-

☾ thirty - three ☾

Regis assumed that his daughter would only go out to take a brief break and then come back shortly.

But as he guarded the door to the terrace, he began to feel nervous as Juvellian was taking longer than he thought.

'Surely nothing bad could have happened to her, right?'

He could still feel her presence, and he intentionally chose not to look out to the terrace to respect his daughter's privacy.

But since Juvelllian hadn't returned for quite some time now, Regis couldn't help but let his mind wander to grim scenarios.

'Or perhaps the Emperor had made a move...'

Of course, the emperor had 'that' so it was unlikely that he would have done anything hasty, but the possibility of the emperor playing tricks on him was high since he must have grown furious at Regis's previous provocation.

For that reason, Regis summoned his willpower and looked out to survey the terrace.

Soon, his eyes widened in shock.

'She's with someone. And...a man at that.'

Regis glared at the door.

He watched his daughter's every action — it looked like she was currently conversing with someone she was familiar with.

If he were to open the door right now and interrupt, it would be an act of breaking trust.

Not wanting to disappoint his daughter any more, Regis had no choice but to act cautiously.

'Yes, it would be better to just check who he is and then have a background check done on him.'

As Regis displayed the patience of a father, suddenly, the distance between the unknown man and his daughter started to grow smaller and smaller.

'How dare...'

Regis unconsciously clenched his fists.

As Juvellian faced the man and held his hands, it looked as if they were about to dance.

'Who dares to...with my daughter...'

After the incident with Mikhail, Regis made an effort to prevent any unworthy scoundrel from trying to come after his daughter.

Yet, the fact that someone was able to approach and lure his daughter under his own nose made Regis seethe in anger.

At that moment, he saw his daughter stumble and automatically flinched.

Fortunately, the man she was with quickly caught her, supporting her waist so that she didn't fall.

Although Regis sighed in relief, he also felt a bit strange.

The day his daughter had collapsed not too long ago, he had wished for it to only be a nightmare.

But the moment he saw his daughter not waking up from that terrible dream, he recognized the feeling engraved in his heart.

It was fear.

When she left his sight, he felt uneasy–afraid that she might collapse again.

However, thanks to the quick actions of the unidentified man with her now, his daughter was still safe.

'At least he has quick senses.'

He didn't want to admit it, but ultimately, Regis had no choice but to acknowledge the fact that even if he wasn't there, there was now someone else who could protect his daughter.