Layla's childhood was as ordinary as a daughter's whose mother had passed away early in her life could be. Growing up surrounded by a dominant presence of male figures in her life, she turned into a strong, courageous individual, prepared to tackle...
"But Father, this isn't even the first time th–Wait. What did you say?" Layla asked. She slowly turned around, her brows furrowed as she glared at her father with her arms crossed. "Morrie is scared of me shooting at a raisin? How do you know about this?" she asked suspiciously.
Realizing his slip-up, Sir Dunkin's eyes widened. "Oh! I just... um... took a lucky guess? Yeah, that's right! Just a lucky guess! Ha ha," Dunkin answered hesitantly, trying his best not to have her figure out the truth.
Yet, Layla knew her father was lying. He was never particularly good at doing so, especially when it came down to lying to her. "Well, since I can't find Morrie, I guess you could come with me, Father! And as far as I know, you've trained me perfectly, haven't you? Therefore you probably aren't even scared of me aiming at a raisin placed on your head!" she countered with a big, cunning smile plastered on her face. "Shall we?"
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The Royal Mark : CHAPTER TWO
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Sir Dunkin looked around himself with eyes wide as if he'd been told by the Grim that his days were over. Knowing there was no other way to get out of this as Layla always got things her way, he sighed loudly, shaking his head.
He slowly made his way behind the front counter, and looked down at an equally frightened Morrie. "Morrie, you may get up now."
The young boy opened his mouth to protest, but Sir Dunkin payed him no heed as he turned his attention towards Layla. Trying to appear serious, he frowned at his daughter and told her, "Layla, you cannot, under any circumstance, do something as dangerous as using a raisin as a target while practicing archery with Morrie.
"He's still a child, and I don't want him to return home with a missing eye or worse. He'll accompany you as always, but I need your word to confirm that he will be out of danger," he said, crossing his arms.
Layla rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed, but still nodded, knowing that her father could easily confiscate her bow and arrows if she disobeyed his orders.
Sir Dunkin nodded in return and shifted his gaze downwards. "Morrie, I said get up," he repeated. "He'll join you in a bit, Layla. I need his help for a while, and he'll be right there once we're done."
