The Author's Will

68 | White Aster

"...I know," he finally said, his voice almost a whisper. As Rudien approached her beside, strands of silver hair fell over his eyes and shadowed his forehead. "I can't support your decision knowing it puts you at risk..."

He clenched his fists. At last, the duke's scarlet eyes met Sarah's as he firmed his own resolve. "So I'll just have to make sure there are no more risks. I will ensure you're both safe, all the way until the baby is born."

Rudien knew what he was saying right now was like fighting the impossible - but there was a strong chance of Sarah's improvement, if he could pinpoint the reasons why her pregnancy was harming her this early on. He was determined to help his wife and see her survive.

Sarah gazed up at her husband, smiling softly. "We will get through this."

Just as the duke was about to approach her bed, the door burst open and a flustered Irene came rushing in.

Both Rudien and Sarah turned to face their daughter in surprise, eyes wide as they noticed the excitement displayed on her face.

"Mother!"

Just then, Irene noticed her father's presence. She blinked as the realisation dawned upon her. "Ah— was I disturbing something?"

Shoot, what bad timing! They were probably making up just now!

Sarah chuckled softly. "What has you so lively, Irene?"

Surprised by the presence of her father, Irene had almost forgotten what it was she wanted to say. It took her a moment to recall, but the thought soon came back to her and her smile returned. "Actually, I wanted to let you know that we're going to the annual summer festival again this year." She said.

"Oh, really?" Sarah smiled, tilting her head. "Who will you be going with?"

As Irene approached her mother's bedside, she took a seat on the mattress beside her. "Brother, Mikael, Prince Daniel, and Isabella," she told her. "Although, I think we're yet to tell the first prince about it."

Sarah reached out and tenderly brushed her daughter's hair around her ear, stroking her head. "Be careful and stay close to Rayvis and Mikael, okay? And make sure you have fun!"

Rudien watched them silently, beginning to feel somewhat left out as he observed the motherly love. It had been a while since he and Irene shared any moments like these. Perhaps now that she was getting older, her father was becoming less important.

The thought of this caused a crease to form between his brows.

"Irene." He called out, and watched as his daughter glanced up at him. Without another word, the man wrapped his arms around her and pulled Irene into a tight squeeze.

"WAH!" She yelped, being torn from her mother as Rudien scooped her right off the floor. "Mother! Help me!"

Sarah laughed loudly at the sight, as the silver-haired duke simply hoisted his daughter onto his arm. Irene tried to wriggle out of his hold, but to no avail. He was way too strong and annoyingly tall.

"Papa! What are you doing?" Facing her father with an exasperated look, Rudien only averted his gaze. She could have sworn there was a hint of envy in his scarlet eyes, and those taut cheeks of his were turning a faint pink.

"Why were you only telling your mother about it and didn't say anything to me...?" He grumbled.

Irene stared at him with wide eyes as she clung to her father's shoulders in disbelief. The way he was pouting about not receiving attention was simply hilarious - but not unexpected. Rudien had even turned her away from seeing Sarah, so that she could only be facing him.

Something he did often when she was a baby.

This man never changes. I'm scared he's going to do this even when I'm an adult.

Irene heaved a sigh, giving in. Luckily, she knew how to easily placate this obsessive father of hers.

Leaning forward, she gently planted a small kiss on his cheek.

Rudien stiffened up completely.

Sarah marvelled at the sight, covering her mouth with a hand. More than the duchess ever could, her daughter was still the greatest at conquering this man even after twelve years.

"As soon as I come back, I'll tell you all about it before Mother," Irene smiled, gently patting her father's head as if he were a large hound. "That would make it fair, right?"

Rudien nodded silently, and soon set Irene back down to her feet. She gazed up at her father's tired visage, but felt a sense of relief welling inside her when she noticed him smiling at her tenderly.

This was the first time he smiled so genuinely in what felt like forever.

"Make sure you stay safe." He told her gently.

Soon after leaving the room, Irene couldn't help but feel somewhat lightweight after that. Her parents and their love for her was something precious, but there was a chance of losing it altogether if things took a bad turn.

When she first entered this world as a newborn - her only desire was to prevent her future death. But soon, it ended up becoming something far greater than that.

Little by little, her family became a warm and loving place and Irene knew she was loved more than she ever had been. Perhaps she was being rewarded for enduring her past life - which she spent desolately and alone. Whatever the case was, Irene realised one thing.

Things were taking unpredictable directions everywhere she looked. This world was far greater than a writer like her could have ever anticipated - and though she faced many hurdles to reach this point, it didn't mean hardship wasn't going to bare its fangs.

A peaceful life was all she originally wanted. But could something like that ever be achieved, when things beyond Irene's control could instantly turn her life over?

　　 She needed to protect this place. These people. The home she made for herself and grew settled into for twelve years. Starting with Sarah Cherliann, all over again.

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NOTE

Happy holidays, everyone! Thank you for reading my story and I hope that you're all doing well this holiday! ( ' ▽ ' )ﾉ

New year is coming soon. I can't believe I started this story in 2021 and it's already going into 2023. To be fair, this year I ended up not getting much of this story done (or any writing really) but I've recently been getting back into the flow of things. I really hope I can make a lot more progress with this novel (and my other one) before 2023 ends TvT

At this point though, the whole "making a plan and following it" hasn't been working for this story, so I've kind of just started to wing every chapter lmao. I do have some idea of where the story will be going, but I'm going to be a lot more free with myself in the way I write.

Things are about to get pretty interesting though. I'm excited to write the coming arc of the story 👀

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far, and I really appreciate all the time you guys spend here, even if you're just a silent reader! I'll try hard going forward 🛐