After The Heroine Vanished

17: WEDDING PREPARATIONS

"THIS IS your second time here, isn't it?"

"Yes, Commander," Sonata answered, lightly putting her hand on the arm that Diether offered after she stepped out of the carriage. "The Hexford Mansion is still as grand as I remember it."

The first time she was there was the night of her failed engagement ceremony.

And, to be honest, she didn't get a proper introduction back then.

She was there to sleep the night before, then the servants just helped her doll up the next morning.

[That's it.]

But Sonata was back at the Hexford Mansion.

[Since Diether and I finish work in the early evening, this is the only time we have to meet. We have our own businesses during weekends, so we agreed to at least have dinner every time we have free time.]

"It's not too late for you to move here while preparing for our wedding," Diether said, signaling the servants behind not to follow them. "You don't have to take bridal lessons."

"I'd like to delay it as soon as possible."

"May I know why?"

"Your mother doesn't like me," she said bluntly. "I don't want to get in a fight with Mother before our wedding."

"Is your relationship with Mother that bad already?"

"I said some mean things to Her Grace the last time we talked."

"Like what?"

She shrugged before giving a response. "I told Mother that if she mistreats me, I wouldn't care for her once she gets really old. Then I threatened to leave her in a hospice for old people abandoned by their families."

To be honest, she expected Diether to be upset with her.

But, much to her pleasant surprise, her fiancé just nodded thoughtfully.

"My mother may not like you as a daughter-in-law, but I don't think she'll mistreat you on purpose. So I don't have to worry about your threat," Diether said confidently. "Moreover, I don't think my father would let anyone else care for Mother, anyway."

"So you know."

"Know what?"

"That your father is obsessed with your mother."

"I'm not blind," Diether said, scoffing. "I can also clearly see that Father's love for Mother is toxic."

"Hmm~"

"Just spill it," he said, sighing. "It's obvious that you want to ask something related to my mother and father's relationship."

"Why are they still together? Judging by Mother's tenacity, I'm sure she could have divorced Father if she really wanted to."

"Mother endured her hellish marriage for me," he said bluntly. "If Mother divorced Father when I was young, then the king and the vassal families serving the Hexfords would have forced Father to remarry. And if a new child was born from that marriage, then my position as the successor would have been threatened."

"Do you want to be the next Grand Duke that badly?"

"I now have a reason to be the next Grand Duke. But when I was younger, I did not care," he said, and he sounded sincere. "I just wanted to fulfill my mother's only wish back then. According to Mother, her son should at least inherit everything the Hexfords own as compensation for ruining her life."

"Mother holds grudges, huh? I may have picked up a fight with the wrong person."

"Drop the act," Diether teased her lightly. "I can tell you've always gone against scary people like my mother."