Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 197: Home

Chapter 197: Home

Aideen was speehcless; her head was completely blank.

Her uncle was there, right before her. Her uncle, her own flesh and blood... How could it be?

Finally, after so many years, someone from her family came to find her. For more than two decades, she was completely alone; her mother was pushed to death; she never knew her father; and although she knew that she was still of royal blood, her family never made an effort to reach out to her; to help her.

Now, however, only when she became overpowered with magic abilities, the Imrie family expressed their interest in her.

How convenient. How shameless.

She felt sick. Her body began to sway lightly, as if the ground beneath her disappeared; as if she was floating in the air.

Noticing her distress, both Tillian and Leif rushed towards her to offer their help but the princess lifted her hand in the air, gesturing for them to stop and not touch her. She feared that if someone did, she would simply shatter and disappear.

Scared and confused, the duke turned to the prince, his voice shaking as he addressed him, "Your Highness... Perhaps this is not the best time. We should postpone this meeting."

Leif was ready to agree but Aideen shook her head, dismissing that idea, "No, it’s alright. If I may..." She turned her head to Leif and continued, "I would like to be left alone with my... uncle."

Tillian, too, looked at Leif, whose eyes were glued to Aideen’s. Then, he touched his wife by her shoulder and asked, "Are you sure?"

The princess confirmed her request with a nod, "Yes. Please."

Although reluctantly, Duke Valentine agreed to his wife’s request and gestured for Sir Stanis to leave the room with him. The Crown Prince of Utar did the same, urging his knights to leave.

Once Aideen was left alone with her uncle, the awkward tension between them became palpable. Neither knew how to begin and what words would be best to utter first, the motionless silence started to feel unbearable.

At last, Leif decided to break the silence first, "Aideen––"

He couldn’t finish what he intended to say because the princess interrupted him immediately, "Why did you come here? Why now?"

Her uncle narrowed his eyes. The reason was obvious. And yet, the moment he met his niece, it had become absolutely clear to him––it wasn’t worth it. The connection he felt... He was certain that she felt it too. The bond only known to magic creatures. The unbreakable bond only known to dragons.

It was there. She was one with him. He was one with her. She had to go back.

The man released a long exhale and brushed his long dark red hair backwards, sitting back down in the chair he had occupied previously. His voice suddenly turned colder as he finally spoke again,

"Straightforward. Just like your grandfather. I guess, this is for the best."

With a rather unexpectedly delicate gesture of his big hand, Leif offered Aideen to take a seat beside him at the table, and when she chose a chair across from his, he continued,

"Very well, I will be just as straightforward. Come home, Aideen. I have come here to bring you back to Utar. Back to your family. Your real home."

Aideen’s eyebrows knitted together. Clutching her fists on top of her knees, she repeated only one word, "Home?"

"I know that it sounds strange to say something like this after so many years but you have to understand––"

"No," the princess interrupted him once again, all her efforts focused on fighting back a mocking laughter, desperate to escape her lungs, "I don’t think I will ever understand this. First, you sent my mother over here to make fake peace with Geraldion while waiting for things to become more favorable for your side. And now, only after I have awakened my powers, you become interested in what I have to offer. Is this what it means to be part of your family? Of your kingdom?"

Leif understood her entirely but he still couldn’t help feeling frustrated at her childish remarks. He rubbed his throbbing forehead with both hands before continuing,

"Aideen... Growing up in the royal palace, you must have learned how things work within families of our caliber. Everything we do has a hidden meaning behind it, even when we... send our relatives, our... children away. We have no choice. Our destiny is sealed."

The princess only shook her head, "Sealed? Is this your only excuse? Do you have any idea what I had to go through in that palace? Do you have any idea what my mother had to endure there?" She paused and averted her eyes’ the whirlwind of emotions was far too strong to control, "You don’t... You never will. It is easier this way. To be oblivious. To think that it has to be like this. To look for excuses. To justify everything."

The man’s expression grew sad and worried, "Aideen..."

"Save it," she shifted her dragon eyes back at her uncle, her glare cold and piercing, "Home? Family? I already have those. My home, my family... I found them here. With people who were complete strangers to me. Those people saved me, protected me, sacrificed––" Suddenly, tears started choking her as she thought of Bella, "Sacrifieced their lives for me. So... if you... If Utar wants my power... Well, bad news for all of you––you can’t have it. It belongs to me. It belongs to those who chose to be beside me when I needed it the most. You, unfortunately, were not one of them."

"Aideen, listen, please––" Leif tried to reason with his niece again but she cut him off by leaving her seat, her eyes turning even colder than before. She did not want to listen.

"Saife will prepare a guest room for you, feel free to stay as long as you need before going back. This meeting... is over."