“I told His Excellency about Mother’s family,” Rock confessed.
Phoebe seemed to expect her to. His expression softened as he asked, “He knew of the Alexises, right?”
“Yeah. Are they famous?”
“More like infamous…” Phoebe trailed off before continuing with a sigh, “That family is no stranger to scandal.”
That didn’t sound good.
Rock pulled her knees up onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around them.
“…They have a lot of enemies then?”
“Yeah. Just as many inside as out.”
Phoebe folded his hands under his chin, his expression hardening.
“I first met Vale on a bodyguard job. The Alexises were traders—they had money. So much money, everyone wanted a piece of them. Business rivals often hired bandits to steal their cargo. And one time, I traced back some blackmail and death threats to a relative. Working for them left a bad aftertaste.”
Wealthy traders—that fact explained why her mother had a stick of fragrant wood incense on her. It saddened Rock to think how different her mother’s past was from her humble last few years of life.
“That’s why they hired mercenaries as bodyguards. The pay was good at least.” Phoebe was trying to be matter-of-fact about it. But his bashfulness showed through every time he raked his hair back with his fingers. “I ended up never getting hired again, though. Some bodyguard I was—I made their daughter run away from home.”
“Not much you could do about that,” Rock said with a big grin.
Phoebe sulkily looked at his daughter’s devious expression before closing his eyes.
“But I also think Vale had a hard time being in that house. She was always competing with her older sister to see who’d inherit everything.”
Did the memories come flooding back during his brief pause? His next words sounded so sad.
“Their family had so many enemies, their heir had to be the best of the best. I can kind of understand why their parents felt that way, but it resulted in their competing daughters constantly being at each other’s throats. Vale hated going against her sister and felt so cornered, she decided to choose a totally different path in life. Every once in a while, I heard her quietly comment how she wished they could go back to when they used to get along as children… I just couldn’t leave her like that.”
Rock was stunned by the gritty details of her mother’s past.
Ebel had also told her about how her aunt was forced to take on a husband after her mother left and their parents died and was now looking to adopt an heir.
“His Excellency also mentioned Mother’s older sister,” Rock hesitantly told him. Her mother’s older sister would be her biological aunt. It just didn’t feel real when she always thought she had no relatives. “He said I should keep my identity a secret because they’re feuding over who should be the heir.”
“He’s right. You shouldn’t get involved,” Phoebe stressed, completely agreeing with Ebel’s advice. He combed his fingers through Rock’s hair as he spoke in a soothing voice, “To tell you the truth, they kept sending spies to the village where you and Vale lived.”
“What spies?”
“They were hired by the Alexises. They were secretly snooping around you girls.”
“No way!”
Rock was alarmed, but Phoebe calmly continued.
“I occasionally spotted them when I visited. I choked a few of ’em until they confessed what they were doing there. They were planning on dragging Vale back home the second they got the chance. There were a couple of rough ones, so I courteously sent them on their way.”
This was all news to Rock. She never imagined her father was taking precautions to protect her poor yet peaceful childhood.
“You really protected Mother, didn’t you, Father?”
“I protected you too, Roxy.”
“You’re amazing. Thank you.”
Phoebe started to break into a smile but quickly flattened his lips.
“I did my best, but I don’t think for a moment that I was able to stop everything from getting back to them. I’m willing to bet they at least figured out Vale had a daughter.”
It was like a lantern lit in Roxy’s mind when he said that.
“Wait…is that why you had me start dressing as a man?”
Her late realization seemed to be on the money. Phoebe nodded with a smile.
“That was definitely a part of it.”
“I never knew…”
“Well, I planned on keeping the fact I was your father a secret too. I racked my brains trying to find a way to tell you.”
But Phoebe’s worries were put to rest when Roxy Floria happily donned the guise of a man—something she’d always wanted to do.
And after three years, Ebel was the only person to see through her disguise. Her delicate features probably perfectly fit the bill of a young man who didn’t eat great in the slums.
Thanks to that, she was able to live a relatively peaceful life as a tailor in the slums.
I hope things remain peaceful, Rock thought. That way, I can pay back Father for protecting me all this time.
“It’s all thanks to you that I’ve stayed safe until now.”
Phoebe silently pulled Rock’s head to him. He pressed his forehead against hers and peered into her eyes.
“Don’t worry,” he said to reassure her. “I’ll protect you until the day you leave to get married.”
His blue eyes were so scarily serious, Rock nearly laughed.
“I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.”
“You mean it?”
“I really mean it.”
Ebel had asked her to “share a future together.”
Rock wanted that too. But that didn’t have to start right this second. She wanted to be a good daughter to her father before becoming a wife. They’d finally started living together, after all.
“Remember this always, Roxy,” Phoebe looked straight into his daughter’s eyes. “Your future is yours alone. You decide how you want to live.”
“I will.”
“But you can rely on me whenever you are lost. It’s a parent’s job to lend their child a hand when they need it.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Rock hadn’t lost her way yet. But no one knows what the future holds.
Just as she never could have imagined she would someday fall in love with someone, Rock was beginning to realize life always has unexpected bumps and turns in store.
Even so, she wasn’t alone. She had people who would extend their hands and help her back on her feet if she fell. So she strangely wasn’t scared.
Several days later, Rock and Phoebe took the day off work and departed the slums. They boarded the carriage that came for them and headed for the aristocrat district, where Ebel waited.
✦ ✦ ✦
♚♚♚
MATEUS Manor beautifully towered over the gardens without a single scratch from that night a month and a half ago.
Rock and Phoebe exited the carriage and stared up at the limestone mansion that glistened white as snow in the sunlight.
“It’s almost as if that night never happened,” Rock murmured sentimentally.
“But it wasn’t a lie or a dream,” Phoebe stressed, quietly shaking his head. “And it’s not over yet.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Rock and Phoebe weren’t even the ones who most wished that night had just been a bad dream.
They hadn’t seen Guido or Michaela since. Rock only knew how they were doing from the occasional updates she received from Ebel. On the bright side, Ebel never sounded grim when he talked about them, and the siblings seemed to be getting along fine supporting each other.
They would surely meet again someday.
Rock couldn’t stop herself from hoping they would be at peace with their situation by then.
As father and daughter were going down memory lane in front of the beautiful manor—
“MAAASTER ROCK!”
The wrought iron doors were flung open and Johanna, the maid, greeted them in a loud voice. Ludovicus, the butler, and Ebel were right behind her, but she was first to run toward Rock and throw her arms around her in a leaping hug.
“W-Whoa!”
Rock staggered under her weight, and Phoebe hastily supported her from behind. Oblivious to the fact she nearly knocked Rock over, tears filled Johanna’s eyes.
“I’m so glad to see you’re well!”