24. Siderus

The wedding is a few weeks behind us. Now Amaya and I are sitting in Marquis Liaric"s mansion and eating at his long table meant for serving several people at once. He sits at the head of the table, and we sit to his immediate left and right.

He has also provided us both with a generous fare for this dinner. The meat is expensive and falls apart like butter in the mouth. The fruits are some of the hardest to find and the juiciest and tastiest. As for the wine, it is so refreshing that I am struggling to believe that it even contains alcohol.

From this, it seems that the Old Marquis is more than pleased that I am his daughter"s mate. And why wouldn"t he be? I have done more than enough to prove myself worthy.

Yet he has hardly spoken a word towards me for the few hours that I"ve been here.

"Welcome, Duke Siderus," he says as he greets me at the door.

"Please pass the butter," he says to me about an hour into the evening.

And that is all that he has said.

He is more than happy to speak to Amaya. My beautiful wife"s cheeriness is contagious to him. Every time she speaks, a bright smile lights up his face and a certain energy appears in his motions.

When Rafthin, who is sitting to the right of Amaya, speaks, his reaction is similar but more subdued. Yet when I respond to something either Rafthin or Amaya says, all of this energy and happiness seems to disappear.

He does not respond to anything that I say. Rather, he responds to Amaya"s or Rafthin"s responses to what I say.

"Siderus had some k"sheng merchants over at the mansion a few days ago," Amaya says. "He allowed me to choose some of the most gorgeous jewelry and dresses."

"It must be impossible to find jewelry and dresses that are truly worthy of your beauty, my darling daughter," the Old Marquis says.

"Yes, well, we have to make do," I say. "After all, she cannot simply walk around naked."

Marquis Liaric does not respond. I would not have minded if he had raged at the inappropriateness of my comment or laughed at my poor attempts at humor. Instead, he says nothing and his expression remains neutral.

"Perhaps we could wrap her in flowers," Rafthin says. "Those might be worthy of her beauty."

The old Marquis smiles at the suggestion but shakes his head. "No, not even the prettiest flowers are worthy of her beauty."

"Perhaps we could cover her with pictures of herself," I suggest.

Again, there is no response from the old Marquis. Amaya, however, is more than happy to voice her opinion.

"I sincerely doubt that pictures would make a sturdy dress," Amaya says.

"Yes, perhaps the flowers would make a better choice," the Marquis responds.

I have yet to speak to him directly, but the tension in the air makes me believe that doing so would ignite an argument if not an outright physical fight. The Marquis is lucky that he is my mate"s father. If he wasn"t, I would"ve beaten him senseless at least an hour ago for what I perceive to be blatant disrespect.

I saved the old man from countless years of imprisonment. Why is he refusing to acknowledge me? Why has he not yet verbally given me the gratitude that I deserve?

As the meal concludes, Amaya glances at me from across the table. She sees the expression on my face and vigorously shakes her head at me. I point at her father and throw up my hands in exasperation.

She gazes at her father as he finishes off the last large piece of meat. Then she looks back at me and shrugs helplessly. I sigh and turn my gaze back to my emptied plate.

"Hey, Amaya," Rafthin says.

I look up to see Amaya"s brother whispering something into her ear. His body motions indicate a kind of excitement. Amaya returns his whisper with a similar excitement in her movements and a kind of giggling in her voice.

Both siblings get up and push their chairs back under the table. Amaya walks over to her father and kisses him on the cheek.

"Thanks for dinner, Daddy," she says.

Rafthin walks up behind her and pats his father on the shoulder. "Yes, thank you, Father!"

They both run off whispering and laughing with each other. I rise and give a respectful nod to the old Marquis. "Thank you for the meal, Your Lordship."

I get up and attempt to pass the old Marquis on his right. He reaches out a hand and lightly grabs my arm.

"Please sit back down, Siderus," he says. "I need to speak with you."

His words make my body tense up as I believe he wants to give me some form of dressing down. I turn my face toward him with a stern expression, but I relent and return to my seat. I look back at the Marquis, but he seems to be lost in his thoughts, considering his next words carefully.

"Well?" I hear it come out more harshly than I intended.

"Give me a moment, please. I"m having trouble finding the right words. Blame it on my old mind."

The old Marquis"s voice seems a touch jovial rather than tense. Perhaps he doesn"t hold any hatred toward me after all.

"I suppose the first thing I need to express is my gratitude towards you," my new father-in-law says. "Thank you for clearing my name."

"You"re welcome," I say.

"I was concerned when I heard about some of the actions that you took when Amaya was under your "care"..."

"I did that to keep her safe! And I believe she enjoyed it!"

"Settle down, settle down! Yes, she told me as much in her letters."

I throw out my open palm towards him and beat the air with the back of my hand to further emphasize my point.

"You see? That should be proof enough!"

The old Marquis waves his hand up and down in an attempt to get me to settle.

"Still, I had the suspicion that she was being coerced in some way to write that. That"s a fair suspicion to have, correct?"

I pause for a moment and pull my hand back. "Yes, you"re right."

"However, I have been examining her during this whole dinner tonight," the old Marquis continues. "She seems genuinely happy. I have seen no signs of injury to her body, and she seems to have a healthy appetite and is a healthy weight."

"There"s no reason why she wouldn"t have that…"

"I understand your anger, Siderus. It is reasonable for a man to be so protective of his mate and not want her taken away from his grasp. I knew that feeling well before my wife died."

"Sorry for your loss."

"However, I"m sure you can understand why I, as a father, don"t want my daughter to come to any harm. If I had any suspicion that you were harming her, I would have done everything in my power to separate you from her."

"But she isn"t your daughter! She…"

The old Marquis raises his hand to ask me to hold my tongue. "Familial relations are not always founded in blood. If you ever have the chance to adopt a child into your family, you will come to understand that. That being said, my previous intentions are a moot point as I now have no suspicions that you are treating my daughter poorly."

"Why would I be stupid enough to lay a hand on that gorgeous face or say such harsh words as to spoil that gentle soul? If I did that, I would only be hurting myself and making Amaya less like the person I love!"

The Marquis laughs. "You don"t need to sell her best features to me, Siderus. I already know how much of a blessing she is to this world. I am pleased that your senses are keen enough to recognize it as well."

"Anyone who wouldn"t know that is a blind fool!"

As the word "fool" falls from my lips, I smack the arm of my chair.

Silence falls between us after that. It seems that the Marquis is again deeply contemplating his next words. At various points, he opens his mouth, but no words come out.

For once, I feel alright with this. He can take all of the time that he needs.

"I just… want her to be safe and happy," he finally says. "That"s all a father could ever want for his daughter. That"s why I kept her hidden away despite the laws I knew I was breaking."

I put my hand on his arm. "Your daughter will no longer need to stay hidden away. I will ensure she can proudly walk in the sun and go to any event just as if she were an elf and have no fear of danger. No one would dare question my authority."

It seems as though the Marquis is about to cry. He takes my hand and touches it to his forehead. "Thank you, Your Grace. That is more than I could have ever imagined for my daughter."

He looks up from my hand and directly into my eyes. "Your marriage has my sincerest blessing, my son."

"Thank you, Your Lordship. It is an honor to be the son-in-law of a man who has the right priorities."

I pull my hand away from his grasp and hold it in front of him to ask for a shake. Instead, he embraces me.