Another Life, Another Me

80. Hopeless Man

After a few hours of torture, I was finally properly dressed in a long white dress with a long navy blue shawl to compliment the look.

"You look absolutely stunning," the maids said.

Was the pain worth it though?

No.

As I carefully stepped into the front hall of the estate, I caught a glimpse of my father and Sophie flirting with one another as if there was no one else in the world besides the two of them.

Ahem.

I gave a small cough to grab their attention and to interrupt their PDA session.

"Greetings, Father. Greetings, Sophie. I have just finished-"

"Oh. My. God. An angel...?! HAVE I GONE INSANE?! MY SWEETIE IS AN ANGEL!!!" my father screeched as he dropped onto his knees dramatically and stared at me with wide eyes.

Even Sophie's eyes widened a little as she glanced at my attire.

"Of course Cordelia is beautiful! She's the precious princess I raised since childhood after all," Sophie huffed proudly as she stared at me with a bright twinkle in her eyes.

Geez...

What are these two talking about...?

"AGH! MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! MY DAUGHTER!!! MY SWEETIE!!! SHE'S TOO PERFECT!!!" my father cried as real tears flowed from his eyes as he rolled around on the ground.

"F-Father...! The Holy Priest will be here soon! What are you going to do if he sees you like this??" I asked as I tried to lift him from the ground.

But no matter what I did, my father did not budge and he stared at me with teary eyes as snot flowed from his nostrils.

"I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE HANDED YOU OVER TO THAT DUMB PRINCE!!! IF I COULD GO BACK IN TIME, I WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE THAT DEAL WITH THAT OLD GEEZER KING!" my father angrily yelled as he banged the ground with his hand.

"Father...! What in the world are you saying...!"

"AGHHH!!! MINE!!! MY SWEETIE SHOULD BE ALL MINE!!! AGHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Sophie gave a sigh as she watched her fiance behave childishly and I gave an awkward chuckle at her reaction.

Soon, a servant walked over to my father and whispered something in his ear quietly.

My father's expression changed from over-dramatic whining to complete seriousness so fast that I almost questioned my eyes.

"Ahem. The Holy Priest has just reached the front gates of our estate. He should be here in approximately five minutes or so," my father announced as he wiped away his tears and blew his nose on a clean handkerchief.

I nodded my head and turned my head slightly to try to catch a glimpse of familiar gray hair.

Ace was nowhere in sight.

"I promise I'll be back soon, Father. I'm going to go find Ace real quick," I murmured as I quickly took a few steps away.

"Wait...! Cordelia-"

But I had already left to go find out where my familiar was before my father could finish.

I quietly wandered the halls for a while as I tried to search for a glimpse of Ace.

Of course, I could have easily called for Ace by summoning him with the dragon's mark located on my ankle, but for some reason, I felt that I didn't need to.

"Ace," I called out as I walked through the halls, letting my intuition guide me toward him.

With every step I took, I could feel myself getting closer to where he was.