“I trust you’ve been well, Vivi? There isn’t anything I should be concerned about, is there?”

“Of course not, father. I’ve been having a lot of fun at the academy lately!” Viviane grinned. Though she’d certainly been bullied by Isabella Rosenhall and her friends, Viviane didn’t want to worry her father. Besides, she really had been having quite a lot of fun with Medrauta.

“‘Father?” Duke Castellia repeated in a despondent tone, the light in his eyes fading slightly. “That’s the second time you’ve called me that today... Since when were we so formal with each other, Vivi? Do you not like papa anymore?”

Viviane blushed, covering her face to hide her embarrassment. “I-I’m not a little kid anymore, father!”

“But... it was just a month ago that you still used to call me ‘papa’...”

“W-Well, a month can be a very long time! And we’re in public right now!”

“They grow up so fast...” Duke Castellia sighed. “Well, your father’s aching heart aside, who was the lovely noblewoman you were dancing with earlier? I didn’t recognize her, but it looked like she wanted to speak to me before she was dragged away by her friends.”

“Oh...” Viviane hesitated, not sure how to answer the question. Her father was unfamiliar with the situation on campus. Most parents were. More importantly, she wasn’t entirely sure what her father’s stance was when it came to lady-dame pairs.

Most nobles scoffed at the mere thought, and some even believed it to be an outright desecration of the legacy that Emperor Soleil had left behind. Viviane certainly didn’t want to deal with the aftermath if her father fell into the latter camp.

“What’s wrong? You’re not going to tell me that she was courting you, right?” Duke Castellia joked.

Viviane flinched. Based on Medrauta’s recent behavior toward her, it wouldn’t even be inaccurate to say that the knight really was courting her. Oh father... How can you be so perceptive even when you’re not trying...?

“...Wait.” Duke Castellia stared at Viviane, his keen eyes not missing a single facet of her reaction. “Are you serious, Vivi?”

“...She’s my knight, father. Her name is Medrauta.”

Duke Castellia remained silent after hearing that. His brows knitted together in a frown, and he looked as though he had fallen into a moment of deep contemplation.

Ah... He disapproves... Viviane lowered her gaze, dismay filling her heart. Her chest felt heavy and her breathing became shallow. She wanted to protest, to justify herself, to just say... something. Anything. As long as it served to stave off her father’s inevitable attempt to separate her from Medrauta, she didn’t care.

“Father, I—”

“So, when’s the wedding, Vivi? You’re not thinking of excluding your dear papa, are you?”

“H-HUH!?” Viviane had been so surprised by her father’s sudden question that she’d ended up shouting, and loud enough for most of the gala attendees to hear too. She’d been prepared to protest her father’s objection to her relationship with Medrauta, not... this!

Immediately, her cheeks took on a bright red shade and she hurried to cover her face as she sought to flee the scene, only to be stopped by the gentle touch of her father.

Duke Castellia laid his calloused hand on Viviane’s shoulder, drawing his daughter closer to him in an effort to act as a shield for her embarrassment. Under the steel of his glare, the crowd that had previously been staring due to Viviane’s outburst now quickly returned to minding their own business.

“...How did you know?” Viviane murmured into her father’s chest. “How did you know that I was...”

“In love with her?” Duke Castellia raised an eyebrow. “Vivi, I’m your father. I saw the way you embraced, and the way you looked at her. At first, I thought it might’ve just been a trick of the light. The two of you were close, and that was it. But when I made that joke... I guess your reaction simply told me the rest.”

Viviane sighed, disappointed with herself. As a noble, she really should do better at hiding her emotions. “...I think that’s enough about me, father. More importantly, I was worried about you, you know?”

“Hm? Why’s that? There’s been a bit of movement at the border lately, sure, but that’s just routine for Kaslavna. Though, I’m not sure why they’ve called me back.”

“Well, that’s exactly it, isn’t it?” Viviane said. “I thought you were supposed to be away for six months still. I mean, I’m glad to see you of course, but isn’t that...”

“Irregular?” Duke Castellia finished. “Indeed. It’s highly irregular, especially since Kaslavna likes sending their little skirmish parties disguised as bandits during the summer months. But I received an imperial order to return to the capital, so here I am.”

“Ah!” Viviane’s eyes lit up in understanding. “So that’s why you were with the princess earlier! The emperor must’ve had something he wanted you to pass to her, right?”

Duke Castellia shook his head, then glanced around before responding. “Let’s move to somewhere less crowded.”

“Hm? Okay.”

The duke took his daughter’s hand and scoured the room for a less populated area of the ballroom. Finding none, he escorted her up the mezzanine before ordering the imperial knights stationed there to prevent anyone from coming up.

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“So? What did the two of you talk about?” Viviane prompted. Technically, asking about what was clearly clandestine information in such a direct way was highly improper for a noblewoman, but Viviane’s interest was piqued, and her father didn’t care for formalities between them anyway.

“The emperor has been ill for the past week. He’s recovered now, but he couldn’t have sent that order. While the emperor is ill, the empress takes care of administrative duties, and the heir has a share of those as well.”

Viviane nodded, following along so far.

“Because of that, the heir is empowered to issue imperial orders in the name of the emperor, and so too is the empress. However, the empress has her own seal and her own authority. She would not need to invoke temporary powers to recall me with an order of her own.”

“Ah! So that’s why you came to the princess! Only the heir would need to use the emperor’s name to recall you!”

Duke Castellia shook his head. “Only half right.”

“Eeeh? What did I miss?”

“Why, I came to see my wonderful daughter, of course!”

Viviane grinned. “Well, I’m glad you did. I really missed you... papa.”

