Epilogue: Until Dawn

ve already arranged a month-long leave for you. During this time, you''ll just stay home until you''ve fully recovered," he assured her.

"Really?" Fiona exclaimed with delight. "I thought I wouldn''t be able to return to your side until I turned seventeen."

"I couldn''t bear that," the Marquis chuckled. "I would be lonely too, my dear Fiona. The yearning for you would overwhelm me."

Fiona listened in a daze to these unheard-of words.

"If only you were my father," she sighed suddenly. "I mean, from the very beginning, you have been my father."

However, the Marquis shook his head, "I''m not willing to be your father, young lady."

Fiona felt an instant chill in her heart, and tears all at once brimmed in her eyes.

"Are you also going to abandon me, Monsieur the Marquis?" Her delicate and dulcet voice trembled, adding an extra layer of emotion.

Caught off guard by her reaction, the Marquis froze for a moment. He gently caressed her cheek and wiped away the tears that streamed down her face.

"You have misunderstood, my beautiful child," he spoke again, his voice husky yet tender. "How could I bear to abandon you?"

"What did you mean by those words, then?" she gazed at him, perplexed.

"You will understand when you grow older, little angel," he took her now fair and tender hand in his, bowing his head to press a deep kiss upon the back of it.

The girl found the Marquis''s actions peculiar. "Why do you behave this way, my noble father?"

"You must get used to this, my love," he raised his eyes to gaze into hers. "In the future, you are going to become a noble dame."

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Margot, already sickly, soon succumbed to a consumption under the torment and harsh conditions. Curled up in the corner, she struggled to suppress the wheezing and moaning of her discomfort. Even when she had to cough, she tried to muffle the sound, unwilling to disturb