Once Zwein's group had left after dinner, the duke convened with his daughter in his study.
After sitting down and the maids left after putting down their drinks, the duke finally said, "It seems like your plan has worked."
Veronica gave a nod in response to this without saying a thing.
That was because there was a look of deep thought that was on her face, as if she was lost in her thoughts while considering something.
The duke didn't find this strange since that was just how his daughter was. She was someone who went at her own pace and if there was something that she found herself interested in, she would be completely lost in that thing.
While he could guess what she was currently thinking about, he didn't say anything and just waited for her to finish.
After a while, Veronica looked up at the duke and asked, "Is there anything else?"
The duke gave a nod and asked, "What should we do now?"
Veronica looked at him with a raised brow before saying with a sigh, "There's nothing we need to do now."
The duke revealed a confused look as he said, "Shouldn't we at least provide them with some form of assistance? We were the ones that asked them to take care of this investigation, so we should do something, right?"
Veronica shook her head with a smile before saying, "We're letting them take care of this investigation for us, so there's nothing that we need to do. They will take care of everything and that will be considered their favour to us in return for our support."
The duke gave a nod at first, but then he said, "But…"
Veronica quickly cut him off by saying, "Are you saying that you don't trust the power of the Shadow Garden? The same Shadow Garden that fills the heart of all us nobles with fear?"
At this, the duke revealed a complicated look.
That was right, Shadow Garden, that was a terrifying name for any noble of this kingdom.
That just went to show how much power and influence this organization had.
But in the end, he still said, "But what if they still can't take care of this matter with the power of Shadow Garden? What if it proves too much for them even with the terrifying Shadow Garden behind them."
Veronica just gave a sigh and said, "Then that's not a problem either."
The duke revealed a confused look when he heard this.
Veronica explained, "If they can't pull it off with the people that they've brought with them, they won't force it. They will go back to Shadow Garden headquarters and request more resources, which will bring more members of the Shadow Garden to our city."
The duke revealed a terrified look when he heard this and he immediately said, "Isn't this a bad thing! Why would we want more of those terrifying people here in our city!"
Veronica revealed a sly smile as she said, "We've already made contact with members of Shadow Garden, so it could be said that we have some relations. If more of them come, we can just rely on Baron Zwein to introduce us. Once we have created some relations with Shadow Garden, would there be anything for us to fear?"
The duke looked at his daughter with a strange look, as he didn't know whether to admire or fear her boldness.
Shadow Garden, that was a shadow that hung over the hearts of all nobles and it was something that they would normally avoid touching even with a ten foot pole. But this daughter of his was actually trying to build relations with them…
He really didn't know how to feel about this.
But since the dice had already been cast, there was nothing that he could do.
The duke couldn't help letting out a sigh of admiration for the plan that his daughter had come up with.
Give the ones from Shadow Garden the information they were looking for and at the same time, put them in his debt by giving an arbitrary reason.
They would be able to take care of one of the problems that plagued the city while also getting a favour from someone that was with Shadow Garden.
This really was a great plan of killing two birds with one stone.
But then there was another thought that came to the duke's mind.
The way that his daughter had acted around Baron Zwein…
"Speaking of which, it seemed that there was something between you and Baron Zwein. Could it be that you and him have met before? If you have, then how about you and him…"
Before the duke could finish his words, he felt the cold gaze of his daughter falling onto him that instantly made him swallow everything that he had been about to say.
He had wanted to suggest that she get closer to Baron Zwein since it seemed like they already knew each other, but that idea was shut down before it could even be proposed.
Since there was nothing else, Veronica didn't bother with talking to her father anymore.
After she left, the duke couldn't help giving a sigh since he thought that it was a wasted opportunity.
After all, he had seen how she had stared at him while they had been at dinner.
It was a lie if she said that she wasn't interested in him.
In fact, as she walked out of the duke's office and headed up to her room, she couldn't help thinking about this.
She remembered when she first met Baron Zwein in the cafe.
At first, Veronica hadn't thought much of him and had thought that he was just a simple, handsome traveler.
But the more that she talked to him, the more interested she became in him until…
And then there was the final thing that he had said to her at the cafe.
"If we're fated to meet, huh?" Veronica muttered to herself.
Then she suddenly said with a smile, "I guess we'll be fated then!"