Chapter 11

Under the moonlight, which cast deep shadows, Father's expression was stern and intimidating.

Even I, his own daughter, was taken aback for a moment, so Ilius and the others must have been terrified.

Ilius's face was contorted, and Smia was completely frightened.

The only one who remained unperturbed was Lucian, who stood beside me.

Lucian is amazing.

He is, after all, a capable butler (in training).

I silently praised this excellent servant and looked up at Father on horseback.

"Father, why are you here? I thought you had work until late tonight?"

"Fool!"

A sharp rebuke.

Father, with a face that could rival a demon king, shouted at me.

"Of course, you are more important! If anything happened to you, how would I go on living from tomorrow...?"

He pressed his fingertips to his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

It was a sigh mixed with anger, anguish, and relief.

Seeing Father, who I had never seen look so weak before, my heart also stirred in the same way.

"......Father, I'm sorry for causing you worry......"

"......I nearly fainted. Why did you leave the house at night without telling me where you were going?"

"......I didn't want to trouble you, Father. I thought that something like tonight could be handled by Lucian and me without bothering you, who are so busy......"

That's why I sneaked out of the mansion.

I thought that if I finished my business and returned quickly, Father, who is so busy, wouldn't notice.

"I'm very sorry for causing you trouble with my selfish actions......"

"......Don't apologize, Letitia. The one who should be apologizing here is not you."

Father said this as if groaning and uncovered his face.

Then, the stern and imposing face that he usually wears appeared.

"Are you the third son of the Iller Duke and the new fiancée of the prince, Smia?"

Under Father's sharp gaze, Smia trembled.

"What did you intend to do, calling my daughter out at such a late hour?"

If you don't answer satisfactorily, I'll cut you down.

That's how it sounded.

......Father is a civil servant, so such a scenario is impossible, but his presence was so overwhelming that I almost heard it.

"The Duke of Gramwell, it's a misunderstanding. We did not intend to harm Miss Letitia."

Ilius, taking Smia's place, met Father's gaze.

As expected of the scheming glasses-wearing type, he showed no visible signs of agitation and responded to Father with a polite demeanor and respectful language.

"Did not intend to harm her? Then why did you call her to such a place? If it was just a conversation, there was no need to do it in such a desolate place?"

"......Young people sometimes want to talk in private, away from prying eyes."

"Talk? Then how do you explain why this Smia has her hair cut off? I assume she must have fought back when you tried to lay a hand on her?"

"......!!"

Smia averted her eyes and bit her lip.

Father looked down at her with a snort.

"Hmph. I had heard that you had taken the prince from my daughter, and I thought you must be an excellent woman. But now, you seem quite ordinary. Third son of the Iller Duke, I intend to file a complaint with your father and demand an apology for tonight's incident. I will let you off this time, so take Smia and go back to the mansion and think of an excuse to tell your father."

"......I appreciate your leniency."

Ilius bowed and took Smia's arm.

He dragged the visibly upset Smia away in the opposite direction from Father.

I glared at them until they were out of sight, then Father dismounted from his horse and approached me.

"Letitia......"

"Father......"

Bathed in the moonlight, we stood facing each other in silence.

It was very awkward, but I knew this was not the time to look away.

"You still don't rely on me, do you......? I'm sorry for being an unreliable father."

"That's not true. I do rely on and trust you, Father. Absolutely not."

"......I don't need your comfort. Since losing your mother, Selena, I haven't been able to interact with you properly. That's why you, as you grew older, started to avoid me and stopped seeing me, right?"

"That's not true!!"

It was a completely wrong assumption.

......After shouting without thinking, I realized that this must have been the cause of our long-standing misunderstanding.

"I respect you, Father, and I've always wanted to build a good relationship with you as a daughter...... But you seemed so busy, and I thought it would be bad to take up your time, so I avoided contact."

"......What? You admired me even though I didn't act like a proper parent?"

"Father, you taught me what it means to be a noble. And I know that you have always protected me. I was able to focus on my training as a princess because of your support."

Yes, Father has always been there for me.

Until now, I had been afraid that he disliked me because he never showed a smile......

But now, with the memories of my past life, I can see our relationship more objectively, and I know that Father's love for me is undeniable.

"Letitia, to understand the thoughts of such an awkward person like me, you are truly a wise and kind daughter...... That's why I recommended you as the prince's fiancée to make use of your talents......"

Father's gaze became even sharper, as if it could make someone faint just by looking at it.

"......And yet, that prince, in front of so many people, announced the annulment of the engagement and your exile, which was an unbelievable act of folly...... I can no longer forgive the prince, and myself for appointing such a prince as your fiancé."

