A heavy silence filled the peaceful garden as the father and son stared at each-other.

Ivick finally decided to drop the pretence’s and looked his son square in the eye, “What do you want to hear boy?” he spat.

“Do you want to know why I cast you out?” he asked, “If that is the reason you’ve returned then you wasted your trip here, you already know the reason, you were a failure as a husband,” he said his tone cold.

“Your marriage was meant to unite us with The Sunrise Church, but you let her die,” he pointed at Silica’s gravestone, “I would have rather had you die back then instead of her,”

“While you scurried of playing as a mercenary and adventurer, I hunted down Silica’s killers,’ Ivick clenched his fist’s tightly, “And I gave them deaths the likes of which not even the gods could fathom,” his eyes glinted with fury, as if he could still remember the feeling he got when he wrapped his hands around their throats.

Raylin clenched his fist so tightly they shook, and quickly turned around, he took in a deep breath and muttered another line of the sutra to himself, ‘Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor for others.’

He bit down hard on his teeth as he recited the verse over and over to himself, ‘… no matter what you must always preserve your honour,’ he thought to himself, as he battled against his boiling desire to let his father feel his anger.

It had been a long time since he felt his emotions spiralling so wildly out of control.

He looked down at his wife’s grave, “I want the case file’s concerning her death, as well as the file’s pertaining to everyone you hunted down, and how you tracked them,” Raylin finally ordered.

Ivick clenched his fists, “You might have an impressive rank in the Dynasty, but you’re still just a captain, you do not have the authority…” his words were cut short when a folded piece of paper landed in the grass at his feet.

“That is an order signed by the commander of the 7^th division Commander Kira, and his majesty the ruler of the Dynasty, as a vassal of the Dynasty you will obey,” Raylin said, his tone turned plain and devoid of any emotion.

Ivick reached down with a shocked expression and opened up the order, he couldn’t help but look up at his son in his disbelief, “How does a mere captain possess such…” he begun.

“That doesn’t concern you,” Raylin answered, as he continued to recite the sutra in his head.

Ivick curled his fist around the order, crumpling the parchment, “What does this even do for you, what will looking into her death do to change anything?” he asked with an exasperated grimace.

“She was my wife, it might have been a short marriage, but my honour demands that I find the truth and serve justice to her sacrifice, it’s the only way for me to honour her memory,” he answered.

“Sacrifice?!” Ivick repeated, “She was assassinated!” he roared, “And your pathetic self was unable to do anything to protect her!”

Raylin shook his head and glanced at his father with a scrutinising gaze, trying to see if there was any deceptions, but unfortunately his father was far to accomplished as a noble, he could lie in his sleep and never be found out.

“That’s where you have it wrong father,” Raylin whispered, “Since the day you cast me out I have stared death in the face more times than I care to remember,”

“If there is one thing I have learned from all of that, it’s how to recognise when death is closing in on me,”

“On that day when we were in the carriage the attack that killed her, it was meant for me, I remember this power paralyzing my body then she was dead, blown to bits by a Ranger and the paralyses vanished,” Raylin explained and for the first time he noticed a stunned look come to his father’s face.

Ivick turned around and started to walk away, “I’ll have the files ready for you tomorrow,” he said with an ugly expression on his face.

“I have a meeting to attend,” he said excusing himself, “I’ll leave one of the automobiles for you,” he said and continued to walk away.

Raylin looked at his fathers back with a conflicted expression, there was one question he had to ask, one above all others, he was hesitating to ask it, because he didn’t know what he’d do if his suspicion was confirmed.

“Father!” he called out hesitantly, and his father paused to look back at him, “The reason you banished me, it was only because it ruined the alliance, there wasn’t… any other reason… was there?” he asked with stifled breath.

His father’s eyes widened, but just as quickly as if it never happened his eyes returned to normal, he turned back and said, “Of course not,” in a tone too strong.

---

Raylin remained in the garden, his mind a mess, caught between certainty and uncertainty which led to indecision and hesitation.

He felt like his worst fear had been confirmed, yet he was still desperately hoping that he was wrong, he looked down at the grave of his wife which only fuelled his fears further as he thought of their time together.

There’s was an arranged marriage they weren’t even married for long, it had only been six months when she died, and if he was being honest they weren’t even in love or had any special feelings for one another.

As he looked down at her grave he remembered the beginning of their marriage, she was spoilt to put it lightly and she had an overbearing personality that made her very selfish.

---

“Suck on them,” she said with an elated smile as she dangled her fair and slander feet in his face, her toes did a cute little dance to entice him.

Raylin’s attention however was not at all on her feet, as he lay on the bed with her standing over him he could see the wedding dress cast over to a corner of the room in his peripheral vision, most importantly was the sopping wet area between her legs.

It was covered by a lavender nightie that was almost see through and left almost nothing to the imagination, which made it all the more enticing.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked folding her arms beneath her bosom and wriggled her toes at him in an enticing manner.

As beautiful as they were he wasn’t into it, he felt it to be quite demeaning “I’d rather get to the main act,” he said and gulped as he stared up at the soaking slit.

“Humph,” she snorted in displeasure, “I always get what I want,” she said in a haughty tone a hint of anger flashed in her blue eyes.

“If you don’t suck on them, you can forget about touching me anywhere else,” she said stretching out her tantalising leg to entice him.

“You’re my wife,” Raylin said in a displeased tone, “I can touch you wherever I like,” he reached out and pulled her down pressing her to the bed.

As he pressed her down he could see her nipples threatening to tear through the thin material as they pointed up, all he could imagine was sucking on those.

A teasing smirk appeared on her face and she brought her lips to his ear, “All ladies like a man who knows how to be rough,” she breathed out a steamy breath into his ear.

“But…” she whispered in an enticing tone, suddenly a barrier of holy energy manifested enveloping her body and sent a jolt of energy coursing through his body.

Raylin was flung up of the bed and crashed into a dresser that covered the wall.

“… I’m no ordinary lady, remember that I am the Holy Priestess of The Sunrise Church, if you want to fuck this,” she said pulling her panties to the side to reveal her soaking pussy, “You have to first earn your way in,” she said in an arrogant tone and flicked her golden hair.

“Next time you had best worship these first,” she said and smacked one of her fair and thick thighs that were spread wide enough that he could see everything.

A second later she pulled her clothes in place and dressed up completely.

She flashed him a knowing smile as she walked to the exit of the room while swaying her ass, “I have something to discuss with your father, be a dear and don’t interrupt me while we are busy,” she left those words behind before leaving.

---

Raylin looked at the grave with a complicated expression, “Why?” he asked feeling more confused than ever.

“Why did you sacrifice yourself for me, is it because you felt guilty for betraying me, or am I just seeing things that never happened?” he asked with a burdened heart that felt like it was on the verge of tearing.

Raylin only moved again when he noticed that the sun was starting to lower.