Chapter Text
"Why?"
That is all Miyako can ask her father. He is sending her away. He has rarely sent her away and not across the world.
"Because I ask you to. You are to report to Tokio." Baldwin ordered. Baldwin had sorted it all - a residence, a team of spies and informants at her command, her status and cover.
"Did I do something wrong?" Miyako asked.
"Miyako!" He thundered, slamming his fist against the desk.
He doesn't yell. Not at her anyway. But the anger in his voice shakes her to the core. She had only feared her father once before, amidst a war.
"As you wish, sir." She said coldly.
She doesn't call him sir.
She supposes she is no longer a fledgling. Nearly 300 years old, she figured it was time to no longer remain at her father's side. The Western world did not welcome people who looked like her; women who looked like her were fetishised and disrespected. Perhaps he wanted to put her back in her home environment, mirroring the diplomatic mission he undertook centuries ago.
That did not mean it didn't hurt. She shook gently as she prepared her trunk, not asking her ladies' maid to help. Her father wants her gone, so she will pack her own trunk.
A distant memory came to her of her birth father's glare when she once stumbled into his meeting room as a girl and was dragged out by a governess. A year later, she met Baldwin, who cared about her presence and her.
No. She would be an adult about this. She would set aside her buried issues, bury them deep down until she can forget, and she will go because she is a de Clermont and does as her father commands.
"Why not tell her why?"
Eva watched Baldwin from where she lay on their messy sheets. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Baldwin drank glass after glass of wine, not enjoying it as he usually did. He was drinking and having sex to distract himself.
"I am sure Miyako will underst-" Eva began.
"I do not interfere in your family affairs; do not interfere in mine." He snapped harshly.
She has never been deterred by his anger, instead finding his raw rage and passion in private moments attractive. She shifted towards him, crawling to the edge of the bed and wrapping his arms around him. He did not push her away nor lean into her touch, which was a victory for now.
Philippe is unimpressed with his heir. It is a rare occurrence, and the whole family can feel the tension between father and son. It is uncomfortable, especially as there is one less space at the table than was expected.
"Brother, why couldn't Miyako make it home?" Stasia asked. She has a suspicion, "I was so looking forward to seeing her. I was hoping to take her with me to Rome." She bore effortlessly, and her favourite niece kept her focused and entertained.
"Yes, why couldn't Miyako make it home?" Philippe echoes her question, but it is not with his daughter's care. The edge to his voice is one he takes with men who have disobeyed him. Men he has had executed for less.
"I had assignments for her." Baldwin simply replied, slicing his piece of beef, bringing it to his mouth, and chewing through the meat. He acted as if they were speaking of the weather.
Not that he sent his daughter across the world because Philippe had plans for her. Plans he did not want her involved in.
Eventually, Philippe hummed non-committal, "Perhaps she will be happier amongst her own people." He was goading Baldwin, but he did not take the bait, simply continuing to eat.
"We're her people." Stasia pointed out. Philippe smiled at his daughter, nodding. But Baldwin saw right through it.
He never thought he would come to dislike his father.