Stubborn Girl

Roxus entered the dining room with an expression that shone brightly. Her lavender eyes are shaded and warm, her plump lips are smiling sweetly and her short hair is embellished with pearl jewellery.

Her father, Count Croix smiled when he saw his beloved daughter look happy again. "My daughter, my beautiful daughter. I am happy that today you are willing to come and eat with me," said Eoin happily.

"Father, good evening," said Roxus and bowed respectfully.

"Good evening, Roxie," Eoin waved his hand towards the chair to his right.

The two of them sat down with satisfied smiles on their faces. "We can start eating. But before that, I want to say that thanks to the information from Master Lucius, I have succeeded in thwarting our enemies' plans to trap our family," said Eoin softly.

"But please don't lose your guard, Father. Now that Master Luc continues to be by my side, he can't find any further information on what they will do next."

Roxus had warned Eoin about the Crown Prince, but she knew she had to do everything she could to help Eoin minimize the damage from other traps the Crown Prince might set. "I advised Father to start siding with the First Princess faction. Princess Cecilia has the support of the King, although it is not to support her to ascend the throne."

Roxus must have also realized the existence of special forces guarding Cecilia during her visit yesterday.

"But of course, Princess Cecilia's faction won't be enough to protect our family..." said Eoin softly.

"Don't worry, Father. For now, let's cancel the engagement between me and Lord Ariaster."

Roxus smiled sweetly. Eoin blinked, staring at his daughter with a flat face, but sharp eyes. "Finally you asked for this request. Very nice. I'll contact Ariaster tonight."

Eoin looked away. The servants served today's dinner, and a waiter appeared and whispered something in Eoin's ear. Roxus knew about it, but she still focused on the dish in front of her. "Soon the aristocratic social season will arrive."

Roxus raised her knife and fork. "After expelling Ariaster from the capital and welcoming my beloved mother and brother, Ernacht, I think it's time for me to start looking for a new husband," Roxus began to eat the dish in front of her.

Eoin nodded.

"And Father," Roxus looked warmly at her father. Her right hand waved gently in the air, and a ball of fire appeared, floating above her palm. "We can announce my secret skill to everyone starting today."

Eoin sighed. When Roxus said she wanted to find a husband, it didn't mean she wanted to get married, but she wanted to announce that she would let men chase her with an expensive flower bouquet and sweet gifts.

And when Roxus said she wanted to announce her skills as a Magus, it meant that she wanted to protect Croix with her own strength, and thought that was enough. Moreover, now that they had a Swordmaster, Master Luc—

It could be said that Eoin wasn't surprised, but he admitted that his daughter's methods had changed. In the past, Roxus preferred to work in the shadows, unnoticed by the masses. But now, Roxus moves to control the opinion of the masses.

"Are you also willing to use Lucius..." Eoin stopped his questioning.

Roxus looked displeased. "I don't want to tie Master Luc into our family matters. Father, you may think that Master Luc's love for me is enough to make him side with us, but that's not true. I don't want to exploit his feelings of love just because we need strength," Roxus spoke flatly.

Roxus looked the other way. "Moreover, I have rejected his love for years on the grounds that I love Ariaster. It's not fair if I suddenly accept his feelings just because now I don't love Ariaster and because we do need strength..."

Eoin smiled proudly at his daughter. He had succeeded in educating a young girl who was sweet and knew good manners. "I heard you gave him a present today," said Eoin dryly.

Roxus turned her face back. "You don't need to pay attention to the small things that happen at home," she admonished.

"Looks like Master Lucius likes it," Eoin nodded happily. "I became curious about the gift you gave him. Isn't your father allowed to get a gift like that too?"

"Father, I only gave him the Windbloom flower arrangement," Roxus replied.

"Windbloom?" Eoin blinked. He had never heard the name of the arrangement before.

"Father, don't you know? Isn't Windbloom a famous combination of flower arrangements?" Roxus asked.

Eoin knows quite a bit about the florist world because his mother and Roxus's grandmother, Riria Croix, is a famous collector of flower plants. Roxus tilted her face. Is Windbloom famous in the demon world?

"Luc said Windbloom, the flower arrangement of Cecilia and Asters, means freedom in knowledge, and it can also mean happiness in wonder. Wouldn't Windbloom be a successful series if advertised in that way?" Roxus asked.

Eoin nodded in understanding. Cecilia is often referred to as the Lily of Heaven which represents freedom and happiness, while Aster means knowledge, trust, loyalty, and awe of the beauty of the stars.

"You said Lucius was an Outlander," said Eoin.

Roxus blinked. "You mean Windbloom is not a popular arrangement?" she asked.

Eoin nodded. "But Cecilia and Aster only grew up in the area of ​​the Rotund Empire. Maybe it can only be found on this continent. Hmm, if Lucius was an Outlander, he should have been born in a place with the same geographical conditions as this continent, have Aster and Cecilia grow in his region, but not this continent because I've never heard of Windbloom at all."

Roxus chuckled. In the past few days, Eoin has been trying to find out and get to know Lucifer. As far as he could see, Lucifer was very loyal to Roxus. He is also very polite to everyone, but so gentle, sweet, and outspoken in front of Roxus. He knew that he would not be worthy of Roxus, but he wholeheartedly gave great support to his daughter.

Sometimes, he shows jealousy when the name Ariaster comes up, and sometimes he shows a deep hatred for him. This is indicated by small gestures such as a cold stare at the floor or the grinding of teeth in his firm jaw. But once the name Roxus appeared, no matter when or where, the man would raise his eyebrows slightly, soften his eyes, and show a cute awkwardness.

All the Croix County's servants and subordinates who had met him could see his love for Roxus. That included Eoin, who not only realized the man's love for his daughter, also realized how strong he was. The title of Swordmaster may not be a sufficient title for him. Eoin knows because he too was a knight in his youth. Indeed, Eoin sometimes thought of getting his daughter married to the young man right away.

"No..." Roxus finished her thoughts. "Looks like he created the flower arrangement for me," she muttered.

"Wha—?"

"He gave me that flower arrangement on a special day. On that very day, he expressed his feelings to me," Roxus is not lying. Lucifer presented the flowers to her on the day of her coronation as King of Croiso and expressed complete loyalty to her as his contractor.

Roxus smiled faintly. Her shaded calm eyes turned cold, and instead of looking happy or full of emotion, Roxus looked so sad. This expression that she had never shown anyone in the past made Eoin furrow his brows. His daughter is a girl who is smart and experienced in the world of social and political life, but in her entire life, Roxus has never shown such an expression. No matter how big the problem, no matter how high the obstacle, Roxus always knows how to overcome it.

"My daughter."

Roxus looked up at her father. "Actually, why didn't you accept Lucius' love?"

"Father," Roxus lowered her hand from the table. "To be my husband means to be a noble. Master Luc... he has a different purpose in life from that of a noble. Once again, I have to remind you that I don't want to tie him up in a life that requires him to bear various responsibilities like the life we ​​live in."

Roxus looks so annoyed. "Even though I want him to stay with me forever, I don't want my life to burden him. Master Luc is a very precious person to me. If I block his steps too much, I'm afraid he will hate me and leave me," Roxus whispered dryly.

The woman slowly stood up. "I will do something else," Roxus bowed respectfully to her father. "I will protect this family in other ways."

Roxus came out of the dining room. Eoin put his knife and fork on the table. With his brows furrowed in frustration, he muttered, "This stubborn girl."