Uncertain 01

I will do what father says," The silence floating around the office was shattered by Cailina's answer.

Her voice light as breeze. There's no point engaging in a one-sided fight. She knew it was something she couldn't control. 

Duke Grandis nodded, satisfied with his daughter's answer. She would be fine as long as she doesn't question the things she hasn't prepared to know. He waved his hand in dismissal. 

His daughter would understand everything with her time in the capital and her interactions with the Imperial Nobles. 

His gaze followed Cailina as she left without a sound. 

The soft click of the door echoed in Cailina's heart like a seal that would change her life the way she didn't expect.

Cailina trailed her attention at the carpet. Her mind drifted along with the questions about the capital and the nobles she has yet to interact with. It's been a long time since she saw her peers. The twins that promised to visit her never returned. 

Perhaps they were occupied with their own lives to remember her. 

The twins were the ones that accompanied her when Aris wasn't around. Her mother requested their presence for a while to keep Cailina's mind from wandering and causing a scene. 

Odessa was the random one. She would go on and on about topics that don't really matter, while Ouida was the rational and composed one. Their temperament differs from each other greatly.

It was somewhat worthwhile spending time with them. Cailina learned to show emotions from Aris. Whatever her puppy was feeling at the moment, he would express it. With Aris beside her, she felt that expressing her emotions was alright for a child.

Cailina did express her feelings, but her father reprimanded her for being loose with her control, that it would be a bad thing for a noble to show what his heart truly feels. 

'Why must a noble be like a statue?' Cailina sighed.

She sometimes asks herself whether the title bestowed upon her head was something worth everything. What was she ought to do as the favored one of the Gods and Goddesses? Why would the Divine care for such an insignificant title?

Cailina sighed, maybe it's just another empty role that the monarch came up with to keep her family under watchful eyes.

The way the royals think has always been a mystery. If everyone could figure out the monarch's thoughts, the line would have long been replaced by another. 

These things no longer mattered much to her. She loved living in the fief, away from the capital. If a love child of her father would appear, she would gladly hand over the duties to him and live a life of peace. 

Cailina's eyes curved into a playful crescent. It was a fun thought to think about, her father having a child outside the family. It would be a great disappointment, and her respect for her father would surely waiver. 

Her father kept his distance from her ever since the year Aris came back. He was mostly out of the mansion, running errands for the Emperor. Cailina noticed that throughout the years that Aris wasn't beside her, her parents' relationship grew closer. 

The first time she saw Aris after four years, she couldn't believe that her puppy lost his bright smile and curious eyes. It was replaced by dullness, the thing she hated the most. 

It was always a question she had in mind. She wanted to know what happened to Aris. The place he was sent to.

Lost in thought, her steps halted as she bumped into someone's chest. Cailina looked up and saw her puppy, the person she was thinking about. The comforting presence that Aris has was where she found her solace.

Seeing Cailina unaware of her surroundings made Aris' face painted with worry and care. 

His hands grabbed Cailina's shoulder, as she returned a small smile. She could stare at her puppy for a long time and never get tired of it. 

"What brings you here, Aris?" she asked, her eyes bore at his soft features.

Aris furrowed his brows. The look on his Lady's face was confusing. He wanted to pat her head and embrace her, but the protocol must be followed.

He cleared his throat and stepped back, "You were not back for a while." Aris bowed. He caught a whiff of a foreign scent, and he knew that it might be something that would take his Lady away. 

"Would you like to go out tomorrow, my Lady?"

Cailina nodded, "Yes, but for now, let's have tea."

Aris pursed his lips and followed behind Cailina, disregarding the latter's request to walk beside her. 

-

The moonlight spilled inside Aris' room. It was the same place where he slept in before being treated like someone without the ability to think for himself. 

He had kept his space neat as no servant would come in and clean it for him. It was clear that he was a nobody without Cailina's favor. The day would come that his Lady would get tired of him, he has no choice but to leave or see the end of his life. 

No one really leaves the Grandis' grasp.

It was the cruel reality he discovered. The days he spent at the Divine-forsaken place where Duke Grandis sent him were filled with the horror of another being's despair. 

He was grateful. He wasn't on the other side of the bars, and never got to experience much suffering. The nightmare his father instilled in him was worst than a mere slicing of flesh that the doctors around him did.

Lai was with him for a year in that place, and unlike him, Lai wasn't the one receiving, but he was giving. The bug became ruthless during his stay there. Aris would sometimes feel fear when Lai came back from his task. 

He also had a woman who he was with every time he would check around the helpers. It was the young woman that Cailina took a liking to when they were out. She was as ruthless as Lai. 

And whatever Lai did, it was ordered by the Duke. 

The stench of the place stung his nose. It was a scene that he swore in his heart to never let Cailina step foot in. He would sacrifice everything to not let anyone taint his Lady's hand. 

He was fortunate to only answer the doctors' questions. Sometimes he would partake medicines they prescribed and the schedule he had to follow. It was a tiring routine. He never understood the place's purpose. 

The question of whether the Duke has a connection or none from what his delusional father believed in, floated in Aris' mind. 

His father was a sick man, showing affection as a father should and the other moment he would act as an emotionless stranger.

Aris sighed, he was glad that the Duke showed mercy to him and sent him back. 

The relief that he felt when he saw Cailina. Everything was different. He was finally home.

He wanted to rest his head on her shoulder. Breathe in the familiar and comforting scent that she has. 

But he couldn't. Before he could, Duke Grandis' observing stare locked him in place. If only he had run to Cailina that day, they wouldn't have grown apart. 

Aris sat down and looked at the window. the view that the night gave was nothing compared to Cailina's beauty.