On the threshold of the house of Duke Cassius stood a stout man with blond hair, who, despite his peaceful nature, was now burning with anger.

When Raymond Cassius saw him, he didn't know what to say at first. This meeting was clearly not what he expected when he opened the door.

Behind the visitor was a snow-white carriage with the family emerald coat of arms of the Ashford family. Therefore, it was not difficult to guess its origin. This was the first archduke of the empire who rushed here immediately after the news about his daughter.

Despite the fact that Henry Ashford did not have the same good physical shape and was shorter than him by a head, Raymond still felt awkward when he collided with his gaze.

— Where is my daughter? The man repeated indignantly.

Duke Cassius cleared his throat.

"Archduke, you have arrived unannounced. I'm sorry for not being too welcoming…

— Where is Leriana?! — he did not calm down, and the duke realized that this was the only thing that worried him at the moment.

Deciding not to detain the guest any longer, Raymond Cassius waved his hand inside.

— This way, please.

Slamming the door, the men went into the dining room, where an unsuspecting Leriana was carelessly trying to feed Rachel a lemon cake. All this relaxed atmosphere continued until an unexpected guest appeared in front of them.

At that moment, my heart skipped a beat. My throat went dry, and the cake instantly fell out of my hand.

— Dad...? I barely uttered the word when I met his eyes.

— So now you remember that you have a father? — he said sternly.

— Dad, I…

I stopped, not knowing what to say in front of him. The sudden arrival of my father was the most exciting event that has happened to me in recent days. I never expected him to actually come here for me. And from this, it became even more embarrassing.

I shouldn't have lied to him in the first place.

Duke Cassius stood awkwardly behind and looked away, as if the scene was passing him by. Rachel watched us in silence.

— So this is the "close friend"? — the Archduke continued, — In my opinion, in your letter there was a completely different name.

Rachel looked at him seriously, clearly ready to speak out, but from this impulse I held her hand under the table. Now, when my father was angry, it was not the best time to interfere in our conversation with outsiders.

— Dad, I can explain everything…

— Explain?! — the man was indignant, - Leriana Ashford, when did you learn to lie to your father? Is that how I raised you?

I swallowed.

When my father addressed me not even "Lea", but by my full name, it meant only one thing: things were bad. Although Henry Ashford was the kindest man in the world, madly in love with his only daughter, he still had a core. And when he manifested, he fully became like the head of the family. And there was no place for excessive tenderness.

Besides the obvious fear, I also experienced a lot of guilt. Before that, Leriana had never deceived her father in her life, and even in small things she remained extremely honest with him. The relationships formed on mutual trust have arisen with them since childhood. And now, I've broken that rule for Rachel.

My father, for obvious reason, was disappointed with me.

— How… How did you know?

The man sighed heavily.

— Do you think it's such a secret? Of course, the director informed me. When I asked which classmate my daughter was staying with, he gave the name of this lady.

The Archduke avoided mentioning Rachel directly, and did not look in her direction. Being one of the most influential aristocrats in the country, he did not want to get involved with the Cassius family like everyone else. It would bring a not too good reputation on their family.

— P-Dad, it's really not what you thought...!

— And what should I think when my own child has deceived me?

I rushed to my father and took his hand. Despite my bad mood, I still hoped that he would understand me. Looking pityingly at the Archduke, I tried to beg his forgiveness.

Henry Ashford reacted inconsistently, because he could never refuse when Leriana looked at him with such a look. Despite what had happened, parental love did not allow him to be unnecessarily harsh with her.

He sighed when the girl began to remind him of a guilty puppy. Is it possible to punish such a person?

In the end, this conversation was clearly not for outsiders. The Archduke was going to have a serious conversation with her at home.

— We're leaving, — he said, taking my hand, — You don't have to pack your things. Later I will send a man to take everything.

— What...? — I was taken aback.

"I said we were going home," my father said firmly, making it clear that I had no chance to refuse.

Stunned, I didn't know what to do next. Although I was supposed to stay in the Duchy of Cassius all winter holidays, but my father personally came for me. How can I just ignore it?

While I froze, the man pulled me to the exit on his own, under the general silence in the living room. But then, my other hand was also grabbed. By her icy fingers, which were almost always cold, without even turning around, I immediately guessed who it was.

"Wait," Rachel said, "how can you just take her away?"

- what? Henry Ashford frowned, "Lady, you've probably forgotten that I'm her father.

— And I'm her girlfriend.

Silence.

I froze, and was even afraid to turn my head to look at any of them. My father, who didn't know about our relationship yet, didn't say a word for the first couple of seconds.

To be honest, it wasn't in this setting that I planned to tell him about it. But Rachel, as always, spoke about everything directly, which brought the man into an understandable shock. And since everything happened, I didn't see the point in denying it.

Being very surprised, my father even let go of my hand. Rachel took advantage of this and pulled me back, covering herself. So that now, he can no longer easily take me away.

Duke Cassius patted his "comrade" on the shoulder understandingly.

"I was shocked too," he admitted, "but never mind, you'll get used to it soon.

— I'll get used to what...? The Archduke stopped.

