Father, I Won’t Do Anything

* * *

Only white filled her vision. Flower petals fluttered in the gentle breeze.

A subtle fragrance tickled her nose.

The garden full of Leshanne flowers wasn’t unfamiliar.

Jaina walked the path she had taken eight years ago, following Diamid.

“This is the place.”

After walking for some time, an exceptionally large Leshanne flower tree caught her eye.

Below the tree roots, a large wooden box had been dug up from the ground. Jaina bent down and opened the lid of the box.

‘This is…’

Jaina’s expression hardened as she confirmed the sender and recipient of the letters inside the box.

“This is where memories of your mother are buried. I wanted to show you.”

Even the smallest items in the box emanated magic. Diamid had cast preservation spells and regularly infused them with magic.

Only then did Jaina understand why Diamid had reacted so sensitively when she entered the White Garden as a child.

He must have been worried about her discovering Bezrice’s belongings.

‘But didn’t Father hate Mother back then?’

She couldn’t imagine what feelings he must have had while creating this garden and spending time standing by this tree.

As if reading Jaina’s mind, Diamid began to explain.

“In this garden full of Leshanne flower trees that Bezrice loved, I reminded myself of her and tried to keep myself together. That I must never waver, never let anyone close. That I couldn’t be betrayed again.”

“…”

“But it was just words. Even while saying I hated Bezrice, in truth I couldn’t forget her. I didn’t want you, Bezrice’s daughter, to see such an unsightly side of me…”

Though they had only been in the White Garden for a short while, their robes were already covered in white petals.

Jaina stared at them wordlessly for a moment before speaking.

“How do you feel now? Is it painful?”

“Why she lied to me and tried to leave my side. Sometimes I resent your mother, but…”

Diamid gazed at the white petals floating hazily in the air and spoke quietly.

“I feel pathetic that I couldn’t give her enough trust for her to rely on me.”

“She probably didn’t think that way. She just… didn’t want to hurt you, Father.”

Dragon and human.

Bezrice and Diamid were so different.

Bezrice likely hoped that Diamid would forget her and make a fresh start.

“When I think of the years you were persecuted by the Black Night clan…”

“Mother even made my relatives swear. She never imagined they would so ruthlessly turn their backs on her daughter who had sacrificed herself as the clan’s representative.”

“But even after that, I…”

Diamid started to continue but shook his head. He approached Jaina, gently embraced her, and said:

“No, I didn’t bring this up to seek comfort from you. If your mother is watching from somewhere, I want to swear before Bezrice. That I will live the rest of my time for you.”

“Father…”

The reason he still kept the maple leaf bookmark he had seen with Bezrice, and stored memories of her in a box until now.

It meant that Diamid still longed for Bezrice even now.

“The time I spent with your mother was too short.”

Diamid added:

“Though it’s late, I want to spend a lot of time with you. If you don’t find me bothersome.”

Jaina asked playfully:

“Do you really think that?”

“…I hope not.”

Gone was his cold demeanor; Diamid was now excessively gentle with Jaina, as if atoning for his past mistakes.

Perhaps because of this, a mischievous thought popped into Jaina’s mind.

-After meeting you, it feels like my old self has disappeared somewhere.

As Diamid had said, his frozen heart had already thawed because of Jaina.

Since he wasn’t originally cold-natured, his former gentle disposition might return depending on how Jaina acted from now on.

Beep beep-

While Jaina was lost in thought, a sound came from the communication crystal.

“I thought I said not to contact me when I’m with Jaina.”

—W-well, Tower Lord. His Majesty the King of Neirald Kingdom urgently requested to speak with you. He said he needs magic devices right away. There’s a civil war in the kingdom…

“Why should I cater to the whims of some king?”

His handsome lips twisted as he cut off the words mercilessly.

“Whether that man is ousted from the throne or the kingdom is reduced to ashes is none of my concern. Don’t contact me again.”

“…”

Feeling Jaina’s gaze, Diamid hurriedly turned off the communication crystal.

“Father, I’m not sure, but wasn’t that important?”

“You are the most important thing to me.”

Diamid calmly changed the subject as if nothing had happened.

“By the way, Jaina. If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear you play the harpsichord again after so long…”

“Ah, I’ve been meaning to ask, did you hear Mother play the harpsichord often?”

“No, I only heard Bezrice play once. And that was by chance.”

As he said this, Diamid wore a rather lonely expression.

“Perhaps the reason I had you play the harpsichord was because I still felt regret about that. Maybe I wanted to see Bezrice in you… While outwardly rejecting you, I needed an excuse to seek you out.”

Only then did Jaina feel like a long-standing question was answered.

She had been curious why Diamid had insisted on her playing the harpsichord, but hadn’t dared to ask for fear of hurting him.

