Chapitre 22: The Melancholic Father

Chapter 22

viLelouch's POV

It was a foggy morning, Alfonso Rivers cocked his head, curved a small smile and in his eyes, displayed a gleamer of longing as his car passed through a roundabout of a seemingly haunted castle.

He then stamped his feet on the ground, dusting the dirt in the soles of his shoes, before taking a step on the stairs leading to the main door of the castle.

While taking his steps, he looked around him but none moving was there other than the flowing mist around the castle walls.

Opening the door, a creaking sound of a heavy metal resounded and a series of modern torchlight ignited on every pillar, illuminating the dark hallway.

Treading the presumptuous carpet, Alfonso ran his gaze along the creepy portraits on the wall.

There were also statues of wolves set in a pedestal in every pillar, sculpted masterfully that they all looked so real.

A sense of familiarity enveloped the man as he trod the way inside.

Reaching a particular place; his destination, where its grandeur would have left anyone speechless— he surveyed the hall with wistful eyes.

The place has an architecture of no other—

Exquisite designs from floor to ceiling, staircases were made of mahogany, furnitures were handmade by masters of craftsmen and the lighting fixtures were—

'oh goddess'

.... words aren't enough to describe. But more than its splendor, the palace itself is a status of symbol over the centuries.

It is located deep in the forest, hidden behind the towering trees and mystic mist and guarded by the elite of elites.

It is where the Aplha of alphas reside; the highest reigning monarch of the werewolves— the Emperor.

"To what do I owe this visit?"

Alfonso turned towards the voice and chuckled, "I would like to have a talk over a cup of coffee with my beloved brother, if I may."

"You fairly know that your beloved brother is the highest reigning monarch. Then how about a bow at the least?"

Alfonso's brows furrowed at the remark of the man across him.

Matching the man's gaze, he twitched a devilish smile, "And how about a good lap of your tongue on my shoes after— brother?"

[*************]

"You seemed not well Alfonso," the Emperor asked after awhile of standing by a floor-to-ceiling glass window, overlooking an open field.

"She has found her mate," Alfonso's voice came out almost a whisper. Even so, the words made the Emperor to hang his cup of coffee midway from his mouth.

"Lou did?" He asked in an inquisitive tone.

Not sparing a glance at the emperor in his side, Alfonso just nodded, a sad smile along with it, and the faraway look in his eyes never faded.

"Shouldn't this news to be celebrated?"

"Why are you sulking and being melancholic here?"

"The parent in me just can't let go Leo," a bitter tone wrapped around those words.

"I should have capture every minute, those precious time with my daughter," he continued.

Leopold by then kept his silence, sympathetically giving all ears to his twin.

"Growing up, she was always slipping through my fingers—,"

"... but she also kept coming back."

"This time though, I doubt that she would."

A long pause passed and a blanket of sorrow hanged in the air.

"Time flew so fast," the melancholic father once again continued.

"One day, I opened my eyes and there stood a refined woman where a silly girl used to be," he blinked a couple of times to wash away the tears that was forming.

"I was not prepared for this, this feeling of losing her forever—"

"You are not losing her brother and you are not going to lose her," Leopold cut him off.

"You will always be her father and she'll always be your little girl," he stressed the words and gave a reassuring smile at the end.

"And one more thing,—" this made Alfonso to turn his gaze on his brother.

"You talk like you're giving away your daughter."

"She just found her mate— not that you are giving her away on a wedding."

Alfonso huffed, chuckled and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Well, to us werewolves, meeting our mate is likely the ringing of the bells of the humans."

A defeated laugh broke out from Leo, then he groaned.

"Nah, I may not have my own but it doesn't mean I would not know of what you are feeling right now," he stated, throwing a side glance at his twin.

"Really brother—," Alfonso dragged, his eyes pierced through his brother's. "How could you?"

"You don't have—" he paused and regretted his words.

"Right," he ran his palm through his face. "My bad," he apologized. "For a second, I forgot your god-daughter, that human."

"Yeah," Leopold asserted with a dragging voice. "That human who only remembers me whenever her birthdays come," he added, sounding bitter.

"Well, she has a life to live," Alfonso tapped his brother's shoulder.

"Just be content that she's visiting you— sometimes."

Sensing the mischief in the words, Leopold frowned, "Can I punch you in the face right now?"

Alfonso smirked, "That— is even a hit could land."

'hehehe'