Sinthia and The Demon Duke of DeSidea: 32

It seemed that Sinthia no longer felt the need to feign illness. She sat across from him, sipping her tea, poised as she always was. Cedric sipped his own, wondering what was to ensue now. He had come all the way to her room as soon as he was done with work to make sure she was alright, and through it all, she had looked extremely confused. Now, she looked like she understood. Her face was clear and bright.

“Your Majesty. May I ask you a question?”

He nodded, setting his tea down. “You may.”

”Ever since your birthday celebration four years ago...” he felt his blood grow cold. That celebration had been the first time he felt that the Duchess of Salient was treating his daughter carelessly. He had found out later that she was the one that suggested the insulting gift to Sinthia, and she had simply followed the suggestion. He had been unable to sufficiently punish her because in the end, it was SInthia that had done it. But since then, he had felt like he had been shirking his duty as a parent. He had heard from her maids how she hadn’t even cried or been distraught after he had dismissed her. How she just sat in her room with a vacant look on her face all though the night. Like she had been poked and prodded for so long that she could no longer bear it and shut her mind off from it all. He felt like it was dangerous to leave her be.

“Ever since then. Have you been trying to get close to me?”

His jaw clenched. He had. He had tried to approach his youngest carefully and naturally. Walking paths that she walked. Sitting in areas that she sat. All in an effort to meet her more little by little. But it must have frightened her because she suddenly stopped leaving her room altogether. He tried for a long time, and she ran from it for a long time too. It was during this sad game of cat and mouse that Cedric realized just how damaged his relationship with his child was. Those four years of trying to reach out to her made him realize just how much distance there was. So he had in part given up. I have done the best I could. This was also how I was raised, so in time she will come to understand. These were the words he used to console himself as he tried to returned to his state of unawareness. But he could never fully return like he did before with the knowledge of his child being so distant, and his heart had known endless guilt because of it. “I... did.” He replied.

“I see. It would seem that you tried the best you could.”

”No...I could have tried harder.”

”Not with Sinthia’s attitude.” She chuckled lightly. “Your Majesty. At first I thought that your change was too sudden. Like you had woken up one day and decided to try and get closer to me. But now I see that that wasn’t the case. You’ve been trying for four years now.”

He did not respond. He couldn’t.

“But Sinthia was too afraid to allow you any closer. In her fear, she believed that you were going to reject her.”

”Reject... why would I reject you? You’re....” he wanted to say that she was his daughter, his child. But did he have the right?

“I get it. She was scared and so she ran. But she ran before she could ask why you were doing what you were doing in the first place. So now I’m asking the questions I suppose. How I wished she did it sooner.”

“No... it was me that should have done better. It should have been me.” Sinthia watched her father carefully, and for the first time saw the tired lines round his eyes and mouth. Had he been so worried about the state of things between them that he would get such features? He always looked like a marble statue to her. Since when did he start to look like a human being?

”Well, no matter. Now I understand. It took a long time but now I see that this change in your actions is only happening because I changed too. It’s because I opened up a path for communication that you’re able to reciprocate. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to approach me at all.”

She had grown so much, and she had missed it all. Cedric felt sad. Sad that he really didn’t get to see her become who she was now. “Fine, Your Majesty. I will tell you what is really bothering me.” She sighed, sitting back in her chair. This shocked Cedric visibly. To him, it sounded like she had decided to put a little trust in her father.

“Your Majesty. In half a year, I will be married to the Duke of DeSidea.”

He barely kept himself from frowning. It was because of that man that she was so down. If that was the case then... “I can arrange for the engagement to be broken.”

Sinthia’s eyes went very round with shock, and she nearly chocked on her tea. “Absolutely not, Your Majesty! The repercussions for that are—“

”It’s fine, we can deal with that later.”

”That’s enough to turn the entire continent against Ophelia Your Majesty, it is not at all fine.”

”I can make up an excuse—“

”No, let me finish first.” She hurriedly tried to reel the conversation back to a sensible direction. She knew that Cedric hated Kairn because he was taking away his heir and shaking the calm and steady plans he had had for the future. Luckily for him, he had been training Michael as well because better safe than sorry, but he must have still felt resentful for having his heir snatched out from under him. This was Sinthia’s speculation.

”I will be married to the Duke. And...”

”And?” He barely hid the bite in his voice.

”And I wanted a wedding.”

Cedric’s mind went blank for a while. No thoughts ran through it, and his body was idle. A wedding... for a bride of DeSidea...? And then there was a flood of thoughts that hit him so hard he almost physically recoiled. “Sinthia A WEDDING?! You want a wedding??? I thought that you hated him! Why...!”

”Hate him? Oh, not at all. To the contrary, I’m very interested in him. He is a fascinating man. I have been exchanging letters and—“

”Exchanging WHAT???” He lurched forward, jaw to the floor. He could not believe it.

”Oh yes. It was very hard to get him to agree to do it, but I have been working on it. We haven’t exchanged much but I brought up the idea of a wedding and well... it didn’t go as planned.” She looked down, disappointed. Cedric watched her carefully. So this was what she was doing. She had been trying to get to know the fiancé that she had been cursed with. Sinthia... was so different now.

“So then you were worried about having a wedding?”

”Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but essentially yes.”

Cedric settled down, calming himself and thinking. “Well, you have the right to a wedding, and if that is what you want, then I will make sure it happens.”

”But it isn’t what Kairn wants.”

”... you’re on a first-name basis?”

”Huh?”

”You’re calling him by his first name now?” Her father sounded like he was hiding his anger?

“Well, we are to be married soon so might as well get familiar right?”

He held his tongue for now. “I can write to him and persuade him.”

”Nope.” She shook her head.

”Why not?”

”He can’t refuse if you ask.”

”Exactly.”

”I want him to do it because he wants to not because he has to. So while I’m sad I won’t have a wedding, it’s okay because I’m not forcing him to do something he doesn’t want to. I was just sad thinking about that.” And the lost opportunity to garner interest and market her potential business as well as having to swallow her words and probably endure more nonsense from her half-sisters.

“Hm...”

“So really, don’t worry, alright?” Sinthia gave a smile. She felt much better after talking to her father for some reason.

”Well. How long have you been exchanging letters for?”

”Ever since I sent out my portrait. Has it not been three or so weeks?”

”And you’ve sent how many letters to him?”

”About... three I believe. He takes a while to write back but I write immediately.”

”Oh. But how have you been exchanging letters so rapidly? DeSidea is a long way off, and it’s even harder to send letters in and out because of how little contact they have with humans. I don’t understand how—“

Suddenly the window burst open, and a tall, silver-haired man leaped in. Cedric was caught in shock as he saw, behind the man, a bushy fox’s tail follow. He landed on the ground soundlessly, then turned round to face them. Big cognac eyes and a huge grin displaying fangs. A demon. Before the king could stand and call for security, the silver-haired demon went, “Sinthia!! I’ve got great news from His Grace!!!”

Ah, so that’s how the letters had been coming and going.

//Bruh writing is hard lol//