Stratagem III

This revelation shocked both Mathias and Simuel.

Although Simuel had suspected that Sylia was dead and that the chances she was alive were little to none, the minute Mathias put those wild thoughts into his head, he began to doubt himself. 

He started to question everything and he wanted to be one hundred percent sure that his doubts would be cleared. He felt a huge sense of relief upon hearing his father's words.

He didn't quite understand why he felt such relief considering how Sylia wasn't his mother and he wasn't the one who was being abused by that vile woman. I guess a part of him felt some sort of kinship with the boy but he could tell deep down inside of him that that wasn't the only reason. Sometimes, he could sense Simuel inside of him. He wasn't sure if this was his imagination or the truth, but he wanted to believe that the boy wasn't completely gone. 

Mathias' voice broke him out of his thoughts. 

"How can that be? Her death has never been confirmed! Not even her own parents think she's dead?!" He exclaimed. 

This made Simuel look up. How could her parents not know about her death? Did Donellan never tell them? 

Donellan who was eyeing the sorry exuse of a man in front of him turned to his left and called out to a shadow knight who appeared before him. 

"Quickly tie this fool up. We will be bringing him to that place." He then turned towards the direction of his son. 

The closer Donellan got to Simuel, the more nervous he felt. He wasn't sure if his father would be angry with him for going off alone and a part of him was a little scared that he would be hated. But his fear quickly left when he felt the man embrace him in his arms. 

"I am glad you are alright Simuel. But never do something like that again." 

Simuel wanted to tell him that he didn't exactly have a choice. He was manipulated into leaving but he decided he'd tell about this another time. He felt like things would only get worse if he told him right now. 

He nodded his head and apologized. 

"As long as you understand." 

He then picked Simuel up in his arms and instructed for Lenard to get the carriage ready. Since they captured their target, there was no longer a reason for them to stay.

Although Simuel wanted to say his goodbyes to his friends, Donellan assured him that they would be informed of his departure and he would get the chance to see them again. 

The carriage ride was silent with Simuel being lost in his own thoughts. There were so many questions he wanted to ask Donellan but he was too tired to even utter a word. All he wanted to do was sleep this strange day off. He ended up falling asleep on Donellan's shoulders. 

Upon taking a closer look at his son, Donellan notice the stress and fatigue that he was feeling melt away from his body. He fell into deep slumber and looked at ease for the first time since the day had started. 

He felt bad for putting his son through such a terrible ordeal and he almost regretted even suggesting attending the party but he knew this needed to be done. He wasn't sure when Mathias would show up in public again since he was such an elusive character. But he was glad that he had finally apprehended the miscreant and he could finally heal his son for good. 

He then remembered the conversation he had with Emille prior to this ordeal. 

"Master, we've been hiding the incident with lady Sylia for three years now but eventually her family is going to ask questions about her whereabouts. We've held off their questioning for a while now but I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep this up." Emille remarked. 

Donellan sighed loudly at this. He knew Emille was right and that this situation couldn't be delayed any longer. It was only because he had so much power that he was able to put it off for this long but he knew his time was running out. They were her family and despite how vile he found that woman and their family to be, he knew they had the right to know about their daughter. 

"I guess its finally time to come clean." He sighed. 

Thinking about that unpleseant conversation, Donellan held Simuel who was in his arms a little tighter. Simuel who suddenly felt an extreme discomfort squirmed a little in his fathers arms.

Donellan realizing that he was hurting his son, imediatly relaxed his body and loosened his grip on the boy. Simuel feeling relieved snuggled even closer to his father. This made Donellan smile a little. He gently carassed his forehead. 

"I am sorry this happened to you, but your sorry excuse of a father will finally make things right." He whispered in a low voice.

Although Simuel had his eyes closed and looked like he was sleeping, he woke up for a couple of minutes and was able to hear what Donellan was saying to him. 

He wasn't sure why he was apologizing or degrating himself but he knew that he would find out the reason soon enough. 

However, he would've never predicted the answer that would be given to him.