‘After waking from the dream, I had gone to the garden.’

The day Vlady Akkad Tzepes dreamed of Daphne was the day he heard the miraculous news that his daughter had opened her eyes from her comatose state.

However, he had no desire to see his daughter.

No, it would be more accurate to say he wanted to avoid her.

He feared that the moment he saw the child, all the past sufferings would come back to life.

Wandering alone in the rose garden, Vlady continuously repeated to himself,

He must never give his heart to his daughter.

Sometimes, hatred and indifference are the best ways to forget the pain.

But the moment he saw the baby’s face cradled in the arms of Sione, who had trespassed into the garden, Vlady’s resolve evaporated.

Eyes round and exactly like Daphne’s, a cute and flat nose, and lips that were tightly shut, seeming stubborn just like her.

His daughter was much more adorable than he had thought, and it almost felt like his companion had reincarnated and returned as a baby.

‘But… something was odd.’

Vlady had seen his daughter for the first and last time fifty years ago.

He distinctly felt that her soul hadn’t properly settled into her body.

The vessel that held the soul, her body, was in perfect condition, but the soul that should move it was unstable, making her fall into a sleep.

Under normal circumstances, she should have died immediately after birth, but she had instinctively gone into a comatose state, barely clinging to life.

That’s why, when he heard she had awakened, he thought she would soon breathe her last.

If she had remained asleep, she would have at least preserved her life, but waking up meant she didn’t have enough strength to maintain her body.

However, everything defied Vlady’s expectations.

His daughter, whom he saw with his own eyes, had an incredibly strong soul, and he even felt an endless potential emanating from her small body.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

He felt an energy from the baby’s soul that was strikingly similar to Daphne’s.

‘No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.’

Vlady blinked his large eyes, looking at the baby who was staring directly back at him, recalling the sleeping baby he had seen fifty years ago.

He had felt a similar sensation back then, but it wasn’t as clear, perhaps due to his demonic influence.

He was utterly confused.

He felt a strong blood connection, yet also sensed an inexplicable alien energy.

In the end, Vlady decided neither to ignore his daughter nor to actively involve himself with her.

The fear he had long concealed was too great to easily accept the existence of his daughter he had long ignored.

In fact, the suspicious feeling he got whenever he looked at his daughter became a good excuse for Vlady.

It was virtually a means to effectively avoid the inevitable pain and suffering he would experience if he truly loved someone again.

Emerging from his lengthy contemplation, Vlady turned his eyes away from the window filled with radiant memories and looked toward the balcony.

And he opened his mouth toward his subordinate who was still giving him a look that begged for an explanation.

“Elga told me she would find a way to restore Princess Bella’s body to normal soon. Meaning, it won’t matter much even if we leave the Rose Palace.”
“No, you’re saying you already knew that the princess is suffering from magical exhaustion?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know what’s happening in my own palace?”

“Then you should have helped sooner! The royal storehouse must be filled with medicines that are good for the body.”

“Why should I? I’ve never sent gifts when my other children were sick. You know that.”

At a loss for words, Valtor tore at his healthy hair, murmuring that it was better to die than to be sick.

I had never felt my liege, who always said fairness must prevail in everything, to be so cruel.

“Anyway, after the princess recovers, I plan to lift the closure and remove all external activity restrictions. That should instill some caution in the nobles who side with Wilhelm.”

“You plan to use Princess Bella… as a pawn to keep the elders and the nobility in check?”

“You’re not as stupid as you look, Valtor.”

“But the princess currently has no backing force. If she’s exposed like this, she will surely be exploited by someone. If you, my Lord, would just give some proper assistance…”

“I have no intention of cooperating with the princess. It’s no different than before.”

“My Lord! That’s too harsh!”

“There’s one other thing, though. I will grant the princess the right to compete as the next Lord.”

So, Vlady’s words meant that he would grant Bella the freedom to act but wouldn’t provide any support.

Vlady was curious how far the child who even brought the hero of the kingdom, who vowed never to come down from the mountain, back to the capital could grow.

And if she manages to come close to the throne by her own power, then perhaps he could acknowledge Bella a bit.