“You accepted it now, but Bezrice even gave Elia a necklace containing her own performance…”

Jaina tilted her head.

His tone seemed to have a hint of displeasure.

“Father, were you perhaps jealous of Princess Elia?”

“Haah…”

Diamid brushed back his bangs, avoided her gaze, and answered:

“Yes, I was even jealous of her female friends. I didn’t want Bezrice’s gaze to fall on anyone else.”

“Wow.”

“…Still, Bezrice taught me a few codes using the harpsichord that only I knew.”

Recalling how Diamid had her play the harpsichord saying he needed to check something, Jaina said:

“I was curious what that ‘something to check’ was. What did the ones you knew mean?”

Diamid hesitated before answering.

“It’s nothing special, really.”

“So what are those not-so-special few things?”

Diamid hesitated, then hummed a short melody.

Jaina’s eyes widened, not expecting Diamid to sing himself.

She had always thought his voice was low and cold, but surprisingly, his singing voice was warm and gentle.

Diamid hesitated a little before saying:

“This melody means… ‘I love you, Diamid.'”

“Wow.”

After a moment, Jaina clapped slowly.

“I thought only Father was a romantic, but Mother was a romantic too. To think someone like Father had such a sweet romance…”

“What do you mean ‘someone like Father’?”

Glancing sideways at Jaina, Diamid continued while staring into space:

“If I had known we would part so soon, I would have told her I loved her more often. I regret it. When you fall in love someday, you’ll understand how I feel.”

There was a hint of composure in Diamid’s voice as he said this. It was because he was confident there were no men around Jaina.

Diamid hoped to continue living like this, bickering with his daughter.

But…

“Oh, come to think of it, I didn’t tell you. Father, I actually agreed to date Rosian.”

Unlike Jaina’s casual reply, Diamid was shocked as if the sky had split in two.

“Rosian…?”

Diamid’s voice trembled. But Jaina didn’t seem to notice at all and shrugged nonchalantly.

“Did you forget his name? The Crown Prince. Princess Elia’s son.”

“That’s not why I’m asking.”

He had known about the confession from last time…

He also knew the two had eventually met despite all the interference…

He had pretended not to know because Jaina hadn’t said anything after meeting Rosian.

He also felt guilty about secretly interfering with Rosian behind Jaina’s back.

But for them to be dating? Mikael’s face flashed through Diamid’s mind, remembering how he had boasted that Jaina would only trust him.

A trembling voice escaped through his clenched teeth.

“Why that guy…”

“Even knowing I’m part dragon, Rosian didn’t mind at all. And he worked hard to wield his sword to protect me…”

Jaina earnestly listed Rosian’s good points, but none of it registered in Diamid’s ears.

He looked at his lovely daughter before him with shaking eyes.

Jaina’s shy demeanor was quite shocking to him.

“I don’t like that guy.”

“Huh? Why?”

“He looks too much like a pretty boy. A man should have a more solid feel.”

“That means he’s handsome, right?”

“He seems too tall.”

“That’s better than being short.”

“He doesn’t seem sincere towards you…”

“Even though he came to save me at the risk of his life?”

Diamid continued to protest for a long time after that, saying he didn’t like this and that about Rosian.

“For example, someone who could face me with just one finger.”

Jaina couldn’t believe her ears for a moment.

“What did you just say? That’s impossible for anyone on earth!”

“That’s why I’m saying it has to be someone who can make the impossible possible. Bring someone better than your father.”

“My goodness… Why don’t you look for a human who can lay eggs instead?”

“That would be good too. I heard childbirth is extremely painful for dragons.”

Unless Jaina was a fool, she couldn’t help but realize he was just making excuses.

“It’s not like the one who is dating him is Father anyway. As long as I like him, that’s all that matters, right?”

Diamid seemed at a loss for words and kept his mouth shut for a while, then asked Jaina:

“Do you like me or that guy better?”

“Father. That question is really childish.”

The pleasant atmosphere until now had turned cold. If it were someone else, they would have bowed their heads several times in fear of going against Diamid’s wishes, but Jaina was the only person in the world who didn’t need to be wary of Diamid.

“I’ll be going now. You said you were busy today, so rest.”

“Jaina.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”

Jaina thought that was the end of it. She believed that in the end, he would have to follow her wishes as the person concerned.

However, the next day, when Jaina went to see Diamid, she couldn’t help but wear a bewildered expression.

“He’s nowhere to be found in the Magic Tower?”

“A letter was left. Saying he’d return when you break up…”

Jaina was at a loss for words after seeing Diamid’s letter handed to her by Mikael.

[It’s difficult for me to accept your wishes right now. In my eyes, that Crown Prince is not a suitable match for you.]

No wonder her steps had felt heavy all the way back to her room.

Jaina clenched her fist.

What kind of father runs away from home because his daughter won’t listen?