Time told me that it’s time for Caitel to be in his office, so I guessed this would be the first time I would enter that office after a long time.
“I’ll be back.”
When I was a toddler, I thought my room and Caitel’s office were so far away, so it surprised me when I realized that it was closer than I thought when I could walk. Well, my room was close to my dad’s bedroom and audience chamber. I heard that my palace was originally where the heir stayed. As I approached the office, the guards who guarded the door looked down at me.
“Papa, is he in there?”
“Yes, Princess. Would you like to see him?”
Yes. As I nodded, they opened the door before me. I entered the room before the servant let Caitel knew I was here.
I called this entire area as the office, but what was behind the office was exactly where I would go. The familiar scenery greeted me. I smiled with delight. Long-time no see! Now that I had come to think of it, I naturally stopped going here because I had a lot of time playing in the garden.
“Daddy!”
Caitel sat in his usual position on the couch. Caitel’s head tilted towards the direction of my voice while he was scouring the papers while wearing his glasses.
I was here now. I darted into his arms.
He dropped the papers on his table, and he held me in his arms. I smiled and quickly sat on his thigh. Daddy held me really comfortably now.
“What is it?”
Perhaps my sudden appearance surprised him. Caitel’s voice was not the same as usual. I didn’t know how it’s different, but I just knew it was the same voice he would often use.
Why? Did he not expect my visit? Well, I didn’t expect it too.
“I just wanted to see you.”
“How unusual.”
I replied carelessly, but Caitel seemed quite happy with my answer. The way he touched and patted me was gentler than usual. The big hand was so friendly that I shook my head without realizing it.
“I think this is the first time my dear daughter came to look for me.”
Oh, I didn’t expect him to know that. I was a little surprised. I thought he wouldn’t care about this at all, so I thought he wouldn’t know of it. He still had a twisted smile on his smile, but I grew to like that smile of his.
“Not bad.”
Not bad? He should be saying ‘good’ instead! This man was really not honest, wasn’t he?
“Are you three now?”
“Yes, three!”
“You’re three years old already.”
Already? Hey, it’s only been three years now. I still had more growth to do. When had I even began growing? Without knowing what I was thinking Caitel touched my hair and then back to my ears. Now that time had passed for quite a while, my hair grew longer, and before I knew, it had already reached my waist.
“You’re more like a human now.”
“I was human, to begin with.”
Yes, I was human. Why did he always attribute my appearance to a monster? I was human since I was born, and I would stay like a human forever! He shouldn’t just try to judge my appearance like that!
“Really?”
Caitel laughed as if he couldn’t hear the silence of my aura.