“Your Highness, Duke Leander requested for your audience.”

“Bring him in.”

His aide retired from the study room. After few rounds scribbling on the paper, his aide brought with him, Duke Leander, whom face was far from gentle.

Caesar beckoned Raynard to take a seat on the sofa, and instructed the maid to bring some tea and refreshment for them.

“I had not expected you to come to me this quickly,” Caesar commented as he rose from his seat and went to sit on the sofa opposite to Raynard.

“Was it you, Your Highness?”

“What about me?”

“Luka. The name of the mercenary in my daughter’s diary. That was your name when you were in your disguise.”

“Brendon must have done a great job.”

“I recruited my aide for his competency.”

“Is that why you never look at your daughter? Because she was not competent enough according to your standard?”

“Your Highness—”

“I only dare to say it because that was how it seem to me, listening to her story.”

“You do not know anything, Your Highness.”

“I might not know why you did what you did. But… I knew how she had lived her life for those nineteen years, alone. I knew how she felt. I knew she would never take her own life. She was someone who will persevere, in any trial and tribulation of life. That’s how she had lived after all.”

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“Have you any evidence?”

“There was a witness. One of my people, saw a person went to the dungeon where she was locked in, on the day that she took her own life. But there was no record of visitation.”

“Who was it?”

“It was a familiar person, thus the witness confirmed that they could not be mistaken.”

“Just spit it out.”

“Avery Geertz. The woman whom Eugene brought into his castle.”

Raynard scoffed. “I knew that woman was up to no good when I saw her. How dare, those impudent brat! That witness, was they trustworthy?”

“He was the eyes I sent to work in Eugene’s castle.”

“Your Highness… my daughter, do you truly cherished her?”

“More than anything else in this world, more than myself. I cherished her, adored her, and loved her with all of my emotions and logic.”

“Did she— how does she looked like?”

“The last time I met her was seven month ago, before departing to aid your troop. She was… cheerful and…” A smile formed on his expressionless face “…quite talented in cursing people.”

“…”

“Duke Leander, truthfully, I regretted going to the war as your aid. I regretted that I asked her to wait. Since, there was no one to protect her when I was away.”

“Your Highness. If you wanted to blame me, then you do not have to do it in such roundabout way.”

Caesar sneered. “How could I? You were my father-in-law. That would be such a blatant disrespect if I were the one to voice out my criticism on your way of education.”

“Father-in-law? Your Highness, you have not yet married my daughter.”

“We were engaged to each other.”

“…”

“Of course, it was between the two of us only. She did not write it down in her diary?”

“Either way, you do not have to blame yourself for her death. It was me, who failed to provide enough protection to my own daughter. I was the one who failed to provide her the safe environment for her to live, to grow.”

“What are you saying, Duke Leander. Of course that was your fault. I have no intention of spouting nonsense such as you hold none of the blame. You were the roots of her misery after all.”

“…”

“Anyway, was that all you wanted to say?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I still have another meeting after this. I would not send you off.”

Caesar stood up and walked out of his study room after grabbing a file of document in his hand.