3 Thank you... Papa.

After another day of rest, I woke up once again. This time I was much calmer than last time, but I must have scared the Rubin household witlessly because this time mother was attending to me personally, sitting at my bedside with caring eyes.

"How do you feel, my dear?" A delicate hand had reached out to me and caressed my head with tender care. Her voice was as melodious as a songbird.

"I'm fine, mother." I gave her a reassuring smile. Strange, I thought it would be much harder to call an unfamiliar person mother, but after Dahlia's and my memories have merged, her touch didn't make me feel uncomfortable but longingly familiar. I even felt the urge to press my head against her hand to receive that warmth.

Duchess Martha Rubin was a beautiful woman. She carried her first child with only 15 and the second one with 17. Dahlias brother Eric is 17 this year, which made her only 32 right now. In my world, she could be my older sister or a friend. Mainly because she had kept her youthfulness, she could even pass as Dahlia's sister.

Since she was of the royal bloodline, she had those beautiful platinum blond hair and blue eyes that was carried down the Royals for ages. Her mother was the eldest daughter of the current king's cousin, and she had always lived the life of a proper princess, never has she been mistreated the slightest bit. Also, after marriage, she became the proud Madam of the House of Rubin, which allowed her to keep a social standing that was almost equal to Royal Princes and Princesses.

Carrying two healthy children for her husband should have been her most significant achievement already. One could say she had done everything she was supposed to do. But Martha Rubin was more than that. Besides keeping the household intact, she had taken great care of the surrounding lands belonging to the family. Apart from the military and bureaucracy, which was her husband's territory, Duchess Martha Rubin shines with superior intellect and generosity towards social welfare. Many orphanages were under her care, a great many schools opened under her name, and many health care facilities received her support. For a Royal who was supposed to bear children and play housewife, she was quite ahead of her time. Not only the other houses' Ladies admired her ever since, but also the Lords had secretly shed tears the day her engagement to the young Marquis of House Rubin was announced.

That man was also outstanding and had excellent conduct. Henry had shown exceptional prowess in military subjects from a young age. Not only as a strategist but also in combat, many of his peers could never step out of his shadow. People were bitter in their hearts, but no one dared to say that these two were not a match made in heaven.

And it was precisely this man who has now stepped foot into the room. The door opened with a knock. A man still in a silver-blue uniform walked with even steps towards us, he seemed neither hurried nor nervous, but the fact that he came right at the moment his daughter woke up was proof that he either waited outside or had people call him immediately.

I couldn't help inhaling deeply the moment he came in sight. Also, my body sat up upright involuntarily. First of all, he had an imposing manner. If not confronted with his sight regularly, one might start to tremble or felt the urge to bow down. The other reason... I'm a little embarrassed to say it since he was now my father and all, but he was just too handsome, okay!?

While most of Dahlias features resembled her mother, that mercury like silver-white hair of hers was thanks to the superior genes of this man, who had hair of the same colour and structure. His eyes also have that purple hue to it, although they were of a darker shade than Dahlias.

Such a handsome man, if not for his strict attire, the elitist air surrounding him and the fact that every superfluous word of his was as rare as a four-leaf clover, he would've been much sought after as a husband. I guess his no-nonsense manner was why his soldiers worshipped him to a great deal. He was strict but fair, he never used flowery language to accommodate his criticism, but that would make his praise even more so real. Most important, he was uxorious towards the throne — a true paragon of Noblemen. Since he took over the title of Duke from his father at the age of 30, that was five years ago, his imposing manner was even more frightening.

Who would have known that such a man was a doting husband and father behind closed doors? The outside world might not and probably will never know, but this man was utterly devoted to his wife. The moment he arrived next to Martha, he took her hands and placed a kiss on them. With just a slight smile of hers, his icy face melted like spring water. He didn't say anything, but his eyes and his behaviour were enough evidence to speak of love and devotion. No one else in this world besides his family might have ever seen this soft smile of his.

If only the others could see how this invincible pair was flaunting their love right in front of their teenage daughter who just got dumped by her fiancé, their eyes would fall out of their sockets. These two were shining so radiantly they could be the male and female lead of their own story.

Seeing this now with my own eyes, I felt even more sceptical than before. It was a complete mystery as to how such a magnificent family could fall from grace so easily. Well, of course, the biggest reason was my naive past self as an inferior author who didn't care about Dahlia's background or her family's reputation since she was the antagonist.

Another reason was the dotingly love those parents had towards each other and how they never concealed it in front of their children. Such a pure love led Dahlia to believe from a very young age that love, once bloomed, would last forever. And that first love of hers happened to be Leon, who was destined to love someone else. Dahlia's heart had been dead set on that guy, and it was sink or swim for her.

No wonder she exhausted all her means to get rid of that rival of hers until she stepped on the road of no return. But as a sheltered young lady, how many tricks could she have up her sleeve, how deep could her schemes be. If it weren't for the protecting wings of her parents at first, she wouldn't have lasted long.

And here I am, inheriting all of Dahlia's. Her name, her body, her past, her future, her curse and her love. I've never before felt such a deep and profound love. Her affection was real; it was just not reciprocated. And now that I've got time to think about it, it was genuinely an unpleasant sensation — love, what a mysterious force. You can't force someone to love you, and you can't just decide to stop loving. But feelings can fade over time; they can be manipulated and distorted until they become unrecognisable. That was what happened to Dahlia's love the last time around. She didn't know what to do with her distorted feelings and became victim to them. As I was mulling over all those things, Henry's gaze finally turned on me.

"I will leave the two of you alone." Mother patted my head one last time before she went out. Now it was his turn to sit down next to me. We stared at each other wordlessly.

