Chapter 24

She woke up more haggard than before. She didn't have any good sleep because of the dream. It made her more tired and pissed than before. The dream was vivid but the talk with the dragon was so blurry to her head. No matter how much she recalled, she just couldn't. The very memory has been erased.

After she'd finished showering at Kyle's bathroom, Kyle took her in his arms and brought her to the dining room himself as Elizebeth slumped her face at his neck. Her eyes shut as wrapping her arms lazily around Kyle's neck.

"Lize. We are here." He said softly in her ear.

Elizebeth just whimpered tiredly. It was small, almost unrecognizable but the silence of the dining room made her whimper louder than ever. Her father and brothers paid extra attention to her whining. It meant that her sleep was unpleasant.

"Kyle. Is she sleeping with you, yesterday?" Duke rose from his seat and ambled towards both of them.

"Yes, father."

"Why is she so weak? Is she sick?" He took Elizebeth's limp body from his son.

"No, father. She is okay. She has no fever and she had a good sleep yesterday. She didn't whimper inside her sleep. If she did, I would notice right away, dear father." Reported Kyle sincerely. Giving way to his mother to check on Elizebeth as well when she was so unresponsive.

"My baby. Are you okay dear?" Mother put her palm on top of her child. Her forehead wrinkled with worry.

"M'kay Dada, Mama." She smiled cutely with drowsy eyes.

"You look sick, baby." Mother kissed her brow full of love.

"M'not. Just tired." She said truthfully with annoyance dripping off of her voice. She blinked and inhaled sharply. Rather than sick, she feels beyond displeased. No matter how many times she wanted to remember her dream, she couldn't.

"You want to stay in the mansion?" Mother asked the question that manifested her father's horrific face.

"Nyah. I want to stay closer to Dada." She rubbed her eyes lazily.

"Don't rub your precious eyes, Elizebeth." Duke at high speed caught her hand. His heart pumping strongly, truly happy after getting picked by her dearest daughter, still.

"No…" She whined. "It's itchy, Dada."

His resolution almost faltered, thankfully his wife retaliated. "Bad for your eyes, darling." She kissed her forehead.

"M'kay." She gave up even immediately. "Eat." She said.

Both of her parents swiftly obeyed her cute order. Duke put her on his lap but instead of eating his food, he diligently fed her food inside her mouth so naturally. It was her father's job to feed her if she'd ever wanted to. It was a silent compromise between him and his wife. Elizebeth didn't know it existed and didn't have to know.

He only fed himself when he saw Elizebeth munched her food without protest. Because of the consideration that was being shown by her father, she purposely munched her food slowly to give her father time to eat his food while feeding her.

After eating and giving her farewell to her brothers that had to go to the academy and to her mother that had another importance with other noble wives, she rode a carriage to the Capital with her father to meet the king.

Duke caught a glimpse of his daughter. She looked better than before. She looked like she's as comfortable in a plain gown without any exaggerated ribbon and with her favorite black shoes as she did in any formal and glittered gown. It shifted something inside the duke, reminded him of a world he tried not to think about anymore. One that didn't smell of money, power, and politics, but of her rose and lavender hair shampoo, soap, and home.

He smiled curtly at his daughter and only observed activities outside the carriage without a single sound. Obediently followed him around like a baby chick.

"Dada." Called the tiny voice as she turned around.

He just jerked his brow to answer her.

"Can Elizebeth take a walk with Dada?"

Duke didn't react to the question but he rejoiced inside his heart. "Where?"

Elizebeth stared at her father for a moment, considering. Her eyes blinked slowly and her lips tilted into a small frown, "to the prince," she finally answered.

Duke cleared his throat as his demeanor changed in a split second. The wave of displeasure slapping his face and everything around him looked annoying. "Why? Do you like him?"

Elizebeth looked at her father indifferently as if the question was so irrelevant to her. It's a rare expression she only showed that she was utterly disgusted. Duke already mastered almost all of her expressions except when she purposely led him towards a certain emotion. She was a queen to mislead people.

