Margaret quickly composed herself, wiping away every trace of gravity and worry. When she turned, her usual gentle, languid smile had returned.
She walked over, took the cake from her daughter's hands, and gently placed it on the small table nearby.
"Yes, your father had some urgent business, so he had to return to the Holy City," she said softly, reaching out to straighten a lock of Eleanor's hair by her temple.
Eleanor's face fell, her disappointment plain to see. "He's gone again... He didn't even have a single bite of cake. He seems... so busy lately."
She looked up at her mother, a flicker of unease in her black eyes—so much like Murphy's. "Mother, Father's Elementalization..."
The smile on Margaret's face didn't change at all.
