The king looked down at me with curiosity.
Standing next to him, my height seemed ridiculous.
Honestly, I should grow taller. This man was practically a giant. Well, considering he was nearly 190 centimeters and I barely reached 126, it was pretty obvious.
We watched Mother and Father dance. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Not surprising, considering how long it had been since they'd spent time together like this.
Now then... what exactly was I supposed to talk about with such an imposing authority figure standing right beside me?
"Why are you so alone, Your Majesty?"
"Where is your wife, Your Majesty?"
"Why aren't you dancing with someone, Your Majesty?"
Ah. That last one had potential.
"Your Majesty," I began.
"Yes?" he responded immediately.
Damn. That was too fast.
"Um... why aren't you dancing with everyone else?"
"I don't have my wife here."
"Then... what about your daughter?"
"She didn't want to come."
Right. Short and direct. As expected.
Still, I'd keep pushing.
"And why not find someone else to dance with? You should be enjoying yourself too."
"I'm not the kind of man who dances with others when I'm married."
Hmm... I supposed he was doing a good job staying faithful to his wife. But at the very least, he could try to enjoy the festival on his own.
"You should at least try to have fun by yourself, shouldn't you? I think that's what people do when they don't have a partner."
The king turned slightly and gave me an inquisitive look.
"What exactly are you getting at, Lucius?"
Lucius, huh? I guess we were on familiar terms now.
I remembered he'd said himself that, right now, he was just another civilian. So I decided to match his tone.
"What I mean, Sir Leo, is that you shouldn't be standing all alone at a festival you personally ordered to be prepared just a few days ago."
He fell silent.
He studied me carefully, but instead of being annoyed by my bluntness, he smiled.
...Wait.
He smiled?
"Hahaha. You really are just like your parents," he laughed quietly, giving me a pat on the back.
"Agh!"
That little tap nearly sent me face-first into the ground. If not for my balance, I would've been planted straight into the dirt.
"I don't think I can enjoy the festival alone," he continued, his tone more relaxed. "Without my daughter... maybe I just can't find meaning in the games."
I watched him silently.
I didn't fully understand a father's love for his child. Or maybe that was because of my previous parents. I still struggled to process the affection my current parents gave me. It was... strange. Different.
"Can I ask where your daughter is?"
"Mmm... At home, enjoying the company of her friends."
I see.
No, I don't see.
What was his daughter doing at the castle while her father was here, completely alone?
At the very least, she should be by his side, enjoying the festivities with him, sharing in the people's joy.
But apparently, she wasn't.
And for some reason, he hadn't insisted either.
I had hoped the king and princess would be sensible enough to have a serious conversation about their strained relationship. It wasn't my business, nor something I particularly wanted to get involved in, so I decided to drop it.
"At the very least, you should have persuaded her to come with you, don't you think?" I said, carefully keeping the edge of irritation from my voice.
"No... I can't force her to do something she doesn't want."
But he should have. Why would she refuse to spend time with her own father? If I were the king's son, I wouldn't hesitate to stand by his side—hell, I'd flaunt it.
"Mmm... At the very least, you should talk to her. I don't know what's going on between you two, but from what little you've said, it sounds like the princess has a rebellious streak. I'm not telling you what to do, but you should."
Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked back to Isolde. She was still watching the dancers, though her attention occasionally flickered toward my conversation with the king. She hadn't even bothered to hide her curiosity.
I stood beside her and took her hand. It wasn't a conscious decision—just something we did instinctively, without question.
"How'd it go, Lucy?" she asked, not looking away from our parents spinning across the dance floor.
How long were they planning to keep that up? We'd be better off grabbing something to eat—maybe some chocolate bread.
"Fine, I guess. But the king didn't seem to be in the best mood. At least he laughed." I yawned, the weight of exhaustion pressing on my eyelids.
"He laughed?"
"Yeah... Not sure what I did exactly, but he laughed. Though it sounded kind of hollow."
"Oooh... Aaah..." Isolde yawned too, rubbing her face against her jacket sleeve.
"I think we should head home."
"But Mom and Dad are still dancing. Shouldn't we wait for them?"
That would be the logical thing to do, but I was too tired. Besides, security in the city was decent. With Veil Masters and Sentinels patrolling, the chances of anything happening to us were slim.
"Maybe. But we should rest before we end up passing out in the middle of this crowd. Come on."
We made our way to the dance floor, weaving through the crowd and enduring the unpleasant stench of other people's sweat.
After some effort, we reached our parents. I tugged hard on Father's jacket, while Isolde did the same to Mother's. They turned at the same time.
"What's wrong, dears?" Mother asked, bending down to our level. Her voice was sweet, though I could hear the exhaustion in it. How was she still dancing?
"We're sleepy," I said bluntly.
"Oh... Well... Let's head home, then."
"No. We want to go back on our own. There are Veil Masters and Sentinels all over the kingdom. Nothing's going to happen to us."
Mother looked at Father. He returned her gaze with an expression that said the final decision was hers. She hesitated for a moment but finally nodded.
"Alright. But be careful. Don't separate."
She cast a tracking spell to ensure our safety before letting us go.
"Got it."
Mother kissed our foreheads, and Father, in his usual carefree way, ruffled our hair.
After that, Isolde and I headed home.