"Nonsense." She gulped down the annoyance and looked outside.

Duke couldn't help but be astonished by her reaction. It seemed the king wouldn't get what he'd wanted. Elizebeth hated the prince to her fullest. The rest of the ride was so quiet that Elizebeth fell into her own imagination and the duke just stared at her as usual.

When they arrived, Duke quickly took Elizebeth in his arms and dismissed her attendants as he wanted to show the prince to Elizebeth as she wished for. They walked on the opposite road than normal. The colorful road started getting greeny as they went deeper. Duke walked wordlessly while Elizebeth looked around inside his arms.

The road to the prince was nothing but a bunch of stupid trees. It looked pretty but it had one unidentified tree species that she didn't want to learn. Maybe the prince appreciated the minimal color or was obsessed with the same tree, that's what her hot take was.

They walked in 10 minutes before the view of the prince that was supposed to be in the academy lounged under the shade of a tree alone doing practically nothing stared dumbly at the leaves above. Looking at the dancing leaves on the tree, happily.

"Stop." Requested her to her father that the duke followed without any sound. Let her have her way with him.

In the hold of her father, she gazed at the slouched prince. He was a handsome boy. An identical blonde hair as his father, the pretty face, the height. He's not lacking in any department. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to like him after witnessing her dream regarding the prince. He was considerably weak compared to the crazy king.

She collapsed her head languorously to her father's neck. Tightened up her arms. "Let's go. I'm tired."

Duke respected her wish and walked towards his meeting room's direction at the end of the road ahead of them. Opposite of that snorty prince. By the words of his daughter, she didn't have any slightest interest in the prince which he found quite fortunate.

"Do you like him?" He asked grief.

"No." Firm.

"Why are you looking for him?"

"The prince skipped the academy." Informed her didn't answer the question. The manner that sent almost everyone to the afterlife once they disrespect the duke but she was Elizebeth. It's okay to do so.

Duke jerked and nodded, shuffled steadily. Kissed her head softly. "He is."

"When he is so stupid?"

Duke almost stopped walking by the sudden insult by his daughter. His mouth almost stretched a smile. "We are in castle ground, Elizebeth."

"I know." She said. "But the King knew it." Added her casually.

Duke completely stopped walking. He looked at his daughter in disbelief. "You told him?"

She nodded leisurely without an ounce of worry. "He asked me to be sincere. Elizebeth is sincere." She coated her words with her cute voice, making it impossible to hate her.

He looked at his daughter in a beat of silence, trying to read her innocent face, and only gave up when he got nothing. He continued his walking.

"When did the king ask you, Elizebeth?" There's something odd with the sentence. He never let Elizebeth alone with the king. He was afraid the king would poison Elizebeth's mind to accept the snorty prince.

"A long long time ago." She then shut her eyes and rubbed her eyes on his neck. Her hot breath hitting his skin before followed by the cute snore.

The duke frowned as he walked. He wanted to ask more, but Elizebeth was already drifting to the dreamland. Her last night's sleep wasn't enough. He swallowed the disappointment that rose to his throat when the topic dropped and fastened his walk to port Elizebeth on the soft long sofa that he specifically ordered for her if she took any nap inside the meeting room.

He was an insightful father. He predicted everything far for the future. Matter of fact, he would do anything for his dearest daughter. Even it meant to wage war with the king. He would definitely do it. He ain't playing.

"Do what you want, Elizebeth. Dada will support you." He kissed her head and Elizebeth responded by rubbing her nose to his neck again. The tight smile displayed on his face briefly and quickly went away as he entered the main palace with his daughter inside his arms.

"My Lord, His Majesty was looking for you rather frantically." The representative informed him as soon as he saw the duke entered the palace square.

"Get ready for the sofa. My daughter is sleeping." Instead of answering the man, he gave an order instead.

"I understand, My Lord." He followed suit without a fuss.