[THIS IS my family now, huh?]

Sonata was currently having a tea party with the Royal Family and the Hexfords.

[Oh, I’m also a Hexford now.]

It was just funny how Sonata and her husband Diether both wore black after changing into comfortable clothes for the tea party.

[We look like we’re attending a funeral service.]

“Lady Sonata, my dear niece, welcome to the family,” King Seymour said cheerfully. “Thank you for coming into our lives.”

[You’re the only one who looks happy and grateful, Your Majesty.]

Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Hexford, her parents-in-law, looked indifferent.

Princess Mikaela, still in her white dress, didn’t bother to hide her irritation.

Prince Jericho, the Crown Prince, had a polite smile on his face but he clearly wanted to be anywhere but there.

[The Crown Prince is probably worried about the queen who suddenly fell sick.]

Hence, the queen issued an apology to Sonata and Diether before leaving.

Sonata thought the king and his children would leave with the queen, so she was surprised when the three stayed for the private tea party.

[At least, Diether looks comfortable.]

“Lady Sonata, how are you feeling?” King Seymour asked cheerfully. “How does it feel to be a part of House Hexford now?”

[His Majesty would probably die if he kept his mouth shut, right?]

Grand Duke Daniel Hexford was the patriarch of House Hexford, so he should be the one seated in the center seat and taking the lead in the conversation.

However, the king had the highest position there.

Hence, His Majesty was acting like the host of the tea party.

[But it seems like the Grand Duke doesn’t mind.]

“I feel blessed, Your Majesty,” Sonata said, starting her speech with a smile. “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone here for throwing me a wonderful wedding.” She turned to her parents-in-law. “Father, thank you for not sparing resources to give us a grand ceremony. Mother, thank you for taking care of everything in my place.”

The Grand Duke just nodded politely before sipping his tea quietly.

“We just fulfilled our duties as your in-laws,” Grand Duchess Eleanor said calmly. “And we can’t have people looking down on House Hexford.”

[So cold and business-like.]

Sonata just smiled at her in-laws before turning to the Royal Family. “I’m also grateful to Your Majesty and Your Highnesses, especially to Princess Mikaela.” Her smile widened when she met the royal princess’ glare. “Princess Mikaela, please extend my gratitude to your lovely friends. Thank you for helping my stunning gold wedding gown stand out by wearing a plain white dress.”

The tearoom suddenly turned cold.

But the ones who looked nervous the most were the servants waiting on them.

[I feel bad for them, but Princess Mikaela needs to take down a peg or two.]

“You impudent lowly knight with unknown origins,” Princess Mikaela, known for her nasty temperament, growled lowly at Sonata. “Do you think you’ve become something just because you married Diether?”

“Of course, I’ve become something. I’m the future Grand Duchess, after all,” Sonata said calmly. “And Diether promised me a comfortable life. Isn’t that right, Commander?”

“Yes, Lady,” Diether said, nodding. “Princess Mikaela, I don’t appreciate you bringing up my wife’s background. She’s now a Hexford. An insult to Sonata is an insult to me.”

Princess Mikaela smirked bitterly. “Your wife was rude to me first.”

“If Your Highness wants to talk about being rude, then let’s talk about being rude,” Sonata said. “Princess Mikaela, according to my investigation, your people were the ones who bribed Lady Vivian’s assistant to steal the draft of my customized wedding gown. I can give you the evidence I gathered if you want.”

“You launched an investigation on the royal princess?” Prince Jericho asked in disbelief. “Lady Sonata, being married to a Hexford doesn’t give you the right to investigate a direct member of the Royal Family.”

Princess Mikaela smiled smugly when the Crown Prince defended her.

“You misunderstood, Prince Jericho,” Sonata said calmly. “I only investigated the thief who stole the design of my wedding gown. It’s not my fault that the investigation led me to Princess Mikaela’s close aides, is it?” She tilted her head to one side while staring at the Crown Prince, her golden eyes glowing. “I must say I’m disappointed in the future king of the Zerua Kingdom. How can you blame the victim in this situation? Are you taking Princess Mikaela’s side just because Her Highness is your sister?”

