Veronica obediently put down her pen and sat down next to him.
Harry scrutinized his daughter’s face and said:
“Veronica, my child. Are you really not sick? Tell your father honestly.”
But there was no sign of illness visible in Veronica. Rather, she gave him a look that seemed to ask why he had suddenly come to ask such a thing.
“You seem… different lately.”
“How so?”
“It’s like you’ve become very grown-up.”
In truth, there was also a strange sense of pressure that went beyond simply becoming more mature, but Harry chose his words carefully for now.
Veronica appeared to think for a moment before opening her mouth.
“I was immature before. Even though I’m the daughter of Duke Hardness, I think I behaved in an undignified manner. Though you didn’t show it, you must have worried a lot because of me. You probably felt ashamed, wanting to give me a smack, and regretted having such a daughter.”
“No, no. It wasn’t like that at all.”
Harry hurriedly waved both hands. He truly had never felt ashamed of Veronica.
How could he feel ashamed of his only daughter, born at the risk of his beloved wife’s life? He had never once regretted having such a daughter.
“You were just like other children your age.”
“But there must have been times when you wanted to pretend not to know me.”
“…”
He couldn’t refute that statement.
“Now I want to be a daughter you can be proud of. So that I won’t be an embarrassment as the daughter of Duke Hardness. That’s why I’m trying harder. And I need to be a fiancée worthy of Prince Cassian as well.”
Harry became gloomy at those last words.
“…Your father is truly sorry.”
He should have postponed the engagement after all.
Veronica didn’t have a predetermined fiancé.
While children from other families had their marriage partners decided from a young age, Harry didn’t do that. He rejected all such proposals.
He wanted Veronica to choose her future husband herself.
His wish was for her to marry someone she truly shared her heart with, not a relationship formed by force.
It was unfortunate that Veronica had such a one-sided love for the Fourth Prince that she became feverish over it. When she said she had given up on that and found a new love, he was relieved.
Though he was taken aback that it was an unexpected partner, he understood and accepted it.
But just because they made a promise to marry didn’t mean they needed to hold an engagement ceremony right away.
They could have taken their time to meet, developed sufficient affection, and then held the engagement ceremony, but the Emperor acted too hastily.
A look of concern appeared on Harry’s face.
It seemed the engagement to the Fifth Prince had burdened Veronica after all. Was that the reason for her recent mature behavior?
Harry’s heart grew even heavier.
Though she was 16, she was still a child who needed an adult’s judgment, wasn’t she? Seeing this, Veronica smiled faintly.
“Oh Father, really. I’m the one who asked His Majesty for this.”
“You could have taken more time to think it over again.”
“It’s really fine. Don’t worry, I’m not doing this because I feel burdened.”
But Harry’s concern only deepened.
And a few days later, a commotion broke out.
The maid entered carrying a tray full of delicious desserts. The young lady who owned the desserts was sitting on the sofa reading a book as usual.
Recently, Veronica seemed reluctant to touch desserts, but snack time still came regularly.
“Young lady. Today we have strawberry pie.”
“Pour the tea first.”
“Yes, the tea first.”
The maid turned the empty teacup and filled it with tea. Then she handed it to Veronica.
As Veronica drank her tea, she didn’t even glance at the dessert.
The maid’s gaze turned to the strawberry pie. Its appetizing appearance caught her eye.
The maid quickly grabbed a piece of pie and ate it. What had initially been done with Veronica’s consent was now happening without permission.
Not just her, but other maids had also started eating Veronica’s desserts as if it were natural.
After all, the young lady could eat this and other delicious snacks anytime, and if they flattered her appropriately, she would pretend to be magnanimous and stupidly overlook it, so they weren’t afraid.
Today’s maid was the same. She ate the pie hurriedly.
Indeed, the pie made with expensive ingredients and great care had an extraordinary taste. The sweetness seemed to melt her tongue.
The plate soon showed its bottom. As the maid was stuffing the pie into her mouth until her cheeks bulged, she suddenly felt a gaze on her.
When she looked up, Veronica was watching her with her chin propped up.
“Is it delicious?”
“Huh? Yes… it’s delicious, young lady.”
Did she look too greedy? The maid quickly chewed and swallowed the pie, wiping her mouth.
