"Father, you shall leave," Eilika whispered with an edge that should have signaled the end of the conversation.
"What is with the commotion? Who made Roman angry?" Damian's voice boomed as he stepped fully into the light.
"Your Grace, I apologize for angering the young lord," Wilfred began, his voice cracking as he bowed.
"You shall leave," Eilika repeated, her eyes cold and fixed on the wall behind her father.
"Father, this man called my mother ugly!" Roman cried, his small hands curled into fists as he looked up at Damian. Then, turning back to Eilika, he pleaded, "Mama, don't just ask him to go away! He needs to be punished!"
"Your Grace, the young lord has misunderstood. I would never say such things to my own daughter," Wilfred stammered, his eyes darting to Eilika with a desperate, pleading look. "Dear, tell the Duke that I never called you ugly. Tell him it was just a misunderstanding between a father and daughter."
