Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 888 Does the past seem familiar?

Since she could remember, the little girl never knew what sorrow was. Her life was always full of joy and laughter. In spring, her father took her to the fields to see the streams thaw and the grapevines sprout new branches between the trellises. In summer, her mother taught her how to swing the racket and let the white wind flower balls dance in the bright sunshine. In autumn and winter, the family gathered around the warm stove, letting laughter replace the cold wind and spread to every corner of the room.

Even the grandfather who looked stern and was always serious with her father would force a smile when facing her, and often brought her candies, storybooks and various toys that children liked; the residents living in the small town of Regrum were all kind and friendly, and the children, both big and small, were frequent visitors to the Shadolly Manor. They would climb trees in the orchard, catch fish by the river, and pick wild fruits in the bushes together... Those beautiful and vivid memories together constituted her unforgettable childhood.

However, when did this change?
About seven years after his father and mother got married, that is, the sixth year after little Xinuo was born, Leonard Jean Gustaf, who gradually felt the weight of the family, accompanied his wife on the sickbed through the last Harvest Festival. In order to fulfill the oath that the Whitethorn Flower family made with the aliens a thousand years ago, he boarded a ship to the East Continent.

Everything changed from that day on. She saw her grandfather daydreaming in his study all day, sometimes gazing into the distance with a melancholy look in his eyes, with regret that could not be concealed; she saw her mother getting thinner and thinner in the hospital bed, no longer as energetic as she used to be on the court, but still murmuring the name of the traveler in her sleep; she also heard with her own ears how the people in the town discussed why the respected lord would abandon the glory of the whitethorn flower and participate in such an unjust war, hurting innocent people on a distant foreign continent...

She told her mother about all the comments she heard, but her mother always stroked the girl's head gently after coughing, and whispered: "Because they don't understand how important your father's responsibility is. The pain in his heart is no less than anyone else, but he still has reasons to do it. All this is for his family and for you, Xinuo. One day you will understand, but now, I hope you don't blame him, okay?"

but--

Although young, the girl, who has gradually formed her own values, couldn't help but think: If he is really for his family and for me, then why is he not here when my family and I need him the most?
He had clearly promised to protect us at all times, but for the sake of another oath, he seemed to have broken his promise.

Looking at her mother's increasingly haggard face, the sensible girl did not say this out loud, but perhaps the seeds of paranoia were planted at that time.

The year when father Reynard returned to his hometown was also the year when mother Mistyane passed away. A fortune from a foreign merchant ship helped the Gustaf family buy back the ancestral forest that had been lost for many years. The ancient oath was fulfilled again, and the aliens who had been desperate for a long time finally got a new home to settle down here, but the price was the destruction of another home. When the dusty Reynard returned home, he only saw his daughter's cold face and his wife's peaceful remains.

"What do you want to prove, father?" Little Xinuo asked indifferently, "Is the so-called oath more important to you than anything else?"

"..."

Reynard remained silent, walked forward and tried to touch his lover's cheek, but was stopped by the girl.

"You and Mistyan are the most important to me."

"But did you know that your mother's last wish was to see you?"

She wouldn't allow him to get near.

From that day on, the father and daughter became strangers and never spoke to each other again.

…Shino lived alone for a long time.

She was unwilling to live under the same roof with her irresponsible father, and she stubbornly refused the help from her grandfather, living alone in the most remote room of the Shadolly Manor. In fact, it didn't make a difference, because even when she lived with her father, there were not so many words between father and daughter, and they could not laugh and talk like they did a long time ago. The death of a wife and a mother was like a clear-cut chasm between them, frozen tightly by the winter frost wind of Grindelwald Field, with no possibility of melting.

Xinuo didn't know that such a gap had also appeared between her grandfather and father. She began to become indifferent and withdrawn, rarely contacting the outside world. Her only friend was Brandi, a gift she received from her grandfather on her seventh birthday. Her change was so drastic that people who knew her were shocked and at a loss. However, the servants in the manor and the residents in the town had gradually forgotten the existence of the eldest lady because of her long absence. Only when she visited her mother's grave every year would she return to people's sight, but she would only be seen in a hurry and disappear like a dream.

When she had gotten used to loneliness and thought she would be alone forever, on an ordinary day, her father Reynard suddenly appeared in her hut and said to her: "I am not here to ask for your forgiveness, Xinuo, I just want to say a few words to you, at least, as a father."

It was not known whether it was the last sentence that touched her, or whether the girl suddenly remembered the scene of her mother whispering "Don't hate him" before she died. She opened her mouth but could not say no. So, the snow that had frozen for many years melted briefly. That day, Leonard talked a lot with Xino, but mostly he was the one talking, and Xino was listening silently.

He mentioned his meeting with his lover Misty Ann, saying that everyone thought he fell in love with her after she won the championship, but in fact, the two met much earlier than that. When he saw the girl with amber eyes swinging the racket seriously in the park, he was sure that he should love her deeply, and it was because of his encouragement that Misty Ann made up her mind to participate in the championship. Destiny began, and everything was already destined.

He asked about Xino's dream and whether she still loved the sport of volleyball as much as she did when she was a child. He said that your grandfather thought you were more talented in swordsmanship, riding and martial arts, and once wanted you to inherit the mission of the Gustaf family, but I know you don't like those things, child, so I have already told him that you are qualified to choose the path you want to take. Be free and unrestrained, do what you like, Xino, even if you can't succeed, you must stick to your dream.

Finally, he talked about his past with his father, Xino's grandfather, and admitted that he had never been an obedient child since he was young. Several times, he made his father so angry that he chased him around the town with a stick, and he was only prevented from being caught by the townspeople. He said that he even ran away from home, and it was at that time that he met your mother. After they got married, they returned to live in Shadoly Manor and had a daughter.

"Because of you, my father is not so strict with me. Maybe he doesn't want me to embarrass myself in front of the children."

He chuckled and said, "At the same time, I gradually understood his feelings at that time, both as a son and as a father. Just like that, we put aside our past grudges and can sit down and have a good talk again, just like I am sitting here talking to you now."

What did he want to express?

Does he hope that I will be able to understand him in the future just as he understands his grandfather?
The girl looked at her father who was completely immersed in his memories. Somehow, her heart was blocked. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't say a word. They chatted for a long time. Finally, when the chat ended, her father whispered to her: I'm sorry. Then he turned and left. She stood there in a daze, watching the generous and firm back in her memory gradually go away and gradually leave her. Suddenly, she had a very uncomfortable feeling, as if he would leave forever and never come back to her, just like the mother who said she would always be with her but left first, cunning and cruelly deceiving an innocent girl.

She opened her mouth to call his name, but found that she couldn't make a sound.

Because she was in so much pain, so much pain that...she couldn't breathe.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)