Chapter 56

WHEN DANIEL ENTERED THE CARRIAGE, he could tell that his wife had cried. Her red eyes and nose were enough evidence.

He wanted to console her, but he just did not understand why she could not see the matter from his point of view. All he wanted was to protect her and Geoffrey. Killian was the type of man they definitely needed protecting from.

He was sympathetic toward Magnolia and how she felt, but he was also relieved that the man had left before he had to deal with him.

As the carriage rode back toward the castle, Daniel parted his lips a few times to speak. But he was not sure what he could tell his wife to comfort her, especially after the incident from the night before.

Magnolia rushed to her room as soon as they arrived, without even sparing him a glance.

He sighed.

'She probably just needs some time alone.'

He decided that he would try to speak with her later. Daniel still felt restless at the situation, so he decided to find someone to spar with.

"You really messed things up, Daniel." Laya's voice came from above.

The duke looked up and found her sitting on one of the branches, knife in hand, eating an apple.

"Whose side are you on?" he shot, a bit louder than he had planned.

"It's not about sides." Laya jumped down from the tree. "You overreacted, you should have listened to her, and him."

Daniel frowned. "Surely you feel the same way about having a member of the Phoenix around my family."

Laya was silent.

"This is crazy, can no one else see reason anymore?" He threw his arms in the air in frustration.

"It's just that his aura was genuine when he was speaking with your wife, he was really happy to find out that she was alive." Daniel did not comment. "I think that if you had given him a chance, things would not have gotten out of hand."

"None of that matters, Laya," he finally said with a calm voice. "He is a Phoenix, a criminal and a traitor, I will not have him hurt Magnolia or Geoffrey." His nails dug into his palms.

'I will not lose my family again.'

"You're as stubborn as ever," Laya joked. "Come on, you were heading to the training ground, were you not? Let me smack some sense into you."

Daniel immediately grinned. "We will see about that," he said, feeling the adrenaline pump through his veins.

Daniel and Laya sparred for a while. Neither of them noticed when the knights started to crowd around them. They put on quite a show for them, some men even secretly bet on who would win.

By the end of it, the duke and the mage were both out of breath as sweat dripped down their faces.

"I would like to point out that no sense has been smacked into me," Daniel said, breathing heavily. Laya burst out laughing. "Unfortunately, my time has run out and I need to go back to work."

Laya straightened her back with a grin. "Sure, I will allow you to use work as an excuse."

"An excuse?" Daniel scoffed as he put away his sword. "I blame my assistant."

"Oh come on, do not blame little Henry."

Daniel chuckled. They both started walking toward the castle as the spectators went back to their duties.

"You know he doesn't like it when you call him that, he's only two years younger than us," he told her. "Plus, he is all grown up now, his wedding is in a few days."

"I have heard, there were a few rumors that have reached even me."

Daniel shrugged, not confirming nor denying.

"Will you be joining us?" he asked.

"Weddings are not my thing, you know that." The atmosphere suddenly changed.

"I'm sorry, I was not thinking," Daniel apologized.

Laya gave him a weak smile. "It's alright, you congratulate him for me," she asked before walking away and heading to her room.

'You are so dense sometimes.' Daniel reprimanded himself for his bluntness. He knew that weddings brought back memories of her late fiancé.

The duke reached Magnolia's door, but he hesitated to enter. He knew that she was sad and mad at him, and she probably did not want to see him yet. So, he decided to use his bedroom door.

It had become so natural to use her room that it felt odd to go straight to his. He quickly washed up and wore clean clothes, then headed to his office.

His feet halted for a moment as he glanced at the door separating his room from Magnolia's, then he left.

"Papa," Geoffrey rejoiced. He ran to his father as soon as he saw him in the hallway.

"Geoffrey." He picked him up. "Oh my, did you grow taller again?"

"Maybe." The boy giggled in his arms.

"Soon, I will not even be able to carry you anymore."

"Papa, you are exaggerating again, I still need to grow more for that to happen."

Daniel let out a full throat laugh that echoed through the hallway.

'I don't regret what I did, I want to protect Geoffrey, and I will not allow that bastard to meet him.'

"I have a surprise for you," he told his son, the boy's eyes sparkled.

"What is it?"

"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?" Daniel said as he headed to his office. "Let me show you."

The duke put Geoffrey down when they reached his office. He pulled out a gift box from one of his drawers and handed it to his son.

"Magnolia told me that your birthday is next month, this is an early present." Daniel smiled at Geoffrey's reaction. "I have another present for the day of your birthday."

Geoffrey opened the box while beaming. "Ben," he read on the collar. His smile widened. "Is this for Ben?"

"The collar is, yes." He pulled the whistle from the box. "This one is for you, it's a special whistle for dogs." Daniel put the chained whistle around Geoffrey's neck. "So, if you ever lose Ben, just use it and he will hear you if he's not too far."

"Wow, this is the best gift I have ever received." The boy threw his arms around Daniel's waist. "Thank you so much, Papa. You are the best papa in the world."

A tingling feeling exploded in Daniel's chest and warmth spread through him. He smiled to himself at how much he had changed and hugged Geoffrey back.

"I love you, Son."