Irene had just used.

The entire dinner seemed to go by rather idly, and Irene had almost forgotten about the fact that she needed to pay attention to Mikael's actions to determine whether Ms Cather was exploiting him or not. That was - until she noticed Snow sitting on the said woman's head - as she stood beside the other maids who lined the walls, waiting to clear the table after the family finished.

Snow nodded his head gently to signal to Irene that the necklace was definitely inside Mikael's pocket. He also kept a close watch on Ms Cather, who looked almost like she was anticipating something.

Irene silently regained her focus, keeping an eye on Mikael whilst instructing Snow through her thoughts, to observe Ms Cather for any strange behaviours.

"That food was amazing!" Rayvis exclaimed, but he wasn't smiling. "I think I'll have to skip training for today... I'm going to be sick because I ate too much."

Rudien smiled faintly. "They do say knights should rest after a hefty meal. You should get some-"

Clash!

Just then, the sound of a plate crashing could be heard from Mikael's direction, and everyone in the room glanced over to see him trip forward. The little boy fell onto the plush carpet, glancing back at his shoe - which was the cause of his imbalance.

Somehow, the tablecloth got caught on his leg, and when he tried to walk away it resulted in the plate falling with him. Irene was about to hurry over to make sure he was okay, but instead froze when all of the maids around him seemed to gasp in shock, at something on the floor beside his little body.

Rudien stopped in front of Mikael, kneeling down to help him up. But a faint glimmer in the corner of his eyes caught his attention - and his crimson eyes widened slightly when he realised where it came from.

An elegant little white gemstone with dainty silver chains. It was the exact same necklace Rudien had given to Irene, and a part of its hook was caught on Mikael's pocket. For a second - everyone was silent.

"Isn't that Princess Irene's necklace?"

"Why does he have it...?"

"Did he steal it?"

The hushed whispers of some of the maids spread through the room, as Mikael's face became as white as a corpse. When the petrified boy glanced up at the Duke, his body froze in total horror at the expression Rudien was wearing in that moment.

His visage was completely deadpan. Not an ounce of emotion could be seen on the man's face. But his crimson eyes were searing through Mikael like pools of blood.

As if a deathly reaper was staring at him moments before taking his soul. No one ever looked at him in such a frightening way — Mikael became so overwhelmed with fright to the point he couldn't move.

"...Where did you get this?" Rudien slowly asked, his murderous gaze unfaltering as he picked up the necklace on the floor.

Mikael opened his mouth, but no words came out. He had no idea as to why Irene's necklace was in his pocket in the first place — or how the tablecloth got caught on his shoe. But what he did know - was that the sneering old maid in the corner had something to do with it. Her wrinkled face contorted into a wide, ugly grin with pure ecstasy visible in her dull eyes. A wave of darkness hovered about her fingertips, and the prince clenched his teeth in contempt.

She did this... That old hag...!

Mikael gulped, his heart racing as his hands balled into fists on the carpet. Rudien was still glaring so hard that he could feel it, and it frightened him not knowing what was going to happen next.

Just then, the pale fabric of a dress fluttered in front of him, and Mikael glanced up to see Irene standing protectively in front of him, facing her father.

"I gave it to him! It wasn't stolen," Irene exclaimed, loud enough for the whole room to hear - and for the murmurs among the maids to cease. "I gave the necklace to Mikael."

Mikael stared at her in awe, Ms Cather in aggravation - and Rudien in complete shock. Even Snow was watching with his beak hanging wide open.

As Rudien's baleful glare melted away, he faced his daughter with a rather visibly hurt expression. "...You gave it to him? But I thought you liked the gift?"

Irene shook her head vigorously, averting her gaze because she didn't want to lie while looking her father in the eye. "It was nice... I just— didn't like the colour." She made up an excuse on the spot, and Rudien tilted his head slightly.

"Didn't you like white the most?" He asked, before Irene shook her head. She offered him the most angelic smile she could muster, jumping onto Rudien and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I stopped liking white a long time ago. My new favourite colour is red, like your eyes!" She beamed. Of course, this wasn't really true and Irene didn't care too much for colours — but she needed to say something that would please Rudien so that he'd forget all about his anger just now.

And it worked. With those words, her weak father blushed faintly as he hugged his daughter back, suddenly feeling rather bashful. "I-Is that so...? Then, I'll buy you a whole set of ruby jewels..."

Please don't waste money like that.

"Okay! I look forward to it, Papa!" She beamed, kissing her father on the cheek before gently pulling away from him. She then swivelled around on one heel to face Mikael, helping him up. He was still trying to get his head around what just happened - but when Irene held his hand, he calmed down a little bit.

"Mikael, let's go and play in the library," Irene smiled exaggeratively in pretense, trying to show the entire room just how well they got along. "There's a new book I wanted to share with you!"

And with that, she siezed his hand and abruptly left the room, leaving everyone in a state of relief. Snow listened to the other maids shake their heads and feel bad for doubting Mikael, and noticed the look of concealed rage on Ms Cather's composed demeanour. He then swiftly caught up with Irene, watching from a distance as she took Mikael somewhere quiet to interrogate him.

So that Cather woman was behind this after all. Snow thought, gazing down at the two children who silently paced toward the library. But... How did she know Mikael was going to trip like that? And how did the necklace fall out so easily, when it was so secure in his pocket?

I'm starting to really smell the fish...

❤️🙌