"What have you been working on...father?" I asked the duke. Not even sure if I should add the last word, but ended up doing so.
I saw a glint in his eyes when I said it. Oho! So, the ring of that word makes you happy, huh?
He cleared his throat. "Just some issues in the fief. And some work in the palace."
"Just? Weren't you too busy to even visit me for the past three months?" I continued to ask him while eating.
"That's how it is..."
"Ah!" is my only answer.
Silence.
It was just us and our clacking utensils. And the glances of the servants. Might be their first time seeing the daughter and father trying to talk to each other.
I sighed and put down the fork and knife that I'm holding. This is too awkward.
"Father?" I said in a stiff tone, wanting to get his attention. He looked up. Then again, I saw that glint in his eyes.
"Do you usually talk like this, father?"
"Whatever do you mean?" he asked back.
"It's as if you're counting your words. Do you have a limited set of words you can only say?" I finally get to voice what I'm so annoyed about.
"I never thought of it as that," he said as if there was nothing wrong with it.
[Goodness!]
"How did you and mother end up together if you were like this? Did you two ever talk?" I blurted out of frustration. I just can't really imagine how my mother has handled this man with few words. It might have caused her a lot of patience.
"Your mother... I thought you would never mention her..." he said smiling.
Oh! So he can smile. Though I can see his sadness beneath that smile.
"Why would I not?" my tone changed. It is as if I popped something I am not allowed to.
"I was told of your memory loss. So it was like this," he said, avoiding my question. It made me frown.
"I know that mother is no longer with us. But, what makes you think I would not talk of her?" I pressed on the subject because I really wanted to know more. Knowledge is power! The more I know the circumstance of this family, the better.
He stopped eating and looked at me intently. Trying to gauge my seriousness and if I could take the weight of the information he was about to impart.
After a moment of silence, he finally talked. "Well... ever since you were a child, you were teased by the kids your age..." he paused. Not sure whether to tell me about my past.
I am not an idiot. And as I've said before, life is a cycle of cliches. Even in real life, we are encountering those cliches.
"So... did they say I killed my mom for being born?" I was the one who added to what he was unable to spit out. His sad gaze at me confirms it.
That was it? If I wasn't born in Generation Z, I might have acted way differently. Well, I wouldn't blame Aerin for growing up a bitter cucumber. Her circumstances are different from mine. Even so, the duke was not able to shape her up. He might have provided her with everything, but there was no value in it. It was as if Aerin grew up alone despite of still having a father.
Do you know what they say practically? It is better not to be able to provide all the material things in the world. Your time, love, and teaching are more important to a child. That helps shape them up to become a better version of themselves. May it be this world, my real world, the past, or the present, that ideology never changes. The fact that you are there in the growth of your child, especially for the most important happenings in their life, gives them a different sense of joy and pride.
I stood up and reached for his hands. "Father, this time is different." That sentence I said, is so vast I cannot even stay on one seat. It encompasses everything that I wanted to do moving forward. From the way how I wanted to change this Aerin's life, to how people perceive me, to my relationship with my father, to the servants, and to all the things that this rotten person might have infected and stepped into.