The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 429: Uninvited guest (3)

"He took our daughter and isn’t going to bring her back."

"You are being ridiculous, Phillip," Celine said, shaking her head at her husband’s usual rant since Annalise left. "I am not going over this with you again today so if you would be so kind as to help me cut the vegetables. We need to send back something as a thank you for all the carrots and potatoes they sent."

"We’re going to be eating a lot of carrots and potatoes for the next few days," she muttered, looking at the stack of vegetables.

Since there had not been any attacks their warriors did not need to go defend the land and possibly come back injured, Celine had been opening her door to many gifts. First, it was fruits, cloth, and dresses for her and Annalise someone had made from scratch, and now it was vegetables.

It was more than the usual gifts they received from everyone.

"They also brought a chicken and already cleaned it for us. I’m thinking of having soup today. It’ll be perfect for the cold weather. Are you listening to me, Phillip?" Celine asked, turning around to look at him.

She placed her hands on her hips, annoyed by the sight of him sulking once more. Celine wished for Annalise to return soon so Phillip could go back to being lively instead of sulking every time she looked at him.

"Annalise has long grown up. You should have prepared yourself for this moment when she came of age. Honestly, you should have prepared the moment you put a sword in her hands and she told us that she wished to explore. It won’t be long before she is off getting married-"

"Not without my blessing and me present for the wedding!" Phillip declared.

"We’ve already given our blessings for Annalise to get married when we sent her off with him and we have raised our daughter for her not to get married with us not around. You need to calm down and help me with dinner before I send you to annoy your mother. Trust me, you don’t want to go to her home now when she is also missing Annalise. I need a trip away from you," Celine sighed.

Celine partially regretted not going with Annalise to see a world that was foreign to her. She stayed behind to be with Phillip and all he did was speak of how Annalise was stolen from him.

"Phillip, I am only telling you once more to come help me prepare our dinner. Then I will truly kick you out to go with your mother,’ Celine said, placing the vegetables and a knife on a plate for Phillip to cut for her. "We have time alone to not be worrying about attacks and you have wasted it."

Phillip looked up at Celine, now noticing how annoyed she was. "I have not wasted it. I planned a day for us to go to sit and eat."

Celine was surprised to hear this. "Did you?"

"I did. I even got you gifts and I’ve been hiding them all over the house since you know my old spot," said Phillip.

"Oh thank goodness. I thought you were being secretive by dropping weapons all over our home again. Well, it would be another gift if you stopped worrying about Annalise. She will be back soon. I can just feel it. In the meantime, cut up those vegetables so we can have something for dinner," Celine said, staring at the chicken she had to tackle to cut up.

"Before we spend some time alone together, we should visit my mother. I will go to the outpost to see if the guards are where they should be. We should still watch out for attacks. I know Annalise can take care of herself, but I worry about the people she will come across," said Phillip.

Celine gave up trying to make Phillip think about anything more than Annalise. "I can’t escape the fact that you are an overprotective father. I will visit your mother tomorrow while you should send someone else to go to the outpost. You’ve been complaining about your right foot. You’ve pushed yourself too far."

"I have to continue to push myself so Annalise doesn’t have much to do when it is time for her to take over. I hope she isn’t serious about building a house for her to be in with that man. I don’t want him here and if I see his father, I am going to grab my sword. My daughter shouldn’t be a Callahan," Phillip muttered, displeased by Annalise’s name changing.

The Woods’ last name was important here so Rafael should change his name. That was if Phillip allowed the wedding to go on.

"What will you do when they have children? Will you not want to see them because they will become Callahans?" Celine asked, curious about what Phillip planned to do.

"Of course not. My grandchildren will be Woods no matter what their last names are. They’ll look just like us. Their good looks, knowledge, and talent will come from this side," Phillip said, sure of it. For the sake of his grandchildren, he hoped they looked like Annalise.

"Oh, you petty man. I look forward to having grandchildren but not you being this way. You must promise me not to get in their ear and speak poorly of their father. Phillip," Celine called after not getting an answer. "Phillip, do not act as if you do not hear me."

"I can hear you, Celine. I simply do not plan to promise something I intend to do in the future. Were you expecting a guest?" Phillip asked, getting to his feet after a knock on their front door was heard.

It did not sound urgent therefore he was not alarmed, but he couldn’t place who might be visiting them now, especially without letting their voice be heard.

"I am not. Maybe Celeste has come down to eat with us. She said she would do it more often," Celine said, washing her hands quickly to join Phillip in seeing who their guest was.

Phillip was the first to reach the door and when he opened it, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him so he rubbed them.

"Who is it, Phillip? Annalise!" Celine yelled, startled by her daughter standing at the door with knights behind her. "What are you doing here? You didn’t send us a message that you would be returning today. We could have met you halfway."

"We came here right after the truce was taken care of. It was a long three days to get here and I thought father would be more happy to see me. Did I break him?" Annalise asked, poking her father’s cheek.

It had been a hard task coming into town and asking everyone to be quiet so she could surprise her family. She had done just that since her father was staring at her as if he saw a ghost.

"I am home, father," Annalise said, trying to snap him out of his disbelief. "Should we call for a doctor-"

Phillip snapped out of his shock and leaned forward to hug Annalise, lifting her off the ground. It was a wonderful surprise to have her back home now. "Welcome home," he greeted her.