The king regarded me with curiosity.

  Standing beside him, my height seemed ridiculous.

  To be honest, I really should grow taller. This man looked like a giant. Well, considering he's nearly 190 centimeters while I barely reach 126, it's pretty obvious.

  We watched Mother and Father dancing. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Naturally, considering how long it had been since they'd spent time together like this.

  Now then... what exactly should I say to such an intimidating authority figure standing right beside me?

  "Why so lonely, Your Majesty?" "Where's your wife, Your Majesty?" "Why not dance with someone, Your Majesty?" Ah. That last one has potential.

  "Your Majesty," I began.

  "Yes?" he responded immediately.

  Damn. That was too quick.

  "Well... why aren't you dancing with everyone else?"

  "I don't have my wife with me."

  "Then... what about your daughter?"

  "She didn't want to come."

  Right. Curt and direct. As expected.

  Still, I'll keep pushing.

  "Why not find someone else to dance with? You should be enjoying yourself too."

  "I'm not the type to dance with others when I'm married."

  Hmm... I suppose he's doing a good job staying faithful to his wife. But at least he could try enjoying the festival on his own.

  "You should at least have fun by yourself, shouldn't you? I think that's what people do when they don't have company."

  The king turned slightly and gave me an inquisitive look.

  "What are you getting at, Lucius?"

  Lucius, huh? I guess we're on that level now.

  I remembered he'd said himself that right now, he was just another citizen. So I decided to match his approach.

  "What I mean, Lord Leo, is that you shouldn't be standing all alone at a festival you personally ordered prepared just days ago."

  He fell silent.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Studied me carefully, but instead of taking offense at my bluntness, he smiled.

  ...Wait.

  He smiled?

  "Hahaha. You're clearly your parents' child," he laughed quietly, giving me a pat on the back.

  "Ugh!"

  That little tap nearly sent me straight to the ground. If not for my balance, I'd have been flattened against the earth.

  "I don't think I can enjoy the festival alone," he continued, his tone more relaxed. "Without my daughter... perhaps I can't find meaning in these games."

  I watched him silently.

  I didn't really understand a father's love for his child. Or maybe that was my previous parents' fault. I still struggled to process the affection my current parents showed me. It was... strange. Different.

  "May I ask where your daughter is?"

  "Hmm... At home, enjoying time with her friends."

  I see. No, I don't see.

  What's his daughter doing at the castle while her father stands here, completely alone?

  At the very least she should accompany him, stand by his side, share in the people's joy with him.

  But apparently, she didn't.

  And he, for some reason, didn't insist either.

  I expected the king and princess to be sensible enough to have a serious conversation about their strained relationship. Though it wasn't my business nor something I particularly wanted to get involved in, so I decided to drop it.

  "At least you should have persuaded her to come with you, don't you think?" I said, keeping my irritation carefully restrained.

  "No... I can't force her to do something she doesn't want."

  But he should have. Why refuse to spend time with her own father? If I were the king's son, I wouldn't hesitate to stand by his side—I'd flaunt it.

  "Hmm... 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 seems the princess has a rebellious streak. I'm not ordering you, but you really 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 did it go, Lucy?" she asked, not looking away from our parents spinning on the dance floor.

  How long did they plan to keep that up? It'd be more productive to grab something to eat—maybe some chocolate bread.

  "I guess fine. But the king didn't seem to be in the best mood. At least he laughed." I yawned, the weight of sleep pressing on my eyelids.

  "He laughed?"

  "Yeah... I'm not sure exactly what I did, but he laughed. Though it sounded kind of tired."

  "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, but I was too sleepy. Besides, security in the city was decent. With Veil Masters and Sentinels patrolling, the chances of anything happening to us were pretty low.

  "Maybe. But it'd be better to 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 people and enduring the unpleasant stench of sweat.

  With some effort, we reached our parents. I tugged hard on Father's coat while Isolde did the same to Mother's. Both turned at the same time.

  "What's wrong, dears?" Mother asked, bending down to our level. Her voice was sweet, though exhaustion lingered beneath. Impressive she was still dancing.

  "We're sleepy," I said bluntly.

  "Oh... Well... Let's go home, then."

  "No. We want to go back on our own. There are Veil Masters and Sentinels all over the kingdom. I don't think anything will 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.