"Father......"

"You have been working hard on your princess training and have never complained. It might be too late, but...... if there is anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."

"......Then, Father, could you smile at me?"

"......What?!"

I was scolded for stating my wish.

"Letitia, are you serious......?"

"Is it not allowed? I feel your love, but I wanted to see a visible sign of it, a smile......"

"No, it's just......"

"Is it difficult?"

"......Alright. Be prepared."

Prepared?

I wondered what he was going to say and looked at Father's expression.

"!!"

Scary. Super scary.

The first thought that came to mind when I saw Father's smile was that.

Yes, a smile.

I could tell that Father was smiling, but......

It was a very intimidating smile.

To put it bluntly, it was a super-villain face.

Father was already imposing and intimidating, but......

Instead of softening the atmosphere, his smile made it even more tense.

It looked like he was plotting something sinister.

It was the kind of smile that would make a child cry and say, "That man is scary."

"Father, that smile......"

"......It's scary, right? I know very well. It seems that I am fatally bad at making smiles...... When I tried to smile at you when you were just old enough to understand, you cried and avoided me for a while...... So, to avoid being disliked by you any further, I decided to seal away my smile......"

"......I'm sorry."

I had no choice but to apologize.

Indeed, I thought it was a smile that would make a child cry, but I never imagined that I myself had done it as a child.

Children can be cruel, and I never realized this more than now.

"So, Father, you didn't show me a smile to avoid scaring me......"

I felt a sudden sense of relief.

I never expected that the root cause of our long-standing misunderstanding was that Father's smile was scary.

Father is a very awkward person.

I can understand why he, a busy man who had lost his wife, would struggle with how to interact with his only daughter......

......Well, yeah.

Sometimes, the excellence of a public figure and the awkwardness of a private person coexist......

"Yes, that's right. My smile is very scary, as my brothers have often told me...... And I felt guilty that my daughter, you, resembled me in that way."

"......What? Wait a minute, what do you mean?"

I couldn't help but ask in response to his unexpected words.

"I thought I looked like Mother. The portrait of Mother and my reflection in the mirror were very similar."

"......In appearance, yes. You resemble Selena in beauty and charm...... But when you smile, you resemble me. You have the same smile as my scary one......"

No way!?

To deny it, I took out a hand mirror from my dress and held it up.

I smiled, and a soft smile appeared on the face of the blonde girl in the mirror, and I felt relieved.

"Look, Father. Where is this similar to your smile just now?"

"Ah, I know. When you smile like that, you look like an angel...... But try imagining the prince in front of you. Think of someone you don't trust and don't want to show any weakness to, and try to smile."

"The prince in front of me......"

I remembered.

Until now, I had always been on guard in front of the prince, trying not to show any weakness or pitiful side.

I recalled the expression I used to hide my feelings and put on a brave face in front of the prince and tried to recreate it......

"......Wow."

An un-ladylike groan escaped me.

The me in the mirror, thank you, is clearly a villainous lady (face).

Shocked, I stared at the mirror.

The girl in the mirror had narrowed eyes and a curled lip, giving off an intimidating presence.

Indeed, this smile would never look weak or pitiful...... but it was too much of a villainous face.

While it didn't have the same overwhelming presence as Father's smile, it was a sufficiently intimidating smile for a 17-year-old girl.

......Is Father's DNA working too hard?

Feeling the blood in my veins, I shuddered alone.

Although I had attended the academy for about two years, I had only a few friends.

I thought it was inevitable due to my busy princess training and my status as a duke's daughter......

But with this villainous lady smile, and the title of a duke's daughter and a princess (in training), it must have been hard for others to approach me.

I must have seen this smile in the mirror before......

It's difficult to view one's own face and expressions objectively.

Now, with the memories of my past life, I was quietly shocked by my own villainous lady smile when I looked in the mirror again.

Now that I realize the destructive power of my smile, I understand why the prince chose Smia.

I can't forgive the prince, and I can assert that I did nothing wrong......

But I realized that staying with me, who always had this villainous lady smile, must have been suffocating for the prince.

......Decided. I will improve.

I will improve my smile.

I vowed that I would never be a villainous lady (face) again.

Thank you for reading.

With this, the various events in Letitia's homeland have come to a major conclusion.

I think that in tomorrow's update, she will finally head to the palace and the mofumofu's place.

I greatly appreciate any corrections for typos and comments.

Since I have some free time today and tomorrow, I will take my time to read them and respond to comments and correct typos.