The Beloved One!

Chapter 14

Then she vanished within the blink of an eye.

But the second the mermaid had, Ashnah felt something in her right hand. She opened it to discover that it was one of the tiny sea shells that had decorated the mermaid's hair.

After exploring the depths of Lake Ariel, Anzor had taken them for a quick snack at a restaurant within Lake Ariel Plaza. It was a quick and short walking distance from the lake itself.

Ashnah was zoned out as she thought about the mermaid and the sea shell.

Ellen tapped the top of her daughter's nose using her index finger. "Ash, you have already drank all of the juice out of your cup."

Exiting from her thoughts, she voiced. "Oh!" This caused her to release the straw from her mouth. Ashnah noticed that the all of the juice that had been in the glass cup was gone, only the cubes of ice left behind.

"Do you want to ask for a refill?"

Ashnah shook her head. "No, mommy. That will be alright. I got trapped in my own world."

Ellen nudged her child's shoulder. "About?"

"While we were under Lake Ariel, I saw a mermaid. And she left this in my hand." Ashnah retrieved the small seashell, showing and handing it over to her mother.

"A mermaid?" Ellen repeated questioningly. She gazed at the seashell, trying to analyze it. She looked at it from multiple of angles.  "It definitely .... is a magical item. But .... it's strange .... very strange." Seeing that Anzor was coming back in, the brunette said and passed the small seashell back. "When we get back to Queen Milcah, I will give it a full examination and tell you the results."

"Ashnah." Anzor called, walking over to her.

"Yes daddy?" She turned, facing in him in her seat.

"Can you hold out your arm for me?" When Ashnah did, Anzor snapped a cute silver chain bracelet with a charm that looked exactly like the flowers they had saw on the surface of Lake Ariel hanging from it on his daughter's tiny wrist. "Do you like it?" He asked.

"I love it!" She commented. "Thank you!" Then she thought for a moment. "Daddy can you crouch down, please?" Ashnah asked.

A bit confused, he squatted down and his azure blue eyes widened at the unexpected action. His Ashnah kissed him on the cheek.

"A present in return for daddy!"

Ellen too was surprised by the kiss Ashnah had given the Archduke. The Ashnah that she gave birth to, raised and knew never got too close with anyone she had just met. But it was entirely different for when her daughter had met Anzor. It was like she already knew him and possessed a deep bond with him. 'Is it because of their blood? Did I wrong Ash ...by keeping her away from her father?' She glanced at Anzor then to Ashnah. 'By all the actions that she did over the past few days, she must have always wanted a father .... but never mentioned it to me. ... Mommy's sorry Ash.'

••••

The next place on their agenda was Maria's Palace. It was built four hundred years ago and belonged to the Cromwell Family. The Royal Family allowed for it to be turned into a tourist attraction about four years ago.

As they were touring the palace, Ellen noticed something off again. This time she was sure that it was not a coincidence. "Anzor, did you possibly rented out all the sites that we are going to visit?"

Breaking away from his chat from Ashnah, the Archduke answered. "I did."

Ellen sighed at this, holding the bridge of her nose. "Un-rent the rest of them."

Now that her mother had brought it to her attention, Ashnah did notice that there were no people around whatsoever. Even for when they had been to Lake Ariel and at Lake Ariel Plaza. The only people who had only been at the plaza were the workers. And there were not many of them.

Then she noticed a peculiar portrait up on the wall and headed over to it. The portrait was of a sword embedded in stone. 'Sword of Excalibur?' Ashnah jokingly thought, but she did not know why the work of art was pulling her in. The blade looked so real, that it seemed like it was ready to pop out of the painting.

"That's the holy sword which provides divine powers to it's wielder. It was said to be used for the purpose of defeating the great demon king." Anzor said as he stood behind her. "The last time the real holy sword was used was approximately eight hundred years ago. Because of that, no demons exist in this day and age."

Ashnah's eyes widened as she spoke in her mind. '.... Wait. Holy sword? Divine Power? Demons? Demon King?' The girl wondered if she was in the same otome game she had played.

The Beloved One! never mentioned such things. Then Ashnah suddenly recalled that the creator of the game was planning on making a sequel.

As the brunette thought about the new elements that were added to the storyline on and off, time flashed by fast as they finishing their excursions of the popular sites of Halcyone. Because there more places that were pleading to be visited, they had decided to rearrange their plans to stay for tonight and leave the next day.

••••

Seeing that Ashnah was asleep, Ellen kissed her cheek then got up. She exited their room and made her way to Anzor's study.

Recalling how Ashnah was with Anzor, Ellen had decided that she would throw away her pride and past grievances for tonight. This was something involving her daughter. Her pride - that was nothing compared to Ashnah's happiness. And her deceased parents and siblings - sadly there was nothing she could for them now. She would listen to whatever explanations or excuses Anzor had been trying to say to her that day.

Before she could even knock, Anzor said. "It is open. You can come in." He had sensed her mana signature. Ellen during the day had said that she wanted to have a proper talk with him.

She took a deep breath then walked in, closing the door behind her. "I have come to hear and listen to what you wanted to say that day."

Anzor pulled out two bottles of wine. "This wine is a truth serum for me to drink and this one is your favourite." He poured the wine that was truth serum into a glass. "You can do an examination on it, to make sure that I am telling the truth as I give my explanations."

After her inspection, she nodded and took a seat in front of Anzor. Ellen slid the wine filled glass back to him.

Pouring a cup of Ellen's favourite wine for her, he stated. "It is going to be a long night."

And it was.

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Not the author who likes to drag on misunderstandings.