Prince Jericho, who was only sixteen years old, easily got embarrassed after getting called out.

“Father!” Princess Mikaela whined. “Are you just going to let that woman humiliate us?”

“Well, who told you to do something that would embarrass the Royal Family, my dear children?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Both Prince Jericho and Princess Mikaela looked shocked by what the king said.

“This breaks my heart to say this, but the children of the king enjoy sovereign immunity. They cannot be arrested unless they commit treason or a grave sin against the throne and the temple,” King Seymour said as he turned to Sonata with an apologetic smile on his face. “Whether my dear daughter is guilty or not, the royal princess cannot be punished. So, can you just let this slide, my dear niece? In return, I promise to scold my dear daughter and put her on probation until she reflects on her behavior.”

Sonata laughed softly. “Your Majesty, I never said I wish to punish Princess Mikaela. I’m aware of the sovereign immunity that Her Highness enjoys.” She sipped her tea before she continued. “But Princess Mikaela’s aides and servants don’t have legal immunity, do they?”

Once again, the room turned icy cold.

But Sonata found the different reactions of the people around her quite fascinating.

King Seymour’s cheerful disposition quickly slipped away.

Prince Jericho’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Grand Duke Daniel almost dropped his teacup.

Grand Duchess Eleanor gasped softly.

And Diether snorted as if he was holding back his laughter.

[My dear husband, your wife here is fighting the royal princess. Is the situation funny to you?]

“Your Majesty, as a wedding present, can I ask you to give me the right to punish Princess Mikaela’s servants appropriately? We all know Princess Mikaela is guilty of purposely offending me anyway,” Sonata said, smiling at the king as “sweet” as she could. “I promise I won’t go overboard with the punishment.”

The king chuckled. “Alright. Since my dear niece is asking nicely, how can I say ‘no’ to that?”

“Father!” Princess Mikaela cried. “How could you?!”

“Shouldn’t you be relieved that you wouldn’t have to be on probation, my dear daughter?” King Seymour asked with a smile, but his eyes were cold. “Your servants are partly at fault for failing to cover up your tracks, anyway.”

The royal princess couldn’t refute her father’s words.

Sonata, on the other hand, was amused.

[The king could really be heartless when he wanted to.]

“Princess Mikaela’s ladies-in-waiting will probably only get a slap on the wrists because they are nobles,” Sonata continued with a smile on her face. “However, the maids and the butlers serving Her Highness are either lowly nobles from fallen families or commoners, aren’t they? Even the errand girl that Your Highness sent to bribe Lady Vivian’s assistant is an orphan. It should be easy to punish them. And if they get kicked out of the Royal Palace without a recommendation letter, then I guess they can never find work elsewhere again.”

“How dare you threaten the safety of my people, you lowly wench?!” Princess Mikaela screamed at the top of her lungs, slamming her hands on the table while glaring at Sonata with her glowing deep blue eyes. “Are you doing this just because I wore white at your wedding ceremony?! You’re being petty!”

Sonata burst out laughing at Princess Mikaela’s temper.

Of course, she had heard how the royal princess enjoyed yelling and throwing tantrums every time she was in a bad mood.

[But I didn’t expect she’d act this way in the king’s presence.]

“Princess Mikaela, you and I both know that your white dress is nothing but an excuse to pick a fight with me,” Sonata said. She was smiling, but her golden eyes were glowing as intensely as Princess Mikaela’s deep blue eyes. “If you hit a person, you should expect to be hit back. Did you think you’d be safe just because you’re a royal princess and I’m nothing but a “lowly knight with unknown origins?””

Princess Mikaela let out a high-pitched scream that broke every single glass in the room. “I’m going to kill you, Sonata Florin!”

“Your servants would die first before Your Highness gets to lay a finger on me,” Sonata said bluntly. “Sit down, if you wish to save your people, Princess Mikaela.” She smirked at the royal princess who looked like she was about to lunge at her. “Or is your pride more important than the safety of your people?”

Princess Mikaela screamed again and was about to lunge at Sonata.

But Prince Jericho quickly stood up and grabbed the royal princess by the waist. “Calm down, Mikaela,” he said firmly while forcing the royal princess back to her seat. “What kind of behavior is this in front of Father?”

