Everyone was stun at the sudden turn of events. They all remember how adamant she was to not even being in the same space as him, but now she is here, apologizing and asking to be friends!? They all were still as if someone pressed a pause button.
But what got everyone moving again was the boys face filled with tears, his expression still amazed with the change of attitude and the look she gives him.
But he hoped this wasn't a dream and he quickly hugged her, which startled the adults there, they worried that she was going to snap again and were ready to separate the two, only to get hit by another round of shock.
Sakura hugged him back and timidly patted him in the back, which made him cry even more.
"Uhh.... are you ok?"
"Mm, I'm hick, r-really ha-h-happy to b-be your f-f-friend." He was hiccuping and crying when he return her words.
'I didn't think being my friend would make him this happy, he's literally crying tears of joy!?' Sakura looks at Hedwig and noticed the old man smiling at the scene, but his eyes held a sad tone to them. Sakura wondered why but ignored it for now.
"Humph!" Sakura was startled at the voice and turn to her father, he was smiling, but his eyes were a bit cold.
'Uh-oh, jealous papa made an appearance.'
"Um, let's eat a bit and then make plans for tomorrow. How does that sound?"
"Ok."
Just when she thought it was over and she was gonna head to her dad, she was stopped and she turn back, only to see his hand holding hers, she looked back at him and saw he wasn't gonna let go anytime soon.
"Umm... we should eat now."
"Ok."
"Can you um, let go?"
"Your not gonna sit with me?"
'Wow, give them an inch and they take a whole mile man'
Sakura felt her face twitch a bit, but she kept a smile on it.
"I'll sit next to you tomorrow, but for now, I'll sit next to papa."
Sakura sweetly smiled at the boy and waited for him to let her go.
He looked a bit sad, but was happy when she promised to sit next to him tomorrow. He let's her go and watches her head to her fathers arms, he pouted a bit. He was envious that Sakura's papa was able to hold her and carry her, he wanted to do the same too. But he knew he had to take small steps.
Mihkael can feel the boys eyes on him and Sakura and felt a bit irked that the kid became so attached to his daughter.
'Stinking brat, you think I'll hand my daughter over? Hah! In your dreams.'
Mihkael lightly kisses Sakura's forehead and cheek, glancing at the boy and smirking.
Phelan cheek puffed up and redden in anger, he glared back at the gloating man, while those in the surrounding felt shame for the grown man who was fighting with a child.
Sakura just laughed at her fathers sudden kisses and kissed him in the cheek back. But then asked him to let her sit in her chair, she was hungry. He laughed and nodded. After he was done putting her in the chair, the food was finally served.
Today was Sakura's favorite, chicken parmigiana with Spaghetti. The children's plate were smaller and the chicken was already sliced and ready to be eaten by the children. Sakura was overjoyed and was smiling in joy.
Mihkael smiled and had Raphael sit to eat as well when all the maids and Stewart's left the room. Raphael complied because he knew they were worried about Sakura snapping if Raphael wasn't there with them.
While everyone was eating, they discussed a bit about the continents situation.
"I heard that in your territory, there has been an unbalanced number of corruption and the location they appear?"
Sakura twitched a bit but continued to eat as if she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.
Hedwig sighs and nods.
"The number keeps changing to a hard to discern amount. One month it can be 1 then two months of nothing and then out of nowhere 5 cases! And each cases are growing further and further away from each other. We fear sending those who use purifying magic so far away from the capital, we don't have that many and we are weak in teleportation magic, we aren't even done creating teleportation stations around out territory, so its getting hard to pinpoint the thing."
Hedwig shakes his head at the mess of the situation.
"How about you, I heard that last month you had 12 cases, the highest it has been over the past 100 years?"
"Yeah, we were in utter chaos, we had to pinpoint the locations and have each empire send a purifying mage to the ones closest to them. I have to send 5 of my mages because they were that many close to our territory or even inside our territory. While others had to send 3 or 4 but we were lucky none were of middle tier, so it was easier to subjugate."
Sakura dropped her fork, which surprised the adults.
'There were that many cases!? Why now? I remember there was an increase just around the time Sakura became 12, or was it hidden so she doesn't get too worked up? How long has the corruption gone to reach this many cases and just what is it planning by poking its head around and provoking the continent?'
"Sakura, are you unwell? Do you want to go to your room?"
'Shit! I reacted to strongly to this, I need to keep my cool.'
"I'm fine! I just held my fork wrong and dropped it. Sorry..." she looked down as if she did something wrong but the adults reassured her that it wasn't her fault, she was still getting used to using a fork, so Raphael decided to feed her the rest.
