The Author's Will

43 | Mirrored Blades

　　 Midnight stars dotted a velvety sky, as the moon's pale glow coated the world in faint silver light. With his room illuminated only by a single incandescent oil lamp - which flickered generously across the elaborate walls, Rudien sighed softly as his eyes continued to focus on the paperwork in front of him.

His temples were beginning to throb from all the requests that had piled up from the people in his territory. Since the Cherlianns ruled the Northern area of Laydel, majority of its affairs were taken care of by Rudien himself. Although the other dukes tended to split the work between their vassals, Rudien thought of this as inefficient. He trusted few nobles, knowing how greedy they could be.

Of course, his own refusal to let others take care of the work, resulted in him becoming swamped with matters to deal with. Although accustomed to this busy lifestyle, he often would forget to take care of himself. And that was exactly why Irene happened to knock on his door that night, peeping her little head around the entrance of his bedroom, as she smiled at her father who was still working.

I knew it. He's not been sleeping at all... She wanted to sigh, remembering her workaholic father was like this even while she was a baby. And the only times he would seem to relax, was when Irene or Sarah were around.

But Sarah was busy with handling her own matters as Duchess - so Irene felt it would be best for her to stay with her father again.

"Papa, is it okay if I sleep here for tonight?" She asked him, and Rudien smiled softly.

"Of course, I'd enjoy the company." He stood up from his chair, watching as Irene closed the door behind her and leapt onto his plush bed. It was twice the size of her's, and the mattress was a little bit rougher, but it was still as luxurious to sleep on as her own.

"We should sleep together!" She beamed, tucking herself under the covers and patting the space next to her. Although she wasn't too bothered about whether he slept beside her or not, Irene was worried for Rudien's health, if he was running on no sleep. When she surveyed his face, she could see the bags under those crimson eyes. It looked as if he had gone three whole days with very little sleep.

She wasn't one to enjoy acting like a child, but if it was for the betterment of her dear father, she was willing to do anything.

Rudien smiled softly, setting down his pen and making his way over to her. He was dressed loosely in his night robes, and Irene could see the structure of her father's abs exposed - littered with faint scars and marks of war, yet still strong and endearing.

As expected of the strongest man in Laydel.

"I'm afraid I still have a lot of work to do," he told his daughter, laying beside her on the bed and tenderly swiping the stray hairs from her face. "But I'll stay beside you until you fall asleep, how does that sound?"

Oh Father, you're so cute.

I'm not here to sleep, I'm here to put you to sleep.

Irene huddled up to Rudien's body, wrapping her little arms around his large torso as if he were a teddy bear. He was rather surprised by the gesture, but reluctantly held her back. It would've been difficult to get out of this position without waking her up later, but since her action caused his heart to melt, he decided to stay this way for a while.

The sweet smell of her hair somehow calmed his nerves down, allowing Rudien to relax and let down his guard for once.

"Papa, tell me about the war," Irene smiled, gazing up at him expectantly. "I'd like to hear your stories."

He smiled lightly, rather pleased she was so interested in him. As Rudien closed his eyes, he began to pet her hair gently with his large, slender hands - as if she were a little animal. "Hmm... There isn't much to say, it was a total victory on our part," he began. "We conquered Izadel, but they had hired soldiers from the neighbouring kingdom of Grissa to increase their numbers. Of course, following their defeat, the Grissain people immediately surrendered as well."