Irene stood in front of her father as she waited for his reply. The moment she finished her breakfast, she had gone searching for her father, hoping to convince him to allow her to see the festival.
But, just as Reyna had assumed, her father and their guest, Lucian, were deep in discussion when she knocked at the door to her father's study. Without any hesitation, Irene put forth her request before the old Duke, and now she was waiting for his consent.
Irene stared at him innocently, begging him silently through her round, beautiful eyes. She looked so pitiful that Seymour did not have the heart to reject her or any of her requests. It was the second time in years that his daughter had approached him with a request and he did not intend to disappoint her, not when his relationship with her was slowly improving.
"But, Sylvaine, how can I allow you to go alone? What if something happened to you again, just like yesterday?" Though Seymour did not wish to think bad, he could not stop himself from recalling what had happened to his daughter, and both the times when Sylvaine had lost consciousness, he had not been with her. Just the thought of his beloved daughter lying on the bed unconscious made him shiver in fright.
"Father, I am not going alone. Reyna will accompany me, and just like on the day of the opening ceremony, you can send two guards to keep an eye on me. With them around, nothing will happen to me. They will ensure my safety." Irene tried to reason out, but her father was still not convinced.
Now, she did not know what more to do to convince him. She was at her wit's ends and unknowingly, she looked at Lucian, who was watching the father and the daughter silently, listening to their conversation.
As soon as his eyes met hers, he flashed her a smile which she returned immediately. But, also, he did not miss the hope and helplessness in her eyes and immediately, he stepped forward.
"Your Grace, if you would not mind, I could accompany Lady Sylvaine to the festival." He offered and turned to look at the girl, who was visibly stunned by his words. She looked adorable and pretty, with her eyes gazing at him while her lips parted. He had the sudden urge to pat her head. But he controlled himself before he crossed his limits.
"With me protecting her, nothing will happen to her." He added and waited for the old Duke's response.
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"I think it might ease my worry a little if Lucian were to accompany you. My heart will be at peace to think that he is with you. Even if something like yesterday happened to you, Lucian would be with you to help you."
Though Sylvaine was uncomfortable with their guest following them to the festival, this was their only option. 'Father will not let me go without him. This is the best possible outcome.' She sighed softly before her lips curved up in acceptance.
"Thank you, Father. Rest assured, I will not make you worry for me again. And as Father said, with Sir McCoy accompanying me, no danger will befall me." Irene tried to appease her father, and it worked. He finally smiled at her and nodded at her in agreement.
"But you will have to wait until lunch. I will have to go to the castle after lunch. Until then, I have matters to discuss with Lucian. Will that be fine with you, Sylvaine?" Seymour looked at his daughter, who was grinning in joy. Her one smile was enough to appease his heart, and he had never felt this blissful before. He wished to see his daughter happy and smiling forever. He wanted to have her come to him for her smallest problems.
'And I wish you will not regain your memories forever and be as you are right now, Sylvaine.' So he thought to himself, hiding his guilty in his heart. All he wanted was to savor this happiness forever.
To Irene, this was an opportunity she had gained after a lot of begging. Even though she had to wait sometime before she could watch the festival, she did not mind it. "I will wait, Father. We can have lunch together before we leave."
Seymour nodded at her before she took her leave from the two men. However, before leaving, Irene did not forget to smile gratefully at Lucian, who was already looking at her. The unknown emotions swirling in his eyes stunned her. But she did not react and left the room after nodding at him curtly.
Reyna was waiting outside the study room and as soon as she saw her mistress walk out, she rushed to her. "Milady, what happened?" She tilted her head slightly, waiting to know what had happened inside.
Irene smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up, her action confusing Reyna immensely. She did not know what her mistress was doing. But she followed her movements.
"Father agreed to let us go out, Reyna. We will leave after lunch and Sir Lucian will accompany us." Irene revealed the plan to the girl, who still held her thumbs up, not knowing what it was and Irene too did not speak a word about it.
"This is great, Milady. Considering your health, I had assumed His Grace would not allow us to leave. I am sure you will love the festival, Milady."
"Let us see."
Irene gave her a hopeful gaze before walking towards the garden where she had seen the man with red eyes the previous night. Just like the previous day, she looked around the lawn to find anything that could help her prove that she was not hallucinating. But she found nothing. Even the guards did not know what she was speaking about, and eventually, Irene gave up.
All she could do was push the matter to the back of her head and forget about it. Instead, she now looked forward to the festival that Reyna was speaking about fascinatingly.