The Squire on a White Horse

Chapter 8.1. The End of the Story

Our destination was not so far away. It was Father’s office.

I told Dana that she could wait for me in my room, but she followed me.

“I’m going to have a little talk with him. If it’s too late, you can go back to your study room.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

Father had told me at breakfast that he had no plans to go out today. I knocked, and sure enough, I heard him answer immediately, “Come in.”

I opened the door and closed it behind me.

“Excuse me.”

My father, who was still at his large desk, looked up at the sound of my voice as if he had finally realized that it was me who was visiting.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your work.”

“No, it’s fine. What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Stanley.”

I didn’t want to talk too long, so I just stood there and continued.

“I convinced him to take a four-hour nap. If that makes him late for work, please forgive him.”

I was sure Stanley would come to report back later, but I was the one who forced him to rest. I knew he wouldn’t get mad about it, but I wanted to be sure.

He looked surprised, and then breathed, “Of course.” It was like a sigh of relief.

“He’s finally asleep. After all the times I’ve told him to listen to me… that man is weak against you.”

“I asked him if he was going to make me a widow, and he said he would rest soon.”

“That’s good. I shall have to use that trick from now on.”

Laughing, Father moved from his office desk to the sofa.

“Come here.”

He patted the sofa next to him and called me over. He was even busier than Stanley. I asked him hesitantly.

“How was your work going?”

“I’d rather spend time talking to my soon-to-be departed daughter than working.”

I hesitated, but my father was right. I will be leaving home soon. Once I leave home, I wouldn’t be able to see him often anymore. I decided to spoil him for a little while.

I sat down on the sofa next to him, and he leaned back comfortably and crossed his fingers on his stomach.

“Stanley has been really good to you, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, he has. So much so that when I heard about the engagement, I asked him if he was in love with me to go that far.”

Father laughed out loud. He laughed for a moment, and then his face changed into a mysterious one.

“….And what did he say?”

‘Father, it’s that earnest Stanley. He kicked me out of the room for not being such a prude.”

“I see…”

The look on his face was subtle, not sure if he was relieved or not.

“In his mind, I’m still the same little girl I was when we first met.”

“It’s as if you’re saying I’m not a little girl now.”

I purposely pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes to stare at my father’s face. He shrugged his shoulders in a mirthless manner and changed the subject.

“Do you remember the day you first met Stanley?”

“Yes, of course. It was the day before the last big seizure. He didn’t mind me talking to him.”

I was already too weak to get up, so he tried to leave as soon as he finished greeting me. I remember desperately trying to stop him.

It had been a long time since I had seen anyone other than my family, the maids and the doctor, and I was happy. I was happy to see someone other than my family, the maid and the doctor.

“He told me about his adventures. When I was in boarding school, I encountered a bear while camping.”

It makes me break out in a cold sweat even remembering it now.

“It was in the middle of the night when Stanley woke up and noticed the shadow of a bear illuminated by a lamp across the tent.”

He woke up his classmates in the same tent in a panic, and then went to the log cabin where the teacher was sleeping, warning the other tents of the bear’s presence.

“I’m not going to bore you with the details of the story, but when he looked up to run away, he saw a bear three times his size standing in front of him.”

In an attempt to escape, Stanley pulled on Joseph’s hand, but he was still hunched over and unable to move. Looking back, Stanley saw that the bear had set its sights on Joseph.

“The bear swung its sharp claws down toward Joseph. And what do you think happened?　Stanley stopped talking and said he was done for the day! I can’t even sleep anymore…!”

I stood up and shouted loudly, and sat down again when I heard my father chuckle.

“…I can tell you now that I realized at the time that I didn’t have long to live. I thought I would be dead the day after tomorrow. That’s why I didn’t want to leave any unfinished business, so I urged Stanley to continue the conversation, but he didn’t talk to me that day. If I had died then, I’m sure I would have turned up as a ghost.”

“…Now that’s a joke I can tell.”

Father said with a wry smile.

“Stanley told me. He told me that after you fell into a coma, he told you a long story yesterday, and you should have let him finish it.”

I laughed in annoyance. I was the one who asked him to tell me the story.

This must be where his overprotection comes from.

“Do you remember the first thing I said when I woke up after miraculously surviving? Remember my first words when I woke up after the miracle? And yet, you know when he finally told me how it ended? After the last major surgery I had.”

That was last year. He hadn’t told me what happened to Joseph for almost eight years.

“I suspect that’s one of the reasons you’re still with us.”

“Yes, I’m sure it is. You can’t die after being rushed like that, you know.”

After all, the sound of the teacher’s rifle had frightened the bear and it had fled, leaving Joseph unharmed.

I was relieved that he wasn’t injured, but the rushed ending was so mundane that I booed him, saying he should have been more dramatic and saved one or two princesses after saving Joseph.

My father laughed when he heard about the ending.

“Perhaps to Stanley, not telling you the ending was like a favor.”

“Yes, it was.”

After a few moments of belly laughs, Father took a deep breath and seemed to finally stop laughing. “Let’s talk about something serious,” he said, leaning forward and clasping his hands together.