"..."

"..."

If there was a character trait that the two of them had in stock, then it must have been the inability to be outspoken. Also, noble houses weren't known for expressing their true feelings, much less talking about them, especially if it involves a father and his daughter.

After our eyes met, I shifted my gaze downwards in embarrassment. I couldn't look at his face for too long without my heart beating like crazy. Was this Dahlia who felt shame in front of her father after being dumped or just me who had no resistance towards beauties?

I felt his large hand resting on my head before the silence turned awkward. A deep baritone with a rich timbre reached my ears.

"It's not your fault, Dahlia."

His voice was slightly husky but calm and well accentuated; if he were willing to talk, people would naturally be willing to listen to him. He could make a fortune if he read audiobooks with this voice. My heart calmed down in an instant. It was as if it recognises this man as a father just now. His face didn't expose his feelings, but his gestures and the few words he has spoken were full of fatherly love. A little bit awkward but sincere. Somehow he would find a way to tell you that no matter what happened, you would still be the apple of his eye.

My eyes began to burn, what is this sensation? Was it guilt? How could you be so kind to me, when I, no we are the ones who will ruin our family? This family will be disgraced because of us, and you will pay a heavy price for the sins your child committed. Love is such a burden — no matter what form it has.

Since I didn't dare to talk, he sighed and continued. "I will talk to His Royal Highness. Renouncing the engagement is not something he alone has the right to decide on." He was ready to enforce this marriage for the sake of his daughter. But how could anything good result out of such wedlock?

"Father, don't do that!" I shook my head fiercely, panic in my voice. He had broken through my silence. The other time Dahlia had accepted his proposal, which was the start to a series of distressing machinations and gruesome events to unfold. I knew how it all ended, so how could I let history repeat itself?

"You are willing to break the engagement?" He was rather surprised to hear that since practically everyone knew how much Dahlia liked Leon. "Don't you love him?"

"I don't love him. If he wants to break it off, then so be it." I said quickly, but he just picked up an eyebrow at me. He put his hand on my chin and coerced me to look him into the eyes.

"Then why are you making such a face?" For a man who doesn't show emotions, he was quite adept in making them out. Probably because his wife always behaved like an open book when they were alone. "You don't have to push yourself. Leave those matters to me."

Something in me broke when I heard his words. My tears surged forth without restraint. It's true that I was distressed, but not because of the broken engagement. I reached out for his embrace like a little child and sank deeply into his chest.

These tears were not entirely my own, they were mostly Dahlia's. Those were the same words he had spoken in the original story after she had cried and made a scene. He would then go and force the Royal Family to uphold their pledge.

Contrary to his usually aloof manner towards scheming and politics and his loyalty to the throne, he would threaten them, using his name and power - a thing he has never done before. He was willingly ruffling the Royal Family's feathers for his daughter's sake, later on even becoming enemies with them.

Such a stupid man! Just why are you so stupid, have you allocated all your points on looks? Even though he had stayed far away from those malicious court politics until now, as a Duke and military strategist, he must have been well aware of the consequences. Still, he went as if it was a common thing to do. Wost of all, it ended up all for nought.

"Papa... Papa! It hurts...hic" I sobbed and cried in his arms clutching onto his uniform, wetting it with large teardrops. My chest hurt so much, I was barely able to breathe, much less speak a coherent sentence. It was true that thinking about Leon would make my chest hurt, but it was nothing in comparison to what I endured right now. It felt like I was on the verge of exploding.

Her father's words have begun to detangle a big knot in her heart, touching on her biggest regret in life. Dahlia's greatest regret in life was not only managing to fall from grace into the mud but having pulled her whole family into the mess. Not only had she ruined her family with her antics, but she also didn't even manage to say thank you even once for all the sacrifices they made. When she finally came around, it was already too late, and what was once sweet and delightful was henceforth no more.

All the time afterwards until her last breath, Dahlia's only wish was to rush back into her parents' arms and say sorry. Given a chance, if she could go back in time and atone for her sins; if turning her back on love could save her family, she would do so in a heartbeat. Even selling her soul to the devil could still be considered cheap.

Henry had tensed up a little upon such close contact, but very soon he put his arms protectingly around me and stroke my back in a soothing motion. He was not used to such a situation, and neither was I.

"I'm sorry, Papa, hic, I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Ever since she started her lessons on etiquette, Dahlia hadn't called him Papa anymore. Now that he heard me calling him Papa again, the strength he used to embrace me just increased. He thought I was apologising for breaking out in tears and losing dignity, but here I was, borrowing Dahlia's voice and her surging emotions to bring to him all the words she wanted to but wasn't able to say during her lifetime. To soothe her grief and the pain in my chest, I didn't withhold anything. To free her soul from guilt and detangle all those messy knots in her heart, I needed to convey those unspoken words.

"I loved him so much that it hurts," This was the truth "and I thought my heart was going to break when he rejected me, hic, but I love you and Mama even more! So you don't have to do something you might regret later. Hic, don't go, Papa, don't go!" The more I said, the more the pain subsided, the knot that had trapped me seemed to loosen. Also, there was another feeling that started to invade my heart. From the arms that were holding me a soothing coolness covered me. It was the familiarity of returning home, where I could put down all my worries. I felt reassured and save as if those arms were able to protect me from any harm. And if needed they would spread out and carry we wherever I wanted to go. So this was the home Dahlia dreamed of returning to, and this was the family she wished to save from harm. I closed my eyes in comfort and put my face on his chest. I could hear his heart beating loud and clear. "Papa, thank you for everything you've done." Now it's my turn to protect this family.