Just the Two of Us
The morning after their tense encounter, Yulken had returned to the breakfast table. He had been absent from dinner the night before, and perhaps that was why the dining room felt so different. Unlike the warm, lively atmosphere of the previous evening, the only sounds now were the faint clinks of forks and knives against plates.
As the meal continued, Ariel set down her utensils even though food still remained on her plate and dabbed at her lips with a napkin. Yulken’s gaze drifted toward her, unbidden. She’ll wear herself out if she eats so little for breakfast. In any era or any land, a father’s heart was the same. The only difference lay in whether he voiced that concern or kept it to himself.
“Father.”
“Hm? What is it, Ariel?”
Noticing his stare, Ariel offered a small smile and spoke. Yulken deliberately waited a beat before responding, as if he hadn’t been paying attention at all, putting on a little performance of his own.
“I was hoping to go hunting with you tomorrow. Would you allow it?”
“Hunting, you say…”
Yulken’s surprise was plain on his face—an unusual slip for a man so composed. In recent years, many nobles had come to view hunting as an ignoble pastime, though it had once been a favored leisure activity. In other words, Ariel was expressing a desire to spend her free time with him.
Why?
He had humiliated himself in front of her friend just yesterday, yet here she was asking to spend time together. This was behavior he had never seen from his daughter before. He had expected her to look downcast when they met this morning, but even that assumption had been wrong. Was it merely a whim?
“It’s been a long time. Wouldn’t it be nice, dear? You have no official duties tomorrow anyway, do you?”
“But, my lady…”
Yulken wanted to protest his wife’s interjection, yet he had no solid objection to offer. It was true—he had no pressing work or appointments the next day. In fact, he had planned to finish up his remaining tasks that afternoon and then wonder how best to spend the following day.
After a brief, silent battle of wills with Ariel, Yulken finally nodded. He still didn’t understand this sudden change of heart, but as her father, accompanying her on an outing wasn’t difficult. He had simply never dared to suggest it before.
“Very well. I’ll have Elfelt prepare everything. Three people, including your friend?”
Yulken assumed Ariel would prefer having her friend along rather than being alone with him, so he asked casually. Helene’s constitution and stamina weren’t suited for hunting anyway.
But the answer he received struck the back of his head like a second blow—one far beyond his expectations.
“Thank you, Father. But there’s no need to prepare anything for Ed.”
“Hmm?”
“I want to go with just you, Father. Ed has plans tomorrow anyway, so he wouldn’t be able to join us.”
At the unexpected reply, Yulken’s eyebrows twitched. He turned to look at Edgar, who smiled softly and nodded in confirmation. Yulken’s expression grew even more inscrutable.
Why is she so insistent on the two of us being alone?
Unless she had something private to say, he couldn’t understand it. Given how he had treated her all these years, he wouldn’t have thought she could make such a request with a genuine smile. Yet asking her directly was out of the question for Yulken. It would be like digging his own grave.
In the end, he nodded with a faint sense of déjà vu. Ariel’s face bloomed like a flower in full sunlight.
“That’s wonderful. Take this chance to have the talk you never finished, dear,” Helene said.
“The talk we never finished?”
Yulken’s eyes filled with confusion at his wife’s cryptic words. What was there to talk about? From Ariel’s perspective, the very idea of seeing Yulken Robeheim as her father must fill her with revulsion.
Helene noticed his bewilderment. She smiled gently and stroked the back of his hand where it rested on the table.
“There must be something. You’ve hardly spent any time with Ariel at all.”
“If you say so… then I understand.”
The talk we never finished. Yulken mulled over the three words as he continued eating. It seemed today would be filled with heavy thoughts, in more ways than one.
When the sky began to lose its blue hue and fragments of light started to scatter across it, an unexpected visitor came to Edgar while he lay alone in his room.
Her hair was neatly tied up in a round bun, and she wore glasses that gave her a scholarly air. True to her position as Yulken’s personal maid, Alisa carried herself with a crisp, businesslike demeanor.
“Young Master Edgar, His Grace summons you urgently.”
“Understood.”
Despite the sudden call, Edgar rose calmly and left the room. It was no surprise to him; Helene had given him a hint after lunch. What he hadn’t expected, however, was that the destination wasn’t the study he had visited before, but somewhere else entirely.
When he cautiously asked where they were going, Alisa answered briefly, “The library.”
The library.
Edgar had assumed the office he visited yesterday—with its many bookshelves—also served as the library. Or perhaps the library was kept strictly as a personal space. All sorts of speculations swirled in his mind, but he soon dismissed them as pointless and shook his head lightly.
From now on, he needed to cool his thoughts and steady his emotions. If he remained lost in such distractions, he wouldn’t even be able to speak properly.
