Cathain's Pov~
I was so lost in my past memories that I didn't noticed when we had came out from her room and Duke Dalton was calling me.
His face had an irritated look and a slight frown as I finally looked up at him.
"Your highness,"
He started with a chilly voice and I stayed quiet, getting lost in the moment when he had asked me something for the first time in my whole life.
~Please take care of her, Your Majesty. She may look strong from outside but she is fragile inside. This is just a request from a father to the man he has handed her over to spend her rest of the life~
He had requested this from me before departing to the borders for the last time during her second pregnancy.
And what did I do?
I locked him up, killed her along with my child.
He had just pointed his sword at my neck, if I was at his place and someone had treated my Elaine like that; I would have chopped him into pieces.
Thinking about Elaine, who was always wrapped up in a pink bundle in her arms made my heart skipped a beat.
I have never seen her opening her eyes in abyss; and I was reborn in the modern world before I could watch her getting reborn in the second timeline.
She had milky white skin like her and always kept sleeping, unlike her brothers who would circle around Eleanora all the time.
She had silver hair, but what might be the color of her eyes?
Perhaps blue eyes like Eleanora?
Or red eyes like mine?
I was lost in my thoughts again and then Duke Dalton's chilly voice once again caught my attention and I jerked away from my memories.
"Your highness, are you listening? What-"
But his words were cut off as I suddenly kneeled in front of him with my head hanging low, gaze glued on the floor as I felt too ashamed to meet his eyes.
"I am sorry, Please forgive me."
Duke Dalton was caught in a surprise because of my sudden action. As the crown prince, I can only kneel in front of the emperor.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOUR HIGHNESS?!"
He impatiently spoke as he took a step back and tried to help me up but I was determined.
He is probably confused, thinking I am doing this for taking her out like this but I know why I am doing this.
I owe an apology to him.
My sins and wrongdoings can't be forgiven, he may not remember the past but still he deserves an apology from me.
The destroyer of his family's thousand years of glory, his fame, the false accusations on him and spending his last days at the cold prison were all because of me.
And above all, for not fulfilling the only request he had ever asked me.
For not taking care of the treasure he had handed me and crashing it with my own hands.
"I am truly ashamed for my mistakes and I promise to redeem them. I am guilty for my wrongdoings and genuinely asking for another chance, Duke."
I twisted my words and I could still feel his confused gaze on me.
Yeah, I am guilty and I will redeem them.
But I can't live without her.
I will spend my whole life bearing her hatred, but she has to do that while staying beside me.
She can curse at me, hit me, take the throne and do whatever she wants.
But if she wants to leave me, she has to kill me first.
I rather die at her hands then watching her with someone else.
"Your highness; Please stand up. This isn't right."
Duke Dalton speaks again as he reluctantly helps me up by putting his hands over my shoulder and I finally get up on my feet.
"What's going on, Your highness?"
His confused gaze changes into suspicions as he looks at me and I knew what he wanted to know.
"I know what you want to ask but I can't tell you everything without confirmation."
I said with a somewhat soft tone which surprise him as I was always known for my rebellious hot tempered personality.
The past me would oppose the emperor in every single thing, just to annoy them as I had nothing else to do except paper works.
I used to find there helpless expressions funny but still they would remain patient with me and respect my opinions which I would reveal later.
I could tell them the idea earlier but that wouldn't give me any credits as I loved the feeling of being looked up; feeling all powerful like I had always wanted to be.
Because people will never acknowledge you if you give away everything for free. They will only remember it after they mess up and then you help them.
They will feel inferior and obey me more.
This is what my past self believed and another reason as to why he hated her.
Because she never sought for acknowledgment.
She would do whatever she want and speak whenever she liked, just like a free bird; which only increased his desire to cage her in his palace.
But he was somewhat right.
Just because she never cared for acknowledgment, people easily forgot what she did for them and... cheered up for her death!
I took a deep breathe as I shook off those memories from my past life and began to explain.
"I had sent someone to safely escort the second prince of Arndell but suddenly he disappeared and then I got the news of him being on the area where we found him."
But then the frown between his eyebrows deepens as he crosses his arms.
"And his highness decided to take my bedridden sick daughter, who had woken up right at that moment to his rescue mission?"
"Oh, and a ten year old kid too?"
Duke Dalton spoke with a disbelief look in his eyes and I knew it sounded weird too.
An 16 year old boy going to rescue someone with no one but a 12 year old girl and a 10 year old boy with him.
This sounded ridiculous but I did it.
If I knew that she would have already awake the moment I went in, then I wouldn't have come.
'And who can resist your daughter's puppy eyes?'
'Even you fall for her tricks let alone me.'
I complained in my mind silently as I started to speak after a sigh.
"I don't about that kid; he just appeared out of blue in front of us."
I started again and Duke Dalton kept his gaze on me to hear my further explanation with a indifferent look on his face.
"It was indeed my fault for taking her without any consideration and your permission, but the situation was urgent. I just wanted to see her and then leave quietly. But when I get in, she was already awake-"
And with that, I abruptly paused in my words as I gulped down my saliva while feeling a killing aura emitting out from him.
"Now that you have said it… I am curious about how did you came in, your highness?"
"…"
I could feel my hot body turning cold despite having the purest fire mana running in my blood.
I don't even feel cold in Snowy Mountain's because of my mana but his question made my whole body freeze like someone had splashed a bucket of ice cold water on me.
"Your highness?"
He called me again and I gulped hard as I parted my lips to speak with difficulty.
"F-From t-the…"
"From the?"
He repeated my words with his cold voice and I just wanted to dig a hole and hide.
"Your highness?"
He called again and this time, I just shut off my eyes close.
'Here we go for nothing…'
I murmur in my mind as I spoke loudly enough for everyone in the mansion to hear.
"I CAME IN BY CLIMBING THE WINDOWS!"
"..."
"..."
And then the whole Dalton Duchy went dead silent… except the nearby maid dropping the broom on her hands and the passerby knight dropping his sword because of shock.
Then the knuckle breaking sound of the duke's hands echoed in the whole mansion as he clenched them into a tight fist before looking at me with a killer gaze on his face; making my heart skip a beat with fear.
"...YOU DARED TO CLIMB THE WINDOW OF MY DAUGHTER'S ROOM?!"