đ.đ: Father's daughter
"đ take it that you don't hate me anymore?"
The silence between them shattered like glass underfoot, fractured by Elysia's sudden question.
Her voice was softâalmost fragileâbut the words cut through the stillness like a stray bullet: sharp, unexpected, and impossible to ignore.
Zachary's reaction was slight but telling. His stoic maskâalways so carefully composedâtightened ever so subtly. For the barest fraction of a second, his eyes flickered. A sliver of something raw glinted beneath the calm: surprise, guilt⊠maybe even sorrow.
He had always possessed the most intense pair of eyes in the entire empire, as though the universe sought balance by giving them emotion while the rest of his features were carved from ice and iron. His expression could lie. His words, even more so.
But his eyes? Never.
And that was why he looked away.
His gaze dropped to the silver tray resting on his knees, his shoulders stiffening under the weight of whatever truth he refused to let spill.
Elysia said nothing more. She only watched him in silence, taking in the way he fought to mask the different shades of confliction that passed across his profile. Shame. Regret. Uncertainty.
But one of her greatest strengths was patience.
He could take all the time he needed.
What mattered was that this conversation was finally happeningâand that it led somewhere.
Minutes passed. Then, in a voice so low it almost seemed not meant for her ears, he spoke.
"I was⊠blind."
Zachary didn't look at her, not yet. "For years, I was too proud. Too foolish. Too stubborn to see what was right in front of me."
His hands clenched, then relaxed again. He took a breathâthe kind that carried years' worth of repressed emotion.
"I thought I was protecting myself. But all I was doing was hurting an innocent child who had no fault."
His jaw tightened. "I neglected you... I turned away when the staff mistreated you. I never intervened when your brothersâwhen they shut you out. And I let myself believe that distance was discipline. That somehow⊠you would get over it."
He looked up then. His eyes met hers.
"But it only made you suffer."
Elysia swallowed thickly. She wasn't expecting this. Not this level of honesty. Not from him.
If someone had told her beforehand that Zachary would utter these words to her on this day, she would have called them insane.
But right now, she was the one questioning her sanity.
"I hadn't realized how short-sighted and unreasonable I'd been," he continued, voice heavier now, "Not until I saw you cry that day in court. When Benjaminâ"
He didn't finish the sentence. Couldn't.
Zachary's hands trembled slightly as he folded them in his lap.
"You were so strong, even then. But I could see it... see how far my negligence had tainted you. And for the first time in a very long time, I felt afraid."
He paused.
"Even more so when I heard you'd collapsed⊠I thought I was going to lose you. And the truth is, if something bad happened to you⊠I don't think I'd ever have been able to forgive myself."
The room was silent again, but this time, it wasn't the cold kind. It was heavy with warmth, grief, and sincerity.
"I don't expect you to forgive me. Not yet," he said after some time, his frigid blue eyes never leaving hers. "And I don't expect things to suddenly be restored between us just because of this moment. But I promise you, I will do my best to change. I will earn your forgiveness, Elysia."
The King of an empire was asking for his daughter's mercy.
And Elysia⊠didn't know what to say.
She felt something warm trail down her cheek and blinked, startled. A tear.
She quickly realized the emotion wasn't hers. Not really.
It was the vessel's.
The original Elysiaâthe real Elysiaâhad probably waited her entire life to hear those words. Words of remorse. Of acknowledgment. Of love, even if it came in the clumsy, faltering way Zachary knew how to express it.
This wasn't in the novel.
In the original story, Zachary had never apologized. Never once reflected on his treatment of her.
When Thorne, the Vampire Emperor of Noctavaria, came to ask for Elysia's hand, he and her brothers handed her over like she was little more than a diplomatic formality. No warm farewells. No second thoughts.
They had been glad to be rid of her.
Not one of them had visited her after she left for Noctavaria. Not even once.
But nowâŠ
Now, Zachary was here, apologizing. Lucas and Luke had begun to treat her differently. Lucas, especially, had even smiled at her the other day. Smiled.
Everything was changing.
If things continued like this⊠would they still hand her over to Thorne so easily?
Would the future unfold the same way?
Elysia's mind reeled with the implications, lost in thought for so long she didn't realize how long she'd been silent.
When Zachary finally spoke again, his voice was softer.
"It's alright. I'm not asking for a response right away," he said, mistaking her quietness for rejection. "Just know that what I said⊠I meant every word."
He rose slowly to his feet, regal as ever, yet carrying a vulnerability she hadn't seen before.
"I'd like to meet you again. Two days from now. In the garden gazebo."
He turned slightly, then paused. "There's something I'd like to show you."
And with that, the moment ended because a quiet knock sounded at the door.
The royal physician stepped into the scene in a flurry of rustling robes, his wooden case of polished brass instruments clutched firmly in his veiny hand.
His silver-rimmed spectacles glinted in the afternoon light as he bowed deeply before the King and offered a more courteous nod to the young lady seated upright on the edge of her massive mattress.
"Your Majesty. Princess," he greeted, his voice crisp and professional. "I am Aldric, the head physician. I've come to conduct the necessary evaluations."
