After The Heroine Vanished

9: GRAND ENTRANCE

"IT WOULD be so much nicer if you and my dear nephew got married the soonest, though."

Sonata smiled at the king's greediness that he didn't even bother to hide.

Their meeting had just finished, and Captain Redwood had already left.

She was just about to bid King Seymour and Grand Duke Daniel Hexford goodbye when the king expressed his greediness once more.

[Should I humor His Majesty a little?]

"Actually, it may happen soon, Your Majesty," Sonata said, flashing her business smile. "I bumped into Lord Diether earlier. Your Majesty summoned me here knowing that Lord Diether would also be here today, right?"

The king just smiled before sipping his tea.

[Sly bastard.]

"May I know how Your Majesty and Your Grace blackmailed Lord Diether this time?" Sonata asked playfully. "The commander suddenly asked me to marry him earlier."

"Pfft."

It was the king who burst out laughing.

The Grand Duke, however, remained stoic. "My son needed access to Mount Ashira. Only direct members of the Royal Family and the Grand Duke have that."

Ah, so the commander needed to have access to Mount Ashira.

[Isn't that the resting place of the evil dragon that the goddess had slain in the past?]

"Are you curious as to why my dear nephew needs access to the mountain?" the king asked teasingly. "My dear nephew actually didn't tell us the reason, but it definitely has something to do with searching for his ex-wife."

"Lord Diether is still looking for his ex-wife?"

It was a known fact that Celeste Hexford disappeared without a trace three years ago.

But since Celeste Hexford signed the divorce papers and sent them to the Avari Temple, Diether wasn't able to cancel it.

[If I remember correctly, the law of this kingdom regarding divorce is tricky. The divorce paper would be accepted by the temple even if only one party had signed it. On the other hand, the party opposed to the divorce has no power to withdraw it. After that...]

"The law says that if the party who filed for divorce doesn't withdraw the request within three years, then the divorce would be granted even if the other party opposes it," Sonata said, shaking her head. "Come to think of it, three years have already passed since Lord Diether's ex-wife disappeared. Your Majesty and Your Grace probably sought me out as soon as the divorce was granted."

"Why waste time?" the king asked, laughing. "By the way, you look pretty dissatisfied with our law regarding divorce, Lady Sonata."

"I just thought that divorce should be quickly processed in emergency cases, like if one party is abusing the other. Moreover, I believe divorce should also be granted with the mutual agreement of both parties, Your Majesty. The three years waiting period smells trouble."

"Right?" the king agreed with her. "But the Avari Temple isn't really fond of divorce, so they want to delay the process as much as possible. The three years limitation is set because if a married couple files for divorce, the Avari Temple would then encourage the couple to attend marriage counsel first to reconsider their decision. It's stupid, but what can I do? The Avari Temple is too influential when it comes to marriage and divorce in our kingdom."

"Don't you have the power to fix that problematic law, Your Majesty?"

King Seymour's eyes turned into little crescent moons when he grinned. "Lady Sonata, the throne needs to have more power first if I want to get rid of the temple's influence over the problematic laws of my kingdom."