He, who made you a princess

Chapter IV

     ~ workings of a curse ~

     The day went on as usual in the palace. Claude attended to his duties and Athanasia worked on land improvement at court. They had tea in the afternoon, and ate dinner together in the evening at the Emperor's Palace.

Lucas' entire day absence is nothing new to either of them, or anyone else in the Imperial Palace. As a wife, this didn't bother Athanasia at all. After all, such behavior is normal to Lucas since way before.

She was positive he wasn't cheating on her, and honestly, she'd be more bothered if her dad was the one always absent.

At the same time, Claude was actually secretly glad that Lucas would be away doing whatever for the entire day, sometimes even days in a row.

This way it doesn't seem like much has changed even after their marriage. He felt like he won against Felix's premonitions.

And just like this, the day ended and nighttime came.

Athanasia looked at her father sitting on a chair by the balcony window. A small lamp illuminated his golden hair and made his jeweled eyes gleam in hues of greens and blues.

On his hand was a book he pretended to read. Athanasia wondered... this may be very strange to normal girls her age. They would probably cringe at the sight of her and her father's relationship.

Weren't girls her age supposedly hostile towards their father? Grossed out by their affection, if there is any, and annoyed just by their presence? But Athanasia can never be sure.

After all, she didn't even have anyone in her past life. She was all alone, and Claude was her very first and only father ever.

Sometimes it annoyed her that Claude seem to think of her as forever being a little child. But it also made her happy. Tonight, Lucas didn't come home, and this was why Claude was sitting here, pretending to be engrossed in his book.

"Dad, you haven't turned the page at all in 30 minutes."

Athanasia said softly and Claude grimaced.

"I'll go to you if the nightmare comes and I wake up. Go back and rest."

"Sleep and be quiet. It's because you keep talking that I have to keep rereading the same passages over and over..."

Claude slumped further on the chair and huffed lightly, finally turning the page.

"Dad, you're so silly."

Athanasia giggled softly.

     "Good night then daddy."

Claude smiled.

.
.

...at the real Black Tower

Lucas simply looked down on his hand placed atop the open window. The first time a nightmare caused his wife's mana to move erratically, he begun his investigation right away.

At first he figured it might be due to the intense emotions accompanying the nightmare. But it was more than that. It wasn't a curse dealt through black magic, but a curse conjured up through forbidden magic. Similar to erasing one's emotions.

The power of the curse take root at the person's very soul. Deep, deep within them. It looks for anything to use as a means to bring fall to its victim. This was it. It found a fragment of

Athanasia's fears, not even from her own life here, but the lives of many of herself in many different worlds. A fear and pain so great it finds its way to all of herself, regardless of the course of life she takes in whichever world she was born in.