Father, I Won’t Do Anything

Until now, Mikael and Hilvenzia had thought Jaina needed a father.

They felt sorry for the young child living alone in the Magic Tower, and she had come close to losing her life many times.

But that was only their own assumption. Jaina didn’t need a father.

-You don’t need to think of me as your daughter. And I won’t call you father, either.

It wasn’t resentment towards the father who had ignored her until now.

It was complete indifference.

The child who had never expected anything from the beginning remained the same even as she grew into a young girl.

In that case, instead of forcing a connection, would it be alright to leave things as they were?

After making such a great sacrifice to save his own daughter, Diamid as her father wouldn’t abandon or kill Jaina.

Even if the dragon clan invaded again, he would likely try to protect her like before.

‘Yeah, from Jaina’s perspective, it must seem absurd. The father who denied she was his daughter suddenly trying to act friendly.’

‘Come to think of it, Jaina was never a clingy child either.’

Mikael and Hilvenzia inwardly broke out in a cold sweat.

‘My first impression of her wasn’t good either.’

‘It’s a good thing I quickly adjusted my attitude.’

And they felt newly apologetic towards Jaina.

Having nearly lost the small girl before them, they couldn’t help but recall all the times from when they first met until now that they had failed to treat her well.

“Shorty… I’m sor… sor… sorry for saying all those awful things to you…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I’m sor… sor… sorry…”

Jaina smiled faintly and silently took Mikael’s hand.

Then with her other hand, she took Hilvenzia’s hand.

She knew full well how much these two cared for her.

* * *

Princess Elia said as she led her horse by the reins:

“I don’t think there’s any harm in learning horseback riding.”

Recently, horseback riding had emerged as one of the cultivated hobbies for noble ladies.

However, maintaining horses required a lot of effort, and more importantly, the horses themselves were expensive, so it wasn’t a hobby that could be easily enjoyed.

But that very point appealed to the high-class nobles.

And above all else…

“My heart races when I see Her Highness riding with her hair tied high!”

“You look as dignified and dashing as any man, no, even more so!”

The sight of Elia riding filled the ladies’ hearts with admiration.

The fact that the continent’s greatest swordsman was a woman had significantly changed the culture of the Empire.

It was now a common sight for ladies to ride horses in riding attire that fully revealed the lines of their legs, which had once been taboo.

“You’ve turned thirteen now, so you’re old enough to ride.”

The reason Jaina had come to the imperial palace today was to learn horseback riding from Elia.

If the Magic Tower had horses, Elia could have had the knights teach Jaina instead of personally instructing her. But the Magic Tower where Jaina was staying didn’t have any horses.

‘Though they do have chimeras fused from horses and lions.’

Jaina imagined riding a monstrous creature with a horse’s head and a lion’s body, but quickly dismissed the thought.

“Usually, the biggest hurdle is overcoming fear of horses…”

Elia glanced at Jaina and the horse.

As expected, Jaina remained calm even when faced with a horse almost as tall as herself.

“It seems you have nothing to worry about.”

Elia selected a gentle mare suitable for beginners to ride.

“Hello there, please take care of me.”

Jaina liked the fluffy mane of the horse before her. When she stroked it, the horse let out a pleased neigh.

Even after Jaina mounted it, the horse showed no signs of bucking or whinnying in distress.

Just as Elia had said, it seemed gentle and wise.

“The horse seems to be taking well to you, Jaina.”

Starting with simply walking on the horse, the pace gradually increased.

After some time, Jaina was able to ride at a fairly brisk trot without Elia holding the reins.

“You may be the only child who can remain so composed while riding.”

“There must be others, aunt?”

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice cut in.

Jaina and Elia turned to see Arnen performing tricks on a fine steed.

“I’m only two years older than her, but I can already ride this well.”

“Arnen. Didn’t you start riding horses from a young age?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re becoming more and more like your father.”

Arnen made a sullen expression.

“Is that a compliment?”

“I left your upbringing to your father, but seeing you now, I think I need to step in.”

“Why? Why is that?”

“It was only after receiving ‘discipline’ from me that your father was able to properly imitate being human.”

“…Goodbye. I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

Stung by Elia’s words, Arnen hurriedly turned his horse around and headed elsewhere.

Watching him, Jaina asked Elia out of curiosity:

“What was this ‘discipline’ you subjected His Highness Arnen’s father to?”

“I took him along on a monster hunt in the north. After losing both arms to a wart-like monster, he stopped carelessly talking about starting wars.”

