Having not heard word about Airee since Airee left for the Bearington duchy a month ago, Marchioness Cassandra was relieved to finally receive a letter.
Reading its contents, however, she went silent in contemplation.
…
"Prepare the carriage," she commanded after summoning Heinman, the butler.
"Very well, Madam."
=====
"Airee will return with me," Lady Cassandra stated as she sat in the upholstered seat across the Duke of Bearington in his office at the Valguard residence.
"You overstep your line, Lady Cassandra," the Duke rumbled, the shadows under his eyes flaring with hostility. "I meet you out of courtesy despite your unannounced visit, yet you dare speak about permitting what I'll not allow?"
"I simply abide by the [Valguards'] request to guide their daughter," Lady Cassandra said simply.
The Duke clenched his fists.
"Guide?" he repeated through clenched teeth. "And where exactly will you [guide] our daughter, Lady Cassandra? We expected her to be safe, not for her to plunge towards death…!"
"I guide her towards wits and intelligence, and strength and fortitude," Lady Cassandra answered firmly and clearly. "As for her safety… The incident on Claymore's Peak was unpredictable and unfortunate…but such is life, Duke. Life is rife with misfortunates, and we cannot avoid it forever. You're aware of this. I'm aware of this. And Airee…she's aware of it."
…
"So, don't punish her any longer, for she's a determined fool like you," Lady Cassandra spoke after pausing. "And should you continue holding her captive and denying her both food and water, the stubbornness of you both [shall be] the cause of her death."
Unconvinced, the Duke continued glaring with displeasure.
"Do you not recall the late Duke?" Lady Cassandra pressed onwards, referring to the former Duke of Bearington, the current Duke's deceased father. "Will you follow in his footsteps and attempt to shape your heir into what [you] believe is best?"
…!
At last, the Duke broke, and he huffed as he covered his eyes with his hands.
Being acquainted with the late Duke, Lady Cassandra was aware of the current Duke's strict upbringing and how cruel and harsh the late Duke was.
The late Duke had been deadly determined to widen and extend the influence of the Valguard name, forcing the concept onto the current Duke as soon as he was born.
Thus, at an early age, the current Duke was forced to train under Lady Cassandra before he was thrust into the battlefields raging in the north of the country at the time.
Conquering all who raised their weapons against him, the current Duke survived and returned hailed as the country's youngest hero.
This achievement raised the Valguard name to its current prime and extremely pleased the late Duke; meanwhile…the current Duke despised and spurned his father even more.
This changed, however, after the death of the former Duke and after courting Lady Clara Cassandra, the only daughter of Lady Cassandra and the now Duchess of Bearington. And with their marriage and the birth of their two little cubs…
The Duke acknowledged the power of the Valguard legacy and accepted all the hardship he had undergone for it. If it meant he could love and spoil his cubs without either of them suffering, he would relive his painful youth many lifetimes over in place of them.
Yet…
The eldest one was always running towards danger! How else could the Duke convince her to turn back if not [force] her—
The Duke stopped thinking, recalling the feeling of slapping Airee, remembering the rush of guilt, the unstoppable storm of worry and anger as he struck her for the first time, and her unwavering glare even as her face swelled and blood gushed from her nostrils.
If the Duchess hadn't appeared at that time and punched him back to rationality, he might have continued beating the defiance out of Airee—
...
[…I vowed never to treat them…the way [he] treated me…yet…]
...
Sensing his anguish, Lady Cassandra said softly, "You and her will come to an understanding one day. And on that day, there will be nothing to forgive between both father and daughter… However, now is not that time. For now…we must prepare her for what's to come… So, let her go and experience what she must, Duke."
...
...
"Airee…" the Duke murmured sadly under his breath. "…Airee doesn't call me [Papa] anymore…"
[…]
"No matter how far she goes with or without you, you'll always be her father…" Lady Cassandra gently uttered before leaving the Duke to stew in his own emotions.
Having accomplished the first task, Lady Cassandra then focused on the second.
Now, to visit her daughter…
=====
"My sweet Clara…" Lady Cassandra muttered as she was led into the Duchess's private chambers.
The room was dark, and when Lady Cassandra parted the curtains draped over the room's windows, dust scattered across the light seeping in from the outside.
…
Lady Cassandra turned towards the bed where the Duchess laid clutching her two children tightly to one side of her.
The only one awake of the three was the one on the far end, little Claire.
Claire stared with wide, observant eyes as Lady Cassandra snapped, "Clara!"
The Duchess jolted awake and squinted as she sluggishly sat up.
"…Mother?" the Duchess croaked.
The Duchess was a mess; her hair was untied and tangled, and her face was colorless and dry. Additionally, she appeared thinner than ever as if she hadn't eaten alongside her eldest child…
That said child was lying between the Duchess and little Claire, still in deep slumber likely due to hunger.
The only one aware and lucid was little Claire, and for that…Lady Cassandra's heart wrung with pain.
Sitting at Claire's end of the bed, Lady Cassandra reached over and grasped the Duchess's hand. "You should have informed me as soon as things worsened."
The Duchess bit her bottom lip.
"I'm [cruel], Mother…" the Duchess uttered as she stared forward into the distance, her gaze intense yet unfocused. "I…I thought I could let her go…yet…I now understand that I [cannot] lose her… That's why I do not blame or hate the Duke for his actions. I hurt seeing my child like this…yet…!! I can only hope this will convince Airee to [stay]…!"
…
"She must return with me," Lady Cassandra stated softly but firmly.
