The Duke's Daughter Is A Villainess (3)

When Dahlia walked into the dining room with two plates filled with pancakes in her hands, the duke's eyebrows shot up to his forehead.

"I made these for you, father." Dahlia said, as she placed a plate in front of the duke, and then one in front of her own seat.

"You... you made these?" The duke asked in disbelief.

Dahlia nodded, smiling. "I wanted to do something for you."

She simply left the conversation there before starting to eat the pancakes, unintentionally letting out a sigh of satisfaction after the first bite. The pancakes were good, as she expected. It was maybe the one thing she could cook with full confidence.

The duke watched Dahlia eat silently for a few moments, before he hesitantly cut into the pancakes himself.

[Task A has been completed! 20 points have been added to your point collection.]

"Are they good?" Dahlia asked, expectation written clearly on her face.

The duke, who actually couldn't handle sweets and didn't like desserts at all, said, "Of course. Since my daughter made them, how could they not be?"

Having been complimented as she'd hoped, Dahlia nodded, satisfied. "I'll make them for you again later."

The duke wanted to protest, but outwardly he agreed. "My daughter is so talented, to be able to make something this delicious even though you've never cooked before."

"I thought I would try it for you, father." Dahlia responded, grinning.

[Host... you're so good at sucking up to people...]

~Oh? Thank you, Buddy. You always know just what to say. As expected, you're the best system there is.

[...How come even though I don't have cheeks I feel like I'm blushing right now...]

~That's the power of flattery, Buddy.

[Host, you're too good! Look... the Duke is starting to cry!]

Looking at the duke, it really did seem like he was beginning to tear up. Dahlia was a little surprised. She knew the duke spoiled Dahlia and seemed to love her a great amount, but she had no idea her effect on him would be so strong.

"Um... father?"

Blinking away his tears, the duke pretended wipe some dirt from his eyes before smiling gently at Dahlia. "Yes?"

"Could I go out into town today? I was hoping to do some shopping."

The duke frowned. "You're not visiting the palace?"

Puzzled, Dahlia was about to ask why he thought that, before she remembered. Right... Dahlia was in love and obsessed with the first prince and would go bother him at the palace every weekend.

Somewhat embarrassed by this world's Dahlia's actions, she shook her head vehemently. "No... and, honestly, I don't think I'll be going to visit the palace anymore."

"What? Why not?"

"Well... to tell the truth... I don't really like Prince Noah anymore." Dahlia muttered, hoping he would believe her words.

Though there was a good chance Dahlia would have to somehow get Noah to fall in love with her anyway, she was pretty sure the way the original Dahlia Baudelaire was going about it was probably the wrong way. At least if she started to back off now, maybe Noah would stop thinking of her as a nuisance.

"I see." The duke replied expressionlessly. "You go out to town today then, and I'll make sure to tell the Prince that you're no longer interested anymore."

"You will? Oh, thank you!" Dahlia smiled, standing up to hug the Duke quickly before turning to leave. "I'll be going now, then!"

While Dahlia was outside waiting for the carriage to pull up in front of her, inside the duke was cheering. He was waiting for the day that Dahlia would realise that Prince Noah was nothing special, and that she shouldn't bother with a man who couldn't see her value anyway. Though the duke did not want Dahlia to get married so soon, what made him angrier was that the Prince wasn't interested whatsoever. This infuriated the duke as he thought very highly of his daughter. Surely the Prince was a fool if he couldn't see that she would be the best engagement candidate.

Oh well, now it was his loss.

The duke smirked secretly as he penned a letter to the Prince. The contents were polite on the surface, but if someone looked closely it was obvious the duke was implying that Dahlia, someone who once whole heartedly loved the Prince, now thought he was an idiot and considered him not worth her time.

Those were just the duke's own thoughts, but he passed them off as if they were Dahlia's.

And Dahlia, who was at that time stepping onto the carriage, had no idea of any of this.