The duke’s expression had already been gentle as he gazed at his daughter, but now it became tender. He smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around Viviane, pulling her into a tight hug. He rested his head upon her shoulder, hiding his slightly misted eyes. “I really missed you too, Vivi. I... I wasn’t going to mention it for fear of worrying you, but this year, Kaslavna’s been pretty daring. Your papa had a few close calls, but... I’m here now.”

“...Yeah.” Viviane squeezed her arms around her father. She couldn’t see his face, but she could hear the shaking in his voice. Father must’ve really been scared...

Now that they were relatively alone, they’d left their masks behind. The duke was the general of the northern region and commander of the empire’s finest. He led the first line of defense against the hostile Kaslavna, and though he was a brave man, he was only a man. As a noble, he relied on his tactical acumen on the battlefield and the protection that his knight provided.

However, that knight was Lady Castellia, once a proud warrior who sat on the Round Table and now his wife. While it was a knight’s duty to protect their liege even at the cost of their own life, Duke Castellia would never allow himself to watch as his wife endangered herself for his sake.

For that reason, he had earned the epithet of ‘Death-Wish Duke’ thanks to his many borderline suicidal antics on the battlefield as he fought by Lady Castellia’s side and sought to protect her whenever he could despite the disparity in their strength. It was a strange dynamic that was only made possible thanks to Lady Castellia’s incredible martial skill.

But even that skill had a limit. Duke Castellia’s body was lined with battle scars, most of them earned as a result of attempting to fight with his wife. With the attacks from Kaslavna increasing in frequency and daring this year, he had genuinely worried for his own life.

When the two finally released their embrace, Viviane gave her father another quick hug before stepping back once more. “I hear mama is always worried about you, so... take it easy when you return, okay?”

Duke Castellia merely nodded. “...I can’t imagine how busy she must be right now without me, but I won’t be returning soon. I sent a letter, but it’ll take a while for it to reach her.”

“How long are you staying for?”

“Until the festival ends.”

Viviane’s eyes widened. “That long!? Will it be okay at the border? It’s just mama and the soldiers now, right?”

Duke Castellia shook his head. “The princess is already taking care of that. She’s sent a few nobles and their knights under my advice. Movement near the border has been increasing by the day. I would’ve liked to return immediately after seeing you, but... there are bigger problems here.”

Viviane didn’t like the grave tone that had leaked into her father’s voice. “Bigger problems...?”

The duke pressed his lips into a thin line. For a second, it looked as if he were about to avoid the question, but he relented. This was his daughter, after all. “The imperial order for my recall was unauthorized.”

“W-What!? Isn’t that high treason!? Who’d even dare...?”

“We don’t know. The princess has sent a messenger to the palace. They’ve no doubt reached the emperor by now, so we should see the inquisition mobilized by tonight. The order itself was official. The seal was not forged, and the parchment was genuine, which means that the culprit can only be someone in our midst. I’ll be staying to lead the investigation as per the princess’ wishes.”

“I see...”

Viviane couldn’t think of anyone who could possibly sneak into the princess’ chambers and use her seal to issue a genuine imperial order. She had visited the place before and it had been guarded both outside and within.

Duke Castellia could see that Viviane was already trying to come up with possible culprits in an effort to ease his investigation. With a smile, he gave his daughter a pat on the head. “No need to worry yourself over it, Vivi. Leave this one to the adults. Besides, the guards posted at her room never saw anything suspicious unless you count a few butterflies. I’m sure the insect kingdom won’t be too big of a threat for our empire.”

Viviane laughed. “...Alright. But don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

“Will do, Vivi.”

As the conversation around Kaslavna and a potential conspiracy came to a close, the two reminisced of old days and shared new experiences. While Viviane’s father regaled her with his tales from the battlefield, she spoke to him of her time here at the academy.

Viviane’s recounting of Medrauta’s noble sacrifice for the sake of shielding her from the beam that Galahad fired was moving enough for Duke Castellia to shed tears. Something told Viviane that her father would’ve done the exact same thing for her mother, a scenario which immediately took the top spot on her list of imaginary worries.

Before long, Viviane spotted Medrauta emerging from one of the side doors that led to one of many outdoor balconies attached to the ballroom. Sakura and Riku trailed close behind the knight, and they bid her farewell before wading into the crowd.

“Medrauta! Over here!” Viviane waved from atop the mezzanine. Strangely enough, she didn’t care that her voice carried easily across the venue and drew the stares of other attendees.

Medrauta smiled and waved back, making a beeline for the mezzanine stairs. The sea of people parted to make way for her, and she hastened her steps as she hurried to reunite with her lady.

When she finally reached the top, her smile only widened. Even though they hadn’t been apart for very long, Medrauta’s heart still ached for Viviane’s presence, and her eyes longed to meet with her lady’s.

“I’m back, Viviane.”

Viviane stepped forward and slipped her hands into Medrauta’s. “Welcome back, Medrauta.”

As the two gazed at one another warmly, their moment was rudely interrupted by the sound of a man clearing his throat loudly.

“Well, well, well,” Duke Castellia began, carefully modulating his voice into a deep and gravelly tone. He liked to believe it sounded threatening, but Medrauta just thought it made him sound parched. “If it isn’t the knight who thinks she can take my daughter’s hand in marriage.”

“...I’m sorry?” Medrauta stared at the duke blankly.

“Heh...” Duke Castellia was leaning against a pillar, his arms crossed. His gaze was fixed to a single point on the floor below him as if he were brooding. After a pause that he thought was dramatic, the duke lifted his head to stare at Medrauta with what he believed to be a cool-looking glare.

“Dame Medrauta, I challenge you to a duel.”