The Duchess's eyes widened, and she whirled her head towards Lady Cassandra, her expression twisting.
"She…she stays [by] me!" the Duchess snarled indignantly, tugging the sleeping Airee closer to her chest.
"Should she stay by your side, she will suffocate," Lady Cassandra uttered quietly, and a light shudder ran through the Duchess.
"Mother…please…!" the Duchess breathed with anguish, her red eyes blurring with tears. "This is my child…! I cannot bear the weight of losing her either then or now, so don't take her away from me…please…!"
"She will suffer just as equally if she stays, Clara," Lady Cassandra warned, reaching over to caress the bandaged side of Airee's face. "This child's scars… As high society stands now, Airee will not be treated with kindness no matter how much you shield her."
The Duchess's tears stopped, and she hissed through gritted teeth, "Rather than kindness, they [will] give her the proper [respect] any child of mine deserves, regardless of scarring…! And if I must upheave high society once more to [establish] that, that is simply what I [will] do…!"
Lady Cassandra grinned to herself.
"And while you are shaping society to welcome Airee with warmth, I shall watch over her," Lady Cassandra smoothly inserted.
The Duchess looked ready to protest, but Lady Cassandra continued, "Have faith, sweet Clara. Have faith in the Goddess Jaf and your daughter, Airee. Trust that the Goddess will continue gracing Airee wherever Airee goes and believe that Airee will survive whatever she encounters wherever she walks. And of course…" Lady Cassandra paused and smiled at Claire who had been listening the entire time, "…trust in this little one. She and Airee will love and support each other no matter how cruel the world becomes, and that alone lends credence, wouldn't you agree?"
Tears dripped down the Duchess's face as the Duchess finally yielded, and she gathered Airee and Claire into her embrace once more, sniveling as Claire patted her in comfort.
"I shall return when it is time," Lady Cassandra imparted softly before kissing all three on the head.
"Thank you for coming, Grandmother," Claire whispered as Lady Cassandra turned to leave.
Lady Cassandra smiled warmly in return.
║║║║║║║║║║
Lady Cassandra came for me as soon as my health improved.
Before we left, the Duchess hugged me, her eyes tearful and puffy as she kissed me several times. Claire immediately followed suit, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
My laugh died, however, when I remembered the Duke was absent.
…
I glanced past the Duchess and Claire, towards the windows on the second floor of the manor where the Duke's office was located.
The curtains were drawn shut, but…I could clearly see his shadowed silhouette standing there, watching us.
…
I dipped my head in his direction.
"Come, Airee!" Lady Cassandra called behind me.
"I'll wait for you!" Claire shouted as I was ushered into the carriage by Lady Cassandra.
"We'll see each other again!" I shouted back at her and the Duchess before the carriage door shut.
I peered out the window as the carriage rolled away, watching my mother and sister until, at last, I could see them no longer.
"…Thank you for coming to get me, Grandmother," I thanked Lady Cassandra stoically as I settled into the seat.
"The one who deserves your thanks and praise is Claire," Lady Cassandra said, surprising me. "She was the one who sent a letter, after all, informing me of the situation and pleading with all her might for me to rescue her sister."
[…]
My heart throbbed as I recalled the heated argument with the Duke, his terrible worry as well as the muffled sobs filtering through my ears as I tottered between sleep and consciousness beside the Duchess…
And throughout all that, Claire was…?
…
"I'll be sure to thank her…the next time I see her…" I inched out, engraving the promise into the depths of my soul alongside my goal.
Lady Cassandra smiled with satisfaction, and I slid my eye shut, solidifying my resolve as my guilt and concerns melted into the roots of my bones.
=====
Yuri, the demon, flew in the skies as the Cassandra carriage rolled along.
As he leisurely followed it, he reminisced about his first interaction with the prey.
On that day, he had been eating a boring meal when—suddenly—a scent drifting high in the skies sent his instincts aflame.
Immediately, he discarded his meal and flew upwards, tracking and following the tantalizing scent until he arrived at the manor.
There, he quickly identified the young human who was emitting such strong [intent], watching as that human fought with the father, pondering as that human was struck by the father, [planning] while that human was led away to rest, now weak and exhausted.
…
Disguising himself as the woman who had just left the room where the young human rested, Yuri melted into the room and sat on the bed, studying the human.
"…Mother…?" they spoke, momentarily waking.
[Nice to meet you, [prey]], Yuri silently whispered, his irises flaring gold.
"Do you want your father to go away?" he asked bluntly, in the voice of the mother's.
"…No…" his prey weakly answered.
"But your father is blocking your path," he whispered conspiratorially. "I only wish to lessen your problems. For the right price, of course…"
Instead of entertaining those dark thoughts like his previous preys had, however, the prey in front of him asked, "Do you want…me to stop as well…Mother…?"
"Never," he immediately answered, his eagerness breaking through his disguise. "You must grow and develop your [intent] as far and much as you can, prey. Bloom into your full potential…and rejoice when I return to [eat] you—"
Yuri stopped speaking when he realized his prey had fallen asleep.
…
That night ended quite anticlimactically, though watching his prey starve for the next few weeks somewhat made up for it…
Back in the present, Yuri observed from afar as the Cassandra carriage passed through the gates of the Cassandra castle, travelling onwards until it finally stopped before the castle manor.
His prey exited the carriage, and—
Yuri grinned when the prey looked up towards the sky above—in the direction exactly where he hovered.
[Interesting.]
…
[Hah.]
This might just be his best meal in centuries.