King Seymour just sipped his tea, but the king was clearly in a bad mood now.

And Princess Mikaela noticed that, so she sobered up a little.

“Lesson number one, Princess Mikaela: don’t pick a fight with someone you cannot beat,” Sonata said. “Lesson number two: don’t give stupid orders to your servants that may get them killed.”

“You insolent–”

“If we were on the battlefield, your people would have already died by my hands because of your stupid orders, Princess Mikaela,” Sonata said coldly, then she turned her icy gaze to the king. “If the commander gave the wrong orders during a war, then the ones who’d pay the heavy price for that mistake were the knights on the battlefield. Most often than not, those poor soldiers would have to pay with their lives.”

[Just like how my adoptive parents died because of a certain someone’s mistake.]

King Seymour, who knew exactly what Sonata was talking about, put his teacup down on the saucer. “Mikaela, my precious daughter, you already lost this fight. You made a mistake, hence you must pay for the consequences of your actions.”

Princess Mikaela looked like she was about to cry. “But, Father…”

“Didn’t you hear what Lady Sonata said earlier?” the king asked, then he turned to Sonata with a knowing look. “She’s giving you a chance to save your people.”

“The strong shouldn’t bully the weak too much,” Sonata said, shrugging. “I don’t need every single servant of yours punished. My anger will be satiated if one of your closest aides shoulder the responsibility.” She tilted her head to one side. “How about your nanny? According to my investigation, your nanny was the one who sent the errand girl to the boutique shop anyway. I wonder if flogging would be enough punishment?”

Princess Mikaela screamed again. “Are you crazy?! My nanny is already sixty and you want to flog her as a punishment?!” The royal princess turned to the king. “Father, do you think Mother would be happy with this? My nanny was also Mother’s nanny when she was young!”

“Mikaela, my precious daughter, you should let the other party finish talking first before you react,” King Seymour scolded the royal princess lightly. “Lady Sonata only asked if your nanny should take the blame. That means she has other options left to offer you.”

Pfft.

[The king is trying to stay neutral, but it’s obvious he’s still adamant about protecting his daughter.]

Of course, Sonata already expected that.

[Let’s wrap this up since this is getting boring.]

In conclusion, Princess Mikaela wasn’t a worthy enemy.

“Your nanny isn’t the only close aide you have, Princess Mikaela,” Sonata said, her gaze going past the royal princess. “Your Highness has an excellent aide who can withstand flogging or other physical punishments.”

Sonata was looking at Sir Yoel– Princess Mikaela’s personal knight and aide.

In fairness to the knight, his face remained stoic.

[It’s as if Sir Yoel has already resigned himself to his doomed fate.]

“Ah, I see,” Diether, who seemed to immediately understand Sonata’s intentions, said while nodding his head approvingly. “Sir Yoel would indeed make a good prisoner of war.”

“Right?” Sonata agreed with her husband. “I need a personal errand boy for at least half a year anyway.”

“No!” Princess Mikaela complained, slamming her hands on the table again. “I won’t let you turn Yoel into your errand boy! He’s an elite royal knight! And he’s mine!”

“Then you should have won this fight,” Sonata said coldly to the royal princess, then she tilted her head to one side. “If you don’t want to part with Sir Yoel, then you always have the option of having your poor old nanny flogged, Princess Mikaela.”

The royal princess couldn’t say anything, but she still had the energy and audacity to glare at Sonata as if she was the victim.

“I’ll do it, Lady Hexford,” Sir Yoel said indifferently. He looked stoic, but his voice was determined. Then he bowed his head towards Sonata politely. “I wholeheartedly accept my lady’s punishment.”

Princess Mikaela screamed again. “No!”

King Seymour ignored the royal princess’ cries.

Prince Jericho, on the other hand, just sighed and shook his head.

[Okay, so they’re not going to help Princess Mikaela anymore.]

“Then that settles it,” Sonata said, smirking at Princess Mikaela as she stood up. “Thank you for lending me your precious knight, Princess Mikaela– I’ll teach him well.”