The next day, Adeline went to her father's quarter early in the morning. She wanted to convince him to go to Theodore's fountain in the hopes of treating her father.
Dragomir was in his study room when Adeline arrived in his quarter. He was doing a little research of his own about the Devil who was in love with his daughter.
When the guard announced that Adeline was there to see him, Dragomir quickly put away the manuscripts and scrolls that mentioned about the Devil of the Devil's Cave.
And then he welcomed his daughter, "Adeline, I was about to call you here. Good thing you came here on your own." Dragomir then pointed at the chair that was in front of him and asked, "Come, sit down."
"Thank you, father," Adeline gave a huge smile to her father as she settle down on the chair.
There was an awkward silence between the father and daughter for a while. Both of them didn't know how to start the conversation.
In the end, Dragomir began the conversation by saying, "I went to meet the Deity yesterday. And umm… he told me that Theodore is his brother."
"Yes, they are brothers." Adeline was finally able to smile upon hearing someone mention the Deity. Her anger towards him subsided to some extent after Theodore told her how Azriel managed to convince her father to meet Theodore.
Dragomir cleared his throat and then informed her, "The Deity will be coming with the Devil Prince to our Palace in a few days. They want to talk about your marriage."
Adeline's cheeks flushed a little even when she was already aware of everything. She smiled and shyly looked down.
Dragomir was expecting his daughter to get surprised or shocked by the news. So he guessed that this was not the first time that Adeline was hearing this. "You already knew, didn't you?"
Adeline glanced at her father and softly said, "Theodore came to visit me yesterday. He told me that he would be coming to ask my hand in marriage soon."
"He comes to visit you often?" Dragomir leaned back on his chair and smiled.
But for some reason, that smile looked like a threat to Adeline. And she hastily replied, "Only once in a while." Her father's piercing gaze never left her so she also added, "In my workroom."
"Oh, is that so?" Dragomir wrinkled his brows because he had never caught his daughter being visited by the Devil right under his nose. "Then why did the guards never tell me that you were having a visitor?"
Adeline's whole face began turning red because her father was able to pull the right string that was unveiling her and Theodore's secrets one by one.
"Err… He does not use the main door. He can directly teleport to my workroom." As the talks about their marriage was already set in motion, Adeline did not want to lie about Theodore anymore.
Of course, she was not going to give out every little detail to her father that could put her in trouble. But she was not going to keep hiding their relationship anymore.
And before her father could think some more and figure out on his own that Theodore could also give a visit to his daughter when she was in her bedroom, Adeline quickly diverted the topic. "Father, there is a fountain at Theodore's place which can rejuvenate people's health."
Dragomir raised his brows slightly as he already had a question in his mind. He wanted to ask if she had been to Theodore's Cave enough times to know what kind of things were there. But he let Adeline finish what she was saying first.
"And lately, I feel as though you have become a little weak. So, I would be at ease if you go with him and take a dip in his fountain. What do you say, father?"
Adeline did not say that the magical fountain was basically a healing place. She did not want to let her father know that she knew about his illness. He was trying hard not to show his weakness in front of the others, and she did not want to water down his efforts.
Dragomir laughed and dismissed her worry. "What makes you think that I am weak? I can still take down a few men with my bare hands. There is no need to rejuvenate."
However, Adeline was not going to give up until her father agreed with her. "Father, you can also utilize that time to get to know Theodore a little better. I think it would be better if you get to know him a little… you know, before he comes with the marriage proposal."
When Adeline put it that way, Dragomir felt that it would be a great opportunity to learn about the Devil firsthand.
Adeline said that the fountain was in the cave so he would also get to see how that Devil lived. His daughter could always live in the Palace with her husband after the marriage. In fact, as she was the Future Ruler, that was what Adeline was supposed to do.
But still, he would hate it if the Devil lived like an animal in the cold and stinky cave.
And besides, he had also never seen how the Devil looked like. He did not want the husband of the Future Queen to look ghastly. The people of Wyverndale would not accept the pair. So, the idea of knowing the suitor of his daughter greatly intrigued him.
Dragomir glanced into his daughter's eyes and agreed, "Okay. I will go with him then."
"Great!" Adeline smiled and asked her father, "Is today alright for the meeting? If it is then I will ask him to take you with him."
"Is he coming to see you today?" Dragomir was curious to know if she had already planned a meeting with him beforehand.
Adeline did not want to give the impression that she was sneakily meeting with Theodore very often. So she instead revealed another secret. She showed her hand to her father, revealing the beautiful ring that she was wearing. And she replied, "He is not coming today. But I can summon him once a day using this ring that he gave me."
Dragomir was definitely not impressed seeing his daughter already wearing a ring given by the Devil. But he tried to hide his discontent and calmly spoke, "Wow! That's a pretty handy ring to have. When did he give this to you?"
Nevertheless, Adeline could sense the sudden change in her father's tone. Hence, she tweaked the truth a little bit and said, "He gave this to me yesterday. After he met with the Deity."
Dragomir was at least relieved to know that she was not in possession of that ring for a long time.
And knowing that Adeline could call the Devil this instant, Dragomir suddenly felt restless to meet him. So he ordered his daughter, "Well, what are you waiting for then? Summon him."
"Now?" Adeline exclaimed as she was caught a little off guard by that sudden request from her father.
Dragomir nodded. "Yes, now." He glanced at Adeline's ring and shrugged his shoulders. "Why wait when summoning him is that easy?"
Adeline gave a nervous smile. "Sure."
She looked at her ring while Dragomir was watching her every move very closely.
Adeline brought her palm close to her lips but it felt really weird to kiss the ring in front of her father. So instead, she pretended that she was blowing air to the ring. She then rubbed the ring with her other palm and repeated the stupid trick again.
"I am so sorry, Theodore, for calling you without pre-informing you. But I have no choice," she thought to herself.
She sneakily placed a kiss in between her tricks.. And she crossed her fingers that Theodore would not appear in the room in some compromising get-up or some weird postures.