Elysia barely registered the words, her mind still racing from the latest events.
As the physician exchanged a few words with Zachary, she had a spare moment to think.
'So what happens now that he apologized⊠Am I supposed to just forgive him? Move on and forget everything he did?'
'I know I said I wouldn't ever accept him as family. But that was while I believed he was an irredeemable character. I should stand by my decision. Still, a part of me can't help but wonder⊠Would Elysia have forgiven him if she was the one hearing these words?'
She inwardly sighed, at a loss for an answer.
'But for now, did I complete the mission, Winfred? I've discovered his true feelings, that should be all, right?'
Winfred's voice echoed in her mind.
[ Host, this mission is still incomplete. ]
[ Mission Status: 62.48% Complete. ]
Elysia frowned.
Only sixty-two?
So there was more to come. The rest of his feelings. The thing he wanted to show her?
Her fingers curled lightly around the edge of the blanket draped over her legs. So much was changing, and fast. This wasn't just a personal moment. It was a turning point for the story itself.
The plot she thought she knew was unraveling.
"If you're ready, Your Highness, I'll begin the examination now."
Elysia offered a faint smile, trying to push the weight of everything aside.
But her thoughts were far from settled.
Still, she decided to focus on the present.
She wasn't sure if this was the same physician the original Elysia had always seen, but something about him didn't trigger any recollection.
"Proceed," Zachary said simply, gesturing toward her.
Aldric stepped forward and began his assessment with all the ceremonial grace expected in the royal household. He checked her pulse by placing his fingers gently on her pale wrist, his brow furrowing as he focused.
Then, using a thin, crystal pendulum imbued with traces of lunar essenceâa tool commonly employed by healers in the empireâhe held it above her chest, watching the way it swayed.
Elysia found herself wondering if she was supposed to feel something. Her mind drifted. Again.
This was different from the sterile hospital visits of her past life. Here, medicine was a curious blend of science and magic. Herbs were blessed. Diagnosis sometimes came from the way a flame flickered on a special oil lamp placed near the patient. It was a strange, mystic sort of logic, yet oddly comforting. Less sterile. More human.
After several quiet moments, Aldric stepped back, folding his hands behind him.
"Your Highness," he said, addressing both Elysia and the king, "the results of the examination suggest that the cause of the princess' collapse was extreme mental and emotional stress."
Elysia didn't even flinch. She had expected as much.
Zachary, however, looked as though someone had struck him across the face with a bare hand. His jaw tensed, a quiet storm brewing behind his eyes.
"Stress," he echoed, slowly. "I see."
Aldric continued, his voice gentle but authoritative. "There are no signs of physical illness or poisoning. Her energy levels are stable, and her pulse, while slightly strained, has returned to a healthy rhythm. However, I did observe something... unusual."
Elysia's gaze sharpened.
Zachary's brows knitted together. "Unusual?"
The physician hesitated for a heartbeat before continuing. "During the pendulum readingâa technique that detects magical imbalances or anomaliesâI sensed an aura surrounding the princess. One that does not conform to her original magical signature."
Elysia's heart skipped a beat. She tried to keep her face blank, but the implication was staggering. Was her latent power already surfacing? Had something about her time in the secret chamber triggered a shift in her energy?
Aldric looked between the two of them. "It was subtle, dormant... almost slumbering. But unmistakable. I recommend that the court mage be summoned for further analysis."
There was a beat of silence.
Elysia turned sharply to Zachary, watching his every twitch. Did he know? Was this finally the part where he betrayed his knowledge of the hidden magic and artifacts in the secret archives? She needed to see somethingâanything. Surprise. Confusion. Discomfort.
Instead, he only gave a calm nod.
"Very well. I will discuss the matter with the court mage," Zachary replied in a tone so dry, it was practically arid.
That was it? That was his grand reaction to the discovery of a mysterious aura around his daughter?
Elysia narrowed her eyes slightly. Either he was a master of concealment, or he truly had no idea.
Fine. She'd just have to wait and see.
Aldric bowed again. "With your permission, I will prepare a report and deliver it by sunset. The princess should rest for the next few days and avoid strenuous activity or emotional agitation."
"She will," Zachary said with quiet finality.
The physician gathered his instruments, bowed once more, and took his leave. Once the doors shut behind him, silence hung between father and daughter again.
Elysia's mind swirled with tangled thoughts. Winfred's voice echoed faintly in her mind:
[ Mission Progress: 64.39% Complete. ]
She had thought her task of deciphering Zachary's true feelings was done. But clearly, it was only just beginning. Whatever he planned to show her in the garden gazebo might very well hold the final pieces.
Her eyes flicked toward her father, who remained seated by her bedside, posture stiff, face unreadable.
She would meet him again. In two days' time. And perhaps then⊠she would find her answers.
For now, she leaned back against the pillow, letting her tired body rest but keeping her mind sharp. Something told her the next chapter of her story was about to begin.
â
A/N: What do you think? Should Elysia forgive King Zachary readily or not? After all, his apology seems genuine :/ Comment your thoughts on this.
p.s. I'm going for an eye test tomorrow. Wish me luck.