“This way. Please wait a moment.”
Upon reaching the library door, Alisa gave Edgar a small bow, stepped forward, and announced him carefully. Soon after, Yulken’s deep, resonant voice came from within. Alisa turned back toward Edgar.
“You may enter.”
“Thank you.” Edgar paused. “Ah, and…”
Since they had rarely spoken, he addressed her formally before stepping through the door she held open. He hadn’t forgotten to make one final request before going in.
Yulken didn’t even glance at his visitor. He stood with a wine glass in hand, staring out the window. Edgar suspected this was the man’s way of hiding his expression—a deliberate tactic.
With a soft click, the door closed. Silence filled the room for a moment before Yulken’s heavy lips finally parted.
“I heard the story from my wife.”
The words came without any preamble or explanation of the situation, but Edgar simply nodded. He had expected as much.
“Yes, I heard as well. Lady Helene said she would arrange a meeting.”
Though he hadn’t imagined it would be arranged quite like this. Still, the method didn’t matter to him. He had come here on his own two feet for one purpose only: to listen to this man and, ultimately, to keep his promise to his friend.
“Have a seat. Ah, do you drink?”
“Yes. My father enjoys alcohol, so I’ve had a little myself…”
“That’s welcome news.”
Yulken personally poured red wine into an empty glass, left the window, and offered it to Edgar.
“It’s rather precious. I’m not sure if it will suit your taste.”
“I’m not picky enough to complain about flavor.”
“Is that so.”
Yulken silently raised his glass in a toast. Edgar brought his own forward and they clinked lightly. The clear sound echoed through the quiet library. Only then did Yulken sit down across from him and tilt his glass.
“So, you’ve heard the story from my wife?”
“That is correct.”
“From what I understand, you deduced quite deeply into the matter. My wife seemed quite surprised as well.”
“…If it caused offense, I apologize.”
When Edgar lowered his head, Yulken waved a hand lightly and took another sip. He had no intention of blaming the boy. Though he had received the information from his wife, the youth didn’t seem like the type to rudely pry into another family’s affairs out of idle curiosity.
“Although I called you here, the truth is that I did so because I was told you wished to speak with me. What exactly do you want?”
“What do you believe I want, Your Grace?”
“Answering a question with another question is not a good habit. However, I’ll let it pass this once.”
Yulken frowned briefly, then set his wine glass on the table and leaned deeply into the sofa.
What he wants.
It was obvious—he probably wanted Yulken to apologize to his daughter, or to ask what on earth had possessed him to act that way. After all, everything Yulken had put forward had been mere inference; the boy hadn’t actually entered his mind.
“Do you wish for me to apologize to my daughter?”
“An apology… Does that mean you acknowledge your own wrongdoing?”
“I see you thought me so foolish that I wouldn’t even realize I had done something terrible to her.”
“Not at all. It simply felt strange to hear the words come directly from Your Grace’s mouth.”
Edgar had not expected the man to admit his fault so readily. He had assumed Yulken was aware of his mistakes, but had thought the former Grand Duke would try to justify them—claiming there had been a greater cause or that it couldn’t be helped.
At Edgar’s honest reply, a bitter smile formed on Yulken’s lips. He gave a small nod as if to say, Go on. He genuinely wanted to hear what this boy truly desired.
Edgar returned the faint smile and spoke in a surprisingly firm tone. His answer, like Ariel’s at breakfast, was something Yulken had not anticipated at all.
“I do not seek an apology. I simply ask that you not refuse Ariel’s wishes.”
“Not refuse her wishes… What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly as I said. For example, like what happened at breakfast this morning.”
Yulken seemed to catch on then. He set down the wine glass he had been about to lift and his jaw muscles twitched.
“Was that something you arranged?”
“No. I wasn’t even given any prior notice of it.”
“Then was it Helene’s doing?”
“As I said, I ask that you not refuse Ariel’s wishes.”
Could it truly have been Ariel acting on her own? Yulken stared at Edgar with his mouth slightly open, unable to believe it. He might not possess magic or abilities to detect lies, but years of experience had sharpened his eye for such things. And from what he could see, the boy did not appear to be lying. If anything, his demeanor was so serious that the very air around him felt heavy.
This is going to be a long conversation.
Looking at his already empty glass, Yulken let out a small, regretful laugh. He should have filled it more. Yet at the same time, he felt relieved. At least he wouldn’t end up spilling his heart about his only daughter while under the influence of alcohol. On the other hand, he also wouldn’t be able to dodge the conversation by blaming the wine.
Like it or not, it seemed they would have to reach a conclusion today—with this boy, with his wife, and with his daughter. No, precisely, with this insignificant play.