Chapter 382 - So Many Questions

The morning light came early, a sign that the season had completely left winter. Today, Alinea had to go to school so she woke up earlier, right just as the sun peeked from the horizon. This was not a problem because it's when usually Ryuu awoke in the morning so she did not disturb him. It was just that since Alinea stayed with him, she didn't wake up as early as he did so he spent the time after waking to stay with her, waiting for her to wake up in his arms.

"Today, my club will have a farewell gathering for the seniors," Alinea said as she stepped out of the walk-in closet.

She wore a plain white shirt and jeans. She crossed the room to the armoire to take a scrunchie and tied her hair.

"You're not wearing a uniform today?"Ryuu asked as he finished wearing a yukata.

The people of the Cedar Palace mostly wore traditional Japanese clothing. Still, the servants wore yukata or hakama on regular days all-year-round as they weren't affected by the temperature. They're all people with demigod roots. They had good ways to regulate their bodies even in harsh conditions. They only wore kimonos on special occasions.

Alinea shook her head. "No. Our classes are over. We are only going to the clubs today."

"Okay. I'll take you to school," Ryuu said, and Alinea didn't reject him.

The two of them finished dressing and went out to the hall of breakfast. Unexpectedly, as soon as they reached the place, Alinea saw Perun sitting having a meal. Her eyes widened in delighted surprise and quickly left her husband to hurry over to her father.

"You're here!" she announced as she grinned down at him.

Perun smiled at her indulgingly and patted the space next to him. The Koutaishidenka didn't say a word and just took the place next to his wife. As they ate, Ali couldn't help but throw obvious glances at her father, making everyone smile secretly.

"If you have time after this meal, we can talk," Perun told her softly, but stopped when she saw her clothes. "But if you need to go somewhere –"

"I have time," Alinea insisted, cutting her father's word off, and everyone smiled again.

It was safe to say that the princess finished her meal in record time.

"Come," Perun invited as he held out his hand for his daughter to take.

Alinea grinned as she took it and the two of them walked side by side towards the garden. Alinea recognized the direction they were heading to and knew that they were on the way towards the huge cherry tree.

"You found your favorite spot here already," she teased, making her father laugh.

"It appears that I did," he agreed as they continued to walk hand in hand in silence.

Alinea and Perun were not in a hurry to talk. If needed, Alinea would even skip the farewell program for their club today just to spend time with her father. In spite of the warnings her uncle and husband had told her yesterday, she still wanted to try her best to ask her father questions.

Why couldn't she be with her mother?

Why couldn't her mother continue to know about them?

Why didn't he seem to want to keep her mother with them?

Why did he allow Yuuka to have her memories erased after this?

So many questions would need time to be answered. But it was alright.

Perun guided her towards a spot under the tree and they both sat. She couldn't help but smile at the nostalgic feeling it gave. It seemed a long time ago since they did this. Back in Ritz, when she was young, Alistair would pick her up from her room after her lessons and they would rest like this under a tree every afternoon.

"It's like before," Perun commented as soon as they were seated, and Alinea grinned.

"Except that, you can't carry me on your ŀȧp anymore," she countered with a teasing smile, making her father raise a brow at her.

"Oh? Do you want to see if that's true?" he challenged and she laughingly shook her head.

"I'm not talking about your ability, father. I'm talking about my dignity. I'm a grown lady now," she announced almost proudly making her father smile, but his amethyst eyes flickered with sadness.

"Yes, you are," he agreed quietly as he turned his eyes away.

"But even if I can't sit on your ŀȧp, I can still do this," Alinea declared as she lay down the grass and used her father's ŀȧp as a pillow.

Perun was initially caught unawares but was delighted in the end. The flicker of sadness in his eyes vanished as he looked at his grinning child on his ŀȧp. He reached out a hand and played with Aline's hair. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before he spoke again.

"My little one, I'm sure our uncle has already told you about your mother," he began.

Alinea studied his face first, gauging his reaction before answering. "Yes. I pressured uncle to tell me about her." She then gave her father a sly look. "Don't scold Uncle, okay? I really forced him to tell me," she added, making her father laugh.

"I won't," Perun promised.  "I actually expected him to at least tell you about Yuuka's true identity."

Alinea who kept looking at his face noted how his expression softened and his voice changed into a sigh as he mentioned her mother's name. This made all doubts about Yuuka's real identity leave her – though she was already convinced that she was really Shitara. It's just that her father's permitting her to have her memories erased made her doubt a little. The father she knew had been yearning for his wife for countless of years. To finally have her only to let her go was confusing her.

"Then tell me, father… is it true?" she asked; her silver-grey eyes bored into her father's amethyst ones. "Is it true that she wants to forget about us?"

Perun accepted the challenge in her eyes and held her stare for several seconds that seemed like a lifetime before she let out a sigh. "Yes…"