Lark stood still, looking dazed, then quickly approached Navia.
"Little one?"
"……."
"Not playing with dad? That's a lie, right?"
"……."
"Are you upset? Huh?"
Navia continued down the stairs without acknowledging him, her slippers squeaking with each step.
"Dad did that because he finds you cute……. Those slippers are cute and lovely on you. I even thought it'd be great if you wore them at your coming-of-age ceremony! Really."
"……."
That was the worst thing to say.
"Navia, please look at dad."
Squeak-squeak-.
"Navia-. Dad's dying here."
Squeak-squeak-.
"……Ugh!"
Suddenly, Lark slumped down, holding onto the stair railing.
Could it be, another fracture…!
"Dad!"
Navia rushed up the stairs, grasping Lark tightly.
'White Moon!'
But White Moon was silent.
Then Lark, who had been bowing his head, slightly lifted it. He looked too calm and his complexion too healthy.
Navia, not understanding the situation for a moment, realized that Lark was pretending to be in pain when he suddenly grinned and lifted her in a 'gotcha' hug.
"Finally, you look at dad."
Fortunately, it wasn't a fracture.
But Navia felt her body cool down and then warm up again with blood flowing. Then she became angry.
"You pretended to be in pain."
Lark made a pitiful face.
"No, I really was in pain. In my heart."
"I thought dad was in pain again… that you were really hurting…"
Squeeze-.
Unintentionally, Navia gripped Lark's shoulder tightly.
…I felt like crying.
Tears quickly filled her large eyes, her sorrowful, crumpled expression vividly showing her shock.
"Navia?"
Lark was prepared to be hit by his daughter, but he hadn't expected tears.
"I was so scared…"
Thump.
Tears fell down the round cheeks of his daughter. Lark felt terrible.
Oh. This is bad.
He begged Navia for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry, Dad is. Okay? I was wrong. I'll never, ever do that kind of prank again."
"……."
"Navia, can't you just forgive me this once? Please… I'm sorry. Should I write a pledge? Yeah, let's write a pledge."
"……."
"I'll do anything, just please don't cry… Hit me. Punch me, please."
Lark begged Navia to kick him and pull his hair, saying his lifelong wish was to be hit by her.
"Call me garbage. I am garbage."
Navia spoke through her sobs.
"Sniff… You're so annoying…"
…He did tell her to call him garbage, but he didn't expect to actually be scolded.
He had assumed Navia, always so proper, wouldn't use such harsh words.
Lark was honestly a bit shocked to be just called annoying.
But right now, he was the sinner. He would've felt it wasn't enough even if he spent three days and nights performing penance in front of Navia's bedroom.
"Right, I'm an annoying guy."
Navia didn't stop there.
"Childish, not acting your age… Sob, you're even more of a fool than me."
"Fool? The idea that I, a member of the elite from Eseled, home to the greatest magic geniuses in the world, could be a fool…”
"…You're right. Everything you said is right. I'm foolish."
If his daughter was a fool, then he was a fool.
"That startled me…"
Navia was of a resilient nature. It was easier for her to sever emotions with the precision of a knife than others.
But now, her sorrow was uncharacteristically lingering, beyond her own comprehension.
Had she not known what a rift was, she wouldn’t have been trembling so minutely in shock.
But Navia had directly experienced being shattered into pieces by a rift.
She knew all too well the pain that could nearly cost her life.
Moreover, Lark was an irreplaceable presence in her life, a father she met only on the ninth attempt.
She never wanted to lose him.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
Lark kept patting Navia’s back, repeating his apologies hundreds of times. If he could go back five minutes, he surely would.
Navia hugged Lark tightly, calming herself down with her legs dangling in the air.
Squeak-.
Then, she stretched Lark's cheeks outwards.
"…What?"
"What?"
"You said to hit you."
Lark made a silly face, realizing. Hmm. She's really doing it.
It wasn't painful, but it was surprising. Navia let go of Lark's cheeks and said,
"And write a pledge. Not on paper, but a magician's contract."
Lark looked at Navia blankly.
"…Is this a joke?"
Navia replied coldly.
"No."
My daughter, I knew she was sharp, but this is something else… No loopholes…
Lark glanced at his fingers, suddenly feeling a bizarre premonition that they might become scarce.
Charlotte, who had been quietly observing everything, thought to herself.
'So this is what a father without any sense looks like.'
In her eyes, it seemed Lark would never win against his daughter.
Lark made a magician's contract, vowing 'never to feign illness again.'
"Is it okay now? Have you forgiven me?"
Lark asked, tilting his head down, looking utterly pitiable.
'Feel sorry for your dad, okay? Please, pity your dad.'
His eyes and expression blatantly begged for sympathy.
If he had puppy ears, they would surely be drooping in defeat.
Navia sighed deeply.
"…Let's quickly go to the dining room. Duke Vladina is waiting."
"Okay. But have you forgiven me?"
Lark was quite persistent.
From the moment tears welled up, what filled Navia’s heart wasn’t anger.
The predominant feeling was relief.
However, it seemed unfair to leave her father, who seemed to take pranking as his life's work, alone.
Navia narrowed her eyes.
"Is that important?"
"The most important thing in the world…"
As Lark responded dejectedly, Navia shook her head in disapproval.
Pretending to be weak only made her heart more vulnerable, so she focused harder on appearing pitiable.
However, the real issue was that her heart was genuinely weakening.
"It's resolved."
"Really?"
Nod.
"Then you'll talk with Dad and play together?"
Another nod.
Lark quickly shed his gloomy expression as if he had never been downcast. To an onlooker, he might have seemed like a lottery winner.
Charlotte observed this and mused to herself about the nature of fatherhood.
* * *
After some difficulties, they finally reached the dining area on the first floor. Erkin was already there.
Stepping down from Lark's embrace, Navia greeted Erkin with a bright smile and proper manners.
"Did you sleep well, Lord Erkin?"
Erkin's heart had been restless and anxious since the day before.
But receiving Navia's sunny smile and warm greeting strangely calmed him.
'She really does resemble my sister.'
With a smile tinged with sadness and joy, Erkin responded.
"Yes. Did you sleep well, Navia?"
Erkin stood up and greeted Lark as well.
"Good morning, Lord Lark."
Lark felt somewhat awkward around Erkin, his beloved's younger brother.
After all, he had significantly impacted Camilla's life.
Because of him, she died.
That guilt weighed on him, subtly calming his demeanor.
"Did you find everything comfortable?"
Margaret, who was coming out of the kitchen to help with meal preparations, was startled by her master's unusually normal question.
How could Erkin know that his lord was not one to ask such questions?
Oblivious to this, Erkin answered with a gentle smile that matched his handsome features.
"It was a comfortable night, thanks to your care."
Lark averted his gaze.
'Damn, he looks too much like Camilla.'
"Then I'm glad to hear that."
Lark grumbled to himself.
Could the Vladina family's genes be specially configured? Everyone resembles each other so strikingly, even my own daughter.
Meanwhile, Erkin had already shifted his gaze from Lark to Navia.
His expression hesitated before he knelt on one knee, bringing his eyes level with Navia's.
His arms, tinged with reluctance, opened slightly.
"May I hug you?"
Navia felt a twinge in her heart.
She could tell from Erkin's face how much he had tossed and turned last night, how much he might have cried.
How deep was the void of losing a family member?
Navia, seeing Erkin's sad smile resembling her own, instinctively moved towards him.
Squeak! Squeak!
However, she had completely forgotten that she was still wearing squeaky slippers from being carried by Lark...
She wished she could disappear just a little.
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