My Life Is Your Undoing |WMMAP|

4. Who Wants To See Me?!

Unlike my mother, who was so consumed with thoughts of Claude that she didn't notice my missing tooth, Lily spotted the gap between my teeth the moment we stepped into the room.

Right now she's fussing over my mouth, asking me to gargle water and spit it out to get rid of the metallic tang.

"Your tooth dropped out in the emperor's palace?" Diana repeats. "Oh no! I was going to collect all your baby teeth!" she cries out.

"No, I have to go back and retrieve it," she mutters to herself, and begins to stalk towards the door purposefully.

I spit out the water into the cup hastily and pass it to Lily.

"Athy doesn't want Mama to go back there!" I blurt out. "You may see the scary man again!"

And this time there's no guarantee that your head won't go rolling on the floor like an armadillo!

Diana deflates. "Sweetheart, Mama told you that he's your father, not a scary man."

They're not mutually exclusive, I think snarkily.

"Please don't go," I beg instead. "Stay with Athy. Please?"

She succumbs, like I know she will. "Ah, alright, fine. But you have to give me your next tooth."

What is it with her and her obsession with my teeth?

I nod my head fervently.

"That means no more chocolate for you, Athy," Lily suddenly says in a stern tone.

Whaaaat?

"You don't want your teeth to grow misaligned and crooked, right?" She ruffles my hair. "So listen to me and refrain from eating sweets!"

Unfair!

I pout, but Lily is relentless. So under her watchful eyes, the next few days I am deprived of my lovely chocolate and candy. Every time one of the maids tries to sneakily pass me a sweet, Lily will appear from somewhere and yank them away, giving them an austere scolding.

It gets to the point that the maids start to avoid me, because they can't resist my puppy eyes, yet also don't want to be on the receiving end of one of Lily's infamous tirades.

"I know it's tough, but you have to learn to exercise restraint, Your Highness," Lily would say while stroking my head. "Over-indulgence is never good."

And thus, that is how three days pass by idly, with me futilely trying to acquire candies and Lily stopping all my attempts.

On the fourth day, however, when Lily is trying to force me to eat all my vegetables, someone raps on the door.

"Athy will answer it!" I dart away, hearing Lily sigh exasperatedly.

I push the door open, and blink at the man standing before him. His hair is crimson like the color of the setting sun, and his gentle eyes are a light silver. He drops to his knee so that we are at eye level.

"Greetings to the Star of the Empire," he murmurs.

Wow.

Don't stare at me like that! You are too dazzling and sparkling!

He tilts his head a bit curiously as I gape at him.

"Sir Robane," Lily abruptly materializes by my side, and she addresses Felix with surprise. And no small measure of wariness.

"May I inquire about the reason behind your visit?"

His eyes flicker to her hand, which is currently shoving me behind her protectively. Mom is tending to her garden right now, and Lily is clearly suspicious of Felix's arrival.