"Although I've intended to attract numerous powerful suitors from across all the realms when Rowena turned eighteen," King Draco frowned. "It seems like there's someone who couldn't wait until then."
When King Draco finally reached Rowena's room, he opened the door swiftly and yet didn't find anyone else except for Rowena in her bed fast asleep.
His eyes narrowed and glinted in the darkness as he tried to locate any indication of someone else's presence and for the trace of magic.
But there was nothing.
King Draco was familiar with magic. He encountered it when he fought magical beasts when he had visited the elven realm, when he seduced his late wife, and more importantly when he went to Cretea and participated in the tournament for godhood.
Those were the highlights of his years.
Even someone like him who couldn't wield magic due to his human heritage learned how to resist magic due to his experiences within those vital periods. But more importantly, it meant he was able to detect it far better than any average or ordinary man.
Which was why he concluded that a god had come.
"So where is the source…oh, that damn bird."
King Draco didn't care about the phoenix, it was one out of many of its kind, but he realized that it was gone. He wasn't aware of any of its strong capacity for magic except for its ability to wield flames, but now it was gone.
"Did it escape?" he asked himself and eyed the beautiful cage that usually held the phoenix, it was left ajar. Lucent was nowhere to be around so that was a logical conclusion to have.
After King Draco's attempt on its life, even a brainless bird would understand that it was unwanted and to be disposed of… it would flee because it was scared for its life. That was an animal's instinct.
"Tsk. Its feathers would have made for a good component had it not freed itself and left." King Draco frowned as he stared at the open window. He stared up into the night sky and muttered to himself. "I doubt that Rowena would release it herself even though I attempted to kill it."
He understood that the young woman was attached to it.
Even though it was dangerous, Rowena undoubtedly still wanted it by her side.
King Draco glanced at his daughter who was fast asleep. He had already ordered one of his herbalists to concoct a healing salve for her, but he realized after some time that it was unnecessary for her to use.
He took a closer step towards Rowena.
When he stared at her face, just as he expected, the cheek that had been scratched earlier did not have a wound at all. It was not merely because it was invisible. It was as if the wound had already closed up and there was not a trace of a single scar that made him nod in satisfaction. He was so scared earlier that he had injured his precious daughter.
"I suppose her mother's heritage has proven useful." King Draco clicked his tongue.
King Draco thought that Rowena healed because of her elven bloodline. He was relieved to see that she was alright and her injury wouldn't get in the way of his plans… even though he was disappointed that she was so careless enough to allow a prized Phoenix to escape.
While he didn't care for it and could capture several more, he thought she truly did value it.
Did that mean that Rowena still hadn't learned the lesson of taking care of things that were rightfully hers? That appeared to be the case in his eyes. She allowed an accident to occur which allowed the phoenix to escape.
Was that enough to warrant another punishment? Should King Draco wake her up and make her realize that she had lost the one and only thing that she cared about? He decided that she'd just see it gone in the morning.
And that would be a fine lesson for her to have.
"For the first time in ages, I am unsure if it was truly you who let that boy escape." King Draco eyed the form of Rowena. She was fast asleep and didn't even rouse. The older man's lips twitched as he addressed her. "You were raised to be like a beautiful rose, perfect in every way… but it seems that every rose has its thorns."
King Draco didn't dare wake up and punish Rowena for Lucent's disappearance. He had hurt her already earlier with his blade and he was worried she would provoke him again.
His own daughter might test him further, and though his anger and wrath consumed him earlier, now it was a different matter.
The very clay that he shaped and formed with his own hands, Rowena had finally learned to stand up against him. Frustrating, annoying at first because King Draco was unused to having anyone disagree with him… but now that he thought of it?
Rowena's actions, in of itself, were fascinating to witness.
For the first time in fifteen years since his daughter arrived in this world, King Draco thought he saw more of himself in Rowena than ever before. She was taught to be a princess, but now, there was a sense of rebellion and spirit in her, unlike that of any other gentle noble lady or princess.
"This will be a good development," King Draco said.
It wasn't just enough for Rowena to have a beautiful face.
King Draco's daughter needed to be someone who could stand equal to the gods, be among those who could bargain, steal and enter Cretea as if she was a rightful member of that realm. He… had failed in that regard.
His time in Cretea was short-lived and he fell below their ranks.
However, Draco had high hopes for his daughter. Rowena would be the one who'd take him to the heights he himself never accomplished before.. That was why King Draco was aware that he shouldn't punish his daughter too severely.
