In particular, his command of magic was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Even Neil Franster, the famed Count of Magic whom Milly revered, would have struggled to best him. And now that Neil was gone, Milly was certain: the strongest sorcerer in the kingdom was her father.
Which meant the greatest power within her reach was none other than Kyle himself.
“Have you already forgotten that I told you not to waste your time with such foolish notions?”
“No, I mean it. Angelina Grey is unpredictable. Even if she were expelled from the academy, she might still come after me.”
Kyle remained silent, listening.
“That’s why I want you to protect me from her. Surely even you think your daughter is worth protecting?”
In the realm of magic, no one alive could surpass Kyle. Someone like Angelina wasn’t fit to even stand at his feet. That was why Milly turned to him. She had already realized she could not survive this world on her own. Only under his shield could she secure her safety.
To survive the next three years, Milly must use her father. Yes, use him, not simply be “saved” by him. She would exploit this loveless man for her own survival. But Kyle was never a man to be handled easily.
“Oh? So that’s your request,” said Kyle.
“It is.”
“I see no benefit for myself.” Propping his chin on his hand, Kyle dismissed her without so much as a flicker of concern.
Milly couldn’t help but grimace. “Benefit?”
“Exactly. A task with no profit is not worth undertaking. Isn’t that so?”
“Of course.” Unbelievable words from a father’s mouth, but hardly unexpected. She had foreseen this. After all, this was the second time he’d told her so.
No one knew Kyle Asteara’s temperament better than Milly, which meant no one else knew how to capture his interest.
She quietly lifted her chin, sat herself without invitation on the sofa across from him, and declared, “A few years from now, House Asteara will face a crisis of survival.”
“What?”
“It will happen. Without fail. The Kingdom of Aviria will fall into chaos, you will be denounced by the nobility, and the grand ducal house will head straight for ruin.”
As expected, Kyle’s narrow eyes widened ever so slightly. When Milly silently met his gaze, he answered with a scoff, “Did you hit your head?”
“When that crisis runs its course, father, you will not live to see the end of it.”
“...”
“And my own life will be forfeit as well. To avoid that fate, I’ll pledge you my full cooperation.”
The “crisis” she spoke of meant nothing less than Kyle Asteara’s execution and Milly’s own death. In the last timeline, Kyle had been executed for treason, condemned for selling the kingdom’s secrets to a foreign power. Yet even now, the thought of it rang hollow. Would a man who had clawed his way to the title of grand duke really throw that stability away to betray his own country?
No. Not you. That wasn’t your will.
Milly knew her father all too well. His betrayal had not been of his own choosing.
He must have been manipulated, coaxed by another, or even subjected to magic that warped his mind. Unless she found a way to prevent it, she was certain the same doom awaited them in this rewound world.
“So the only ‘benefit’ you offer me is that you’ll throw yourself into preventing a crisis that might not even happen?”
“Yes. I don’t want to see your head on a pike,” Milly answered without the slightest hesitation.
Knowing what had happened in the previous timeline, she was certain she could avert her father’s execution. She had the confidence and the resolve to do it, and she would not let her life be ended by someone else’s hand. No matter what it took, she would change that future.
She was not so fragile that Angelina would be the one to kill her.
After a short silence, Kyle Asteara laughed, pleased. “Heh, I see. Very well. I like it. Fine, Milly.”
“...”
“I will personally protect you from that so-called villainess. I won’t let you die, and I won’t let so much as a scratch befall you.” His promise was as reassuring as it could be.
Milly couldn’t help the faint easing at the corner of her mouth, but she kept her voice calm as she replied, “Good.”
That seemed to amuse him. Kyle smiled in a way that might have belonged in a novel’s villainous passage. “As for you, you will devote your full strength to averting that ‘crisis.’ Agreed?”
Milly nodded. The smile she returned to him was, in its own way, a little dark, suitably villainous. She bowed with deliberate grace, her sleek black hair slipping forward over her shoulder. “Yes, of course. As long as I am here, the Asteara house will not fall.”
“Indeed. Just as you said. A daughter is a precious thing.” And so it was.
Milly had succeeded, just as she intended, in “keeping” her father, Kyle Asteara. As long as this peculiar alliance endured, she would have her safety secured; and by tracking Kyle’s actions, she might even stave off their house’s ruin.
Father wields the kind of power that can kill with a mere flick of his wand. As far as watchdogs go, no one could be more reliable. All that remained was to fit him with a collar and keep a firm hold of the leash.
Milly gave a crooked smile, and Kyle returned the same expression.
“Oh yes, father. Before anything else, there’s one matter I’d like to tell you. May I?”
Loveless, yet wielding overwhelming strength, the father and daughter most feared in the kingdom. Like true final bosses, the two began weaving their twisted bond from that day forward.