4 Mete Out a Punishmen (1/2)

Tsundere. Her father is a tsundere. Chalice giggled inwardly at her thought. Duke Alaric Sylvann de Amaranth was known to be taciturn and merciless. And in her memories he was always strict and cold. The way she sees it however, the man was actually the prickly on the outside, soft on the inside type of person. Now that she thinks about it, this father of hers is quite cute.

Not mentioning the fact that he was very handsome as well.

'Hah. The genes of my family is impeccable.'

Chalice noticed that her mother was not around. So to ease the tension and awkwardness between them she asked for her whereabouts.

”Your mother is in the kitchen. She went to oversee the preparations for lunch.”

Her father answered curtly, his attention at the papers in his hands.

”Oh, I see. Am I disturbing you father?”

Chalice started. She wanted to talk about what had happened. She wanted to apologize. And given the customs of this time, she knew that a punishment is in order for her. After all, it was the prince of the empire that she had offended.

Her father looked up at her and laid down his documents at the table.

”No. Is there a problem, Chalice?”

Chalice put her hand in front of the other, trying to determine where she should start. She lowered her head and released a tense breath.

'Oh to hell with it. I had my faults. I need to admit all of it lest my father comes up with asevere punishment for me.'

”I'm sorry, Papa. Sorry... for giving you trouble again.”

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Alaric was dumbfounded. He already prepared his ears for Chalice's usual bellyful of complaints. Not once had he imagined a day that his daughter would actually lower her head and apologize. But what was more important was... She called him papa. Papa!

The last time he heard Chalice call him that was when she was five. Alaric was in a bliss. He struggled to maintain his composure. However, his eyes softened to noticeable degree. He breathed in deeply before answering her.

”It is good that you are sensible enough to acknowledge your wrong. That is enough for me and your mother. The important thing now is for you to recuperate. You don't have to worry about other matters.”

Alaric had planned for Chalice to return to their fief as her punishment if ever she complained. Much to his delight however, Chalice apologized instead. It must be noted that this proud daughter of his seldom apologized. What she had done was already a feat of its own. Alaric was willing to let her go with this, even if he had to anger the crown prince. It's not as if the boy can do anything about it. He will just apologize to the emperor himself if need be. His daughter is obviously more important than some prince.

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