"Grace!" I called out, and the door opened. Grace slowly walked in, her head lowered as if she was waiting to be yelled out. She walked over and stood behind the couch, diagonally to me. I sighed as I said: "Grace, at least sit down, please."
"Yes, Master…." Grace replied as she walked around the couch and sat down.
A long sigh came from in front of me as I looked up to see Grace's father holding his head. "To think this would happen…."
"Marquess Dollien, while I know this seems strange but please do not get mad at Grace." I started, but Grace's father raised his hand to stop me.
"I am not going to chastise her at all. I said that because I was surprised that the stories I was told by my own grandfather were true. You see, our bloodline is unique to others. Our bloodline will only awaken under a certain condition, and that is to come in contact with someone of the dragonic bloodline, and it must lose to that bloodline…." Grace's father explained as he leaned back.
My ears perked up as I asked in surprise: "You know about the dragonic!?"
"No… sadly, I do not. All knowledge of the race disappeared many, many years ago. I only know the name of our rightful masters. I only know it was an ancient race that stood above all the other races and that the angelic race was its subordinate. Beyond that, I only know a little bit about the angelic race and how our bloodline works. But in Grace's case, it seems your bloodline took a larger effect." Grace's father explained, causing my hopes to die down.
"I see…" I couldn't hide my disappointment since I did not know anything about the dragonic. I wanted to know about their history. I wanted to know everything about them. Any clues that would help me keep my sanity were clues I would grasp at.
I took a deep breath as I looked at Grace's father and asked: "So how should we go from here? Grace does not want to leave my side. If I tried to tell her that she doesn't need to do these things, she would try to take her own life. I, for one, do not want Grace to lose her life. She is my friend, after all."
"Master!" Grace lifted her head with a bright smile as she called out to me. I sighed and patted her head, which caused her smile to brighten even more.
"Ahem…" Grace's father coughed. "The angelic race is and always will be subordinates of the dragonic. The stories I heard say that they were absolutely obedient to the dragonic. I guess these stories are very much true. And from the look on Grace's face, I can tell she is truly happy. I love my daughter, and I know with this new change that, she will not be able to turn back now. I can only leave her in your care. And to be honest, I am grateful that you were the one who had the bloodline, or else Grace would suffer with no will to resist."
"I would never let Grace suffer. As I said, Grace is my friend. She has become part of my small family that seems to be slowly growing here." I replied. Grace was important to me just as much as Jen and Adel. I would never let her suffer any unfair treatment.
"I know. You did what you did because of my daughter, which caused the trial. But it seems that this was used as a ploy to rid this kingdom of the corrupt nobles. When I saw the people who have gathered around you willing to kneel to you, I was quite surprised. Each one of them held the determination to follow you no matter what. I could see it in their eyes. And what really surprised me the most is how you are no less influential in this kingdom now than the king himself. You may not know because you were busy at the time, but the people outside the court were all praying for your freedom. They cared more about their savior than the king. You have a place amongst the commoners of the capital that can not be moved any time soon.
"I had people mingle into the crowd, and the words being said by those in the crowd talked about what you have been doing. Reforming the east side slums. Making it a place no different than the rest of the capital. People have even begun to look at it as a place of investment, even among the other nobles. I am sure many proposals have been sent to your assistant Thurul there." Grace's father explained with a faint smile. His stoic face had finally cracked, and he had a small smile on his lips.
"Now that you mention it…. I guess I have had Annie mention this a few times. I just have not had time to look them over. I will be sure to take a look today." I had a stack of papers on my desk but have yet to go through them. I really need to get myself together and work harder! I looked at the parents that were gazing at their daughter and smiled softly. "Since I have work to do, I will leave you in the care of Grace. Please do excuse me. And…." I looked at Grace's father and continued: "Take your time. Feel free to even steal her for the day or two or three."
"Master!" Grace cried out, but I could see she was not antsy or angry. She was looking at me with a look that showed how grateful she was.
"Grace, have fun. Your parents love you deeply. Whether you have them stay here for a while or you go with them for a while. You should spend more time with them." I said before turning to leave,
"Princess Cyrilia" Grace's mother suddenly called out to me causing me to pause my steps. I turned to see the beautiful woman looking at me with tears in her eyes but smiling. "Thank you!"
"You do not need to thank me. Grace is my friend and family. I will never let anything bad happen to her or keep her from those she holds dear and hold her dear. Enjoy your time together. Grace, take your time. There is no need to hurry."
