Life in the household of Viscount Edric Rowanhart rarely changes. At least, not in any significant ways. Evander, who will one day take over as the Viscount, handles more than half of Edric's work these days, leaving only the most complicated issues that require years of experience for Edric to solve. Vella is working at the magic tower, sleeping at her desk on nights where she gets too absorbed in her research to realize the passage of time. His wife, Isolde, spends her days embroidering in the sunroom and attending the occasional tea party.
That leaves Lenore, the daughter stolen by his brother when she was a child. The daughter he hasn't seen or heard from in over a decade.
How many times over the years has he tried to barge into his brother's estate to take her back, only to be blocked by guards who had instructions to keep him and his family away? How many letters did he send to his brother filled with pleas? How many letters made it to Lenore, filled with love that could never be truly expressed through words alone?
Even the emperor had been unwilling to help him get his daughter back, declaring that this was an issue that the Rowanharts had to solve on their own. He refused to get involved in the disputes of a family, and mentioned that it was beneficial for Lenore to be raised alongside the princess of a duchy.
And so, the Viscount's family found themselves missing a member and without allies to help bring her back. Yet, Edric never stops sending letters. He'll beg his brother as many times as it takes if it means his daughter can come home. Until then, there will always be a hole in their family.
These days, letters are taken to Evander's desk, though Edric's desk is in the same room. He knows that his son can handle most issues, but as long as he's able to, he wants to be present. Someone he can ask for help or guidance when he needs to.
Today, when the letters arrive, Evander flips through them, then stops to stare at one with his brow furrowed in confusion. "Do we have business with the Barrowmere Duchy?"
"No," Edric says, unable to remember if he's ever needed to contact anybody in Barrowmere, much less the Duke. "Did we receive a letter from there?"
Evander plucks the envelope from the pile it arrived in and holds it up. "Well, to be more precise, you received a letter from Barrowmere."
When Evander walks over to place the letter in his hand, Edric wastes no time opening it. There's no reason for Barrowmere to contact him instead of Claude. His position as a viscount hasn't been enough to protect his children, so what could he possibly offer to Barrowmere?
Whatever he expected, it wasn't a letter addressed to the family. The content is simple, but each word cuts into Edric's heart with fierce precision. Then, at the end, a signature from his lost daughter. He doesn't realize he's crying until Evander grabs the letter from his hands and reads it himself.
"Is this real?" he demands.
"The seal was real. I have no reason to believe it's forged."
"Why is she apologizing?" Evander asks, with the anxious flurry of a man with a sudden list of things he needs to do, but no plan regarding how he's going to do them. "Didn't she get our letters over the years? And Barrowmere? She's the duchess? How? Why?"
Edric isn't sure where to start with his son's ambush of questions, but he remembers hearing the emperor's order. "Your cousin, Alina, was supposed to marry Duke Barrowmere. It was ordered by the emperor, but it seems like my brother sent Lenore in her place."
"But Barrowmere—"
Evander doesn't need to finish his sentence. They both know that Barrowmere is a cursed place, and the Duke is a cold man who doesn't age. He's gone through several wives, and now Lenore is in that same position.
"We should tell your mother. And Vella, when she returns from the Tower." As upsetting as Lenore's letter is, there's a spark of hope. After all, she requests a letter in return at the end.
It's a chance to finally reconnect with his daughter, and maybe he can meet her in person once more.
"What do we do then?" Evander asks. For the first time in years, he sees Evander as a child, asking for his father's direction and trusting that it would be the correct path.
"Then, we fulfill her request and write letters," Edric says. "Each of us. We'll let her know that she has no reason to apologize, and that we never stopped trying to bring her home."
Evander nods, and it doesn't take long for Isolde to have a fire in her eyes that Edric has long forgotten. Vella can return at odd hours, and often stays so late at the Tower, she ends up spending the night there. So, he sends a courier with a letter to her, letting her know that he'd like her to return when she can, but withholding any information that might make her reckless.
With that, the office becomes a hub for the family. Edric and Evander are at their desks, and extra pages and ink have been set up on the coffee table for Isolde—and Vella, when she arrives. They have tea and snacks served, then take dinner in the office when the time comes. All the while, they're single-mindedly focused on a task that should be easy, but proves difficult after years of disconnect.
Evander chews on his bottom lip, a bad habit he's picked up when he's too focused. Meanwhile, Isolde dabs at the corners of her eyes with a pale handkerchief between furiously scrawling words on an increasingly large stack of papers.
As for Edric, he tries to find words that fit somewhere between concern and fact. The story of what's happened over the years—and how his brother has blocked them at every turn in order to keep Lenore in his grasp—is too long to explain in letters alone. Besides, he'd like to admit his shortcomings to her in-person, falling to his knees to beg her forgiveness if he needs to. If he wasn't such a weak, incompetent father, then Lenore wouldn't be in Barrowmere right now, believing that she was thrown away by her family.
And so, he ends his letter with:
I have never stopped loving you.