Sakura didn't mind and was used to being fed after going through it so many times.
'It feels like in some type of host club, I can choose the cool beauty, the handsome daddy, or even the mature and tough grandpa. For all ages man.'
Sakura wanted to laugh because she just imagined her father in a dark suit with the charismatic few unbutton shirt and Raphael in a light blue suit, all well combed with not a speck of dirt and then the grandpa in a typical white and black host suit pouring champagne for a middle aged rich lady who had daddy issues.
'Shit! I really wanna laugh. Stop with the out of topic thoughts Sakura! We can't have them thinking you are crazy if you start laughing for no reason!'
She was trembling at the images and wanted to roar with laughter, she doesn't even try to look at them because she worries she might just laugh at their faces.
Everyone noticed her demeanor change, wondering what may be the cause. But then Hedwig frowned a bit and looked at Mihkael, to see if he notices the change too. Mihkael just nods and looks at his daughter, who was just looking down at her plate when eating.
"Sakura honey."
"Hmm?" A bit confused why Hedwig called for her, she looked up, but to the side of his head, so she doesn't end up laughing.
"Do you know what your papa and me were talking about just a while ago?"
"! No, not much. But it sounds very serious when you guys talked about it."
"Did it now? Do you know what the corruption is, has anyone ever brought it up to you?"
Mihkael wanted to stop Hedwig, he hasn't started any investigation to see if maybe someone did anything to his child. He didn't know if there may be some type of trigger implanted on her so she won't be able to recall or say anything.
But at that moment Sakura was startled by the question, she narrows her eyes a bit and look at the man in the eyes. Then she glances at her father and sees him overreacting to the question.
'Do they know something? But how? It's too early to even notice anything, heck! They only knew after Sakura and her mother died, so how would they know now??'
But then her eyes widen in understanding.
'The outburst I had this afternoon!! That may be why. But sadly for them, I still didn't have anything like that infecting and festering my mind yet, it was when Rose and her mother returned. That women entered the palace before the big revelation of Rose existence. With some friends help, she entered without a hitch and dropped a drop of corrupted high tier blood in Sakura's drink. In those days, maids were changed so often that Sakura didn't even suspect anything when Rose mother appeared and gave her, her afternoon tea.'
Sakura wanted to sigh in disappointment, they were right on the money, but a few years too early. But then Sakura thought of something else.
'My mother.... for years she was drinking a drop of low tier corruption because of Rose mother being one of her maids. Now a drop of low tier is slower and may not have any effects, unless taken for a long time, which happened to my mother. At that time, the women stopped giving her anymore because she didn't want anyone to notice what it was, she was just waiting for the perfect time to fully end it, and that was when she came back with a second royal child.'
Sakura then started to contemplate on how to use this to her advantage, how to get her father to understand what's really wrong with his wife and getting her mother the help she truly needs.
'Right now, it's just a drop away from fully becoming a low tier corruption, that's why no one suspected Corruption! But if I hinted on it, maybe... just maybe!!'
A feeling of excitement and expectations rose in the depths of Sakura. She couldn't wait and looked up, ready to speak about it, but then she stopped herself.
'This feeling of joy and desperation... is it really.... how I feel? No, stop! Think rationally, not emotionally.'
She closes her eyes shut and takes a deep breath, then releases it.
'You can't.... right now you changed the game plot to quickly, you caused too many changes in such little time! The only advantage you have is Knowing what's going to happen, and one of the main things is Sakura's mother in a coma. We can't raise panic against those in the shadows. If I do, then their plans will change, and I won't know those plans like I do now....... I can't save her now. I'll have to do it at a later date.'
She felt pain from her decision, but she pushed those emotions to the side by reminding her it isn't her emotions, the women is.... not her real mother.
'I won't let this emotions ruin my plans again...... I'm sorry.'
Sakura doesn't know who she was apologizing to, but she felt so much pain from her decision, she kept thinking 'not my emotions, I need to keep the advantages I have, she is not my real mother.'
As if she was trying to self hypnotize herself by repeating that in her head, but she looked at the man and in a normal naive child like way, smiling.
"Corruption? I first heard of it today, why?"
"Oh... so no one has ever brought it up? Even by accident?"
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry ,I'm Sorry!"
She wanted to scream, her breathing was being constricted by her holding her urge to cry. But she will never allow herself to cause a scene like she did just hours prior, she can't.
'Right now I'm Sakura, but at the same time I'm not. I won't let my emotions be govern by anyone else but myself! The one who should feel this pain and anger isn't me! So don't shove it on me!!'
