A few days after the Margaret Festival

Kristin had asked Duke Raphael to help arrange a visit, as she grew increasingly curious about her father’s circumstances, whom she hadn’t seen in months.

Today was the day she would visit him in the palace prison.

Despite not attending the wedding of his long-desired daughter, Kristin couldn’t let go of the pity she felt for her father, who had been forced into hard labor.

After meeting her stepmother, her father had lost himself in a life of dissipation.

She wondered if things might have been different if he had never met Lady Rose. But she no longer held any expectations for him.

Still, she felt it was her duty as a daughter to show her face at least once, even to a father sentenced to life imprisonment, never to see the outside world again.

It was unavoidable.

Severing ties completely was impossible because her childhood memories with her mother and father were so beautiful that the thought of it pained her deeply.

“Everything’s ready, right? I sent a letter to the prison warden, letting them know we’d be visiting today,” said Duke Raphael.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. If it’s something my wife desires, it’s only right that I fulfill it.”

Duke Raphael held Kristin’s hand as they left the duchy and boarded the carriage bound for the imperial palace.

As the carriage moved, Kristin recalled a dream she had the previous night.

It was strange because she had never dreamt about fruit before. But last night, she dreamt of a pristine white, blush-pink peach, ripened to perfection.

Even stranger, it was in the depths of a forest where one would never expect to find a peach tree. In the dream, she had been astonished to discover and even picked the large peach.

As she gazed at the peach, with its sweet fragrance and juices seemingly ready to burst as soon as she took a bite, she was awoken by the sound of birds chirping.

The peach in her dream had been so vivid that Kristin wanted to share it with Duke Raphael, but she decided to wait.

Her mother had once told her that she had dreamt of fruit when pregnant with Kristin.

So, Kristin suspected it might be a pregnancy dream about a daughter. However, since she wasn’t entirely certain, she hesitated to mention it to the Duke.

She didn’t want to disappoint him if it turned out not to be a pregnancy dream, She resolved to wait a little longer and consult a physician later.

“How are you feeling today? What do you most want to say to your father if you see him?”
At Raphael’s question, Kristin thought about her father.

She most wanted him to accept his current situation without resentment and humbly atone for his sins.

“There are so many things I want to say, but I don’t know if Father would even listen. After all, a child accusing their parent is a grave matter, and he might not want to see me at all.”

Hearing this, Duke Raphael held her hand tightly.

Then, he kissed her forehead and spoke.

“Still, if you see him today, he’ll be glad. It’s okay. Just try to relax and ease your mind.”

Kristin nodded silently at his words.

—

When they arrived at the palace, Kristin waited outside for a moment while Duke Raphael went to meet the warden overseeing the underground prison.

Afterward, Kristin and the Duke were led to the visitation room, waiting for Viscount Vernon.

Kristin felt both anxious and deeply pained.

No matter how much she tried to steel herself, the truth behind her mother’s death still weighed heavily on her, and her heart couldn’t rest completely.

As she watched the clock in the visitation room, her father finally appeared, trudging in with a gaunt frame.

“Father.”

“Kristin? Is that you, Kristin?”

But there was something strange about her father’s face as he spoke.

He smiled brightly, almost like a child, and instead of showing anger, he beamed at her as though in a state of shock-induced madness.

“Ah, Father.”

“Yes, how have you been? …Let me see. What was your name again?”

“Father, it’s me, Kristin. Don’t you remember me?”

“Oh, right. Kristin, that’s it. This is how I am now. Hahaha.”

Kristin exchanged a glance with Duke Raphael, struggling to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.

Seeing her distress, Duke Raphael leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“The warden told me that your father seems to have lost his mind since being in the underground prison. He meets with a psychiatrist at the palace’s medical facility but he keeps forgetting things. The doctor believes that the brain injury may have caused the mental issues. Since the forced labor in prison seems too much for him, the doctor suggested that, with the guardian’s consent, he could be admitted to a hospital.”

“Your Grace…”

Kristin couldn’t help but collapse at Duke Raphael’s words.

The sadness overwhelmed her, and the tears she had fought so hard to hold back flowed freely.

She had tried not to cry in front of her father, but in the end, she couldn’t stop the tears.

“Child? Why are you crying so sadly? Did I do something wrong? This is something I’ve collected, do you want to eat it?”

What her father offered her were small candies.

His palm, full of blisters, held several bags of multicolored candy that he had somehow gathered, and Kristin wiped her tears with a handkerchief before looking at her father and speaking.

“Ah, Father, thank you. How did you know I liked candy? I’ll enjoy it, Father.”

“I thought you might come, so I prepared it in advance.”

“How did you know that?”

Viscount Vernon answered Kristin’s question.

“How did I know? I met someone in my dreams. The face wasn’t unfamiliar, so I think it was someone I’ve known for a long time. A lovely lady appeared. I’d like to meet her in person.”

After saying this, Viscount Vernon put his hands in his pockets like a child and then turned to Kristin.

“By the way, do you live here too? This place isn’t uncomfortable, but it’s a bit suffocating.”

He then tilted his head, as if confused.

Kristin looked at her father, and he spoke again.

“What did you say your name was?”

“Kristin. I think it’s best to take you to the hospital, Viscount.”

Kristin was certain that her father wasn’t pretending to act to get out of prison.

His vacant, unfocused eyes and the innocent way he spoke made it clear that something was wrong.

So, she agreed to take him to the hospital.

The warden entered the visitation room and added another piece of information.

—

[Since Viscount Vernon first arrived at the prison, he refused to do any forced labor, and during that time, he had a conflict with another inmate. It seems that he fell and injured his head during that altercation, and ever since, he’s been in his current state.]

—

With that, Kristin understood the cause of her father’s change.

She felt guilty, knowing that she was the one who had led him to this state, but there was nothing she could do.

Her mother had been pitiful as well.

As Kristin was lost in thought, she suddenly remembered Lady Rose and asked the warden if she could meet her. However, the warden simply shook his head.

When Kristin asked why she couldn’t meet Lady Rose, the warden hesitated before speaking carefully.

“Lady Rose Veronica passed away a few days ago.”

“What?”

Kristin was stunned and, in her shock, asked again. The warden responded.

“While she was in prison, she refused food, complained to the guards and other inmates, and then, one day, she started coughing severely as if she had contracted an illness. We isolated her, but when we checked, she had died from acute pneumonia. Normally, we would have sent a letter to the Edith Mansion, but Lady Rose had instructed that no letters about her should be sent.”

“Why, why did she say that?”

“I told her I’d make sure her one and only daughter would come to see her, out of curiosity if nothing else.”

It was then that Kristin finally understood.

Lady Rose must have missed Elena terribly.

However, since Elena had never come to visit her mother, Lady Rose seemed to have succumbed to a broken heart that eventually claimed her life.

“Kristin.”

Duke Raphael called out to her, worried. Kristin forced a smile and replied to him.

“I’m fine, Your Grace. I had anticipated this. I thought they might not be happy to see me, but still, this is a bit of a shock.”

As Kristin swayed slightly, Duke Raphael quickly steadied her by holding her shoulder and said,

“I’m sorry about your father. I’ll find the best hospital for him, so let’s head back now.”

Kristin left the visitation room, leaving her father, who still didn’t recognize her, behind.

Holding back the pain that seemed to tear her heart apart, she climbed into the carriage and broke into uncontrollable sobs.

Duke Raphael silently held her close and said,

“It’ll get better. Bad things and good things always follow each other. Don’t worry, Kristin.”

At his words, Kristin nodded and replied,
“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“I’ll always be here for you, so don’t worry, Kristin.”