Rather than apologizing for arbitrarily stealing her mistress’s dessert, she was more concerned about her unseemly appearance.
Veronica stared intently at her face.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Ah, about 3 years.”
“I see, 3 years. That should be enough.”
Puzzled by these incomprehensible words, the maid was bewildered when Veronica suddenly stood up.
She picked up the teapot. The maid’s confused gaze followed her actions.
Veronica opened the lid of the teapot.
“You’re lucky. The tea has cooled down.”
“Pardon?”
Then, with a slight smile, she poured the tea over the maid’s head.
“Kyaah− Young lady! What are you doing?!”
The maid jumped up in shock. Her hair and clothes were already soaked with tea. Her face turned fierce as she looked at Veronica.
Drops of water fell from the empty teapot in her hand. The young lady herself looked strange, being so calm.
“That’s what you get for coveting others’ things.”
“Are you doing this because I ate the dessert?!”
At those words, Veronica smiled silently again. The maid suddenly felt chills. There had been many rumors lately that the young lady’s condition was strange.
As she stepped back, Veronica threw the teapot beside her.
“Kyaah!”
The maid screamed, covering her head.
With the sound of shattering glass, the teapot broke into pieces. The maid looked up at Veronica in shock, seeing the broken teapot.
“I knew you’ve been stealing my things all along. I also know you deliberately avoid stealing expensive items. You steal things I’m not interested in so I won’t notice. Sometimes you make excuses saying it’s for my sake while taking what you want.”
“−!”
A look of surprise flashed across her upturned face. H-how?
Meanwhile, other servants entered, having heard the commotion. They asked what was going on after seeing the state of the room.
“The young lady poured water on me first!”
The maid pleaded her innocence. That Veronica had lashed out at her when she was just standing there.
Upon hearing the news, Harry called Veronica separately.
He first asked what the circumstances were. Veronica made no excuses or explanations. She just said one thing in a calm voice.
“I got tired of it.”
Harry was quite taken aback, but this wasn’t the first time. He thought his daughter’s bad habit had surfaced again.
Just when he thought she had been quieter lately, Harry rubbed his forehead.
His daughter had a strong desire for material things, but she also had a tendency to get bored easily. The same applied to people.
“Veronica. You can’t do such things to people just because you’re tired of them.”
“I couldn’t stand it anymore because I disliked it so much.”
“…I’ll change the maid who serves you.”
“How about kicking her out instead?”
“What?”
“While we’re at it, there are more people I’d like to kick out. Will you listen to me?”
Harry couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the brazen request that didn’t fit the situation. He spoke seriously.
“Veronica. We can’t decide such things arbitrarily.”
“But you’ll do it for me, won’t you?”
“…Did something happen?”
“You’re asking that question again.”
“It seems like there’s some circumstance. You used to tell me even small things, but lately you don’t talk at all, so I’m worried.”
“Father, every girl my age has secrets she wants to keep. You don’t tell me everything either. You hide the really important things.”
“That’s because I don’t want to worry you.”
“It’s the same for me.”
“If there’s… some circumstance, tell me about it.”
To his careful question, Veronica smiled briefly.
“What circumstance could I have? You know how capricious I am. You said I’ve become more grown-up, but I guess that’s not true after all.”
The conversation ended there. Veronica remained adamant until the end.
She even handed over a list of people she wanted to kick out before leaving.
Harry fell into contemplation. Could there have been some incident she couldn’t talk about?
He secretly investigated the servants on the list Veronica had given him.
Surprisingly, he discovered that among those who served Veronica, there were quite a few who showed careless attitudes or caused problems like bullying that had been overlooked.
Some had secretly tampered with mansion property, and some had even stolen Veronica’s belongings.
The ones Veronica had personally chosen were also among that group.
Originally, managing the mansion’s affairs was the role of the lady of the house, but there had been no one to do that job until now.
Harry decided to use this opportunity to organize the finances that were leaking out through unnecessary personnel and tidy up the mansion.
He wrote formal letters of recommendation for those leaving and didn’t spare rewards for those who had shown loyalty.
It was a heartwarming story that wasn’t bad for either those who left or those who remained, but only Veronica would know the truth of the matter.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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