Sakura didn't know who she was arguing with, but it helped lessen the pain and frustration and great guilt she felt when she denied knowing something. The internal struggle was driving her crazy.
'Dammit, I'm getting tired. But I still haven't erased their suspicions. I still have to go on with it.'
"I don't think so? I never heard of corruption or stuff? Why? Does it have something to do with me?"
"Hopefully not princess. But I was just asking because you seemed a bit different when we spoke about it."
"Oh ok"
Sakura does a light shrug of the shoulders and continues to be fed, everyone watched her expression to see if anything changed, but she looked like a normal child being fed, her emotions don't seem to be effected anyway, so they sighed in relief.
But contrary to what is shown in the surface, the inside was in total mayhem. She is struggling with her internal emotions. She was getting frustrated and didn't think she would ever have this type of hurdle inside her.
'This damn feelings..... it's really hard to differentiate if it's my feelings or not. This is interfering too much with my plans.'
Sakura can only sigh.
'I wanna go sleep, I feel so tired man. But at least I won this round.'
Sakura does a light yawn, which for Raphael indicated she was tired, so he told Mihkael he will help her with her bath and necessities for that night.
"Papa, I'll be waiting ok?"
"!! So my daughter will sleep in papa's room and not with Raphael?"
"Yup! So don't keep me waiting!"
"Hahaha! Ok, I'll be there soon."
"Your daughter seems pretty well for a child who just this afternoon brokedown emotionally."
".... I know what you mean Hedwig, but she didn't seem like she was holding anything in. But did you sense something?"
"My instincts. I just have that feeling that she has some type of connection with the corruption. Doesn't mean she is allied with them, but.... she will or is going to suffer because of it.."
"..... I won't ever let that happen Hedwig. She is my only child, the child between me and Aurora. I promised to keep her safe."
Mihkael was in pain, but held his emotions in check, he had more experience that Sakura and was taught a young age how a royalty should act, so he had training.
"Grandpa.... when can I meet Sakura tomorrow? Will she still want to be friends?"
Phelan tugged his grandfather's clothes, worried that she would back out of her words when she takes time to think of them.
"Hahaha do not worry Phel, you will get to meet her tomorrow morning in breakfast, right Mihkael?"
"Tsk, yeah."
"Wow, you really became an over protective papa hahaha!"
"Really!! I can't wait! I brought different types of this that I heard girls will like, I wonder if she'll be happy with them."
The boy smiled with joy and imagined a happy Sakura thanking him for the gifts and patting his head as a reward.
He decided to go sleep early because he doesn't want to miss breakfast with her. A steward took Phelan to his room while the other two head to Mihkael office.
"...... Phelan appears to be quite attached to my daughter. Why? Even after what she did and say?"
"Ah.... you see I don't have any granddaughters. Well.... Phelan's father, Girard almost did. But his wife got into an accident which caused the child to be born prematurely. But as you can tell, the baby didn't make it."
The old man smiled in melancholy at the memory, he remembered the scene of his son and wife crying when they held the child. It was already suffering from taking breaths when it was just born and the healers can do so much with their magic.
"The child lived for a month, we were filled with so much expectations that all were preparing her room and presents. Especially Phelan."
The old man chuckles at the memory of a 3 year old Phelan staring at his sister in awe. And promising to always protect her with everything he has. But then Hedwig sighs.
"The child didn't make it to a month in a half, she just..... fell asleep and never woke up. It was a moment of great devastation for our family. As you know, we beastman are strong bonded, so one loss is everyone's loss.
It left a mark in Phelan's heart, he felt guilty because he promised to always protect her, yet he wasn't able to do anything when she passed. We all tried to tell him there was nothing to do, that it isn't his fault. The child was born in her 6th month. It was a miracle she lived for a month longer."
Hedwig wanted to cry at the memory but calmed himself. He ended up laughing a bit when he thought of something.
"Your daughter.... the baby had a few strands of silver goldish hair. She opened her eyes once, the orangey brown were exactly like your daughters. Yet the difference was your daughter had silver, while my grandchild had a lavender purple."
"So you mean?"
"Yes. Phelan seemed to remember his sister after 3 years passed. And the moment he saw your daughter, he must have felt he was given a second chance with her. Even I froze a bit when I saw the girl. She really is a cute and beautiful child."
"Thank you."
"Haha well my friend, your daughter must be waiting for you, so let's go. We will talk to the others tomorrow."
"Yes, goodnight Hedwig."
"Goodnight boy, sleep well."
Hedwig passes Mihkael and lightly ruffles his hair. Mihkael grumbles in annoyance but still allows it and smiles.