It was true that there were only a few in the royal capital who understood his charms—but, like Nora, they did exist. If Cecily let her guard down, Zeke could be stolen away by a home-wrecker just like that.
If we get married, then that will mean fewer women showing such blatant interest in him...
“What’s up, Cecily? You look pretty deep in thought,” Zeke asked as they were walking to her home. He had immediately noticed the fire burning in her eyes.
“Listen, Zeke. I want to do this—I really do!”
Zeke wasn’t aware that Cecily’s desire came from a sense of urgency and anxiety, but he smiled happily to see her being so proactive about their marriage.
“Me too. Let’s get your father to accept our relationship!”
“Yeah!”
The pair spoke in whispers as they secretly held hands while following Sewell. They had no idea that in that moment, Sewell’s cheeks were pulled down in a frown.
I hope he gives us his blessing...
Cecily was Sewell and Greta’s only child. Not only that, they had wanted a child for so long before they had managed to conceive her. That was the reason Sewell was so overprotective of his daughter.
One year ago, when Cecily was forced out of the witch village due to their unbreakable rule, she’d been ordered to travel the world for two years. Sewell had been against the whole thing right until the last moment, and had even shed tears begging that he be allowed to join Cecily. His reaction had been so extreme that Greta, exasperated, had slipped him a sleeping potion so that Cecily could actually leave.
Cecily had always kindly accepted her father’s love. After all, she loved how caring he was. It was exactly because she cared about her father so much that she wanted him to accept her relationship with Zeke.
Cecily’s home was a lot smaller than Zeke’s. It was a cute wooden building and had a garden with an arch in which some autumn flowers were gently swaying in the breeze. Hanging upon the front door was a dried flower wreath that Cecily had made in her childhood.
Zeke whispered to Cecily, “In the future, I want to live with you in a home like this, so full of love.”
“Oh, Zeke!”
The pair were unaware of the sound of Sewell grinding his teeth in anger.
“Now then...let’s head to the reception room, shall we?” Sewell said, his words faltering. He guided them inside.
The house was barely different from how it had been a year ago. Enveloped in a strangely nostalgic feeling, Cecily walked down the corridor.
In the reception room, she sat side by side with Zeke on the sofa. She used to sit like this with her father, and it felt natural to sit like this with Zeke now.
Sewell’s breathing became ragged, and with shoulders trembling he sat alone on a separate sofa.
“Dad, I have something I want to talk to you about.”
Sewell listened in silence, hanging his head. Cecily noticed that his clenched fists were shaking slightly. She was a bit concerned, but couldn’t allow herself to be distracted by it.
“Please, dad. Would you listen to what we have to say?”
Sewell remained silent. Cecily was about to speak again, but Zeke gently laid his hand upon hers. Perhaps he realized he was in front of Cecily’s father, for he removed it quickly. Maybe this was a way of showing Sewell his restraint.
Zeke?
Cecily looked at him, and he nodded back as if to say, Leave this to me.
“Father, I am dating your daughter, Cecily.”
Zeke had cut straight to the point. It was very like him. He placed both hands upon his thighs and lowered his head in a deep bow.
“Please, I beg of you to give your blessing to allow me to marry your daughter.”
“Y-Y-You have no right to call me ‘father’!”
Bam!
Sewell smacked his fist upon the table and let out a little yelp of pain as he did so.
“J-Just who do you think you are? I noticed what you were doing behind my back—holding Cecily’s hand, whispering sweet nothings into her ear!”
He realized?!
Cecily’s cheeks flushed hot. She had enjoyed the thrill of doing that in secret, but it was terribly embarrassing to realize that Sewell had been aware of it the whole time. She knew that she and Zeke were at fault here. She stood up to help Zeke.
“Dad, please don’t be like that. I want to marry Zeke! I really do!”
“C-Cecily...”
Sewell couldn’t believe what his daughter was saying. Soon his eyes, opened wide in shock, started to fill with tears. His cheeks grew wet as the tears streamed down them.
“Please, Cecily! Don’t get married! Stay with your daddy! We can have fun together, just like we used to! Please don’t leave me!”
“D-Dad, please keep it together in front of Zeke! It’s embarrassing!”
“I might be an embarrassment to you, but you, Cecily, I love you so much!”
“I didn’t say you were an embarrassment, dad...”
However, Sewell had lost all sense of composure.
“I don’t care what either of you say—I’m never gonna allow it! Cecily’s gonna stay with me! She’s never ever getting married, no siree!”
“D-Dad...”
And so, this middle-aged man who had a child of his own began to whine like a petulant child himself. As tears streamed down his cheeks and snot dribbled from his nose, he merely repeated, “No, no, no!”
It would be impossible to get through to him in this state. Cecily turned to Zeke with a look of concern. His reaction was more extreme than she had anticipated, but his disapproval wasn’t completely unexpected. Sending Zeke a message with a look, Cecily turned back to Sewell.
“I’m sorry for surprising you like this, dad. Zeke and I are going to step outside for some air.”
We need to take a little break and try this again.
However, Sewell shook his head in frustration at Cecily’s suggestion.
“Why? This is your house too, Cecily! Why do you have to go outside with that stupid boy?! I’m not gonna let you elope with him!”
“D-Dad, it’s okay! We’re not eloping—we’ll be right back.”
“Waaaah!”
Inconsolable, Sewell grabbed at Cecily’s dress. Evidently unable to take any more, Zeke stood up.
“Cecily, I’ll give you two some alone time.”
“Zeke, but...”
“It’s fine. You’ve got a lot to talk about, right? Why don’t you and Mr. Sewell catch up and enjoy each other’s company?”
There was no trace of anger in Zeke’s expression. Rather, he seemed to be considerate of Cecily’s wailing father.
Cecily pursed her lips in self-restraint and nodded. Zeke smiled and left the reception room.
I just want dad to know how kind Zeke is.
However, she knew she couldn’t rush things. As her father sobbed, Cecily patted his hefty shoulder. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes.
“Cecily, do you hate me?”
“Of course not. I love you.”
Cecily gave her father a quick peck on the cheek, and Sewell’s eyes showed that he had regained some composure.
I need to focus on calming dad down first.
Rushing would only make things worse. If Sewell started panicking and became obstinate, then he would be less willing to hear what they had to say—their entire reason for coming would be lost.
“Mom loves you too, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, Greta... Greta, my beloved...”
A little more life came back into Sewell’s eyes at the sound of his wife’s name.
“That’s right—she dashed out saying that she wanted to see you, didn’t she...? Did you manage to meet her?”
“I did. Although she went off somewhere again a few days ago.”
The day after Cecily and Greta’s discussion of her marriage, Greta had left the Snowflower Palace without telling anyone where she was going.
“She also said she had to deal with a request... But, never mind, she’ll be back before long. Ahh, I can’t wait to live together again.”