While a culture of independence was about to begin in Pretzia, a different atmosphere brewed in the Solay dining hall; it was a bit weird .
Not realizing the oddness, I tilted my head . I felt nervous; it felt like an interview-type dinner, yet there was no one else in the room except for Caitel .
Huh, no one had come yet?
However, I noticed the amount of food on the table, all prepared in advance .
It was a lot of food, considering it was just me and my dad having dinner . Besides, there were only two plates on the table .
âWhat is this? Are we the only ones having our meal?â
For some reason, I smiled brightly .
After a very long time, I get to eat comfortably!
As I sat down, my dad, who had come first, looked at me . He was leaning back onto his chair, with a stiff face and a painful expression .
However, I didnât care about how he glared at me .
I knew that something more important would happen . He wouldâŠ
Right, would I be able to get the freedom I had back after a while?
I got to eat all I could, yep . After all, food had to be eaten in a comfortable place .
As soon as I sat down, I began to eat the appetizers, dad didnât seem to touch his food; he just kept looking at me . With a sharp gaze, I felt terrible every time I put the spoon in my mouth .
What? Did I do something wrong?
Did I do something without realizing it?
I couldnât think of a reasonâŠ
Since my childhood, I couldnât stand my dadâs dictator-like attitude, but my dad started to be gentle with me once I hit the age of ten . Well . I wasnât sure what was bothering him, but even when the main dish came out, Caitel was still glaring at me . Was I cute today? That had to be it .
I didnât usually believe that people could be killed with gazes, but sometimes, seeing my dadâs eyes was enough for me to understand what it actually meant . I sighed out loud .
âDad, let your daughter eat her food . â
âWhat is it? Why are you doing this?â
In the end, I couldnât stand the atmosphere . I talked first .
âDad, did I do something wrong? Why are you looking like that?â
His hand lowered from his chin, and he leaned his upper body into the table .
My posture hadnât changed, but my gaze did .
Did I do something horribly wrong?
Maybe my doppelganger went over to him and did something terrible, all while pretending to be me . I was seriously thinking about fantasy-type excuses for his behavior, but after a while, Caitel spoke .
âDonât take a single step outside the palace for the time being . â
Absurd imprisonment, I couldnât help but frown .
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â
âHey, dad, tell me you are joking!â
I frowned; I really wanted it to be a joke .
Suddenly, dad called for people .
He made his usual hand gesture, and a few people suddenly came pouring into the hall .
âWhen the princess returns to the palace, have the knights protect her . â
âYes, Your Majesty . â
Now, I was beyond embarrassed .
Why was he suddenly acting like this? If I did something in the first place, I would have understood why my dad was doing something like this, but I couldnât think of any reason behind this behavior!
What I saw annoyed me, but I held back . It was a fact I had come to accept in all the years I had spent living with my dad; if I got angry in the situation, the situation would worsen for me .
âWhy are we suddenly doing this? What did I do wrong?â
Dad looked at me . I really began to think; his gaze was blank .
What the hell is he doing this for?
âHuh? What do you mean? What no?â
âNo matter who it is, you canât get married . â
Words that confused me . Marriage, me?
Seeing me stiffen, Caitel spoke with a little more force in his voice . No, dad, I was stiff because I did nothing wrong to deserve this and was too embarrassed at what you just said .
âYouâre too close with the Emperor of Pretzia . Your dad will never allow that . â
I touched the temples on my forehead .
This was all ridiculous; I felt like laughing out loud .
âIt isnât what dad imagines, okay?â
It was too early for me to think about marriage!
His opponent was Havel . I really didnât know who made the rumors, but it was a bullshit rumor with no truth in it .
Somehow, I felt nervous .
It wasnât even four hours since I felt something terrible would happen, and then this happened?
Uh, perhaps I was meant to be a prophet?
Whatever it was, I opened my mouth to get rid of the misunderstanding . Before I could even say anything, Caitel cut me off .
âDonât bother speaking . â
I was sure that he didnât trust my words anymore .
It made me doubt what kind of a daughter he thought of me as . Was I the kind of daughter he couldnât even trust? How on earth did things turn out this way?
I thought about why he was so convinced with the rumors, but my dad was still stiff while he rubbed the rim of his glass . I was nervous because I thought he would break the glass .
âI have been thinking about it, and I feel that it is better for you not to meet them . I feel like wiping them out, whether it be Havel or someone else, but then Ferdel would run away without solving it . â
Of course, their effort would be for nothing, and hell would run amok in the world; fleeing felt like the right thing to do .
Even Ferdel would run away this time .
It was shocking that my dad knew, and I didnât deny it either .
âSo this time, I decided to go for a more peaceful way . â
What about my peace!? My basic human rights! My freedom being ignored! Right here and now!
It was as if a knife sliced me off; I burst out .
My dad, as time kept passing, started to cross the line with his own daughter . He was putting his own flesh and blood in confinement . What was the difference between prohibiting me from taking a single step outside my room and disallowing me from leaving the palace!
No, this couldnât go on . Something must be done . There was nothing such as an impossibility!
I had to work; I couldnât just be locked up in the palace .
âNo need to go over the Imperial Palace for work . Iâll send everything to you, so stay in your room . â
Before I could even say anything, dad cut me off . My very last hope had been removed, so I sat still and felt my cheeks burn .
This couldnât be done! This was getting ridiculous!
âSupport? Can I go out to support?â
As I felt his never-ending interruptions, I frowned .
I would understand if I was a toddler, but at my age? I was going crazy . I wanted to scream and walk out of the dinner hall, but I held back with my last remaining patience . I didnât want to lose .
Phew, hold back . Be patient .
I was not a child anymore; I would be at a disadvantage if I let my temper get the best of me .
I couldnât destroy this any further .
I shut up and stared at my dad .
I could see that Caitel enjoyed his power .
Uh, my dad . No, what kind of a dad would enjoy confining his daughter?
Ah, I needed to go back .
âThen, what about our dinner? Do I eat alone?â
Right! Would he really make his cute and lovely daughter eat alone? Caitelâs expression changed . His heart must have felt weak .
I tried to pretend-cry, hoping it would work on my dad . However, my dadâs determination was sturdier than I expected .
âUgh, reality really is a bitch . â
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