The monsters of the northern regions were among the fiercest, in a place even mercenaries who would do anything for money refused to go.

Elia added with a sigh:

“Even after reattaching his arms with alchemy, he still whines about it… He lacks the courage befitting a member of the imperial family.”

It was a glimpse of Elia’s bold character.

“For a member of the imperial family to inspect the front lines of a monster hunt… It seems like a rational method. It should also boost the morale of the knights.”

“Thank you. But even my son Rosian sometimes fails to understand me like this. I think he was around your age when I said if the northern monsters weren’t exterminated, I would take him along monster hunting, and he made a face like a rotten tomato.”

The somewhat sensitive Rosian likely couldn’t understand this side of Princess Elia’s personality.

“But now he might ask me to take him first.”

“Huh?”

“No, just talking to myself.”

Elia gave a slight smile to the tilting Jaina, a rare expression from the usually stern-faced Princess.

“With Rosian at the academy, I have quite a bit of free time now. I’ll be glad if you visit me often like this, Jaina.”

“It would be an honor, as long as I’m not a nuisance. I’m always grateful to you, Princess Elia.”

Jaina decided to try riding without holding the reins.

The horse was gentle-natured, so she quickly adapted, plus Elia’s training method was rather spartan.

Hihing-

The sensation was different from merely trotting, where Elia held the reins to help her balance.

There was a stark difference between that and synchronizing her breathing with the horse’s movement.

“Good, you’re doing well.”

As Jaina rode alongside the horse in the training grounds, a mocking voice came from the side.

“You’re going so slowly. When are you actually going to gallop at that pace?”

“…”

“Scaredy-cat, scaredy-cat.”

Arnen had approached Jaina from afar and started taunting her.

“If you want, I can help you go faster?”

Seeing this, Elia frowned slightly but didn’t intervene.

She knew Jaina wouldn’t rise to Arnen’s provocations.

“Hey, are you ignoring me?”

“I heard you have business with Prince Rosian, not me. Instead of trying to use me, why don’t you challenge him properly?”

“What? What are you talking about right now?”

“If you have nothing else to say, please move aside.”

Jaina wasn’t fixated on speed. She wanted to learn the basics thoroughly, step-by-step.

Unlike those who focused only on the immediate results before them, she took a more deliberate approach.

“This is really…”

Watching Jaina refocus on her riding posture, Arnen’s face contorted in frustration. In contrast, Elia gave a satisfied smile.

‘There’s no need for me to get involved.’

Jaina was calmly riding at her own pace.

‘The more I see her, the more I like her.’

While part of it might be because she was the daughter of an old comrade, Elia was impressed by Jaina’s solemn demeanor and depth of thought, uncommon for her age.

Shouldn’t a member of the imperial family be composed and graceful like this?

‘Rosian has a somewhat emotional tendency, so it would be good to have her as a steadying influence.’

As she gazed intently at Jaina, Elia recalled the message Diamid had sent her some time ago.

-If you watch over my daughter, I will actively assist the Empire.

Until now, the Magic Tower had remained neutral, never taking any country’s side. If the Tower Lord himself offered to lend his aid to the Empire, it would be a tremendous help.

However, Elia didn’t respond immediately. Even without Diamid’s request, she had planned to act as Jaina’s guardian, and she wanted to observe Diamid’s intentions for a while longer.

-Has he decided to acknowledge her as his daughter now? But why leave her in my care? Because I’m the Princess?

-It’s not like that.

Diamid had replied in what sounded like a pained voice.

-It’s not like that?

He had distanced himself from Elia, his old comrade, obsessing over magic for some time now.

Yet here he was, suddenly making a personal request to her in a deflated tone – it seemed something must have happened recently.

Jaina had said she had only briefly collapsed due to an allergy… but it didn’t seem that simple.

‘But I didn’t pry further, as that would have been overstepping.’

Elia worried whether it was really alright for Jaina to remain at the Magic Tower.

‘Whatever Diamid’s intentions are… I hope things work out for the best.’

Watching Jaina happily galloping on her horse, Elia quietly sighed.

* * *

After the taunting Arnen disappeared into the distance once more, Jaina tried to refocus on her riding.

But she soon had to let go of the reins again.

“Hihihingg!”

A winged white horse descended from the sky.

“What is that, am I seeing things…?”

“The horse has wings… No, the horse is flying?!”

The people nearby rubbed their wide eyes in disbelief.

The white horse that descended from the sky had a white horn, and its eyes shone like gems reflecting the light.