— Well, you can see for yourself. Wouldn't it be better to give our children the go-ahead?

After such shocking news, my father needed a glass of valerian. The urge to get out of here immediately disappeared, and the man slowly sank into a chair in the living room, trying to recover.

Thus, we all had a very serious conversation ahead of us. Rachel and I sat down together on a small sofa, and my father was still staring at us as if we had risen from the myths of unicorns. The most calm here was Duke Cassius, who had been aware of everything for a long time.

—What's going on..." he mouthed, more to himself, "So what are the interests of today's youth?"

—It's not an interest," Rachel said calmly, taking my hand with all determination, "Sir, I'm quite serious about your daughter.

I looked at her in surprise. Has Rachel finally learned to play well? It looks like she really cares about what's going on. Anyone who doesn't know the whole truth would believe her.

The Archduke, who was still in some other space, shifted his gaze to Rachel.

—S-seriously...?"

— I'm ready to take responsibility for Leriana.

I flushed. What kind of "responsibility" is she talking about at all...?! There was nothing between us! And it definitely won't be!

Seeing how realistically Rachel was pretending, I even felt a little awkward. We can say that she even overdoes it. At this rate, everyone will start thinking that we really have the love of our lives… But I intended to break up with her in a couple of years.

— So you already…

—Yes," Rachel replied smoothly.

At that moment, it seemed that my father would have a second stroke. Duke Cassius understandingly provided him with a second portion of strong tincture.

We were silent again for a while. More precisely, they were waiting for the Archduke to come to his senses. Unlike Raymond Cassius, who even took such news with a certain composure, his father did not have such restraint, and he needed time to realize everything.

— Lea… So that's why you lied to me?

I nodded awkwardly. To some extent, this was indeed the case. I didn't want my father to find out about our "relationship" too soon, because I hadn't figured out how to properly confess to him yet. Now, all that remained was to lay out everything as it really is.

For obvious reason, the man couldn't take it so easily.

Archduke Ashford, like any other father, dreamed that when his daughter became an adult, she would meet the prince on a white horse and live happily ever after. But in the end, Leriana's chosen one was not the prince at all. And her horse was more likely not white, but black.

— Lea, is this all because I raised you without a mother? — he said in a trembling voice.

I sighed.

— Dad, what does this have to do with it…

It is unlikely that having a mother would have saved me from a terrible death. And even more so, it somehow influenced my decision.

"Then why?" "What is it?" he asked desperately.

— This is ... — I was confused, — There are things that do not completely depend on us.

In fact, the deeper this whole situation went, the more consequences had to be "raked out" ahead. Considering what kind of performance we were playing now, in the future I will have to deploy all this in the most plausible way.

After the "breakup" with Rachel, I planned to sit in my room for another month and grieve so that no one would doubt my sincerity. After all, I lost such a great love ... I even managed to come up with a completely logical reason: the characters did not come together. Does this happen often in life?

Such a fake breakup will be useful to me not only in this situation. After coming out of a prolonged "depression", I was going to announce to my father that I no longer believe in love, and I'm not going to date anyone. It will also put an end to the marriage that my father may try to arrange for me. Seeing how hard it is for me, he is unlikely to insist that I arrange a family life with another person.

So, one way or another, I came out only in a plus. All I had to do was to convincingly support this game for three years. Even if I have to lie in front of my own father.

"So you won't change your mind?" The Archduke sobbed, as if all his hope for this world had been destroyed in an instant.

"Dad, I've decided," I said firmly, —please accept Rachel as my girlfriend.

Of course, it sounded easy only in words. For Archduke Ashford, it was too much of a shock.

Not only is his beloved and only daughter dating her classmate, but also this lady is far from being from a simple noble family. Under any other circumstances, the Archduke would not want to get involved with the Cassius family. This would attract suspicion not only from the king, but also from the rest of the aristocratic society.

Therefore, this union was so difficult to approve.

Seeing how hard the man was moving away from this information, Rachel also wanted to insert a word:

— You don't have to accept our relationship right away. Just watch us, and then make a decision.

It sounded quite logical, and I was even surprised that Rachel was ready for a diplomatic way out of the situation. During the entire conversation, she behaved politely and never raised her voice. It couldn't help but be glad that she was trying to get better.

— I guess you're right ... — my father sighed, — I really need time to think.

After such a tense situation was relieved a little, I finally felt relieved. Fortunately, the father was not very angry, but rather shocked. I was hoping he would be able to accept it in the future.

However, I was interested in something else.

— Dad, did you come just because of the director's words?

The man came to his senses and looked at me in confusion.

— In general, yes... but there was something else.

— Hmm?

More or less recovered, the Archduke reached into the inside pocket of his coat, and took out a red envelope. There was a golden seal of the imperial family on it, which surprised me a lot.

"I should have given it to you.

My father handed me an envelope, and I began to open it with bewilderment. It turned out to be easy, and in a minute I had a beautiful invitation card in my hands with the name of the Ashford family on it.

I read it and looked up at my father in surprise.

"That's...!"

— An invitation to the Christmas ball at the Imperial Palace...?!