"I don't know how to ride a horse," Yuki felt the need to explain as the duke looked at her expectantly, having brought her around the manor to show off the steed. He seemed strangely disappointed by her reaction, giving an exasperated sigh.
"Aren't girls your age supposed to love horses…?" It sounded like he was asking her, but his tone made it clear it was more of a rhetorical question. Seeing his disappointment, she looked up to the horse as it snorted, digging its hoof into the dirt.
"It's, uh, a nice horse," she supposed, unable to fake excitement. "I do just love horses. Look at its… fur. How well groomed." At her dry tone, he made a face at her.
"You're going to need better acting skills than that to fool anyone into thinking you're my daughter. Whatever, let's just go."
"Where are we going?" She wondered as he lifted her up, balancing her on the saddle. After Melius–rather curtly, she might add–woke her up this morning, he sent her off to the duke's office without much explanation, simply claiming that he required her presence. Before she could make it there, she had run into the duke in the hallway where he whisked her off behind the house.
"We're going to get some clothes for you," the duke explained as he leapt lithely onto the horse behind her, trapping her in his arms as he held onto the reins. He pulled on them gently, making the horse rear back before turning around. "Think of this like a test run of sorts for acting like father and daughter. Besides, I can't have you looking like you lost a fight with an alleyway raccoon when I bring you to the De l'Étoile manor."
"Hm?" He watched as her ears perked up. She looked up at him with wide eyes. This close, he could see how small she really was. "We're going to the De l'Étoile manor? For what reason?"
"Yeah, at the end of this week. He has a son that's more or less around your age. While we're there, I need you to befriend him. Become his playmate or something, should be easy enough for you. Just get along with him well enough that you'll be invited back."
She grinned at him.
"So this is why you wanted me?" She asked. "As a way to get closer and spy on Duke De l'Étoile? Is there something you're trying to get from him?"
"Not really. Yet, at least," he admitted, picking up the horse's pace from a slow walk to a light jog. "He's been meeting frequently with the emperor recently and none of my informants can figure out why. I don't know what he's planning, but it doesn't sit right with me. Something is going on, and I need your help in getting information."
"So I'll be your man on the inside," she nodded to herself. "I am rather stealthy."
He didn't have any evidence to deny her claim, but something about the way she said it made him want to deny it.
"I still haven't found you an etiquette teacher yet," he mused. "But you're young enough that I don't think your behavior will raise any major suspicions. Just do your best to keep out of trouble."
"I am good at staying out of trouble," she agreed.
"And because I doubt that, I'll be there the entire time to watch over you."
"Wha-," she scoffed, puffing her cheek. "I'm not a child."
"...You are though?"
"Not one that needs supervision."
"We'll see. Depending how well you act, I might let you out unsupervised."
"I didn't realize I was signing on to become a prisoner. Where did all my rights go? My freedom?"
"You're so dramatic."
"In no way," she huffed. The more she thought about it, the more it confused her, though. "How will you explain my presence to them? You're just going to show up to Duke De l'Étoile manor with a daughter you suddenly have? Won't that raise suspicions about what you're trying to do?"
"I already have a cover story planned."
"What is it?"
"That you were born sickly, so I didn't let you out of the house for fear of you getting hurt. But lately your health has been taking a turn for the better, enough for me to relent to your constant begging to go out and socialize."
"...I'm not one for socializing."
"That's why it's a story, this is all just an act."
"I don't think I'll be very convincing, is all."
"That's the point of going out today, to work on being convincing."
"The idea of you acting like a doting father is strange," Yuki admitted.
"I've already given you so much, what do you even mean?"
"Yeah, as part of a contract."
"That you signed which makes me your father." He felt her shrug, but she said nothing more. Instead of responding to that, he held her tighter to him, saying instead: "hold on tight!" With that, he swung the reins hard, making the horse whine before shooting off.
Yuki closed her eyes tightly at first, feeling her stomach drop. The speed the horse was going made her feel dizzy and sick. But, feeling Engel laugh behind her, she slowly opened her eyes, peeking between her eyelashes before her eyes widened with shock. They were speeding down a trail, the wind cold on her face as the world passed them by in saturated blurs of green, blue and brown.
For the first time in her life, she felt a feeling of… exhilaration. She was still Yuki, still the same girl with a death sentence of a curse hanging over her, but, for just a moment, she felt a sense of freedom.
It wasn't long before Engel helped her off the horse at a stable on the outskirts of town, talking with the stableboy there as he tipped him a silver coin. Yuki took that time to pat down her hair, putting a hand over her heart to try and steady its rapid beating.
"Well, you coming?" Engel asked her, nodding with his head for her to follow.
"I liked that," she admitted, slightly breathless in awe. "How fast we went. Can we do that again?"
"Of course," he said with a slight laugh.
"I now get why girls like horses, like you said."
He went to object to that, say that it was the horses themself that they enjoyed, but stopped himself seeing her face. He supposed he didn't need to argue that.
It was a mostly uneventful walk to the boutique. Yuki had her hands shoved in her pockets, observing the day-to-day life on the streets around her. Engel made sure she stayed close to him, watching her reaction to the world around them. He knew she was quick-witted from the way she put together what happened with the ghost along with her general demeanor, but, watching her, he was surprised how introspective she seemed.
"...Is there a reason you're staring at me?" She finally asked, her voice soft but still carried above the general hubbub of the busy streets.
"You got a weird look on your face." She made a face at him. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just a strange expression to see on someone so young."
She was unusually silent a moment before asking: "What do you think is going through the minds of those around us?"
"Those around us?"
"From the baker over there feeding bread to the cat in the alleyway to the little girl selling flowers from her basket, what do you think is on their mind?"
"I imagine it's different for each of them. The baker looks like a young boy and seems to be trying to stay out of sight. I'm assuming he's thinking something along the lines of hoping not to get caught wasting bread feeding strays. That little girl is keeping that small pink flower close to her chest, slightly away from the other flowers in her basket. My guess is she's hoping no one buys that one because she wants it for herself. Why do you ask?"
"Everyone everywhere is constantly thinking about their own life and the days to follow. Watching people interact with life gives me a sense of comfort, yet also a sense of… loneliness. I can't help but wonder how many of them also think about how much longer they have left to live. How the world around them will move on without pause when they're gone. It feels like sometimes the world around me blurs until everyone is passing by me facelessly, and I'll simply vanish between one step and the next and there will be no one to mourn me."
He stared at her. He knew what it was to live with a curse, but still hadn't paused to consider what it meant to know you would die so young. At eleven years old she knew she only had four years left to live. No wonder she didn't want to be considered a child. It was a somber thought.
"Ah, but that's all just pointless conjecture. My thoughts stray away from me sometimes. Oh," she blinked, "is that the place?"
He looked over to where she was staring, seeing the outside of the boutique.
"Yeah," he agreed, "that's the place."
"Well," she asked, "what are you waiting for?"
"Nothing," he figured, walking past her, "nothing at all."
As he stepped inside, it became that much higher a priority for him to find his ring.
As long as he was her father, he wasn't going to let her die.