IBODBF 10

“Am I really, really pretty?!”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yeeep.”

“Really really?!”

“Yes!”

Joshua, my bodyguard (who was watching me today in Rita’s place), raised his voice a bit as he answered me.

…Was that a hint of irritation in his tone? Wait—was he annoyed because I kept asking? Was he mad at me now?

“…Shushu, are you mad at me?”

“Huh? N-No! Not at all!”

“I only asked because I was feeling unsure… Did that really bother you?”

“Oh no, not at all! Absolutely not, young lady! Please believe me, okay?”

Joshua practically pleaded.

To be honest, I had started asking just to hear an objective opinion but the more he answered, the more I enjoyed watching his reactions.

“Don’t worry. I was just teasing.”

“…Sorry, what?”

“Let’s go!”

I hopped down from my chair and headed for the door.

“Ah—young lady, please don’t go off on your own!”

Hearing Joshua scramble after me was so funny I couldn’t help but giggle.

Of course, since his legs were a lot longer than mine, I got scooped up in no time, ending our little game of tag just as it was getting fun.

When we arrived at the garden entrance, it was bustling with people. Among the crowd, Hale stood out instantly, his beauty as dazzling as ever.

“Daddy!”

I waved high in the air.

He smiled softly in return, then went right back to what he was doing.

Today was picture day, just like he said. It was a kind of family photo session, even if our family wasn’t exactly complete.

I hadn’t brought up anything about Mom because I didn’t want to ruin the mood, but someday, they’ll tell me what happened.

I sat off to the side and sucked on the candy Joshua had given me, waiting for everything to get ready.

I’d woken up early and spent the morning getting dressed up, so the longer we waited, the sleepier I got.

But I tried hard to keep my eyes open…

***

“Miss.”

“Mm…”

A voice called me and I opened my eyes.

Ah. So much for trying. Apparently, I’d dozed off without realizing it. I was using Joshua’s thigh as a pillow. Oops.

“We’ll be starting soon.”

“My hair…”

I worried about my left side, which might’ve gotten messy while I slept.

“Rita’s on her way.”

As soon as Joshua said it, Rita showed up and got to work, fixing my hair.

Thankfully, I hadn’t slept too long, so my face wasn’t puffy.

Before long, I headed to the swing where Hale was already waiting. Just seeing his face made me smile without realizing it.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Why are you smiling?”

“For the same reason you are.”

“Then why’d you ask if you already knew?”

“Because hearing it from you makes it even better.”

My dad was way too good at this whole “dad” thing.

He knew exactly what to say to melt my heart. And yes… maybe I let him win on purpose.

“I’m just so happy right now it makes me smile!”

I gave him the answer he wanted, plain and simple.

“We’re starting the shoot now!”

Click click—

We took several shots in different poses—about twenty or so.

Then we looked at the results.

They were… beautiful.

Well, he was.

As for me?

I looked awkward. So stiff. My smile looked completely fake.

How did Dad look so natural? Was this the difference between a clan leader and a mere mortal?

“It’d be even more perfect if Miss Senika could give a more natural smile,” said the photographer, the most famous one in our territory.

So he noticed too, huh?

In my past life, my stiff expressions were always a problem when painters drew portraits—though they could at least fix it with imagination.

But with photos? Everything’s real. No fixing it.

Still, I didn’t get discouraged.

I told myself it was just nerves.

“Can we try in a different spot?”

Apparently Hale had the same idea because he suggested moving to a new location.

So we left the swing and went to a part of the garden full of white flowers.

Thankfully, the guards had already cleared a little path in the flowerbeds so we could stand in the middle without disturbing the layout.

But… people don’t change so easily.

If anything, I looked even more like a wooden doll than before.

As I fidgeted with frustration, suddenly—

“Senika.”

“…?”

“Look at Daddy.”

I knew Hale wasn’t the kind of dad to scold over something like this, but I still couldn’t bring myself to lift my head.

Just then, a shadow fell over me.

He didn’t say anything.

Was he still waiting for an answer?

