Lottie's Ship Wish

CHAPTER 6

"Please give this to his highness, the Crown Prince." Anthony passed a small envelope to his coachman which that person accepted with a bow.

"It expresses my sincerest apologies for not attending today because--" His eyes moved to Lottie's direction who was currently eating to her heart's content inside a famous tea shop.

"--something needed my urgent attention." He brought his eyesight back to the coachman and smiled before his attendant left. After that, Anthony had the chance to observe his surroundings, something he picked up out of necessity and training.

His appearance and the girl's way of eating were attracting attention more than he liked mostly from the noble ladies.

Their stares were causing Anthony to feel suffocated, but he tried to mask it with the best of his abilities. After all, no one should know. Nobody.

However, no matter how good Anthony was at hiding, Lottie noticed his discomfort. She would notice regardless because she knew her father better than anyone else thanks to the novel. After the rape incident, Anthony Reynesford developed a severe fear of women to the point, just stares from them make him sweat and tremble. What's more if a lady touched him?

In spite of that, he still needed to socialize and talk to everyone like nothing happened to him; pushing all his trauma that Lottie's mother caused because he was born Blessed. Blessed like him had no luxury of crying and trembling in their own fears because they were people's heroes. They must always stay the source of hope for everyone.

Seeing her father's fear firsthand, Lottie couldn't help but despise her birth mother more.

'I never thought I would be so happy she died,' she thought to herself after finishing her strawberry short cake.

"Dad, can we go now?" she asked.

"Right now?" Anthony's attention drifted back to her, slowly forgetting the stares of the people like Lottie intended to.

"Yes, the doctor said it would only take two hours. It's been two hours and one minute!"

"Oh." Anthony chuckled softly from her accurate "time" answer. "You're right. We mustn't let the physician wait for us any minute further."

His smile almost made Lottie drooled, but she held herself back. She couldn't give him any weird impressions of her. Nevertheless, she was happy her father got distracted from the stares.

"Let's go! Time is gold!" She jumped out of her chair and walked like a soldier out of the tea shop and Anthony followed her behind with a small smile.

They walked back to the Doctor's clinic, yet unlike Lottie's expectation, only her father was called inside the main room, while she had to wait in the lounge together with the nurses whispering and murmuring at each other as they glanced at her.

During her wait, the interaction between the doctor and Anthony happened. They were both sitting in front of each other and just one wooden table separating the two of them.

Right now, Anthony was holding a piece of paper and the Physician was looking at him with gloom expression.

"As you can see, your Grace, that child is yours," he said very carefully.

Anthony's hands trembled and his breathing became erratic even so, he placed the paper down on the table gently.

"I-Is it accurate? I heard it's just new and anomalies might be possible..."

"Yes, anomalies are possible, but I repeated it countless times, the test always gave back one result. You are the father."

After hearing that, Anthony fell silent and closed his eyes. The physician sensed he's calming himself from the sudden news he acquired. This scenarios like these, doctors like him usually didn't care about the parents' reaction, maybe a little bit towards the child; but he was used now seeing nobles having illegitimate children here and there.