After The Heroine Vanished

16: FAIR WARNING

"MY SON has already stopped investigating your background."

"You should seriously stop going here," Sonata said, then she turned to the man sitting elegantly on the chair while having tea in the most majestic way possible. "Father."

Yes, her guest for that day was none other than Grand Duke Daniel Hexford.

Sonata had a small cabin house in the backyard of Madam Margo's mansion.

That cabin was hidden in the secret garden that only the Madam and the girls closest to Sonata had access to.

[But even this small space of mine has already been invaded by my father-in-law.]

The Grand Duke's elegance looked so out of place in her cozy small house, and yet Sonata found it a fascinating sight.

[That's how Diether would look like in his later years.]

Not bad, huh?

"Father, this is still the Red-light District," Sonata scolded her father-in-law. "I know the Grand Duchess already knows I work here. But what will you do if other people find out you keep coming here and misunderstand? Think about Mother's reputation, please."

"I don't think Eleanor would care," the Grand Duke said. "But I think I'd like it if she gets mad if she finds out I'm frequenting the Red-light District. Even if it's only because she wants to protect her reputation, I still wouldn't mind it as long as she looks at me again."

[The Grand Duke only talks a lot if the topic is his wife.]

"Father, are you that desperate for Mother's attention?"

The Grand Duke just smiled bitterly before sipping his tea again.

[Ah, Father is hopeless.]

She decided to just change the topic for the sake of her father-in-law.

"Father, did you only come here to tell me Diether already stopped investigating my background?" Sonata asked suspiciously. "That doesn't affect me at all because even if Diether spends his entire fortune digging through my background, he wouldn't find out who I really am."

The Grand Duke put down the teacup on the saucer. "You're on a first-name basis now. When did you get close to my son?"

"We got close because we both think you're obnoxious, Father."

"I'm glad to be a bridge that brought you close together," her father-in-law said indifferently, then he stood up and turned to her with soulless eyes. "Be careful of Princess Mikaela."

"Is the royal princess out to get me?"

"The royal princess is aiming to marry my son."

"But isn't the royal princess and Diether cousins?"

Grand Duke Daniel Hexford looked at her in disbelief, then he smirked. "It's legal for royals in this kingdom to marry their cousins for a political marriage," he explained. "But, Sonata, I don't think you have the right to make that disgusted face."

Sonata didn't fix her expression despite getting called out. "It's disgusting, and I know what I'm talking about, Father."

***

DIETHER knew that Princess Mikaela only wanted to marry him for power.

[Mikaela isn't in love with me. She doesn't even like me as a person. But if she wants to steal the crown from her brother, she needs me.]