I moved my eyes back and forth, then slowly looked up.

“…Huh?”

“Ahem. Ahem…”

My eyes widened.

Hale had turned away—he couldn’t even meet my gaze.

“…It’s a bit… embarrassing.”

He awkwardly cleared his throat, his fist covering his mouth.

Tucked behind one ear was…

“…A flower?”

A white flower—my favorite color, one that matched his silver hair perfectly.

I blinked slowly and opened my eyes again.

It’s still there.

I started to understand what he was trying to do.

He was trying to make me laugh.

To loosen up. To smile naturally.

Honestly, for someone so smart, this plan was really dumb.

But…

“You look ridiculous!”

…that didn’t mean it didn’t work.

I pointed at him and burst out laughing.

Hale leaned down and looked at me with a fond smile.

Then he crouched down and pulled another white flower from behind his back.

Don’t tell me he’s going to—

Yup.

He gently tucked my hair behind my ear and placed the flower there too.

Just like I guessed.

And he looked very pleased with himself.

—

Two hours later, Dad and I were hanging out on the terrace for a little post-photoshoot snack break.

The photographer suddenly burst in, face flushed with excitement.

“These are the best photos I’ve ever taken!”

Honestly, I haven’t seen many dragons in my life yet, but I’m pretty sure my dad is the most handsome in the world, so… of course they turned out great.

Which means the photos came out well not because the photographer was good, but because the subject was flawless.

“Lemme see!”

Hale took the envelope and pulled out the photos inside.

There were at least ten, each bigger than my hand.

I immediately picked the one that caught my eye.

“Daddy, I like this one!”

I held it up with both hands so he could see.

His sky-blue eyes shifted from the other photos to the one I was holding.

His cheeks turned pink.

Guess he just remembered what he did.

He quickly covered his eyes with one big hand.

Can’t even look at it, huh? But I think this was the best one.

It was the photo where he had the flower tucked behind his ear and was looking down at me…

And I was looking up at him, laughing brightly.

“This one’s my favorite!”

“Cough, ahem… There… There are other good ones too.”

He pointed at a picture taken in a different flowerbed—where I’d finally started smiling more naturally.

But I didn’t care. I’d already made up my mind.

“Nope! This one’s the best!”

I waved the photo and turned to the photographer.

“Mister! Make this one really big! I wanna hang it in my room!”

“Should I print just one copy?”

“Hmm, what about Daddy?”

Hale still had pink cheeks.

He peeked at me through his fingers.

He was chewing on his lip.

I could tell he was having a little internal struggle.

He was probably thinking:

Option A: Order a copy → earn affection.

Option B: Refuse → get the silent treatment.

“Daddy?”

“…Print one more.”

“Hehe! Two please, Mister!”

With a happy grin, the photographer rushed out to work on it right away.

Back to just the two of us.

I sipped my orange juice through a straw and flipped through the rest of the photos.

The earlier ones, where I looked stiff and awkward, I skipped. Not bad, but the later ones were much better.

“Senika.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you like them?”

“Uh-huh! I love them!”

I beamed at Hale—this time with a truly genuine smile.

“Is there anything else you want to do?”

“Something I want?”

“I’ll make it happen.”

Hmm… Now that he asked, I couldn’t think of anything right away.

I’ve already done so much here, so many things I couldn’t in my past life.

Wait—

“Oh!”

An idea popped into my head.

My eyes sparkled with excitement.

Hale’s did too—maybe even more than mine. He looked so happy.

“Friends!”

“Friends?”

“I wanna make friends!”

He blinked, surprised—like it was something he hadn’t expected.

After a moment of thought, he nodded slowly.

“You’ll have some soon.”

“Really?”

“There’s an event I’ve been putting off. This’ll be the perfect time.”

…Wait. Can a clan leader just postpone an event like that?

I tilted my head, puzzled.

Hale, as always, reached out and patted my head gently.

“I promise. It’ll be a fun one.”

“Can I make a lot of friends there?”

“Of course.”

“Yay!”

“Except boys.”

…Huh?

Where’d that come from?!