Chapter 7 - She’s My Daughter

Pope Raphael calmed the screaming elders and turned back to Miltiades.

“This is very important to us. Please answer, Emperor Miltiades.”

No one knew what Miltiades was thinking about as he stared at the pope.

Eventually, one of the elders could not handle the silence.

“The saintess’s guardian should be decided using a fair and sacred procedure.”

“This decision was wrong from the beginning!”

“Are you looking down on the saintess’s decision?”

“This is the decision of the saintess who foresaw the future! Are you ignoring the weight of the prophecy?”

And it started.

As I looked at the mess that was the meeting room, emotions surged inside my heart.

‘How am I going to fix this? I think I failed.”

While the elders were arguing amongst themselves, I was only looking at my dad. 

He was far away from the noisy atmosphere as if he weren’t a part of what was going on. His calm gaze and cold expression made it seem as though he would never compromise. However, they also made him beautiful.

He really was handsome.

‘No, it shouldn’t be like this.’

I almost fell for my favorite character’s beauty.

“Although this is the will of the saintess and that person, it is wrong to choose an unqualified person to be her guardian,” one of the twelve elders, Mario, spoke. 

I had nothing to say since they were talking about Miltiades’s personality.

“I concur! The Northern Empire has been hostile toward the Holy Empire!”

“What will you do if a nonbeliever takes the saintess and does something to her?”

Elder Leo and Elder Gregorio nodded. The situation was getting worse for me. 

‘You guys are the reason he’s a nonbeliever!’

Since I knew the story from beginning to end, I was flabbergasted. 

These people used to support the previous emperor, blatantly opposed Miltiades’s succession to the throne, and didn’t even send a priest to bless the coronation. Seeing them blame Miltiades for ruining their relationship made me upset. 

‘Hey, even though my favorite character killed a few people, he’s not a bad guy!’

I was itching to jump in and defend him.

If the elders kept going, I probably would have gone after them.

‘At least they’re watching their words in front of him.’

This was the time for the villain to show his dignity. That’s right. My Miltiades was the villain. And the worst one of all. 

These kinds of characters, the handsome villains, weren’t rare. 

My Miltiades was like that.

But he died at the hands of the male lead…

‘I’m here now so he’ll be fine! I have to fix this problem first! I can’t go to anyone other than Miltiades!’

The situation was getting worse.

“We cannot ignore the prediction, so what about choosing Duke Ravenhook as her guardian, since he is also from the Northern Empire?”

‘What is that grandpa saying?’

I frowned, while Elder Raquel nodded in delight.

“Oh, that is a great idea.”

“He is from the Northern Empire and is also the younger brother of Emperor Miltiades, so you are still family.”

“That is correct. This is a wise alternative.”

The elders were already celebrating the fact that I would be sent to Duke Ravenhook.

‘I’ll never go to that man!’

Duke Ravenhook was Priscilla’s family. To be precise, he was the one who ruined her!

I couldn’t stop myself and was about to say something. 

“I can’t handle listening to all of this crap anymore.”

A cold voice echoed throughout the hall. Miltiades stood up from his chair. I became more worried.

‘Is he going to leave? Without me? No! Never! I’ll chase you even as a ghost!’

Right when I was about to get out of my seat, I made eye contact with Miltiades. 

When he looked at me, I immediately froze. 

Miltiades did not leave the room but started walking toward me at a relaxed pace.

When he got in front of me, he picked me up out of my seat.

“She’s my daughter.”

I looked at him as he carried me, turned around, and exited the meeting room. 

The elders looked at each other with stupid expressions, but I was the most surprised.

‘I’m his daughter?!’

***

Miltiades’s mind was racing as he carried the child outside.

‘Why did I do that?’

His body had moved on its own, without thinking of the consequences. However, when he came back to his senses, he oddly didn’t regret anything. He knew better than anyone that the elders would act that way.

Miltiades wasn’t happy about the adoption. He didn’t want to be associated with the Holy Empire in any way.

‘Why did I…’

The tearful look on the child’s face grated his nerves far more than the arrogant elders.

‘Why did it bother me?’