Father stared sharply at Duke Tristan, Dominic snorted, and Max barely held back a laugh.
The dinner situation was already like a diplomatic battlefield.
I, of course, still held my fork like a royal scepter, trying to steer the atmosphere towards peace.
And in the middle of that silence, I looked at my Father—Duke Valerian von Hohenberg—with the most sincere gaze I had ever possessed in my life.
Well, time to execute the plan.
"Father," I said with a gentle voice that almost reached an angelic pitch. "I know Father is the best Father in the world, and surely Father loves your kind-hearted and cute daughter very, very much."
Everyone at the dining table instantly froze.
Even the soup spoon stopped mid-air.
Duke Valerian—who was usually cold, authoritative, and could make knights kneel with just a glance—now... looked flustered by his daughter's praise.
