Chapter 321 - 244: The Advancing Girl

Chapter 321: Chapter 244: The Advancing Girl

Grace returned home in a huff.

She didn’t understand. She had repeatedly emphasized that she didn’t care about Peter’s background, yet he still lacked even that little bit of courage.

’What more did he want her to say?’

’Wasn’t what I said outside the cinema basically a direct confession? Couldn’t that blockhead understand?’

With "I’m not happy" written all over her face, she pushed open the door to her home.

And there in the grand hall, she "happened" to run into her father.

Of course, the City Lord hadn’t just "happened" to be there. The moment his daughter arrived outside the manor, the guards at the gate had informed the butler, who in turn had relayed the message to the City Lord.

The City Lord had then calculated when his daughter would be entering the mansion and nervously stepped out of his study, preparing to check on her condition.

The instant he saw the displeasure on Grace’s face, the City Lord’s mood soared. His nervousness vanished, as did his anxiety. ’It seems that damn kid made my girl unhappy. Excellent! He’s done a fine job of it.’

’If things keep going like this, I won’t even have to interfere. The two youngsters will break up on their own.’

’Pure joy.’

But he couldn’t let it show on his face.

He had to play the part of a good, caring father.

Forcibly suppressing the corners of his mouth, which desperately wanted to curve into a smile, he put on a concerned expression.

"Grace, you’re back so early?"

He said that, but in truth, during the two-plus hours Grace was out, the City Lord had been on pins and needles. Those two hours had felt endlessly long.

Thankfully, they had only watched a Shadow of Evil. If they had followed the most common dating routine these days—leaving the Magic Cinema and heading straight for an inn...

In the Sutton Kingdom, being sixteen didn’t stop you from getting a room at an inn.

If that had happened, the City Lord would have had no choice but to reveal the guards secretly following his daughter and have them intervene.

However, if Grace found out he’d been having people follow her in secret, she would definitely resent him for it.

The guards used to follow her openly, but Grace hated feeling different from her peers, so he’d had to change their protection to be covert.

"Oh, look at your unhappy little face. It’s spoiling your beauty. Who bullied you? Tell Papa, and Papa will go teach him a lesson for you."

The City Lord asked, already knowing the answer.

Grace didn’t answer directly. Instead, she forced a proper, standard smile and said, "I’m not unhappy. I had a wonderful time today."

"Was it that damn kid Peter? I could tell from the start he was no good. How could he possibly be worthy of our kind, lovely Grace?"

But the City Lord didn’t expect that as soon as the words left his mouth, the expression on Grace’s face would become even more pained.

She said nothing. Her walk turned into a run as she bolted up the stairs, rushed into her bedroom, and slammed the door shut.

SLAM!

The sound of the slamming door echoed through the spacious hall.

It left the City Lord, a lonely middle-aged man, standing somewhat pitifully on the empty ground floor.

After a moment, he cleared his throat with a dry cough.

"Ahem! Report on Grace’s activities today."

A Guard materialized from the shadows.

"Er, there were no special circumstances. That Shadow of Evil was quite good, though."

"Who asked you?"

Meanwhile, after storming into her bedroom, Grace threw herself onto her bed and buried her face in a soft pillow.

The comforting sensation enveloped her, a potential release for the unhappiness in her heart.

She took a deep breath.

Inhale—

Exhale—

’It’s no use. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.’

Grace climbed out of bed, walked over to her cabinet, opened the glass Protective Shield, and threw the handmade models Peter had given her into the trash can.

As she threw them away, she cursed, "You coward! Why did I even fall for you? Did you really think giving a girl some gears and nuts would make her happy?"

After tossing them all, her mind cooled a bit. She looked at the crude but heartfelt handmade models in the trash can, sighed, and took them all out again.

She carefully wiped each one clean, placed them back in the cabinet, and closed the Protective Shield.

Grace came to a realization. In everyone else’s eyes, she and Peter were a mismatch. Her wishful thinking that mutual affection was enough couldn’t change how others saw them.

Because she was the City Lord’s daughter.

But what if she could become a Lady more powerful than her father?

Others would still think she and Peter were a mismatch, but then, they would shut their mouths.

A fire of determination suddenly ignited within Grace. She had never particularly liked her noble status before.

Her childhood playmates, upon seeing her after they grew up, were always timid and reserved.

The parents of her old friends would bring them before her and say respectfully, "Bow to the young lady."

That was why she disliked her status.

But now, she saw the advantage of being a noble. If a Duke fell in love with a commoner girl, no one would say a thing. In fact, they would bless their love.

Then a Duchess and a commoner man should also receive the people’s blessing.

She, Grace, would become a Duchess!

Filled with this burning fighting spirit, Grace left her room. She was going to learn from her father how to be a proper noble and handle official affairs.

She made her way to her father’s study.

The documents on the City Lord’s desk were the same as three hours ago: the Tiefling recruitment application from Old Mike.

For the past three hours, the City Lord hadn’t handled a single thing. He had been too busy worrying about his girl.

"Father."

Grace rarely addressed the City Lord like this; she usually called him Papa.

"Papa" and "Mama" were two rather magical words. In nearly every Human language, there were similar-sounding, informal terms for one’s parents.

In the common tongue, "Father" was a different, more formal word.

The City Lord looked up, wondering what Grace was up to now.